Jay Turser JT-134DC

Small 335 style, maybe cs-336 knock-off. Plug goes into rim instead off top. Double cut,2 buckers, 2 vol, 2 tone stop tail. Gloss tobacco sunburst, poly finish. Laminated (plywood) body with flame maple veneer. Neck and rims are painted black, can't tell what kind of wood. Headstock is on the thin side. Neck is slim and narrow. Position markers are fake pearl blocks with fake abalone triangles inset. Frets are medium. Board looks like rosewood. Binding on body (front/back) neck and headstock. Made in asia somewhere. center block. No name sealed tuners. plastic nut. Really, as cheap as you can get.

Acoustically it sounds louder than a solid body with some low end comming through the f-holes. Not enough volume and still a thin tone so that it really has to be plugged in. Through my Princeton Reverb II it sounds pretty rockin. Has Bark and bite without much feedback. The pickups remind me of the ones on my Korean Epiphone, they are not subtle or pretty, just brash. For clean jazzy semi hollow tones you have to work for it. After playing with the knobs a bit I got some decent sounds. Try both pickups, neck vol 2, tone 3, trble vol 5 tone 8. Play fingerstyle with some jazz chords through a nice tube Fender and it sounds pretty good. It still struggles to deliver some hollowbody jazz box tone but compared to my les paul you can hear a little 335 in there. A bigger problem is that the pickups are not balanced well, the g string is too loud, the bass strings are not responsive and the midrange is too pronounced. Better (adjustable) pick ups would be the single best change you could make. Another thing I noticed is that the laminated top is thick and stiff and does not resonate at all. The neck on the other hand is thin and light with a small, thin fragile headstock that vibrates all along its length. Better guitars have sturdy, stiff necks that would transfer that string energy to a light resonate top.

The finish is not polished to a high shine, a bit dull. The binding is sloppy. The veneer is so thin you can see through it in spots. The burst has sloppy overspray that spoils some of the effect. The inlays are cheap looking without figure, some are crooked, all have goop to fill in around them. The hardware for the bridge is actually pretty good quality. The nut is cheap shiny plastic that doesn't look like it will hold up to the strings cutting grooves in them with some aggressive vibrato. The gold plating on the hardware is actually showing corrosion that looks like rust(I don't know how old this is). After I set the neck, string height and intonation it played very well with low action and no fret buzz. I was actually impressed. What holds this guitar's playability back is the extremely small neck dimensions. I am 5'9" and wear a medium glove and I find the neck uncomfortable thin and narrow. My Korean epiphone has a small neck but still larger than this one. I'd say it would be good for a child or lady. The guitar seems quite heavy for a semi-hollow. Looking inside the f-holes the cuts seem rough and no finish work was performed and the glue is sloppy. It smells like wood, though.

The electronics are cheap. I give them 5-10 years. The hardware is cheap, figure 2-3 years before it starts looking ratty, the lamination is strong, don't worry about cracking, plywood won't usually suffer cracks. The poly coating is thick enough to absorb plenty of abuse. The neck and headstock look like they would snap with any shock or stress, do not lean this guitar against your amp. Should last if you take care of it.

never dealt with them

been playing 17 years I own several guitars, a korean epi les paul that was my first guitar and I love, a schecter, a gibson les paul, a vintage bc rich mockingbird, an ovation addamas II, a malmsteen strat, some other stuff including mesa,marshall,fender,carvin. This J Turser was lent to me for a while so I thought I'd review it. I think it would make a fine student guitar. I think it could make a well playing instrument if the electronics and hardware were upgraded. I think the neck really is a serious drawback. I would try to find a later example that may have a more substantial feel. For a serious musician who is gigging or recording, look at something else. For student or casual home use it is fun to lseek out those jazz tones or make those pups bark.

Purchased new off eBay from some dealer in 2003. This is the vine model with the cool inlays on the neck, gold hardware, looks like a tobacco sunburst with slight flame look. Two humbuckers, two tones, two volumes, three-way switch. Same features as a Gibson, just cheaper materials.

Not very happy with the sound. Waiting for pickup replacement to reach the top of the priority list. The sound is thin, hollow, pure tin, totally washed out. But I knew I'd be replacing the pickups when I bought it, so I'm not disappointed.

