George Blanda Renews the Jazzmaster for Custom Shop Founders Design Project

George Blanda is one of the most tenured members of the Fender team. Currently guiding Fender's R&D division as chief design engineer, Blanda got his start with the company when he was recruited to start the Fender Custom Shop in 1985.

So when the Custom Shop decided to celebrate its 30th anniversary with the Founders Design Project, Blanda was tabbed to create the guitar of his choice, along with seven other Fender master builders.

Inspired by the classic image of an early '60s Jazzmaster–a white guitar with a tortoiseshell pickguard and rosewood fretboard–Blanda chose to make a Jazzmaster with a White Blonde finish to allow for some grain on the ash body to shine through. The striking pickguard and fingerboard are both crafted from dyed and stabilized maple burl wood, which has a tortoiseshell look with more depth, movement and color.

"I chose the Jazzmaster because I think it was maybe a little bit misunderstood," said Blanda. "I'm a fan of surf music, surf instrumentals and rockabilly roots sounds, so I wanted to highlight that in this guitar."

Learn more about Blanda's Founders Design Jazzmaster in the video featured above.