This Is One Of The Prettiest Guitars You Can Buy, Made By Jade Works Instruments

A gold-on-purple singlecut with dual TV Jones Filter’Trons and endless chime that warrants your attention.

Some of you may remember the name Jade Works Instruments from last year, when I got my hands on this fun offset guitar from the local luthier behind the company. After falling in love with that guitar after a few band practices, I knew I wanted to cover more of Jade Works’ stuff. And with 2024 being all about independent builders and smaller brands, it made sense.

This guitar is a custom built instrument, though there are likely to be more built. It features a stunning dark purple Swamp Maple top over a one piece Mahogany body that is chambered for weight relief. The neck is three pieces, with 22 frets on an Ebony fretboard, and a Birch headstock veneer. It’s truly a brilliant guitar, and was crafted in memory of victims from the Sandy Hook tragedy, and some of the proceeds will be donated accordingly. You’ll find the 25.5″ neck to be more of a D-shape, inspired by vintage Les Pauls, while also featuring a volute.

Dubbed the “Butterfly” singlecut, this stunner also has two TV Jones Filter’Trons; a classic model in the neck, and a classic plus in the bridge position. A 3-way switch accompanies the volume and tone knobs, which are made of hand turned ebony to match the classy aesthetic.

Demo Time

In this video you’re hearing the Butterfly running into a slew of pedals, including the Shotmaker Heroine Deluxe, Stromer Mutroniks Superfuzz, EHX Memory Man Nano, and UAFX Evermore Reverb. After that, the signal hits the UAFX Dream (Fender amp sim), the Walrus Canvas Stereo DI box, and then my interface.

Honestly I am floored by the chime and grit this guitar has. It’s fantastic for the type of music I play, which is punk and indie-rock influenced. I love the volume and growl of these Filter’Trons, and I think it makes the guitar feel like more of its own thing. It’s not a Les Paul derivative, but it’s also not just another Tele or Strat. The neck, despite being inspired by old Gibsons, definitely feels faster and thinner than expected, at least in my opinion.

It lends itself to smooth lead lines, and especially comfortable chord positions. I’m not much of a shredder, as you can probably tell, so anything that feels inviting past the 7th fret always allows me to unlock some fun chord shapes and arpeggios. This guitar is well suited for that, with lots of touch response and sensitive pickups. Filter’Trons excel in that mid-gain territory, where you can still hear each note articulated, but have some grit around everything. While it’s not my cup of tea to play country or americana music, this feels like a versatile enough guitar to nail most genres and applications.

Obviously this Jade Works guitar is a more high end instrument, and has a long history of guitar tech and luthiery by the builder to back it up. I think if you’re looking for something a little new, but that can still nail classic or traditional sounds. When you buy from local or smaller builders like Jade Works, you’re always going to get something more unique or interesting than a big brand.

I look forward to seeing some more builds from Jade Works in 2024, and someone should grab this one soon. If you dm Jade Works on Instagram you could negotiate a VERY fair price I’m sure, as you’re not going to find as cool a dual Filter’Tron guitar out there. Not a bad place to start with our first guitar review of 2024!