Jay Turser JT-133

Lefty JT-133, Tobacco sunburst finish, 2006 model bought in 2009 from local Nashville music store. Ya'll know the specs, I have the same complaints as everyone though, crap tuners, ugly tone/vol knobs, otherwise for the price, a great looking and sounding guitar.

If you like a fat neck, this guitar isn't for you.

Awsome thin-line style more comparable to a Heritage, or the early 59-60 ES-335's, very light, great gigging guitar (with modifications.)

What sold me on this guitar was the sound, some may argue "muddy pickups." But we're talking about a $150-$300 guitar here, made in China. Funny part is, I bought this guitar after coming directly from the Gibson plant here in Nashville where I played (2) lefty Gibson 335's, (2) Epi-Dot's, and an Epi Casino. Was not impressed with ANY of the Gibson or Epi models, and I've played a lot of guitars. After leaving the Gibson plant, I stopped by my local shop and saw this hanging on the wall, granted the guy plugged me into a vintage 70's deluxe reverb, but this thing screamed and the tone was incredible for such a "low-end" guitar. After playing so many new Gibson's, I decided the only Gibson 335 worth even talking about would be a 59-60 335 with the PAF pickups, or a mid 60's model 335, to me...the new stuff doesn't come close to comparing. So I bought this to hold me over, until I find a vintage lefty 335 (in my lifetime)

Definately my biggest complaint. When I played the guitar in the store, it appeared to be ok because of course I didn't play it very long. It seemed to stay in-tune pretty well. After closer inspection, the nut on this guitar was complete crap, almost appeared to have a right-handed nut on a lefty guitar. I attempted to file it down and tweak it myself, but the slotting was backwards and nut height was wrong, so I ordered a new lefty TUSQ slotted nut with the same dimensions. The action and truss rod adjustment are a challenge, with the neck set and intonation/bridge height tweaked the right way, there is still some buzzing (not audible through an amp) but annoying none the less. May need some fret filing at the 12th fret. Otherwise, I have no complaints about the bridge, the fret smoothness or height, with a couple tweaks this thing is a really good bang for your buck.

Finish - I don't know if any of you lefty's like me have searched as far and wide as I have, but there are literally NO lefty 335 models (epi, gibson, even JT) in a Natural finish aside from the Casino. I'm sure there are a few floating around out there but are like a needle in a haystack. After some time of owning this guitar I grew to hate the make-shift tobbaaco burst, which was more of a maroon than a brown...so I sanded the front and back of this guitar all the way down to the wood, re-stained, re-sealed and polished up. Now I have a bitchin, vintage look natural lefty 335 and am more in love with the guitar.

I wouldn't call this thing "reliable" out of the box, but with the tweaks I made, it is currently my favorite guitar (even over my 86'Gibson Les Paul Custom)

No Idea.

I re-finished this guitar to a beautiful butterscotch blonde,added gold with gold insert gibson tone/vol knobs,replaced the tuner's with a kluson style gibson deluxe set (with the green/grey plastic keys) bought a new nut, set it up and it plays and sounds like a dream. I'm thinking of throwing some Gibson Burst Bucker pickups in it. I've received a lot of compliments/questions about this guitar. Obviously mine doesn't look stock anymore, for anyone out there looking for a 335 copy...especially lefties, I would recomend this guitar ALL DAY over any Epiphone. People like to think because Epiphone is an off-shoot of Gibson, that the Epi-dot is a better guitar than this, don't be fooled. I'd rate the Epi dot wayyy lower than this guitar.

Jay Turser guitar made in China, Maple body, Maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard, 22-frets, Red see-thru gloss finish, chrome hardware, 2 stock humbuckers, stock tuners, four knobs, looks like an ES-335 and plays nearly like one too.

The sound from the stock pickups is quite amazing for an inexpensive guitar, I personally like the sound of this guitar more than I like the sound of my Dad's Les Paul, the sound is warm in the neck position and Bright (but still warmish) in the bridge, the middle position is a good combo of the two, the guitar even sounds good through my Bass amp (of which I currently am playing it through.

I bought this guitar off a store on eBay as part of an overstock sale and I was surprised when it arrived, The guitar was set-up and had the protective plastic on it that was said not be on it. I looked closely but I couldn't find any flaws in the finish. The frets were polished, and it was all fit well.

Everything on this guitar seems solid, the only thing I would worry about is if the electronics inside came loose, never gig without a backup, its not a good idea.

haven't dealt with the Jay Turser Guitars, I expect good service.

