J&D Jack and Danny Brothers JD-ST3AD

Update to my review below. Shortly afterwards the effects box got very noisy and unusable. I sent it back to musicstore.com who refunded the money and I bought another jack and danny guitar, Jack & Danny PMS 30 VSB Vintage Sunburst. A superb guitar again and for such a small price.
PSM30 Vintage Sunburst Very low priced copy of the Fame Forum with bird inlays in the fretboard, Like the the original, the neck is set-in. A very nice Fame copy for very little money! Features: Mahagony Body Flamed Maple Top Natural Binding Set-In Mahagony Neck w Binding Rosewood Fingerboard Bird Inlays 2 Wilkinson Chrome Humbucker 3-Way Toggle Switch Controls: 2 Volume, 1 Tone Wilkinson VS-50 Tremolo Die Cast Tuners w Ebony Knobs
Its pretty standard features but top quality build. So, a pity about the first guitar but cudos to jack and danny and to musicstore.com.

New, dont know year, usual strat neck and body, ash top. SSH noiseless pickups, built in effects 88, volume, on/off effects, effects change switch, usual jack out, and expression pedal out, battery box for effects, and 9Volt mains in. Inbuilt tuner, and true bypass on effects so both active and passive electrics. strat type bridge. Rosewood fretboard.Two fitting hex keys. I looked everywhere for a review of this guitar but none to be found so I took a chance for 150 euros from www.musicstore.com where I found it when looking for noiseless pickups and was about to pay 100 euro for a set from the states.
Am I ever glad I took a chance This guitar is GREAT. It could do with a tone pot but the 5way switch works well in this respect and with everything else it has how can I complain. It's packed with features and at this price...! I have four other strats, one a MIM fender and this leaves it in the hapenny place (its way better than my fender which cost 600 euro bogstandard and buzzez at the streetlights.

Without the effects the noiseless pickups sound excellent, as good as my mexican strat. Usually noiseless loose something, not these, and they really are noiseless except for slight buzz from the humbucker if up against the pc screen. Click on the effects and you've got a choice of 88 effect mixes. The lot, reverb, echo, flanger, phaser etc. I play all styles of music and this lets me do the lot from acoustic (very convincing simulation) to hot jazz, rock etc. The levels on the various channels are wildly different so I'll get an expression pedal to control that. Also some of the effect mixes are a bit noisy although in a lot of cases this goes if you use just the middle pickup on its own.
There is no manual although there is a sticker on the backplate with some kind of list of effect lineup which I can't understand (it says Alesis at the bottom) so you have to just try out each of the 88 and decide for yourself. There is no way to edit the effects, apart from changing the volume when an effect is on, although you can move them around. So, take the 9 or 10 that your going to use and put them side by side. When you turn on the guitar it brings up the effect you were using last. You can get every sound yu want and more and the noiseless pickups dont detract from the priceless single coil sparkle we all love and seek. Play it through headphones and you're in studio quality sounds. I need a better amp for this, maybe a stereo amp. A 9 because of some of the noisy effects.

Well set up, just lowered the action, dumped the rubbish strings, strung her up and didnt stop playing for 10 hours. I havent changed the pickup adjustment at all, theyre fine. I thought Id have to do some fretwork. No. Exellent finishing with nice green abalone dot inlays. Nut very well finished and contoured to the neck and the strings let into the nut the correct amount (very unusual I usually have to do this myself).
Stringing up was easy peasy. No stuck ballends in the tremolo, and putting in the new strings, they just slide in no prob, not like on a lot of guitars where it takes ages to get them through the hole. THe tremolo bridge is very good, I usually dont use a whammybar but I will now this one is solid and snaps back to pitch. All the controls work well without noise, but turn down the volume when you're switching on the effects. The tuners are the usual sort you see on squires and work perfectly, smooth accurate and hold the tuning.
The body has a lovely dark blue finish and you can see the wood grain through it.
I usually expect to have to work on a guitar and for 150 euro chinese I expected problems but went ahead after reading the other reviews of JD stuff on this forum. Apart from the strings I've done nothing to it and I'm so happy with it I'm selling my other strats, none of them have this versatility. A 10 for the quality at this price its absurd.

Everything seems like it will last well, good and solid. Of course the effects could give out,time will tell, but I still have a fine strat with noiseless pickups for 150 euro. the finish looks good, better than my fender even and prettier. Ive searched all over it for a flaw or a mark, there isn't one. As for the strap buttons they are the chunkiest, most solid ones I've ever seen, no need for straplocks here. At worst the batteries give out and I'm without my effects but Ive got enough on my amp anyway and the guitar still plays in passive mode and sounds just like a strat should. By the way the batteries last for ages

I got it from musicstore.com and they do 30 day money back guarantee (they even pay for the return carriage) and a 3 year warranty! How can they do it for this price? 5 days to come from germany to Ireland by courrier to the door. You can track it all the way. It was sent out the evening I ordered it. no delay. The chinese have definitely arrived and I'll be buying more of their stuff, if it's half as good as this I'll be happy. There doesn't seem to be a JD company that you can contact although there is a website showing their guitars.

Been playing nearly forty years,have had more guitars than hot dinners, amps, cabs, effects, synths etc etc. I asked everything before buying but got no answers anywhere, that's why I'm writing this. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat, in fact i might buy one for backup anyway.
I love the noiseless pickups that don't rob the strat tone, I can even hold it up to my PC and...silence. A tone pot would be good, instead on one of the 3 different ways of changing the effects banks, the knob on the top would be enough for this, but who cares, it's amazing at four times the price, and then some. This and my archtop jazzbox are all I need now and I can do it all.