Slipknot’s Jim Root has just released the newest model of his signature Fender Jazzmaster. While speaking to the guitarist from quarantine, Root told us all about his new axe and why it’s the perfect guitar for him.

“I’m a very indecisive person. I tend to overthink things a lot, so I wanted to keep it as simple as I possibly could without overthinking it,” Root explains. “I wanted to keep it to whether you’re a metal guitar player, a jazz guitar player, a prog guitar player, a straight up rock player or maybe even a blues player; it could be a guitar you pick up and there wouldn’t be a bunch of blood and Satanic images and tribal S’s and things like that all over it.”

The guitar is very simple, simply featuring a volume knob with no tone knob. Instead, tone is controlled with a three-way switch to access the dynamics of Jim’s EMG pickups. Though he used a classic 81 + 85 combo with EMGs in the past, Root now prefers a 81 + 60 EMG combo with zebra coloring.

“I was reluctant to play a Jazzmaster at first. Alex Perez at Fender sent me one; he’s like, 'Just try it out, see how you like it.' I just let it sit in the corner and never touched it. Then when I was in Stone Sour, we were in pre-production for the Audio Secrecy record [and I’m like] “I’m gonna play this guitar during these rehearsals just for something different.” I remember putting it on with a strap and being immediately amazed by the guitar, just the way it felt hanging on the strap. Then I remember playing it during the rehearsal and I was like, “I love this guitar.” That switch just turned on right then and there.”

Watch Jim Root talk about his newest Fender Jazzmaster in the video below and to take a closer look at the guitar, head over to Fender’s website.

Slipknot's Jim Root: My NEW Fender Jazzmaster

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