Fender refreshes the Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster with an all-new Copper Age finish
The Queens of the Stone Age guitarist updates his well-spec’d offset
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.”
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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.
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Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade's experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.
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