Hidden Depths
No matter how lofty Leo’s ambitions for his Jazzmaster were, the design was destined to become a cult classic. Yes, it owned the 60s surf scene, played second guit-fiddle to Johnny Cash sideman Luther Perkins’ beloved Fender Esquire, and later found friends in the new wave, indie and avant garde cliques. But while the Telecaster and Stratocaster were masterpieces of functionality before form, the Jazzmaster was over-engineered at just about every turn.
In more recent years, that classic offset body shape has been embraced by the metal crowd. Stripped of its cumbersome vibrato and vintage-spec single coils, contemporary versions more likely feature hardtail bridges and anti-socially wound humbuckers. Which brings us neatly to the Balaguer Standard Series Espada and Select Series Espada T-BAR guitars you see before you.
