Fender has announced an updated version of the Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster, boasting a new Copper Age finish exclusive to the Queens of the Stone Age guitarist’s model.
Other than the new finish – which is available alongside the Oxblood hue of the original – and a block inlay’d maple fingerboard, the TVL Jazzmaster is true to Van Leeuwen’s smart reimagining of the offset classic, which first arrived in 2014.
Headlining tweaks include the use of a Mustang bridge with the Jazzmaster tailpiece, to avoid strings popping out of the saddles, as well as a toggle switch in the place of the rhythm/lead slider, for easy tone tweaks or kill switching.
“That’s a performance thing,” Van Leeuwen told Guitar World in an in-depth new interview regarding the new model. “Because I play other instruments on stage, I need to switch between things, so I tend to turn that circuit off and use it like a kill switch.
“That way I can go straight to keys or lap steel, flip one switch and be right back in the game. That feature ended up being really important.”
Other specs include Pure Vintage ’65 Jazzmaster pickups, an alder body, 7.25” fingerboard radius, and matching headstock.
“I play this guitar right out of the box on stage – it’s a real deal signature model,” Van Leeuwen says. “Occasionally I’ve tried other bridges and tremolos, but it comes ready to stay in tune and take pedals well.”
The Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster is available now for $1,349. Head over to Fender for more info.
It’s the latest in a string of signature guitar releases from Fender over the past few weeks, following in the footsteps of the Brad Paisley Esquire, Tash Sultana Stratocaster and H.E.R. Stratocaster.