I haven't been playing very long (im only 15 myself) Ive played many other guitars, and I would put this guitar against them, I love the sound of the pickups and the finish is nice, If this were stolen or lost I would try to replace it after I built my own guitar, but I don't plan on losing it soon ;). All in all its a great guitar especially for the money, I would recommend this guitar for anybody looking for that ES-335 sound or a nice rock 'n' roll/\jazz guitar.

Made in China,year of the boar. ES-335 copy,two humbuckers,solid maple construction(not plywood).

Sounds like a 335,even the stock pups weren't bad.I changed the pups to a SD 59 model in the neck and a PRS hot vintage in the bridge,now it sounds great.I use it through either a Hughes&Kettner Edition Tube,a Crate VC50 or a JCM800(the latter two with a Fender DT-412).I have a 1980 Gibson Dot Neck and the Turser sounds pretty close.The intonation for a cheap guitar is unbelievable!

The guitar played outstanding right off the wall,I really don't think anything was done to it before I took it home.The finish is OK,very slight orange peel here and there,but not bad for the price.Fret work and hardware both very good.

Seems to be made very solidly.All the joints and hardware seem durable. I never gig without a backup,no one should.

I've never had to deal with the company.It comes with a lifetime warranty,not sure if it's my lifetime or the company's.My customer support comes from Jim's Guitar Works W.Elizabeth PA,great guys.

I've been playing since the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan.I own a bunch of good guitars(Paul Reed Smith,Gibsons,ESP,vintage strat),this is a great axe for the money.I would replace it in a heartbeat.

I've already reviewed this guitar. Here's my story. I had an Ibanez AS 200 in the 80's. Like an IDIOT, I traded it for something else. I've regretted this for 20 years now and would love to replace it. There's no way I could afford the Ibanez so, I looked for other semi-hollow bodies.
I bought the Turser and it's really grown on me. The finish, while it has it's share of imperfections, looks like a vintage guitar. Cool coloring and it looks aged. I also like the fact that I'm not concerned about dinging it up. I'm not reckless with the guitar, but I would be a nervous reck with a $1,000.00-$2,000.00 dollar instrument. I just use this whenever or whereever I want. That;s nice.

I replaced the pickups with Seymour Duncans and it sounds really good. I play through a Deluxe reverb and it mixes well with my pedals. Overall, for my initial investment, it was a great buy. Definitely not the nicest guitar I own, but it covers the bill "ok"... Not an AS 200 but it didn't cost me $2,000.00!! I like it more all the time and won't let this one go

Not great set-up but MUCH BETTER after I had someone work on it.
Lots of flaws in the finish but I paid only $175.00 for it!

I'd play w/o a backup.
Hardware is cheap but I'm not concerned.
Finish not great but looking ok after 5 years.
Replaced strap buttons with Straplocks.

Been playing for over 40 years. Long enough to know better than to lose a great guitar. I started getting restless a few months back and thinking about replacing this. I went to a Guitar Center to look at comparable guitars. None of the semis played or sounded as good. I even played a real 335 that was well over $1,000 and it played like crap....Makes my guitar look better all the time.

i don't meean to be a "review hog" but this is my THIRD review for this guitar. please forgive me for taking up board space, but in a fit of pique last month, i unfairly slammed this guitar. The pickup selector switch had loosened up, fallen into the body, and i went a bit ballistic.
Since then, i've modified the guitar AGAIN, and now i'm playing it more than the Epiphone Dot Deluxe that was supposed to replace it.GO FIGURE?

I mentioned that I had replaced the neck pickup with the open coil humbucker from my 2001 Epiphone Les Paul Limited Edition, which is a damn nice pickup. Well, now i added a GFS "Bigmouth Power" pickup at the bridge position, bought a mini switch from Stew Mac and tapped the coil to wire it "Humbucker/South Coil?Parallel". Talk about opening up new vistas! It always played reasonably well from a "feel" point of view, well NOW it positively rocks. The smorgasboard of tone is amazing. From that thin, sharp single coil cut to the deep quack of the colis in parallel, this thing continues to blow me away.

I replaced the pickups, the tuners with Grovers, tapped the coils and added a mini switch, so there's not a whole lot left of original electronics. the resulting guitar is really not bad, though the investment is now up to the $350 range, which makes it less of a "deal" but more of a player. the overall finish is fair, but the original price dictated the quality.

Durability - well, not so good, but hey, for $200 it's to be expected. It's really NOT cheap cr*p.

Reliability- ? so far so good. i wired the elctronics myself so that part comes with a lifetime warranty (mine)
the rest - meh

I have to admit, i've had a blast modifying this guitar to the point where it now sounds damn good. I'm thinking of sanding off the finish next for that "Lennon Epiphone" look. It's been great as a project guitar - that said, i'm still of the opinion that the Epiphone Dot is better value for slightly more money.
But if you want something to practice luthery on, this is it.

