Jay Turser JT-200 Dragon

JT-200 Serpent, Purple Flame Top, w/Gold hardwear

For my BLUES playing needs this guitar REALLY gets the Job done though my Peavey "Delta Blues" Amp. Close enough to the Gibson Humbuckers that I don't see any poin tin wasting the money on a WAY overpriced Les Paul.

Neck and action felt MUCH better than the Les Pauls I tried out at my local music store. NO ADJUSTMENTS were needed, I'm playing it , AS IS, OUT of the box ! ONLY AN OVER POTTY TRAINED COLLECTOR would find faults in the finish, dveryone else just sez : WOW ! That's all a REAL player needs... Everyone else needs to get over themselves and their Anal Retentive "NIT-PICKYNESS."

WORKS FOR ME MAN, Im giggin and wiggin it every freakin day.

NO NEED FOR SUPPORT, YET !

40 years of playing. If this was STOLEN I would take out a CONTRACT on the thief ! Sure, I looked at a zillion Les Pauls before purchasing this Turser. I fail to see enough diiference to justify the huge price difference. But, if you just have to have the GIBSON Logo then by all means just THROW that hard earned bread away on a Les Paul ! My other electric is a Hohner with 2 single coils and a humbucker. This guitar is German made and the equal of any Fender. I also use a Fender Delta Blues Amp, A Dunlop Cry Baby Wah-Wah, and a Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-9.
In my opinion most musicians are WAY too hung up on their equipment anyway! They need to concentrate on their playing and the INNER guitarist the audience could care less about what kind of AXE you play, NUFF SAID FRED!

Many of the features covered by other reviewers, pressed laminate maple top, alder body (I think), maple neck, rosewood fretboard plus the cool dragon inlay. Main reason I'm posting this review is to note the great customer support I received way back in '99 (more info below), and that they stand behind their products.

There are some hollow spots inside the body, actually gives the guitar an interesting acoustic tone, also noted the extra mids as a result. Even so, the guitar is heavy in the range of an LP. Like a lot of import guitars, has the sledgehammer-type tone caps (too heavy), I usually leave tone wide open so it's not an issue.

Also covered in customer support section. I'm rating most features highly across the board due to the quality level for the price. It's not a $2000 guitar, so you shouldn't expect every detail to be top-of-the-line, but it's a high-quality, fun, inexpensive guitar that intonates well and plays/sounds as good as more expensive guitars.

Don't think there would be any problems with regular gig use, noticed other reviewers are doing this. If it were my only guitar I'd probably replace the pickup switch and pots to be on the safe side. Surprisingly the tuners seem solid. Have also noticed that the guitar stays in tune while in storage, so the neck joint is stable.

The original guitar I received had problems with some frets coming up, and after following up for warranty coverage, sent back to Music Industries (distributor of Jay Turser guitars). Wasn't sure what to expect with the coverage, but after going over it, they mentioned it might be possible to do a swap once the next shipment of Dragons arrived. It took a few months, but they stood behind their coverage and did the swap.

I think I may have originally received one of the "test" models, or at least one of the early production models while they were working out the kinks of mass production, as the replacement Dragon had much better overall quality, better tuners, better nut (though still plastic), and better pickups. In fact the pickups were good enough that I left them in. During the warranty coverage process they were total pros, really helpful.

They don't make the Dragons anymore due to issues with PRS. Would recommend checking out the Serpent LPs, have considered picking one up at some point in the future. Due to some of the problems I had with my original guitar, would recommend to buy it in person, or ask the dealer a lot of questions about the model. I'm pretty sure my problems were just due to getting an early production model though.

Have been playing 20+ years, usually play LP and LP-type derivatives (both American and import models). For the price you can't go wrong, in fact due to the economic downturn it looks like the Serpent LPs are selling for a lot cheaper than what I paid for the Dragon LP back in '99, making it an even better buy.

For customer support, they were great. There's a real company out there supporting these guitars. Not too long ago, I had a horror story with another import brand (which I'll eventually post a review for) and it reminded me what total pros these guys were in helping me out. It's probably better I waited to post as after 2+ years the guitar still plays great and has no problems, would recommend checking out the Tursers.

