Jay Turser JT-135D

2002 model, Made in China. 2 volume, 2 tone controls, 2 humbucking pickups. Maple set neck with truss rod, laminated maple body and top. Glossy antique natural sunburst finish. Rosewood fingerboard. Adjustable chrome-plated bridge. No case or gigbag included. I've been trying to find one that fits.

I play pop, rock, and jazz. This guitar is very versatile. The sound can be tailored to be fat or twangy depending on the settings you choose. With the set neck and hollow body, it really sustains!
I play mostly with a Peavy Rage amp. I showed it to a friend who is a Fender user, and he loved it.

Set-up was very playable, right out of the box. I haven't found any flaws, and I looked for them. I did lower the bridge and tighten the truss rod just a little bit to make the action perfect. The top is beautiful, and the chromed bridge is great. I really didn't expect a guitar this inexpensive to look this good.

The guitar looks like it will last a long time. Hardware is heavy and chromed, the varnish is a thick clearcoat. Strap buttons seem solid. I suppose it could be gigged without a backup, although I prefer to carry a spare if possible.

Limited lifetime warranty. The seller was easy to work with, but having bought it on e-bay, I would probably just get it fixed locally, unless something major happened, but I don't expect it to fall apart.

Been playing about 30 years. Own a Gibson accoustic B-25 12 string and a Harmony solid body electric. If lost or stolen, I would replace it with another Jay Turser. I love the way it sounds and how easy it is to play. Can't find anything to hate.I looked at other semi-hollow body guitars and couldn't find anything close in this price range. The closest thing was the epiphone dot--a similar guitar for a lot more money.

Ditto pevious reviews. Made in China. Great neck and feel. Two humbuckings with a wide range of tonalites. Laminate body (oh well) Semi-hollow body.

This is where it shines! A wide range of tonalities and neck and bridge pick-up positions. Sounds great straight thru my Carvin SX100D amp, with no effects. From clean jazzy tones on the neck pick up (may want to reduce bass a tad) to trebbly leads on the bridge pick up. My favorite set-up is adding the Digitech RP200 pedal, which allows a remarkable range, including many I would not expect from a jazz style guitar. The "Tweed" preset is great with the Turser, and I've tweaked a few bluesy patches that I'm very pleased with. Better range of tonality than any other guitar I own, and NO HUM! (Wish I could say that of my strat!) Decent sustain.

In some areas, I should probably give a lower rating, but, it plays and sounds great, I'd hate to change a thing. Natural Honey finish is a bit yellow, but I'm nit picking. Body is a laminate, therefore preventing a higher rating. Some curious wood markings that you wouldn't find on expensive guitars, but then, this is NOT an expensive guitar. Action was good from the box, and nearly in tune. Slight tweaking got rid of a minor buzz on the low E near the twelfth fret. Most playable of my guitars.

Seems to be pretty sturdy. I'd trust it on a gig without a back up. Time will tell.

No idea.

I'm an amateur with 30 years of playing. I've owned a number of nice guitars, and a few clunkers. '58 Tele has nice neck and tone, but hums. '86 Stat, same as Tele. '99 Carvin DC200 has fast neck with good, but limited tone. Ovation nylon string acoustic/electric is nice, but limited to acoustic styles. J160E Epi re-issue. Nice, but weak pick-ups. This Turser is now my favorite all around guitar! Feels great, and has such a range of tones, with no hum, that I can play near any style from soft acoustic, to Jazz, to nasty metal. I've gotten pretty close to emulating my heroes tones with custom presets on the RP200. I can get darn close to Paul Kossoff's "Tons of Sobs" Les Paul tone, and Andy Latimer's (Camel) fluid solos. Only thing missing is talent! (c;

For the money, a 10. Beats $600-900 ES 335 copies. It only falls short when comparing to the $1200 plus models, and even then can compete with many.

I bought this thing new in 2002 so I figure it was built in 2001. OK...first off, this guitar is not made in Korea it's made in the People's Republic of China. The color is a honeyed laquer but you can see the wood finish..I was very impressed!! This is the third Turser I own and I've never been disappointed with the products for the price. Standard ES-335 construction with laminated plywoods, 2 pickups, 2 volumes, two tones, set neck, etc. The Jay Turser site shows this model with cream colored pickguard, pickup bezels, and cream truss rod cover...Mine came with all black...Better looking as far as I'm concerned. The action came set up and GET THIS!! D'Adarrio strings!!!. All I did was tune it and start playing...

This thing sounds as good as any Epiphone at a way lower price. I play jazz and blues and this will rock the house with it's tone. I play throught a Fender Ultimate Chorus and this thing sounds great!! There is warm and mellow tone and, with some work, a decent brightness.

Action was great out of the box! Go figure!! The pickups will need to be raised a bit but that's my personal preference.
If I have any picky little gripe it's about the three black lines that circumnavigate the face of the guitar...If you look real close you can see smudges where they pulled the stencil away before the ink dried. For $200 on Ebay, THAT I can tolerate.

I own a JT-134, JT-136 and now this JT135... All are wonderful guitars I would recommend a purchase by anyone from amateur to professional. These people make good guitars. I've even talked to the JT people in New York about an idea for a JT-134 bass...They're receptive to ideas and easy to talk to.

