The Fender Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster 6-string electric guitar is the first signature model Fender have issued to the long-standing, highly influential multi-instrumentalist.
The Fender Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster features an alder body that has been finished in a distinctive metallic Oxblood colour and is perfectly complimented by a four-ply red tortoiseshell pickguard. Joining the body is a gloss C-shape maple neck with a body-colour painted headstock that is topped by a 21-fret, 7.25” radius bound rosewood fingerboard. The fingerboard is finished off by the addition of pearloid block inlays.
From an electronics point of view, the Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster comes equipped with a pair of American Vintage ’65 Jazzmaster single-coli pickups and traditional dual tone circuits. However, unlike a traditional Jazzmaster, the tone circuits on the Troy Van Leeuwen signature are controlled by a two-way toggle switch instead of the customary slider switch. These are joined by a brass-saddle Mustang bridge and Jazzmaster tailpiece combination, white witch hat control knobs and a three-way pickup toggle switch.
The main features of the Fender Troy Van Leeuwen Jazzmaster 6-string elecetric guitar in Oxblood are:
I've had this guitar for about 6 months now and can still hardly put it down. It's been played on stage, in studio, at home, etc. and it really has a versatile sound. Between the pickup selector and the lead/rhythm switch, you can get interesting and quite differing tones from this setup...anything from 'buttery' strat to twangy tele and much more.
It's a beautiful looking guitar and has a great 'feel' and weight.
The only drawback is the vintage-style bridge. Not having the precise string radius causes the high E string to pop out of the nut, and the low E to pop off the groove in the saddle. Maybe not an expensive replacement, but a necessary one.
All in all, I would recommend this guitar to anyone who loves jazzmasters, retro-looking guitars, p90 pickups, and general versatility.
Overall, the guitar is great: the neck is comfortable, sounds good clean and with distortion and crunch, great weight balance, the Mustang bridge is a good improvement.
The finish is very nice also but has some imperfections: the black neck binding's edges look worn out on some parts (binding missing), which is unacceptable for a USD 1'500 instrument !
Also, the toggle switches (the rhythm one in particular) are wobbly and need tightening.
Finally, the high E string was not aligned properly with the neck, but this was resolved with a quick little adjustment.
I will see how it goes in the following weeks of playing it but I can say I am overall satisfied by the guitar and would recommend it to anyone looking for something with a bit of a vintage flavor (sound-wise).
The communication with Music Store by phone and email (UK and Germany) was great and I received the guitar in 8 days via DHL.
The guitar is amazing and it was everything i hoped so and even more. Worthed every penny But it came with a broken tuning peg. I had to replace it by myself because you asked me to deliver back the whole guitar. Other than that it had no scratches and fitted right in my had. It’s 10/10 guitar but the whole experience was a 9/10
This guitar is just beautiful in everyday, the look, the finish, the feel, the variety of sounds and the versatility. So far I've played through Slayer, Dinosaur Jr, The Cure, The Smiths, Tool, U2, My Bloody Valentine and find it more than capable of hitting the ranges I need.