Buy Jay Turser 200 Series Jt-220-gt Electric Guitar, Gold TopJay Turser 200 Series Jt-220-gt Electric Guitar, Gold Top Product Description:
- Vintage style single cutaway
- Alder body, contoured flame maple top
- Set neck, Rosewood fingerboard
- Traditional style pick guard
- 2 humbucking pick-ups
Product Description
Vintage style, single cutaway solid alder body- contoured top, set neck, rosewood fingerboard, traditional style pick guard, 2 humbucking pick-ups, 2-v and 2-t and chrome die-cast machines. gold top
Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Great value for the money
By Tarheel72
First of all, I am not sure I would buy a guitar sight unseen unless the seller had a good return policy. I say that not because of any issue I had with my Jay Turser but I think that is just good advice for any guitar but especially one made overseas. Like others have said, QC can be iffy, even for a well known brand like Epiphone. I actually got my JT-220 GT at Guitar Center. It is a new model, not used, and I spent about an hour playing it in the store before I bought it. It took me that long because I could not believe it sounded and felt so good for the price. I kept looking for the flaws. I had several of the sales staff come by to chat with me and even took it to the tech for opinions. All were pretty surprised at the quality for the price and thought it was a very good deal on a LP style.I have an Epiphone SG but I was looking for a LP model. I do not like the Gibson LP or the Epiphone LP version. They look great but I think they are a little heavy in both weight and price. I was looking at alternatives when I saw this Jay Turser advertised at my local GC. I did some research and it generally got great reviews so I went to check it out. Turser won Guitar Magazine's Value Award in 2004 and it looks to me like the real detractors of the brand are mostly snobs who turn their nose up at anything not Gibson or who bought a more expensive brand and are trying to justify the additional expense. I am pretty sure a real Fender or Gibson is a step up from Turser but that does not mean that this is not a good guitar or a great value for the money. Let's remember, Epiphones and Fenders are now made in China and Mexico respecively.The guitar is a LP copy but is slightly thinner so it does weigh less. It has a 60" style thin neck profile with a rosewood fretboard and medium frets. It has a standard LP chambered body, as nearly all modern LP's do, including the Gibson models. I have read conflicting reports on the type of wood used. The Turser website indicates an alder body and a maple neck, which I think is accurate for the 220D in ebony, Heritage Sunburst and Cherry Sunburst. The Gold Top seems to have a slightly different spec. The guitar has a serial number stamped on the back and I called customer service for some info on the guitar and the electronics. I was told mine had a mahogany body and neck and I believe that is correct. I have seen reviews of other Tursers indicating mahogany bodies and necks so it is not out of the question. As for the guitar, fit and finish are outstanding. The gold finish is flawless and a very nice shade of gold, not orangey or brassy at all. All of the plastic is cream colored (pick guard, pickup surrounds, selection ring, jack plate). Bound on the top of the body, the neck and the headstock in a cream binding. The back is not black as it appears in the most pics but is actually a nice transparent deep reddish brown that shows the wood grain of the back and neck. Trapezoid fret inserts in a mother of pearl finish. Die cast tuners that appear to be identical to Wilkinson tuners and probably are made in the same factory but minus the logo, since Wilkinson's are made in the same city in China as this guitar. Set up was fine with a nice low action but I did change the strings out when I bought it and I also had to tweak the intonation a little. No fret buzz at all. Frets are smooth and level, the set neck is flat and the guitar holds tune. If you do research you will see that the nut is actually supplied by Graphtech and is their Nubone model. They supply all nuts to Jay Turser, or so their website says.The electronics and hardware vary from average to above average in quality. The tech opened up all of the cavities and we examined the wiring, etc. The connections are strong and not sloppy. Wiring is robust. The three way switch is a standard model and not as smooth as the Gibson version but more than functional. The pots work fine, no issues. The pickups are actually quite good. They are not microphonic as some have written, but are in fact ceramic wax potted pickups, or at least mine are. One of my favorite things is that the pickups are uncovered "double creme" humbuckers. In the US DeMarzio has a trademark on "double creme" pickups and you cannot get them from any other source, so you will not see these everywhere you look. If I wanted to upgrade the pickups I would install DeMarzio's just to keep that look.The guitar plays great. It is fast and has really good sustain. The bridge pickup is hot which is good for some songs, not so good for others. The neck pickup is really smooth and mellow. I find I fiddle with the bridge pickup more than the neck, adjusting the tone for the song and amp model. I get no noise or buzzing from the guitar. The bridge and tail piece are typical Gibson style. Neither are as robust as those found on the Gibson/Epiphone versions and the bridge does not have the thumb screw adjustment. It relies on the screw in the top of the post to adjust height. I think the tail piece is fine. I would like to replace the bridge someday. It seems a little flimsy to me and the saddles seem thin. Adjustments are not as precise as on my Epiphone but I was able to intonate the instrument. I think the bridge is the weakest piece of the guitar, in my opinion.Overall this is a great guitar for the money. I paid less than the Amazon price but in general these go for $175-$200. I was able to get a deal that was not normally available. But even at $200 I think it is a good value. I play guitar for fun and it is more than acceptable for that. I do think you could use this for gigs and it would hold up as well as a Gibson in the long run. If you did a blind test with a Jay Turser, an Epiphone and a Gibson LP model 98% of people would not be able to tell you which guitar was being played so if you are just buying a guitar to enjoy, I think the Turser is a fine choice. I think there are some other good LP copies as well, but most of them are more expensive than the Turser so why pay more if you are not really getting any more guitar. I would give it 4 1/2 stars if I could. I am not giving it 5 stars because that would mean it was perfect, which it is not. But it is a really good value for the money in my opinion.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.JT220 Gold Top
By Tarheel72
The guitar pictured in the Amazon gallery is not the current GT220 model. The current model is a mahogany body, not alder. And the fretboard has trapezoid inlays. Color is off as well. Stock model has Chinese made BelCat PUPS, that are very hot. POTS are typical Chinese mini pots but both are serviceable for the price point. Bridge is week and saddles are loose. Binding is not painted on, as was stated elsewhere. It is real. This is a good guitar for the price and can be made into an outstanding guitar with some resonable upgrades. Easy to work on if you want to do the work yourself. Overall on par with an Epiphone at half the price.
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