I'm not too picky about looks. It gets lots of great comments from the audience, and even from people who get a close look. It plays better than expected for a $300 guitar. Mine stays in tune no problem and the switch and knobs feel solid. Just need to replace those crap pickups.

Everythings ok so far after a couple years. I've gigged with it a couple of times, but the pickups will prevent that from happening again. Once it has good pups, I'll gig with it no problem. The case is a piece of trash, don't pay extra for it, get a third party one that's worth a flip.

N/A

As long as you remember the price, this thing rocks. Once the pickups are replaced, I'll have about $450 in it and it will smoke any hollowbodies out there that are $1000. I was considering a Gibson, boy am I glad I didn't overpay for that name plate! If lost or stolen, I'd shop around, but this model would get serious consideration. It's at least as good as the hollows from Epiphone and/or Ibanez.

I believe this is a 2004 model, a factory second (some finish flaws). 22-fret semi-hollow body electric (Gibson 336 copy), volume and tone for both humbuckers and a 3-way switch. It has a maple laminate top, presumably ebony fingerboard, and creme binding all around. Neck is thin and sleek, my best comparison is to a Gibson L6-S I used to play. I believe all Jay Tursers are made in China, supposedly in the same plant that makes Epiphone guitars. I would certainly say that in playability (if not finish) the guitar is at least equal to any Epiphones I've played.

Cosmetically beautiful from a short distance, up close the "budget-ness" of the guitar becomes apparent: fretboard inlays are filled in with some epoxy to make up for imperfect fitting, binding is uneven in places, f-holes slightly irregular. The headstock is beautifully done, though.

My main problems were the generic-sounding pickups and sketchy tuning machines. I replaced the pickups with Seymour Duncan SH55s (Seth Lover model) and put new Ping tuners on it. The difference in sound is astounding--beautiful tone, great response and sustain! Also keeps in great tune now, much to my band's relief.

With stock pickups it was decent: unremarkable, but not unpleasant. The body is very resonant, with a nice semi-hollow punch behind the overall mellow tone. After replacing the pickups, the sound went from "meh" to "wow!", which just goes to show how important they are to your sound! The 3-way switch and volume/tone controls are nice for getting a variety of sounds from bright and thin to warm and smooth. I'm playing a Mesa Nomad 45, and get a great sparkling and clear clean tone with great voicing audibility up through a roaring overdrive that would make any rocker proud.
I play in a progressive hard rock band, and use nearly every inch of this guitar's timbral real estate, from quiet fingerpicking through wall-of-sound rock-outs, with some great jazzy clean comping sounds and a very pleasing middle overdrive for rhythm playing. Very smooth sound with lots of sustain for soloing. Overall a great sounding axe. Replace the pickups, you'll be glad you did!

Factory setup was fine, took a bit of trussrod tweaking after it aclimated to Michigan winter, but intonation was fine as was action. All electronics worked fine out of the box, no noise in the pots or switch, bridge and strap buttons are straight and solid. The nut is a kind of strange rubbery synthetic deal that I'll replace eventually, but it gets the job done without causing tuning problems. The finish, as stated above, is gorgeous from a few feet away, up close there are some flaws in the evenness of the blue wood dye and binding. One problem I had was with the output jack, which went out in a rehearsal. All it took was bending the contact post in a bit and it was fine, but that was the only time I've ever had that happen with a guitar, so I'll chalk it up once again to budget hardware.

The guitar is solid, I have no doubt it will survive as well as any other I've played, short possibly of my old Ibanez Artist which could probably have been used as a war hammer and come out on just fine on the other end. I'll replace the volume and tone pots, nut, and maybe the output jack at some point--not really because I expect them to fail, but because I'd like to have better response overall. Especially after my output jack debacle, I'd be leary of playing live without a backup, but otherwise I would depend on this guitar to be reliable and solid whether gigging or just jamming at home.

I have no idea. The warranty is lifetime for parts and workmanship, but I think I would do most work myself or just take it to a good shop for repair if it were needed.

