Troy Van Leeuwen

Can also be seen using one in this performance: https://youtu.be/JHdLJXMi1vI

In an interview with Premier Guitar, Troy Van Leeuwen discusses his primary guitars, highlighting the Echopark De Leon as a key instrument in his collection.

“I’m Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens of the Stone Age and this is my signature Jazzmaster. The color was something that I have always liked - oxblood - in some light it looks black, in some light it looks red. I really wanted to go for a mid-60s aesthetic with the binding and the blocked fret markings. I mean it just does all the things I want it to do, as far as the way it looks.

And then as far a difference on what a Jazzmaster is, really the only difference is I use this [top] pickup selector all the time and the little plastic one just doesn't really work for me. So if I'm either using it as a kill switch or pickup selector this is very convenient to me, having all the controls up here. So I can in the middle of a song do both. It’s kind of an all-around useful guitar.

The neck is kinda based off a ’65 Jazzmaster. I’m somebody who appreciates guitars for being different. A Tele has its classic sort of thick neck for me, and this is a classic neck for this model. I think that the relationship between a single coil pickup and the rosewood fretboard is a good marriage because they can get a little too bright if there's a maple fretboard. I think it just adds a little bit darkness to an otherwise super wirey tone.

It looks complete to me because of the headstock. much like The Dude said about his carpet, it ties the whole thing together.

When I was learning how to play guitar it was all about Zeppelin, and Hendrix, and standard tuning. For Queens [of the Stoneage] we have different tunings, and that's always fun to do but it's almost like exploration of your own kinda making… it’s important to experiment, and this is a good guitar to experiment with because of all the different tone options.

What it means to me to have a signature model is that not only do I get to express what I like in a guitar, but if people are interested in what I do and if my name's on it, I think what they'd be getting is my appreciation for things that are classic. This is a classic guitar, to me, with just a simple modification just for function. So there's a bit of fashion and function involved, and that’s kinda where I live.”

In this video of the live presentation of Queens of the Stone Age, you can see Troy using his Squier jazzmaster h / h ghost silver.

In this photo, Troy Van Leeuwen can be seen playing a Yamaha SA530 TVL in a live performance with Queens of the Stone Age.

Fender: You added a Pawn Shop Mustang Special to your arsenal, as well. What do you dig about that guitar?

Van Leeuwen: Like the Blacktop Jag, it’s a really light guitar and really helped me be able to play with a broken collarbone, so we have a connection. I just like it because it’s kind of funky; kind of goes along with the philosophy of the Excelsior amp. It’s funky and looks vintage but it’s new, so it works. I like things that work. Plus, it doesn’t have the single coils. It’s got humbuckers but you can split the coils so you can make it sound like any single coil guitar. I used it on a couple of new Queens songs in the studio. It just does that thing. I clean up my amp and it just has this great pluck to it. It sounds killer. I love it.

Troy uses a black Fender Jaguar in this performance of Misfit Love. He supposedly used it for a lot of the Era Vulgaris record.

In an interview featured on Guitar.com, Troy Van Leeuwen discusses his gear, mentioning his use of the Gibson Les Paul Classic 1960 Reissue Goldtop among his guitars.

Ascan be seen in the video at 18:15, Troy owns and uses a Burns Double 6 twelve-string electric guitar.

Troy used a black Gibson Les Paul Standard for songs on the Songs for the Deaf Tour (2002-2004).

Troy used a black Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Custom for songs from 2007 until 2013.

Troy Van Leeuwen used the Schecter Traditional Standard Maple guitar exclusively during his time with A Perfect Circle, featuring a hot-rail bridge pickup similar to his goldtop PT. It was last seen in 2001, as shown in a user-uploaded photo.

Troy Van Leeuwen used a modified red Yamaha AES1500 for songs in C on the Lullabies to Paralyze tour. Seen on the Catacombs Tour in 2025, he has added a Höfner H62/10-N tailpiece.

Troy Van Leeuwen has been using a black Fender Classic Player Jazzmaster Special Electric Guitar for performances since 2011, as shown in a photo featured on Premier Guitar.

Troy Van Leeuwen used this gibson ES-175 heavily during "Song for the deaf" era. You can see this guitar on "No one knows" music video.

Along with his custom made De Leon from Echopark, Troy also has a Lake Placid Blue Model J which he used throughout the recent ...Like Clockwork tour. You can see a clear shot of it at 18:16-18:20 and 18:48-18:54 during Smooth Sailing from their Reading show

In an interview featured on Guitar.com, Troy Van Leeuwen discusses his music equipment, including his use of the Gibson ES-135 Black Custom guitar.

This guitar can be seen in "The Way You Used To Do" video.

Seen in the whole video. Troy owned 2 other AES1500s, a white one and a 3 pickup red one but the black one was modded for a stopbar instead of a bigsby. Used in A Perfect Circle, Enemy, and QOTSA. The guitar was last seen/used in a 2010 performance of Sky Is Fallin' where Dean played it.

At the 3:07 mark of the video, Troy Van Leeuwen is seen playing a Höfner Verythin 4575 guitar.

"Well, the first guitar I ever had was a Telecaster. Teles are a classic. I’ve had a reissue of the American Deluxe Tele – the Keith Richards guitar, that’s what I call it. I used that guitar a lot on the last Queens record, and live also. I love the way a Tele sounds, but also I like the location of the pickup switch. Because I have to play lap steel, it’s easy for me to flip the switch and go to lap steel and then go back to playing. It’s just really useful.

On our last Queens record, we started getting into more wiry tones. We’ve been known as a heavy band, but it’s very not heavy in the way that we approach our music. The Tele really came in handy for that, and the Jaguar because it kind of separated all the heaviness. There was a cut to all of my parts. It really lent a different color to our band."

Troy Van Leeuwen is seen with a Schecter PT guitar, which he likely acquired around June 1997. This guitar is not his only Schecter; he also had a goldtop PT with two humbuckers featured in a Schecter advertisement. A user-uploaded photo verifies his use of the Schecter PT.

Here in the recording sessions (at SoundCity Studio) video of the "lullabies to paralyze" album, Troy appears using a Maton Guitar that seem to be a Maton MS2000 DLX, to record "Tangled up in Plaid". Check it out in: 13:47 of "QOTSA - The Way Finds You".

In this video you can see Troy playing the Squier

Troy van leeuwan used this guitar for the music video 'sick, sick, sick'.

Troy can be seen using a similar version without the white pick guard and the Bigsby removed. @32:15 at a QOTSA show @ Eurockeennes De Belfort Festival, France on 07-02-2011 (The same double white fret inlays on the neck and white truss today cover on the headstock can also be seen)

We can see Troy using this guitar at the and of the clip: ''The Way You Used To Do''

Troy Van Leeuwen used the Fender 12-String Telecaster during his performances with Iggy Pop, as seen in the BBC Music video from "Later… with Jools Holland." He first played it live with Queens of the Stone Age at Rock in Rio in 2015 and continued to use it on the Villains Tour, including during performances of "My God Is The Sun."

Here you can see Troy with an Yamaha SG 2000 guitar, in 46:13, playing "No One Knows" by Queens of the stone age.

This blog shows an interview with Troy about his team on the Post Pop Depression tour, and you can see the Echopark 59'Custom