The Jay Turser JT-200D Dragon was introduced in 1999 and enjoyed a limited production into 2000. This guitar has represented a consideration of beautiful neck inlays on an affordable guitar that has gone mostly unappreciated for this class of guitar. This guitar is no longer available as there is a rumor that PRS involved Jay Turser in a lawsuit regarding the use of a dragon on the neck. It is not shown on the Jay Turser website as a discontinued model. The following information is an effort to list the general features of this guitar.

Country of Manufacture: China
Body Wood: Carved maple top, Alder body
Body Wood Quality (top): "A" Flamed (A = "1" out of a possible "10")
Body Wood Cavities: Selector Switch, Electronics, and Pickups
Body, General: Top: Arch: 2-7/8"; Back: Flat; Edge Thickness: 1-7/8"
Head Angle: 17-Degree Tilt (Aprox.),
Head, Tuning Machines: (Adjustable Tightness) Schaller M6G, Sealed, 1:12 Gear Ratio (Individual)
Head Color: Matches Black Body Color And Finish
Neck: Mahogany (Black) with Polyurethane Finish
Neck Joint: Fitted (Set)
Neck Shape: Tapered U-Shape (Les Paul Style)
Neck Inlay Image: Dragon (Abalone & Mother of Pearl)
Neck Inlay Length: 1st through 20th Fret
Neck Color: Matches Black Body Color And Finish
Fingerboard: Rosewood w/22 Frets (Medium - thin)
Nut Type: Bone-Colored Plastic
Nut Width: 1-5/8" (Aprox.) 22nd Fret Width 2-3/16" (Aprox.)
Scale: 24-3/4"
Binding, Headstock/Body: (wht, blk, wht, blk, wht), 5-ply Top, and Headstock, 1-ply Fingerboard
Binding, Body Back: (wht, blk, wht), 3-ply Back
Binding Thickness: .030" (inside binding) & .040" (white outside binding)
Binding Color: Aged (Yellow white)
Pick Guard: Black Plastic (4 layer, blk-wht-blk-wht) Les Paul Style
Pickups: LP Styled Alnico Magnet Humbuckers (can be split). H-H Configuration
Pickup resistance: 15K Ohm Range, DC reading. Unknown impedance
Pickup Covers: Yes (Removable)
Pickup Rings (Surrounds): Black Plastic
Pickup Suspension: Screw Mounted to Body
Active or Inactive Pickups: Inactive
Bridge Type: Tune-o-Matic Style with Thumb Nuts
Tailpiece: Stop bar
Selector Switch: (chrome color) w/Black Switchplate 3-way Mechanical (SPTT)
Selector Switch Wiring: Neck, Neck and Bridge, and Bridge
Electronics: 2 volume and 2 tone (AB potientiometers), shielded wiring
Wiring Schematic: Not Available At This Time
Output: Jack with Jack Plate, ?" Phone (Female)
Knobs: Black Plastic, Bell Type, ?" Shaft
Strap Buttons: Standard (2)
Guitar Weight (No Strap): 8.4 Pounds
Covers, Body: Black Plastic (Selector Switch & Potentiometers)Cover
Truss Rod Cover: Black Plastic
Hardware Color: Gold Toned (except for selector switch)
Finish: Clear Polyurethane Top Coat
Accessories: Allen Wrench (1/8") (Neck Adjustment) & Clear Plastic Bag

I rated this guitar as an "9" because of the neck inlay, which is why I was initially attracted to this guitar. It's not a Gibson, although in some ways (neck heel, body curvature, etc.) it's more comfortable to play in the higher positions. It's certainly better balanced than a Gibson in my opinion. Anyway, the inlay could have been done a bit better, but what do you want for a few hundred bucks. I bought this one through e-Bay for $400. I know, the

The sound is not like an Gibson LP at all, it leans more towards the treble end than mids or like the Gibson, the bass end. It's a bit less bright that my PRS. I chose to say that it has it's own tonal characteristics. I've played several upper mid-range guitars over the years, and this one is definitely voiced apart from the others on a clean amp. The cool thing is that I play through an effects box and it can definitely hold it's own with any of my other guitars.

Problems: Fret buzz in certain higher positions on the 4th, 5th, and 6th strings were annoying until I restrung this guitar with either stainless steel flat wounds or slightly larger diameter wire wounds. Either type of string will result in a different sound, but the buzz totally disappeared. (I guess I could have waited until the steel nut was in place before replacing the strings.)

