FENDER PRESENTS: AMERICAN VINTAGE II FEATURING MJ LENDERMAN

When discussing his guitar of choice and playing style, indie’s brash new hero MJ Lenderman seems principally concerned with paying homage to his forebears. “I have a black Jazzmaster® that’s been my main guitar for as long as I’ve been playing,” he says. “It seemed like all of my favorite guitar players played them, like J Mascis and Kevin Shields and the Sonic Youth guys, so that was the initial reason why I wanted to get one.”

Lenderman has come a long way since picking up his first Jazzmaster — his 2024 LP Manning Fireworks received universal critical acclaim and skyrocketed the young phenom to stardom — but his loyalty to his favorite guitar has never wavered. Check out the video above for a solo performance of his meditative character study “Rip Torn” from Manning Fireworks, played on our American Vintage II 1966 Jazzmaster in a new Metallic Sherwood Green finish. It’s the ideal model for this innovative talent who is putting a modern spin on the sounds that preceded and influenced him.