I've been playing for 15 years or so, and have owned or extensively played a Washburn Force, Ibanez Artist, and a Gibson L6-S during that time. This is not a Gibson, don't let anyone tell you that. If I paid Gibson prices for this, I would be pissed at all the small flaws and imperfections and send it back. The workmanship is great for a budget-class guitar--as I said, it's as good as any Epiphone I've played for playability and sound. I would replace it if I lost it if I could get a similar priced one. I like it a lot, but I have no great loyalty to Jay Turser per se, I just want a good-playing, great-sounding guitar that I can afford (poor student budget), and if that was Epiphone or Fender or Hamer and I liked it as much as I like this one, I would have no hesitation with that. I do, however, really like the responsiveness of the semi-hollow body style, and would definitely hunt for another if I needed to. So yes, I would buy another, and have even considered buying a second Jay Turser, maybe their Les Paul or SG copy.
Overall, it sounds great, plays great, andissues are minor and easily fixed; I am very pleased with my purchase.

I bought my left-handed JT-134DC out of ebay after reading very good reviews of the guitar in HC. I paid $285 shipped. Mine is a translucid blue guitar, with golden hardware, dark wood neck, block inlays, and the classical configuration of a gibson: two humbuckings, 4 controls (2 vol, 2 tone), semi-hollow body, and glued in neck.

The guitar sounds pretty good. Nice tone, something in between a Gibson 335, a Les Paul and Robben Ford's model. A good deal for the price. But it is an entry-level guitar. Keep that in mind if you want to by a Turser.

I would say that the finish and craftsmanship of the guitar is decent, but miles beyond the quality of an american made guitar. I also own more expensive guitars (a lefty Gibson 335, and a lefty Heritage H-535). The difference is huge. The Jay Turser has many imperfections in the finish (some spots are darker, with the accumulation of the blue clear coat), there are large gaps in the block inlays that are filled with some dark material, and the F-holes are horribly cut and crafted when compared with more expensive guitars. Of all the issues, I think the lousy F-holes are the worst. Of course, if you consider the price of the Turser, you can tolerate these flaws. But don't be fooled to buy a Turser expecting to have a flawless instrument. I don't like playing a guitar with this level of craftsmanship, and from other reviews, was expecting something better. I was disapointed and will probably sell my Turser.

It is a good entry-level guitar. Good price. Don't buy it if you are used to play with high-end guitars. The difference is tremendous.

Beautiful blue 2004 model with 3 way switch, gold controls; 2 volume and 2 tone; double cutaway semihollow body with laminated flame maple top; Ivory pick guard; mahogany neck with rosewood fret board; set with abalone; twin gold humbucking pickups;

Excellent for jazz and blues rhythm and solos. Currently using a Peavy Transtube Bandit 112 amp. The sound is rich and full...

Set up was solid; one poorly fit fret needed tapping and filing on one end; otherwise meticulously crafted. The blue flame top finish is simply gorgeous! Neck is comfortable and easy to play.

Seems solidly constructed; comes with a "Limited Life Time" warranty; my life or the guitars, I'm not sure; but it does feel quite capable of being a survivor; I need to find a solid case for it now.

Never dealt with; but as I said..."Limited Life Time" warranty...we'll see...

An amatuer guitarist for 30 years...this guitar has me seriously considering gigging around town. I would definately replace this baby. I think for the money, you can't miss; this is the guitar I've always wanted!

22 fret maple neck with rosewood fingerboard
2 humbucking pickups
tune-o-matic bridge
Two volume and 2 tone controls
Three way selector switch
die cast machines

I mean, um, its a guitar :)

This is how bad I am at buying stuff. I tested a Ibanez hollow body at a store and i loved the sound so much that I decided to get a hollow body. i went home and bought this on E-bay and didn't realize it was a semi-hollowbody.

Anyways the sound is pretty good, I am not sure how to compare it. It sounds completly different that my strat. For a "cheap" guitar it sure as hell doesn't sound like crap

This is the guitars best feature. This guitar is well made, and it feels incredible. Once again, im not the best at describing stuff, but the feel of this guitar is incredible. It did need to get set up when i got it though

I never once had a problem with any guitar, cheap or expensive. I assume there will be nothing wrong with this

Never had to deal with them.

