JJ Guitars Retro

My guitar is a JJ Special in blue fitted with 2 DiMarzio mini humbuckers. These are controlled with a single volume and single tone control, a 3 way toggle switch and a coil tap on the tone pot.

I mainly play rock (not metal) or bluesey stuff but sometimes like to pretend to be a jazzer or a slide player and the guitar can handle it all. i don't think it would suit Nu metallers or the slipknot brigade but thats not the market it's aimed at. it does do a fair rage against the machine though! i play through a 30w Marshall JTM valve combo and this guitar just sings. The mini humbuckers sound much sweeter than the P90s or the full sized buckers. The volume and tone controls are the most versatile I have ever come across effecting the sound beautifully. This guitar can sound a bit like a strat, a bit like a les paul, a bit like a PRS, but essentially sounds like a JJ and nothing else. It's simply fantastic!

Everything was top notch as far as finish goes except for one slightly sharp fretwire. The action was set slightly higher than i am used to but I now actually prefer it like this!

Only had it a couple of days now but it looks like it will stand up to pretty much anything. if I could rule out string breakage i would happily use at a gig without backup.

No contact as yet but the certificate you get with the guitar was a nice touch.

I have been playing for 9 years and also own a Strat, a DC Les Paul amongst others. If the guitar were stolen I would definitely have to replace it with one of the same. I compared this guitar against a Les Paul Standard and several PRS McCartys and Custom 24s and it beats the lot hands down. The only down side is that you don't get a hard case and the gig bag supplied is awful! Off to buy a Hiscox today!

Absolutely superb. I own 15 guitars of all types including a Gibson Les Paul Std Double Cut this thing knocks the spots off it!! The set up was immaculate straight from the manufacturer (I was there in the shop when it was delivered....by hand, not courier) and it is an absolute joy to play. Mine is one of the special models with a different paint job (goldtop) and two special design DiMarzio mini humbuckers, coil tappable at the tone control. As stated elsewhere the construction is like a Les Paul, Mahoganny with a maple cap. It gas a nice goldtop and a neat bare wood "binding" with a black painted back (would have been nice to have a bare wood option). Only problem, comes with a (very nice) gig bag rather than a hardcase.. Come on JJ Give us a Hiscox.

Excellent. I play solo, in a duo and in a 5 piece band, playing everything from Rock & Roll standards through Shadows instrumantals to Robbie Williams & Stereophonics so a guitar MUST be versitile for it to be useful for me, it must also have excellent tone on ALL sounds. I use it with a VOX AC30, A Fender Prosonic head with a Marshall 1922 cab loaded with Greenbacks and a Line 6 POD. It sounds great on all of them!

Perfect, I want another one please!

A little worried about marking the back, it would have been better left as bare wood in my opinion. Please (ALL MANUFACTURERS) fit Schaller strap locks to ALL guitars as standard like Fender do to their US guitars.

Otherwise excellent

Delivered by one of the Directors to the shop and he was nore than genuinely enthusiastic about the product. Cant fault it and cant imagine needing support but if it was I would imagine it would be there.

The salesman in the shop had a great knowledge of the product down to detail and rated it the best guitar in the shop

Been Playing over 30 Years and own more guitars than I really should, including 5 Gibsons and 4 Fenders, I rate this along with my main guitar, a Clapton Strat. If it was lost/ stolen, yes i'd replace it with another

2002 JJ Retro, handmade in England, standard construction of set mohogany neck and body capped off with a 9mm quilted maple top. The rosewood fingerboard is made from 40 year old wood which was sourced from Burns. The guitar features no binding but there is a beveled recess runing round the outside of the body to add a unique and classy look to the guitar. Features 1 vol & 1 tone pot and a three way selector. Fitted as standard with a Bridge Hmubucker & Neck P90. The neck facing coil of the 'bucker is voiced alone when using the push pull tone control, this is then hum-cancelling when used with P90 in the mix position. The pickups are of in-house design. The guitar is finished with a really nice sunburst to the maple top and a deep deep redy colour to the body and neck (almost black). The body is a double cut design reminicent of a PRS, but with the cut aways further back so the neck joins the body at the 21st fret, this allow for excellent access to all the frets. The bridge is a PRS style wrap over made from nickle plated aluminum. Nickle plated Sperzel tuners are fitted 3 aside to a unique, traditional headstock design. The scale is again a PRS like 25", and the guitar features a Graphtech self lubricating nut as standard. The guitar came supplied with a high quality gigbag and certificate of authenticity. I give it a nine for the original (although PRS & Gibson inspired) design, quality pickups and electrics, the nut, the really nice maple top, but it loses a mark for not coming with a case.

This is the perfect guitar for my sound, as it can go from bright jingley-jangely stuff (bidge pick up split), pure humbucker tone (some where between a Les Paul and an SG) great 'woman tone' (both pickups on (full HB) and tone rolled off) to a fat neck sound with a slice of tubey hollowness about it. The sound of this guitar is fantastic, in the past I have been drawn to guitars by there looks and feel and then attempted to achieve the sounds I want through modifications like pickup changes. This time I have bought the guitar that sounds and feels right, although the looks are not 100% to my tastes (although they are starting to grow on me).

I tried out four JJ guitars at my local store and they all felt pretty consistant in terms of quality and feel (top marks for QC) 2 of them where the retro and 2 the more basic Jewell (no maple cap and 2 x P90's) I chose the retro over the Jewell as I was looking for a bridge humbucker and I chose the Retro I did as it had a muck nicer maple cap (AAAAA). The afore mentioned nut is cut to perfection for me as is the action. 2 final nice touches are the alabone dot markers and the jack plate witch is engraved with the serial number and Made in England.

All sound so far, I would gig without a back up if I could be certain I wouldn't break a string. The only thing I have changed on the guitar is the strap buttons which I have swaped for schaller strap locks.

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I bought this as I was looking for something with a more Gibson like tone, compared to my 2 Fenders. With a price less than an epiphone elite Les Paul and just a little more than a Tokai loverock this guitar suites me well. I once read a quote that said (manchester based) Gordon-Smith are to the UK what Gibson is to the US, if this is true then JJ are the UK's PRS. I cant think of any higher prase. My only complaints are that at this price point (and don't forget this is a UK made guitar so I havent paid any import costs) is the lack of a hard case and the strap buttons could have been locking. (Mabee I have just been spoiled by Fender?)

But hey you pays our money and you makes your choice and I'm happy with mine. Average score is 9.5 so I''l round that up to a 10.