It’s safe to describe Jack White’s Fender Triplecaster as ever-evolving. Since its long-awaited release last year, the unconventional signature guitar has already found its way into the hands of players as varied as Vernon Reid, Eddie Vedder, and Otoboke Beaver’s Yoyoyoshie. Earlier this year, a fully spec’d-out Blue Sparkle Triplecaster turned heads at NAMM.
Now, the guitar is moving into even bolder territory with White himself unveiling a new semi-hollow Thinline version – a design tweak sparked directly by a request from none other than Kirk Hammett.
White took to social media to share the update, pointing out that Olivia Jean had already been riffing on the new Thinline prototype: “This was dropped off to me yesterday by the Fender Custom Shop in Nashville. Why? Because Kirk Hammett… asked them if they could make him a Thinline version of the Triplecaster and if they could also ‘Make one for Jack too.'”
White says he’s happy to embrace any mods to his design, but this one stood out for a specific reason: the Triplecaster was already partially chambered. “So all that was needed at the custom shop was to get the patterns out for the F hole and voila,” he wrote.
The addition of the F-hole makes the already chambered Triplecaster a true Thinline build, pairing perfectly with its CuNiFe Wide Range pickup in the neck – a nod to the classic ’72 Telecaster Deluxe. White described it as a “cool mod” and a natural evolution of the design. He added that snagging it back from Olivia Jean might prove to be the harder challenge.
In trademark fashion, White couldn’t resist a cheeky jab at traditionalists: “I hope this pisses off some more Tele purists! We have enough ‘regular’ boring guitars out there right folks?” He also invited fans to share their own Triplecaster mods, hinting that he might even showcase them.
The Triplecaster grew out of White’s earlier Low Rider Telecaster, which introduced mods like a trio of custom pickups, a subtly scalloped fretboard, and a B-Bender. Ever since, the guitar has embodied White’s relentless pursuit of fresh ideas and unorthodox engineering. With Hammett now joining the fold, the Thinline Triplecaster seems destined to push the story even further, proving once again that this is no ordinary Tele.
While the Jack White Thinline isn’t available, there’s still a bunch of kickass Jack White stuff available here. You can also check out all our Fender coverage right here.