For the price, it is an incredible guitar. I know that for sure because people always ask when then see it. When i tell them how much it costs then try to buy it from me. I am keeping mine because, from what i have heard through the grape vines, they don't make these anymore. Maybe they will be worth alot of money or something?

A quick followup to add something I forgot in my previous review - the neck on the 134DC is on the small side. Those with small to average hand size will appreciate this. Those with larger hands may find it too small.

Your basic 2 humbucker w/ 2 vols, 2 tones and 3-way selector, 22 frets, 24.75 scale, flat fretboard radius like a Les Paul, semi-hollow body similar to ES 335 but smaller, laminated flamed top, laminated back, center block, according to website this has a mahogany neck with rosewood fret board, sealed tuners, tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece, cherry burst w/ gold plated hardware. Came strung with 009s. I'll give it a 10 because it's got what it needs. Purchased new thru EBAY from Abe Music in Miami. Dealer included no accessories or warranty card though he should have. A call to Jay Turser (Music Industries) got me both of those. I purchased this guitar for my daughter as a starter.

Pretty darn good. The no name pickups are pretty hot and give pretty good tone. I typically gig with a Hamer USA Artist Custom ($1200 used off Ebay) through a Tech 21 Trademark 60 amp. The Trademark is one righteous sounding amp. The Hamer Artist has SD Seth Lover pickups that are simply superb. The combination sounds unbelievably good, everyone who hears it for the first time comments on how good my guitar or amp sounds. Playing thu the Trademark, the 134DC lacks the "roundness" and complexity of sound that I get from the Hamer. The 134DC is less punchy, flatter and a bit more harsh. This guitar came strung with .009s, I normally play .010s so there might be some improvement in sound with heavier strings. I will rate it an 8 for sound which, even with the criticism, I consider to be very worthy.

OK, let's get real for a moment. Anyone who says that this instrument is the equivalent of a $1,000 instrument is delusional. My Hamer is a top quality guitar, built like a fine piece of furniture. I have owned many other well-made instruments. The 134DC doesn't scream "quality" but it does scream "value".

Guitar arrived well set up. It shipped from Florida and I live in MA, so after a day or so I had to tinker with the truss rod as the guitar acclimated. Added some relief to the neck. Still have a bit of a buzz on the b string but it's acceptable. The truss rod uses a hex wrench so even though one wasn't included with the guitar (a major oversight in my opinion) I had the right tool lying around. The fretwork is quite good. Frets appear to be mediums and all fret ends are tapered so there are no sharp ends. The frets also appear to be polished to some degree, they don't have that gritty feeling that some inexpensive guitars have. The body finish work is good with no apparent drips. Binding is well applied with a few minor imperfections. One reason I got the guitar so cheaply is that there is a 3 inch long black smudge along the top edge of the guitar. The smudge is under the finish (in the wood?) and would normally be considered a manufacturing defect or factory 2nd. Dealer did disclose this in the auction. Tuners are smooth and hold tune quite well. Nut was well cut. Intonation was close but needs further tweaking. Pickup selector switch works fine. Volume and tone controls have nice taper to them.

I have two complaints. First, the workmanship on the fretboard markers is poor. You can see gaps around all the markers that are filled and dyed. Also the fake abalone is REALLY fake looking. None of this is noticeable from a few feet away nor does this affect the play of the instrument. My second complaint is that the bridge adjustment knobs are way too small and can't be turned by hand when the guitar is tuned.

I will give this guitar an 8 here. The 134DC has nowhere near the finish or build quality of the Hamer but it is certainly more than acceptable given the price point.

TBD. I have no reason to believe this guitar will break or fall apart. I would never gig without a backup.

After the dealer told me that none of the Tursers came with warranty cards I called Music Industries to get to the truth. I got a human on the phone right away and she told me that I should definitely have received a warranty card. They are going to mail one out along with a truss rod wrench. No rating today. If I receive those items I'll post a followup and rate them a 10.

