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“We didn't have enough time to do a proper powder coating on the hardware...” Up-close with Jack White’s NFL halftime show Triplecaster – built just days before his surprise gig with Eminem
The White Stripes founder was chosen to deliver a halftime show at the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers game at Ford Field on November 27, 2025 – and marked the occasion with a surprise Eminem collaboration and a debut for this one-of-a-kind take on his gadget-decked signature guitar.
Speaking to Guitar World on the floor of NAMM 2026, Third Man Hardware’s Dan Mancini was happy to talk us through this wonderfully ludicrous axe and revealed that Fender’s pickup guru Tim Shaw, and Chip Ellis, who concocted White’s madcap ‘Ugly Stick’ last year, were both involved.
“Jack came up with the concept a couple of days before this Lions' halftime show, and we came up with this,” he says, explaining the electric guitar was inspired by the away helmet of the Lions.
“We got a Triplecaster, tore it down, got it over to the great Chip Ellis and Tim Shaw, and they did the most unbelievable little pin striping to make sure that it matched the helmet just right, with silver pin striping on the black, and a satin blue finish.”
The guitar’s makeover was dramatic, but it was also a little slapdash. It bears reminders of that.
“Honestly, we didn't have enough time to do a proper powder coating on the hardware,” Mancuini adds, noting that the pickups were still curing when the show took place, resulting in a ready-relic’d look.
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“It's just such a striking combination,” Mancini believes. “It pays the respect, and it gets the influence from the Lion's helmet, but it also kind of stands by itself. I hope it comes on the road with us this year. It’s too cool not to!”
The pickup wear on Jack White's custom Fender NFL Lions Triplecaster (Image credit: Future)
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
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