JT offers a limited lifetime warranty to the original purchaser...I think that should be extended to anyone, even the follow-on purchaser...Maybe JT could do that for a small fee...

I've been playing off and on for about 30 years, mostly bass. I took up guitar about a year ago to learn jazz and JT has made me fall in love with the idiom. Someone comes into MY house to steal my stuff and I'll break their haid!!!

All in all, not a bad guitar...It's a real compliment to the others (which are tobacco burst) on stage...A real showcase of a guitar without plowing a ton of money into it.

It's a 1990s Korean Gibson ES-335 copy with flame maple laminated top, laminated back and sides, floating center block construction. 2x covered PAF-style humbuckers, 3-way selector, 2 vol, 2 tone, tuneomatic/stopbar bridge, enclosed diecast tuners. Maple neck with scarf-jointed head, rosewood fretboard, MOTS dot markers.

Sounds great for jazz, blues, rockabilly. Very "dark" sounding buckers, but the bridge PU has some bite if you attack the strings. It's excellent for semi-hollow body duties.

For the money, it's staggering. The action is excellent; no setup flaws; the construction is solid and the gleaming polyester finish about 3/32nds deep. It "hefts" nicely. The only bummer: real rough-finished f-holes. I soon fixed that with my Dremel and some enamel paint that matched the cream binding. Looks 100% better with tidy holes. I also improved the look with a new (used) trussrod cover and pickguard. Does NOT look like a 280 buck geetar.

Think Volvo, Hummer or even M1A1 Abrams. Everything is solid; the hardware is industrial-quality. (The electrics are probably crap, but I won't find that out for a year or so.) I've played it live without a backup and survived to tell the tale.

Bought used, never met anyone who admitted being from JT.

Been playing more than 30 years. I love the way it plays and looks. I hate the fact that it's a Jay Turser. Everyone assumes it's crap, which is a pity, 'cos it's not. I get ribbed on stage because of it by the Fender/Gibson snobs. Well, I've got Fenders and Hamers (better than Gibsons) and I'd still choose this ax for what it does best: Jazz and blues. I wouldn't play AC-DC on it. 'Nuff said.

Purchased new. Korean manufactured semi hollow body ES-335 knock off. Set (maple) neck construction, "flame" maple top (laminated) with Honey Natural finish. Laminated maple sides and back. Binding on neck and body, none in "F" holes. Two humbucker style pickups of unknown manufacture. Three position selector with individual volume and tone controls for the pickups. Tune-O-matic bridge (I think?) with stop tailpiece. I think the tuners are Gotoh, but they are unmarked and do not lock. Maple neck is thin with rosewood fretboard and truss rod. Accessories would include allen key for truss rod and a patch cord. No case/gigbag. All hardware is nicely chormed. Plastic fittings (pickup cases and pickguard)are cream in color.

I play all styles of music from blues to jazz to rock to classical. Guitar is well suited for many styles of playing. Currently play it through a Roland "cube" amp. Pickups are clean sounding. Bridge pickup was a bit thin but this was somewhat improved by raising it closer to the strings. Neck position pickup has a very warm jazz sound to it. Playing in the "middle" position has a good sound as well. Tuning machines are solid and very smooth. Tone and volume controls are smooth as well with absolutely no shaft wobble. Pickup selector is smooth and in a fairly convenient place. Sound overall is good and quite clean. No electrical misbehavior is noted anywhere. Have retrofit the bridge pickup with a vintage circa 1974 DiMarzio and that has added considerable "punch" to the overall sound. Guitar has very good sustain probably attributable to the set neck and "block" construction in the body.

The action on this guitar is awesome right out of the box. Better, yes that's right, BETTER than the Gibsons that I have owned in the past. Intonation is excellent and the guitar overall has a very solid feel. All wood is nicely matched and the finish is excellent with only one or two minor flaws. It is not a "concourse" instrument, but at least I am not afraid to play it and risk damage. Overall, for the money, the quality is startling. Only real bummer that I can detect is that the edges on the inside of the "F" holes are considerably rough.

This guitar is solidly built and fairly heavy for a semi hollow body. Finish is of a good quality and seems very sturdy, not prone to wearing off for sure. Hardware is of a good quality, nicely finished and chromed. Pickup switch is firm, yet smooth and virtually silent. Pots are smooth and silent as well. Time will tell of course, but I predict that this guitar will hold up well.

Guitar comes with limited lifetime warranty on materials and workmanship. Do mail in the registration card if you procure one.
As far as Rock Bottom Music is concerned... the gentleman I dealt with there was actually a MUSICIAN. Was very helpful, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the Jay Turser line. He even owns three of them. One thing he shared was that "Jay Turser" was just a name that was cooked up by some guys at a NAMM show. Prior to being Jay Turser, these guitars were sold under the Vantage name. The mfg. improved the quality of their line and changed the name.

I have been playing guitar in excess of 25 years and have owned numerous instruments of varying quality/brands. Gibson, Guild, Kay, Univox, Takamine, Epiphone, Fender, etc. I researched this guitar through the internet and Harmony Central reviews of similar models in the Jay Turser line. I am VERY satisfied with my purchase and would not hesitate to purchase another Jay Turser product. The quality and feel of this instrument far exceeded my expectations as far as the price was concerned. Excellent value for money. I do wish that it had come with a case, but for under $300 I really can't complain.