Mine is from the newly updated 2007 series, came with cable. Just getting used to the guitar as it arrived two weeks ago, made in China. Good copy of the Gibson ES-335.

I run it through a VOX DA5 modeling amp and have been quite pleased with the way it sounds. Have been trying everything from acoustic Jethro Tull to Black Sabbath and have no noise through the amp at all. The tone between the pickups could be more distinct but you definitly know which one is running when you flip the switch. I wanted something I could play without an amp at night and this fits the bill perfectly. Very full and rich with a nice treble bite.

Action is nice and low from the factory; so low there is some buzzing but this does not come through the amp. I'm going to have a setup done soon (as you should with any guitar). No flaws in the walnut finish and the binding is perfect - my wife remarked what a beautiful guitar it is. I didn't care for the black plastic tophat knobs and had already ordered black brass pearltops which really added a touch of class. It is a very solid guitar, much heavier than the Epiphone Dot and on par with the Ibanez AS73 I tried.

I don't see why you couldn't play this live if you wanted to and I've heard a lot of people do. The pickup switch feels a little flimsy and I would do a full electronics swap at the first sign of trouble. Finish seems pretty durable, I was sweating removing the last knob that was jammed on but nary a scratch. Since I purchased to learn I will get around to swapping the hardware as well but it feels sturdy enough.

Limited lifetime warranty, no need to test yet...

Just picked up guitar again after a 20 year break, before that played through my teen years. I wanted a semi-hollow with a lighter sunburst finish but could not resist the walnut which reminded me of my old Ibanez Les Paul. I saw the review which mentioned 3+ years of use and quality issues, just had to chip in. I paid $219 plus shipping for something to learn on so this again fits the bill nicely. 3+ years would be normal wear and tear for most items, let alone an inexpensive (ok, cheap) import. I like the way the Jay Turser sounds sans amp more than the Epiphone (Dot or Studio)and could never find the Ibanez AS83 in stock.The weight is reassuring and it doesn't feel cheap holding or playing it. I wish it had block inlays like the AS83 but if I really want I found a luthier in my area who will do the job. If lost or stolen I would replace it since the Ibanez is twice as much. Its a perfect guitar for a beginner or for someone who doesn't have or want to spend a lot of money.

this is a follow-up to my original review from June of 2004... now that 3-plus years have gone by, my opinion has DEFINITELY changed

The sound is pretty much defined by the electronics, which from the factory are pretty entry level. I took my old Epi Les Paul neck pickup and stuck it on and it sounds WAY better than the chinese stockers

Fit and finish after 3 years is God-awful. Frets are pretty near shot, the conrols have not stayed tight in months and the tone contol for the neck pup just fell into the body. the bridge is discolored and may in fact be chromed plastic as another reviewer said.
I play this pig at HOME - heaven forbid i had to gig with it. blechh

Can you say "CRAP"?

don't know -not sure what "Limited Lifetime Warranty" covers. Does it cover sh*t guitars?

Well, i was foolish in June 2004 when i bought this. I did NOT look around much, and since most of these come from the internet, i sure as hell didn't play it! next time around, if i'm looking for an inexpensive guitar, i may just buy something from a company that has an established reputation to worry about, like Epiphone, or Ibanez. The Epiphone "Dot" is a way better guitar for not much more money.

With this being like the 31st review of this guitar I don't feel the need to describe it too much. I bought the lefty JT 133 with the tobacco finish online for $225. It is probably the best and cheapest 335 copy I've seen. The guitar came with a cable and allen wrench. I would say the elctronics are the best I've had in a cheap guitar, very responsive.

My complaints about the features would be: the neck is a tad too thin for my liking since I have large hands, and the tuners are cheap so mine doesn't stay in tune for very long.

I prefer to play soul, jazz, hendrix, vaughan, and blues. I play this guitar through a Stagg amp I picked up at the local music store. When you have a relatively cheap amp and play a cheap guitar it can lead to crap. However, this guitar sound beautiful coming out of the Stagg. No buzzing, no feedback. Sounds OK with distortion but you can't give it too much. I get a rich/full sound not very bright at all. This guitar is taylored-made for jazz progressions and blues. I am incredibly pleased with sound, and unlike other guitars that I get rid of after 6 months, I plan on keeping this one for a long time.

I bought this at MusicLand Central, they told me the delay in shipping was because they were setting it up before they shipped it out. I thought this was a bunch of crap but I have to admit that my guitar was ready to go out the box. Other than the cheap tuners, I can see no flaws on this guitar at all.

