Fender and Johnny Marr have given the indie guitar icon’s signature Jaguar a limited edition twist that presents players that swaps out the usual single-coil pairing for a trio of custom-wound lipstick pickups – and wiring that makes this one seriously versatile offset guitar.
Finished in a gloss nitro Black finish with white pickguard, this Jaguar is designed to give you all of Marr’s signature sounds (pedals notwithstanding), but also it can bear its teeth if you are of a mind to stock an overdrive pedal on your pedalboard.
This beauty arrives with a four-way blade-style pickup selector, the high-pass filter as per previous Marr Jags, but also with a third three-way “secret switch” slider that gives players the option of introducing its middle pickup with Marr’s custom wiring, giving you a sound that he describes as being like another iconic Fender…
“It’s my signature wiring, but with this [middle pickup] always added,” he explains. “And that immediately makes it sound noticeably different, and to my ears, it brings it more into a line with a Strat sound, which, interestingly enough, means that this guitar operates quite differently when it’s driven.”
The Johnny Marr Signature Special Jaguar’s lipstick pickups were designed to Marr’s exacting specifications by Kent Armstrong, but a lot of the credit for their inclusion has to go to the late guitar guru and luthier, Bill Puplett, who passed away on 9 November 2024. It was Puplett who first suggested them to Marr.
“He mentioned to me, just coincidentally, that he’d come across the Armstrong lipstick pickup, and it’s a really interesting sound,” says Marr. “That was his main thing. It was like, ‘We should maybe be trying to find a guitar to experiment and work on.’ And this was at the same time that I was wondering where I could take my signature guitar.”
Now it’s here, the question is where this limited edition take on the Jag can take you, the player? It’s like a Johnny Marr signature Jaguar of yore, in that you can dial in the electric guitar tones you have heard on his recorded work with the Smiths, the Cribs, the Pretenders, The The, Modest Mouse, Hans Zimmer and so on.
But in time it might be unlocking some new tones for Marr, too. He is an inveterate seeker, and this meticulously angular block of alder with its bolt-on maple neck (with an enhanced profile based on Marr’s 1965 Jag, rosewood fingerboard FTW, etc) is a search engine for such tones.
“The Jaguar has been central to my sound and style for nearly 15 years,” says Marr. “With this new model, I wanted to create an instrument that feels classic but also pushes players to explore new tones and possibilities. Fender has once again brought that vision to life in a way that I didn’t think could be possible until now.
“From my work with The Cribs playing gritty in-your-face indie, to the cinematic soundscapes I crafted with Hans Zimmer, the Jaguar has been an incredible asset in helping me expand my sound, no matter the genre or the occasion.”
The hardware on this new Jag is worth a mention. We have a hybrid Jaguar bridge with Mustang saddles and a floating vibrato. There are vintage-style tuners because that fits the vibe. The frets are vintage profile, too.
This might be an all-new Jag, the likes of which we’ve never seen before, but there’s something retro-custom about it all the same.
Fender doesn’t say how limited edition this is but you can bet good money that this is going to sell like hotcakes.
“Johnny Marr’s legacy as one of the most inventive guitarists of the last four decades is undeniable,” says Max Gutnik, chief product officer, Fender. “His distinctive style and tone has inspired generations of players over the years. The new Signature Special Jaguar is a versatile, performance-ready twist on his classic instrument that delivers a captivating tone with great feel. We’re thrilled to share it with guitarists everywhere.”
Priced £2,949/$2,999 (hard-shell guitar case included), the Johnny Marr Signature Special Jaguar is available now. Head over to Fender for more.
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