Jay Turser California

The California is one in a series of guitars in Jay Turser's "Kenley" line. It has three "Phantom" single coil pickups arranged in a strat style array with one volume control and one tone control as well as a 5-way switch & a coil tap switch {I think} located between the tone & volume knobs. I'm not sure of the country where these guitars are made, but most likely overseas in Korea or Taiwan or somewhere similar (someone told me once that Turser utilizes some of the Samick plants, but I don't know if that's true or not). It has a 22-fret, maple adjustable neck with a dark rosewood fretboard. It has a solid body with a rather unique top shape on the lower side of the body (overall it's closer to a strat shape body, but the "ramped" contour of the body's base makes it unique). The color is called "natural" by the company but it's more of a cross between a honey blonde and a cream. I am not sure of what wood is used for the body but the wood grain is fairly fine in nature and shows up well through the finish -- it does seem to be a light wood -- perhaps maple as well? The neck is bolted on via four screws and a chrome plate. It has a chrome bridge/temolo setup (spring-loaded in the back of the body with a typical plastic cover) and a chrome adjustable nut. The pickguard is two-ply pearloid with a matching truss rod cover. I have no clue to the make/model of the tuners but they seem to work okay (they are enclosed and chromed). Frets are fairly thin and not too high for my tastes. The cable jack is located on the edge of the guitar closet to the tone knob.

The guitar is equipped with what Turser calls "Phantom Coil" pickups although I don't know what makes them different from your typical single coil pickups. I have played this straight through my Charvel amp and I can't really tell any difference between these pickups and other single coils. Overall, this guitar plays basically like a strat and has a similar sound. Good for blues and rock. The pickups have that typical strat noise but no more and no less than your typical Japanese Fender strat. Nothing really spectacular about the "Phantom Coil" pickups in my opinion - pretty average to me.

I purchased this from a guitar store via ebay and they did a professional setup before shipping it. The action was set fairly low (which I like). They also adjusted the bridge well. The pickups seem to be set okay at the factory. Overall a pretty clean guitar with no obvious flaws anywhere I can see.

I'm not a professional player (more of a recreational player) so wear and tear on this guitar will be minimal. The hardware does seem to be solid enough to take a lot of wear and tear and still be functional. The finish is thick enough to withstand a lot of banging around although I imagine buckle rubs would wear it down eventually on the back of the body. The strap buttons are quite solid as are all the knobs, switches and other essential parts. A solid, dependable guitar with character.

I have never contacted the Jay Turser company so I have no idea how their customer support is.

I own several guitars overall (mostly middle range manufactured models) and own several Jay Turser guitars. I have not been disappointed in any of them. I am attracted to guitars with character but aren't too radical and this Jay Turser California model fits the bill well. Jay Turser guitars, in my opinion, are good for beginner to novice players. They are affordable and make good backup guitars for bands. I got this early on in my self-taught days and early on in ebay's history where you could get good deals on many lesser known brand of guitars (that's why I can't remember exactly how much I paid for it although I do know it was less that $200). In the grand scheme of things, it's an okay guitar. Nothing spectacular, but a good, solid, middle-range axe that is reliable and plays very well. The design gives it ample character and it has good playability. I imagine if this were lost, destroyed or stolen I might purchase another.