I don't play live but with the aforementioned tuners I wouldn't trust it onstage. I think the guitar is durable considering the first few weeks I had it I have dropped it on banged into walls. It looks fragile but so far it isn't. I'm rating this an 8 because the factory tuners will fail you so unless you change them out it is not worth having for live playing or even a backup.

I got into it with MusicLand and prefer not to sour their self-proclaiming impeccable service. My customer support sucked but I hope for them it was just an isolated incident. They did do a good job setting up my guitar however that could have been a load of crap they fed me. I have purchased many guitars online, mainly because they are cheaper for lefties than at stores. This was the best guitar I have purchased online.

I have been playing for about 3 years. I keep with me (1) electric and (1) acoustic. I have constantly been switching out the electric guitars searching for "that sound" that I can't explain but know when I hear it. This guitar comes awfully close. If it was lost I would probably not buy another for the simple reason I prefer to move on and not get something twice... it wouldn't be the same.

Comparing it to other guitars in it's price range this is the best. I have had a Squire, SX, Agile, Lawson, Washburn, Ibanez, and Douglas. Jay Turser and Agile are the best cheap guitars being made in my opinion. However, I wished Jay Turser would sell a lefty in black.

I got this in the red transparent finish. (Always liked that look, seems classic for this model). Always wanted a 335 style guitar.
The spec have already been coverd numerous times, so I will forego that. Switches, tuners, bridge, etc. all seem to be of very good quality. Much better than I expected from a guitar in this price range. It came with no manual (been playing so long that I really didn't need one), a cheap guitar chord, and allen wrenches for bridge adjustments.

I play just at home for fun these days. I have been playing since 1960, (amazing even to me!). I played in bands on and off since that time. Started out, of course, in an early rock & roll band. Even had a local hit song on the radio in the Chicago-NW Indiana area in the middle 60's. Moved to Florida after college and played in a rock band there. Have played in a country/southern rock band and Mandolin in a bluegrass band since. Quit playing out 20 years ago. Now I play and record at home. Do some songwriting and like to play intstrumental versions of the old standards. Was looking for this type of sound for that music.
I only play through a Roland Micro Cube amp I bought recently and use the record out jack to the computer.
I really am impressed with the sounds of this guitar. It is just what I was looking for. I had looked at an Epiphone Dot, then found this on eBay and after reading the reviews here and at couple other sites, decided to save a couple hundred dollars and give the Turser a try. It exceeded my expectations. I believe it sounds better than the Epiphone I tried at Guitar Center.
I've never tried the real Gibson 335, so cannot compare it to that, but for my purposes I can't see how spending 10 times as much could get me 10 times more than this guitar does.
All and all, this guitar gives me the mellow semi-archtop sound that I had wanted. Provides a sound that my other guitars can't.

Here is where it will lose a few points (but not critical points).
It came shipped not setup as far as intonation and string height go. Intonation was way off and I had a small amount of fret buzz from the 12th fret up. It also came with very light gauge strings, good D'Addarrio strings, but very light. As long as I have played guitar it was no problem to set it up (might be for a beginner though). I always change strings on a new guitar anyway (want my own preference for strings on it). I use D'Addarrio strings, just a different gauge and type.
I tried a setting string height and intonation and got it where I wanted it and it was fine open and at the 12th fret. However, when fretting the 2nd fret on a couple strings intonation was out. I thought maybe the nut was grooved incorrectly. Before I started to deal with that I decided to put on the new set of strings had bought for it while it was in shipment.
I changed the strings to D'Addarrio lights (.010's), tuned it up and intonation was perfect. Just a lesson for beginners, old strings loose not only their sound, but intonation as well.
Actually, a guitar woulsd have to be setup for different strings anyway, so no big deal.
I have looked this guitar over very closely and see no flaws, it looks just great. Neck is set straight, finish looks flawless, etc.
Tuners seem fine, hardware is very nice. The only very minor issue was that the nut on the P/U selector switch was loose, simple tightening. Probably loosened in shipment.

I don't play out live at the present time, but have in the past during a 30 year span. I would certainly trust this for playing out live. It seems to be a solidly built as any guitar I have owned. I am very careful with my instruments and treat them them gently.
Strap buttons seem solid enough. I am older and not likely to be jumping around a stage anytime soon!
No opinion about using without a backup, never have used a backup in the past and never had a problem. Maybe just lucky or stupid!
I believe this guitar will last as long as any with proper care and lack of abuse.

