Having been in the industry for over 40 years, Johnny Marr knows a thing or two about how the guitar world – and, by extension, the music industry – operates. While many may have been introduced to his work through his early years with ’80s indie rock legends The Smiths, he has since carved a path that traverses genres and labels.
That path has seen him work with a diverse spread of artists from The Pretenders to Modest Mouse, The Cribs, The The, and even Hans Zimmer. In short, a true chameleon – with the guitar serving as the unifying throughline in all his various endeavors.
When he released his first signature Jaguar with Fender 13 years ago, it was clear that Marr had put his years-long experience on stage and in studios worldwide – along with his in-depth knowledge of what makes a guitar tick – to good use. The result? One of Fender’s best-selling signature models.
Fast-forward to 2025, and he took this one step further with the recently released, limited-edition signature special Jaguar, which expands the model’s tonal palette into Strat and even P-90 territory.
“My original signature guitar does so many sounds,” he enthuses. “[For this new one, I've lost count], and the thing I'm most proud of is, it's not active. There’s no batteries living in it.
“I wouldn't say it’s for metal or for shredding, but you never know!” he quips. “Maybe I'll do a third one that you can shred on.”
What motivated you to create a second signature Jaguar model, and how does it differ from your original design?
[The original] has been really commercially successful, and has continued to sell and sell, which makes me really proud, because other guitar players like it, and of all different kinds of music – it's not just an indie rock machine.
I wanted to continue to do what I do on my [first] signature Jag, but make it for people who wanted a bit more of a conventional feeling guitar – [for example,] make the radius a little bit different [9.5” as opposed to the original’s 7.25”]. It's not me improving my original signature Jag. It's just an alternative to my original Jag.
The new one has a pretty unique pickup selection system, and it also has lipstick pickups, as opposed to the first’s custom-wound Bare Knuckle single-coils. Can you walk us through the thought process behind all this?
For nearly 40 years, I had the same guitar luthier, whose name was Bill Puplett, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. I don't use the word genius a lot, but there are some people who worked with Billy who would use that word.
Bill got very excited about the idea of the lipstick pickup. And I have to give him credit for putting that idea in my head. And then I had the burgundy Jag, which I thought was a really good-looking guitar, and so we used that as a prototype. So, between Bill and myself, we started to try these different lipstick pickups. But really, it was Bill's ingenuity that came up with the configuration of the pickups.
Other guitar players like it, and of all different kinds of music – it's not just an indie rock machine
So, my original signature Jaguar does a lot. It has a Telecaster blade switch [that] gives you four different scenarios: the bridge pickup, the two pickups together, the neck pickup, and the bridge and middle pickup in series.
But with the new Signature Special, you have all of that – but then you also have all of that with the middle pickup added, and then also just the middle pickup.
What the other switches do is all of the above, but with a high-pass filter, which is what I retained from the original ’60s design. And then the third switch [is] a slider switch [that] when it's in series position is an extra notch filter, because when the pickups are in series, they are so fat-sounding that they just take it away from the Fender realm, and they almost sound more like a P-90.
Would you consider it a tribute to Bill?
Yeah, that's right. And we all felt that because it was the last project that Bill was involved in, and he was very passionate about it. The wiring is really ingenious.
This year, I got to collaborate with Gorillaz and also with Franz Ferdinand. Because I've got the prototype, I wanted to see how it would work with a different kind of music to my own, and the fact that it's so versatile has really come up pretty good.
Your first signature Jaguar inspired a new generation of players. What do you hope this new version communicates to younger guitarists?
There are people who bought my signature Jaguar because of its reputation – and because they don't necessarily have to be a fan of my music – but what I feel I did with both my signature Jags [is that] they are more efficient than the original ’60s design. That's to do with the change in the blade switch and the way the bridges behave – staying in tune, the saddles, and all of those things that I felt were necessary improvements.
So I want for that to continue, but also maybe a new person coming along who thinks that they want to do all of that, but also for it to be more of a rock guitar. I think that was my original idea, to not lose anything of my signature Jag, but for it to behave better as a driven guitar.
You've lent a lot of guitars to other musicians in the past, like Noel Gallagher, of course, and Radiohead. Do you still lend your guitars out these days?
Well, I think most of my friends actually own my guitars now [on a sort of] a permanent loan [laughs]. I tend to encourage my friends to try different things. So, for example, when Radiohead were making In Rainbows, I couldn't believe they'd never used a Les Paul before. I think I loaned them an SG for the album. And Thom [Yorke] ended up buying an SG himself.
Who, in your opinion, are some of the artists or bands right now who are really shaping the guitar scene?
I feel a little weird even bringing this up, because I've been around for so long, but I can't help but celebrate the fact that we're just now so used to female bands.
When I was starting out in the early ’80s, particularly when I started with the teenage bands in the late ’70s, women in rock, certainly playing guitar with bands, either as the lead singer or lead guitarist, were nowhere near as common. You had Chrissie Hynde, obviously, Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell… but there were few rock guitar players.
And now, you only have to look at social media for a couple of minutes, and you see all these girls playing dazzling guitar.
I know the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been around a long time, but I always really, really like whenever they put a new record out, because I think Nick Zinner is a really, really exciting guitar player. I like The Last Dinner Party – [Emily Roberts] is a good guitar player. And also, I'd say Fontaines D.C.'s latest record's [Romance] got the type of guitar playing that I just really like.
Speaking of influential guitar players, what are your thoughts on Oasis’ recent reunion shows?
From the minute the reunions were announced, in the UK, at least, almost three-quarters of the country were cheered up. Because Noel's my friend, to give you a serious answer, I'm very happy that he's reunited with his brother. That's a great thing, obviously, but the concerts had such an elevated atmosphere and a real positive message of the power of music.
When I was in America, because people know that I play with Noel, so many people were telling me that they went to the concerts and how amazing these concerts were – and, sometimes, it was people who you wouldn't think were fans of Oasis.
So it became like a cultural phenomenon, with the main inspiration being about unity. That's something that is very much in need in today's world. So they've done something really great, not only for themselves, but really, for a lot of people. They brought a lot of people joy. And it's something I've never seen in my lifetime. Biggest reunion of all time.
It became like a cultural phenomenon. They brought a lot of people joy. And it's something I've never seen in my lifetime. Biggest reunion of all time
Did they ask you to guest star?
There were three very, very loud guitar players up there, because Gem [Archer] has got a big sound as well, and between Bonehead [Paul Arthurs, bassist] and Noel, I think they've got plenty of decent jackets up there. They don't need me in a good jacket! [laughs]
And finally, which guitar players have inspired you over the years – particularly ones people might not expect?
You know who I think was a really, really interesting guitar player? John Lennon. Some of the things that people don't quite realize he was doing on the White Album... I can go down rabbit holes.
And John McLaughlin. Whenever I mention John McLaughlin, I think people are surprised because I come out of the indie rock scene. But you know, when I started out, I would be talking about Nile Rodgers. And at the time, I remember that all those boys who were working in the British music press couldn't believe what they were hearing when I was talking about Nile Rodgers.
But now, everybody can understand that me and Nile Rodgers have got a lot in common – mostly to do with the way we make music: collaborating with other bands, producing and arranging, and using the guitar as a kind of hook.
The idea of someone standing behind a mixing desk working on vocals with the singer, but with their guitar around their neck, while still being known for playing the guitar – Nile was a bit of an example for me, really. It's [all] an evolution.
- The Limited-Edition Johnny Marr Signature Special Jaguar is available now from Fender retail partners. For more information, visit Fender.
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