I agree with Dave and Mark's findings to some extent. I found some of the same flaws, but extremely minor. The action was set up to play right out of the box, intonation was set, but the neck pickup needed a little adjustment as it was set a little low. There were no real flaws that affected it's playability at all. There were no misaligned hardware or other visible playability faults with this guitar.

Some information that may interest you about the things I did to my guitar and a few things that I found out along the way.

Custom Stuff: The rosewood fretboard required it's color to be evened out due to the left side being darker than the right. The PRS company and others do the same with their fretboards, so this is an industry standard for that "extra touch". The dye can be hand mixed or purchased from your local luthier. After performing this chore, the matrix surrounding the neck inlays is not easily detectable, unless you're using a bright light and viewing the inlay from several inches. This matrix is invisible while on stage, and it's almost invisible from a few feet away, unless you have "telescopic vision". Yeah, the matrix sucks, but the dragon would have cost hundreds more for the precision required to "not see" the matrix. One other hint, if you want your fretboard to resemble a more expensive ebony fretboard, then this optional "dye job" totally hides the matrix from view. Again, you need to check out "luthier supplies" on your local internet, your local luthier, or visit the building-supply facility (i.e., Home Depot, etc.) for a small container of ebony wood stain and mahogany stain. The mix ratio is 5 parts mahogany and 1 part ebony. I'm sure you can guess the color of my fretboard. Moving on to another little problem, and that was the paint job on the neck and headstock (the paint on the body was perfect). The neck and headstock needed two 1/16" blank spots covered up. After visiting my local luthier again, I came away with a small bottle of black lacquer. I simply sanded these little spots with a piece of 400-grit wet/dry sanding cloth using a q-tip to focus on the precise point needing the fix. A couple of daring seconds later and I had the area slightly dimpled. Now I applied the lacquer with a tiny camel-hair artist brush (#00). After applying the lacquer until it was built up into a small dome. I let it dry for 24 hours. Then I applied a little polishing compound to a soft felt cloth and slowly polished out the lacquer dome until it was totally flat with the surrounding surface (a real no-brainer here). After that, my luthier airbrushed the neck and headstock to perfection for $20. This just takes a little patience and perfection will be your reward. I was lucky as I only had two of these spots to contend with. I know most of you wouldn't take the time to do this as it isn't going to improve your playing or the sound of what you play. This is something for those people who want their stuff to be defect free as much as possible. I did it, because I look at this guitar as a "showpiece" at times. When I do play it, my belt buckle is covered with a piece of black felt (the top is tucked in over my belt and draped over the front of my jeans). I do this because I don't want my stuff scratched up and looking like shit. I have other pieces of wood with necks for that purpose. Okay, for those who are interested, on the final "workable flaw" on this guitar, the binding on the headstock (miraculously, the body - back and front were okay). The binding on the 3 inner layers had a 5/8" long area of "bleeding" on the left side of headstock near the 5th and 6th tuning machines. Again, a little sandpaper and slightly yellow lacquer fixed this problem. I just sanded the outer layer of polyurethane off to expose the binding. A little more discrete sanding and the gentle use of an Xacto blade (#11) g

Again I have to agree with the other input on this point. It appears to be made very well and has taken everything I've given it, although I don't use it to swat flies. I do believe that this guitar will be around for a long time as my 3 month affair with it proves to be solid.

No opinion as I have not dealt with the company, but considering the warranty, this will hopefully not be a problem at all.

I've been playing for over 30 years, but in the past 7 years I've become interested in lead guitar. I own a drums, keyboards, basses, guitars, etc., plus a small digital/analog studio. Since I initially bought this guitar for it's looks and to not pay a minimum of $5,000 for a good looking inlay job, I really have nothing to say that's really negative about this particular guitar. I would definitely replace this guitar with another one if it were lost or stolen, but that would be after I hunted down the AH who took it and I got out of jail. There is no comparison with my other guitars as they aren't quite the showpiece of the JT-200 Dragon. This is the first "monster" inlayed guitar in my collection. There are several guitar companies out there who have beautiful stock/custom inlays that you can acquire, but be prepared to fork out a mess of bucks for the privledge. I wish that other companies would get the idea (as previously said by Ronald, Mark, and David) that these necks definitely have "show/visual appeal" and this also drives a good sale and hopefully a good bargain like this guitar.

Incredible, visually and musically. The finish is amazing, The pickups are wonderful. Just like playing a Les Paul Custom.