I am 45 and have been playing for over 30 years. I graduated from Berklee way back in 1980. I have played semi-professionally forever and continue to gig a few times a month because I love it. Over the years I have owned 3 different Les Pauls, 3 American Strats (including one Pre-CBS), Ibanez Artist, 2 Carvin Bolts, Carvin AE185 and AC375, Fender NAS Nashville B-bender Tele, and Hamer USA Artist Custom, and several other guitars. I can't honestly say that this guitar meets the overall quality of most of those instruments but, for the money, it is a good value and a very playable and gig worthy instrument. I bought this guitar for my 7 year old daughter as a learner instrument. It is much more than that and should serve her well until she starts suffering from GAS.

As featured below. A small bodied 335. 2 vol/2tone/2HB. Quilted top - almost got it right guys! Gold Hardware. Decent tuners. What looks to be MOP inlays with abalone triangle. All in all a very sexy looking guitar in Antique Sunburst.

Well its as good as all the reviews say. The no-name pickups are at least as good as the Epi Dot i had if not better. Low output but clean, clear and full bodied. Roars like a demon with OD/Distortion but is capable of Carltonesque tones with a bit of fiddling with the tone controls. Neck pickup has an almost acoustic vibe to it...tasty.

Well heres the difference between an Epi Dot and the Jay Turser. I have gone over this thing carefully and there are NO, repeat NO inconsistencies in fit and finish. The 'binding' on the F-holes of the Epi looked like a child had coloured them in with a felt-tip pen! On the Turser the 'binding' is cream, and complete including body, neck, headstock and F-holes.The centre block looks a bit rough but i don't play the centre block! Otherwise the innards are neat and tidy and the wiring is well hidden from outside view. The assymetrical headstock is an original feature although the inlay is a bit cheesy.

Early days, but i expect the gold hardware to rub off - so what, they are for playing, not polishing! Has taken a hammering at rehearsal and gigging without a problem.

Not bothered them yet.

Its much, much better than the Epi i owned. Is China the new Japan for quality cheap guitars? At this price (7 times less than a Gibson) you simply cannot lose. If you felt it was important, a couple of SD's, a new bridge, nut, pots and tuners would set you back approx #200 so still 3.5 times less than a Gibbo in the UK - its a no-brainer for those of us who want the sounds but haven't got the pounds.

2003 Jay Turcer JT 134 DC with the MOP block markers with triangular abalone inlays (sweet!!) 22 frets, flamed top not sure what species of wood, natural or antique sunburst, 2-vol. and 2-ton, with 2 humbucker pups, passive electronics, Gold-sealed tuners.

As many have said I have been very suprised at that quality of the pups and the very nice and sweet sounds you can get out of this guitar. Zero hum, this thing ooozzes sweetnes.

Out of the box I did find a couple of very minor flawes, which if this were a $1000 guitar I would not expect to see but it's not is it. I have a buz or two to work out but no big deal given the price and in my case it's prbably just a matter of adjusting the tail-peice. That said, I am blown away by what a premium look this guitar has. BEAUTIFUL!!

Haven't had it long enought to know but she looks like good breading stock so I'll give her a nine :-)

OK Dennis Sullivan is THE MAN!! I purchased this in an auction from MusicLandCentral (I think it is). Prior to bidding I varified that the guitar photos were "skock" photographs but that mine would be just like that with regard to color, hardware, etc. When I got it, it wasn't the same thing (EXACTLY). It had beige plastic hardware rather than black in the photograph and the MOP block markers did not have the abalone triangular inlays. I e-mailed Dennis and told him that it wasn't rights and he made it right. It did take about 10 days but that was not a problem for me. What I want you to take from this is that I got the impression that it was an honest mistake and it was corrected without hesitation on their part. So MusiclandCentral, because of Dennis Sullivan you get a 10.

I've been playing off and on for a long time and aught to be better than I am. I have not owned many guitars and for the past 10-15 I have played soley acoustic and unplugged. I had an old pair of Klipsch Harsey speakers hear so I bought a Berhinger 10 channel powered mixer and a GNX-3 guitar effects processor so I'm playing this guitar through all of that. I think I'm still in shock from all of the sounds I can get.

This guitar reminds me of my lovely wife...easy on the both eyes and wallet and we make beautiful music together. What more would a guy ask for than that.