This guitar has a lifetime warranty. I have owned numerous guitars over my nearly 60 years of playing and had never had to use a warranty service. So, the fact that they are willing to backup this guitar for lifetime gives me the feeling that THEY trust the quality of their guitars enough to offer that. That is enough for me.
Never used it, have no reason to think I would have to, so cannot give a rating.

I have been playing, as I said, for nearly fifty years (scary!).
My first real guitar was a 1959 DanElectro double cutaway (being reissued now) that I sold when I bought a Fender Jazzmaster new in 1964 (sold that when I was young with four kids and needed the money many years ago)..still regret that decision!
I now own a number of instruments, a Peavey T-60 electric guitar, a Sigma DM-18 acoustic, a Sigma DM-12a (12 string Acoustic), an Ovation Applause electric bass, a Washburn 5-string banjo, an F-5 mandolin (I hand made myself), a Washburn C-80S classical guitar, a 3/4 size Ovation guitar, and my latest is a Jay Turser JT-300 (strat copy) that I bought after being so happy with the quality of this Jay Turser JT-133!
I compared this guitar to the Epiphone Dot that I tried out at Guitar Center and feel like a got a better guitar for $200 dollars less (which prompted my strat copy purchase (got both for less than the price of the Epiphone Dot!)
I really like the looks and sound of this guitar. It is now the guitar I use the most. The neck is perfect for the jazz chords that are required in the music I have been playing. Thin neck makes reaches easier for my fairly short fingers.
This, as it turns out, is the guitar that I always wanted. Always had liked the looks of the Es-335's, but price was always out of my range. Only a money making professional could justify the difference between this and the Gibson for the cost differential.

I feel like this is by far the best deal I have ever gotten on a guitar. I feel like I got the best of this deal. It's hard to believe that it is possible to get a guitar of this quality for what this costs.
If it were lost or stolen (not happening) I would certainly want another to replace it. At my age I have seen the cost of things go up so much that it is just amazing to me. Equally amazing to me is that I could get this nice a guitar for what this cost me.
When I was young (many years ago) in inexpensive guitar was nearly worthless, nearly unplayable, and sounded terrible. This is a quality instrument for a very reasonable price. As I said, I already bought the Turser Strat copy after seeing this guitar.

Bought used (Ebay) for $140. 2006/7 model?
The finish (tobacco burst) alone is probably worth the $140 I bought it for on ebay. No noticable blemishes.
The semi-hollow body feels a little lighter than the Epiphone dot or the Ibanez artcore, and is MUCH lighter than the Michael Kelly Deuce, but doesn't feel like it will fall apart in my hands.
The hardware doesn't feel very expensive, but what did you expect? On day 3, I did notice a rattling and a gold washer fell out (!). Not sure if it was part of the guitar or it fell in a f-hole at the previous owner's house.
Neck is pretty small for the type of guitar. I like it.
Heard a lot of complaints about the tuners, and noticed as much the on the first play. I tightened them up a bit and played a show with the guitar the same night. It held in tune just as well as than my other guitars.

This guitar has a lot of low/mid end. The highs aren't very high, but I suppose a little adjustment could take care of that. Considering the low price of the guitar, you could probably outfit it with some pickups more inclined to the sound you want.

I've read about muddy pickups. Mine aren't too bad, but they're not as good as my '67 SG pickups (duh!). I was actually impressed to tell you the truth. With a little knob-twiddling, I got some really nice tones.

Actually, after the first show with the JT, a guy in another band came up and asked what kind of guitar I was playing - he thought it was a gibson. Can't think of a better compliment to the guitar than that. Oddly, the guy was the reason I felt ok about buying a JT (he played one onstage, too).

I bought it used and the previous owner had the frets shaved a bit (especially on the sides). This appears to be a common complaint for Tursers. A little work and it plays pretty smoothly.

Not sure if the owner had the guitar set up or adjusted, but everything feels pretty good on the guitar. Nothing loose or crackily.

I can foresee some problems in the future (normal wear/tear), but nothing major.

It withstood it's first show with flying colors (didn't even get the back-up guitar out of its case).

If the hardware doesn't last, I will buy some better hardware. Again, at the price of the guitar, why not?

Would I get another one? Definitely! I am considering never spending more than $300 on a guitar again with the quality of the lower-end models these days. Plus, JT has some pretty cool looking models on the higher end (similar to Eastwood guitars, but half the price).

Nothing yet.

Bottom line: If you can find one of these used and you want a semi-hollow, buy it! Save yourself $200 by foregoing the Epiphone/Ibanez/Eastwood/Michael Kelly alternatives. Use that money to customize the Turser (or buy another Turser!)