Very bright tone, not mellow like a lot of Les Paul copies. Very distinctive, and rich. The sound of a Les Paul with the bite of a Strat.

The action is almost perfect, the finish is practically perfect. Mine came with thin guage strings (I think 9's) and were soon replaced with Gibson 10's. Some of the higher frets buzz, but not enough to matter for a sub-$500 guitar, or even a sub-$1000 guitar.

This guitar has stood up to my constant abuse for the past few months and shown minimal wear and tear. It seems to me that it will last a reasonably long amount of time, maybe not as long as a real Les Paul, but a long time nonetheless

Never needed the support for anything. Thanks.

It compares favorably to most guitars I've played. I was bent on getting a Les Paul Custom until I played it. It looks great, sounds great, plays great, I would recommend one to anybody, especially at the price you can get them at.

Made in China. Typical Les Paul copy except for the neck. Pretty comparable to an Epiphone Les Paul in quality, except that Epiphone puts on a better top. The tuners are adjustable for tightness, which I really like. The body is a little more graceful than other Les Paul copies, including Gibson.

I play all kinds of styles. My favorite song on this guitar is Black Magic Woman.

A really stunning abalone and mother of pear inlaid dragon. The inlay work could have been tighter. A black filler is used beteen the design and the fretboard. The newer ones have a better looking dragon head but the inlay is shorter. They should make a full length inlay with the neww head. I replaced the switch tip,washer and nut with a gold platted one. I also replaced the knobs with gold plated knobs, with gold mother of pearl inlay made by qparts in Germany. It is even more stunning now. My only complaint about the manufacturing is that the top is thin and if you tap on it you will hear hollow spots. I don't know if the body has sound chambers or the glue down was not done right. The sustain is amazingly good.

I have had this for a few months and it has developed no problems. The platting on the stop bar is a little thin, so don't polish it too hard or it will come off.

No problems yet.

I have been playing since 1964 and have owned a lot of guitars. I have twenty guitars now, some are relatively cheap and some are the best known big name brands. If it were lost or stolen I would probably replace it unless some other brand came out with a better inlay. I hope other manufacturers realize how important inlay work is for making a sale.

2000 Model made in China (3/18/00, inspected by J.S. Yoon according to the sticker on the headstock). 22 frets, take-off of a Les Paul - different but not strikingly so. After opening the control cavity for a look, the top is not solid but is very beautifully flamed maple. Knocking the top of the guitar with my knuckles confirms the areas under the top that are hollow. I guess this construction method is less expensive and keeping with the overall appeal of Jay Turser - good guitar at a dirt cheap price. 2-tone, 2-volume, 2 humbuckers, cherry sunburst finish, same hardware as les paul types. I really like the knobs which are copies of the '58 Gibson top-hat style.

I like to play heavy stuff mostly - distortion laden all over the place and it sounds great to me. I have played guitar for 20 years, but not in a pro setting or regular gigging band and don't consider myself an expert on sound quality. The pickups are bit weak though, especially in the bass department. I noticed this when playing other guitars (Ibanez Iceman, Destroyer) and then switch back to the Turser. So what? I can compensate with additional volume (or get new pickups). For the money, it's right on target!

As mentioned in Dave's review, this particular Turser is mostly for show and it looks awesome! Nice strong flame on the top. Mine has a couple of minor flaws under the finish, not sure what caused it, but it looks like a small amount of the sunburst shading was disturbed before clear coats or top coats were put on the top. Under the dark red finish on the sides there appears to be some very dark-grained pieces of wood. I lowered the too high action upon arrival and found some buzzing from frets 12 to 17, roughly. Mostly on the g,d,a strings. Since it's not terrible and/or noticable with the rock I play, i haven't bothered to fix it. Overall, well executed and quite satisfactory.

Hmmm...since I bought this brand new and Jay Turser has no track record on durablity it remains to be seen whether or not it will hold up. I would take it to a gig without backup - I mean, the pickups are not going to fall off! The finish seems hardy, but truthfully, I don't know how to tell for sure. Jay Turser offers a limited lifetime warrantee but I don't know how their customer support is.

