Okay, here’s something cool – a kool thing, if you will – it’s the Kim Gordon signature Jazzmaster, and it’s quite a different take on the classic offset guitar.
Yes, it has that unmistakable silhouette, a solid piece of alder that’s all angles. But at the bridge position, the alt-rock icon has swapped out the traditional over-sized single-coil pickup for a Seymour Duncan JB/TB-4 humbucker.
At the neck, you’ve got a more traditional Jazzmaster Alnico V single-coil, and it makes for one seriously versatile electric guitar.
Gordon says it’s so versatile you don’t need to consult your pedalboard for extra sounds.
“One thing that’s great about the Jazzmaster, if you have a guitar that sounds good by just plugging it into an amplifier, it doesn’t need effects,” she says. “That’s really satisfying…I just really like the sound…Electricity in the guitar is the gateway to losing yourself.”
As co-founder of Sonic Youth, Gordon helped popularise the Jazzmaster.
These were the guitars that were going cheap, unloved and unused. Sonic Youth could buy up loads of them on the cheap and keep them in their unique alternate tunings. The rest of the wolrd caught on quick.
How times have changed. Now the Jazzmaster is one of Fender’s most dependable unit-shifters – and this one is sure to be a hit. It arrives in Olympic White, with a black pickguard. The neck is bolted to the body, maple as per the usual style, and topped with a 9.5” radius rosewood fingerboard with pearloid block inlays.
There’s no faffing about with a Rhythm/Lead circuit here. The controls have been simplified, with a three-way pickup selector toggle located on the lower cutaway, plus skirted amp-style volume and tone controls. The zebra-coloured bobbins of that uncovered JB humbucker (always and forever a much-loved electric guitar pickup here at MusicRadar) just add to the aesthetic appeal.
In fact, this new signature model looks like a mirror image of the black Mexican-made Jazzmaster Gordon has been playing live with for decades, which had a similar humbucker/single-coil pickup configuration.
Elsewhere, Gordon’s Jazzmaster has a floating tremolo, Mustang saddles. And it has the the rolled fingerboard edges, too, which is a nice upscale touch that Fender’s Ensenada facility has been giving its guitars of late.
The Kim Gordon Jazzmaster is a limited edition signature guitar. So get it while it’s hot. It’s priced $1,499/$1,099. That price includes a gig bag. See Fender for more details.