Jay Turser as a customer support team is unknown to me. I haven't heard or read anything on their support for customers. The are producing a nice variety of products, all with limited lifetime warrantees on all of them. They offer features/specs at a fraction of the price of most of their competitors and customer support didn't figure much into the purchase decision for me since I've only bought used guitars in the past and customer support has always been non-existant. I'll give them a 5 since they at least *offer* the lifetime warrantee. I bought this mostly for the asthetic appeal of the gorgeous dragon inlay and flamed top.

I bought this mostly for the asthetic appeal of the gorgeous dragon inlay and flamed top and through an ebay auction I got an unbelievable deal at $315 - shipped brand new! No case included for that price. I play through a Marshall Artist 3203 stack. I watched the auctions for a few weeks seeking the cherry sunburst model as the tobacco burst didn't appeal to me much. If lost or stolen, I'd get another one for sure. I love the visual appeal of it - and it plays find and sounds good too. Not great - but considering the cost - awesome value! I'm looking at another purchase from JT in a 7-string model that I should be able to get for about $200 - new. I am a huge Ibanez fan (having built the www.vintageibanez.com web site) and in my opinion Jay Turser is at the same point Ibanez was in 1974 - offering good playing and sounding guitars with incredible features for an unheard of price.

2000 Model of the JT-200 Les Paul clone with the Mother Of Pearl 'DRAGON' inlay on the neck surface. Typical Les Paul specs/design features/layout with the following exceptions: the body is ash or alder, not mahogany, and the back of the body is flat. Of course it unique because of the 'Dragon' inlay on the neck, but it also has some other features: 5 ply binding on the top of the body and the headstock, 1 ply binding on the neck and the back of the body, gold hardware all around, flame maple top.

The less dense body material is likely the reason why this guitar just doesn't have the bottom of a typical Les Paul. It's sound is more inbetween the typical Les Paul sound and the SG sound. It sustains very well because it has a set neck and a stop bar tailpiece, but it lacks some tonal depth and character - that wood again, and probably the pickups too. Big surprise though, the tone/growl of the bridge pickup on this guitar is outstanding!!! It (like 90% of the guitars out there) will cover 90% of the rock/pop/blues/country tones required. You may have to work a little harder with this guitar to get exactly what you want, but for $350, what do you expect? The standard JT LP clones without the neck inlay are closer to $200, now that's a good value.

I usually don't go into great detail looking for finish flaws, etc, but since this is really meant to be a 'show' guitar, and not a player, I went over it very closely. Surprise, surprise, it is VERY well done. I only found a couple of very minor 'slips' in the binding, and you have to get within a couple of inches to even see them. The 'Dragon' inlay is very impressive and to my eyes - flawless, but then with any art form, beauty is subjective and in the eye of the beholder. The flamed body top is not perfectly matched, but for $350, what do you expect. The back of the body was probably not sanded to the same precision as the front, but it is nontheless smooth, level and flawless. The gold finish on the hardware is flawless. I set-up and adjusted this guitar to my liking, and it is a pleasure to play. It is a little lighter than the typical Les Paul, and balances a little better. Maybe that's the price you pay, less weight, better balance, less tone.

The finish of the hardware, components and wood seem to be decent quality and durable. The electronics are quiet and the pickups are the typical 15k ohm hi-output humbuckers that find their way onto just about every import guitar.

Jay Turser is producing a lot of product. They offer limited lifetime warrantees on all of them. They offer features/specs at a fraction of the price of almost all of their competitors. I guess that's what happens when you have a very co-operative work force (sarcasm). The politics of it don't bother me at all, I want performance for my dollar spent. Besides, for those of you that are so worried about the politics of the nation that produces these guitars, don't panic, the money ends up right back here in America in the DNC (Democratic National Committee) warchest (not sarcasm).

I have been playing for about 35 years. I have had alot of guitars and amps pass thru my hands. Normally, I wouldn't buy a guitar like this (a showpiece), but I figured for $350, I would be happy to have a set neck LP clone that does the job. This one is borderline OK in the sound department, only because of the great sustain and the growl of that bridge pickup. It does lack some tonal character though. At 90 decibels and above, nobody notices anyways. It definitely has some show appeal to it with that 'Dragon' inlay neck. It will have some collector appeal eventually because PRS sued them over the neck thing (like somebody 'owns' the concept/application of an artform) and they don't make the 'Dragon' inlay anymore. Maybe the Chinese should sue PRS for using one of their ancient, sacred symbols in such a blatant commercial fashion on their overpriced guitars.