Jay Turser JT-200 Serpent

Les Paul "set neck" style Electric guitar. Made in Korea. Serpent inlay remind me of the PRS Serpent.

IT sounds great. Very full. I did swap out the pickups for GFS Dream 90's... which are P-90 pickups sized for Humbucker routing. Basically the same as a Gibson P-94 or Seymour Duncan Phat Cat. I already have many guitars with humbuckers, so this one has a more vintage sound now.

The amp I put it through are Rivera knucklehead amps (look up Rivera if you haven't heard of them) 5150 half stack, Marshall JCM 800, Peavey Classic 100 half stack, and Sovtek Mig 500. And it does a nice job through all of them.

Great. I simply love the neck's feel and shape. I own to Gibsons from the 70's and a couple strats, and this is by far my most comfortable guitar neck to play. I don't have to look at where I am on the fretboard because I can feel it. It is to the point where I might try making the necks of some of my other custom guitars match the feel of this neck more closely.

I don't take my Gibsons to shows anymore. Even when I did, the Serpent got more ooh's and aah's. So it is a great guitar to have for gigs. I would say it is just as durable as any other out there.

The first Serpent I got was off of ebay from a guitar co. that went out of business. It played great for the first couple years until it developed a back-bow. Now USUALLY guitars up-bow from the strings pulling on it. We though we could correct it by throwing on some .13's and tuning UP a step and a half to G. But it STILL had a back-bow.

So we called up Jay Turser and they eventually swapped me for a new one. So that was awesome. It wasn't identical to the one I had, but now I love it just like the previous.

I've been playing since 1993. I've owned my Serpent since 2002.

Like I said I have a collection of many other guitars. I'd have to say this one has the best feeling neck and has the most 'flash' on stage. Hanging on a wall, it steers much attention away from my Gibsons. Only thing I wish it was was made in the USA. It reminds me if PRS made me a single-cut and threw in a serpent inlay, this is what I'd get.

For the money, it is the best value on the market. I would buy duplicates of this guitar if I had more money... maybe in other colors. I like it that much.

I don't know what year it is. Bought it used. It's from the first generation of Serpent JT 200 guitars with the vase on the headstock, not the circle with the two flames on the sides. Some people call the early ones chalice tops. Anyway that's what i have.
Cherry flame top with a maple neck and gold hardware. Stock pickups were ok and the hardware is ok. Tuners work fine.
The electronics are not the best so I replaced everything with components from GFS. I bought the Dream 180 pickups with the gold covers. New pots are Alpha 500K and I got the .022 caps. Wired it like a real Les Paul. Much better.

The original electronics and pickups sound ok. No real issues but nothing spectacular. With the upgraded electronics and pickups it sounds much better and the volumes and tnes actually work like they should, instead of being on-off knobs LOL!
I re-did this guitar to get a more Liverpool, British Invasion sound out of it. I was partially successful. Even though the Dream 180 pickups were not exactly what i had in mind they do work for what I want and I like them overall. I would buy the GFS Retrotron Memphis pickups if I had a re-do.
Overall sound with stock pups and electronics is a 7. With all the new stuff it rates a 9.

I had no issues with it. I bought it second hand so it had a few dings but the original paint and build looks good to me. The gold hardware was a little on the tarnished side. Not a big deal for me. I think it is a pretty good, solid guitar.

Seems pretty well built. Too soon to rate it.

I have a real Gibson Les Paul. I got the JT 200 for $250, which is 1/3 what I paid for the Gibson, used. I play the JT 200 much more often. Compared with the Gibson it isn't as good but it's plenty good enough for me. I like the fact that it was easy to modify into the guitar I wanted and it only cost about 100 bucks to make it into a much nicer sounding guitar. So for 350 bucks I now have a very nice guitar that looks, sounds and plays very well. I would buy this again.
In fact, I bought another Jay Turser Les Paul goldtop and did a re-do on that one, too. I bought the goldtop as a 2nd for 125 bucks. After the re-do it is one nice guitar and the total cost was only around 300 bucks for Lace humbuckers and the GFS electronics. The point is that Jay Turser makes a good enough guitar for playing-right out of the box. Add a little more money for upgrades and you have a very respectable guitar. And the serpent looks awesome!

Really great looking guitar. Got the Tiger eye flamed top one.

Changed the pups to GFS Dream 180's with the gold pearl tops, and coil tapped them both. Made the guitar really sit up and take notice. Sounds fantastic now.

It was set up ok from the factory,, and I spent a few minutes adjusting it for my tastes. No loose stuff. It looked great.

Haven't had it long enough to say anything about the durability, but it seems pretty tough.

Had to order a pickup selector, and got it swiftly, with no troubles. It had broken in shipping.

Been playing for about 35 years, and I have about 15 guitars, and probably wouldn'y replace it if lost, but it is a nice guitar.

The Finish is beautiful!! especially after having a plain black guitar for so long. and who cares if its fake? no one needs to know : )
i absolutely love the JT version of the LP its so sharp and mean looking
i just switched to this guitar and so far the bridge seems fine althouhg idk too much about bridges unless their floyd rose or kahler
i find that this neck is much faster than my BC rich ironbird(which is understandable because thats a rhythm guitar) you can move very freely
as far as features go, nothing crazy, it just looks amazinf with the sunburst and gold hardware

(i like to play music from emo to metal to acoustic/clean and soloing is big for me too) this guitar plays metal better than my BC rich! and thats built for metal!
switching to clean sounds just amazing the 3 way switch actually provides 3 different ways unlike the BC rich which i couldnt tell a damn difference

well i bought this guitar at a store and set it up for free but he made it play so well so just go to a pro and they will make it play like a dream everything was solid when i got it as far as everything goes electronics pickups everything was ready to go

first of all im gonna just put this out there...
what the hell is the difference between playing with your band at home or playing live? technically you are playing live every time you practice lol
but anyway i would never bring a single guitar to live shows, thats not risky or anything pfff
i switched to straploks as for the starp buttons
you arent putting on a show unless you flip that guitar over our shoulder : )

since the company is in America i assume customer support would consist of me talking to someone in fucking arabia (lol)
nothing against arabs, but we cant understand you because we are from america and people dont talk like that here : o
anyway im sure customer support would be just fine although i havent called them
maybe i will just to ask some questions so i can put a real review for it in : )

i actually got this guitar yesterday : o and it is the best thing to ever happen to me
i cant wait to win all the ladies over in the dorms with this beauty
(especially how good it sounds clean...time for a little "wish you were here" by pink floyd!)
my flat out opinion, BUY THIS GUITAR
Pros:
its dirt fucking cheap
its is a wet dream as far as looks go
its plays extrememly extremely well
huuuge range of sound you can get out of it
Cons:
i only have one of them : )

Not sure what year. LP copy; 2 Humbuckers, 2 tone, 2 vol, 3 way switch, etc etc
Gold hardware
Supposedly flame maple top, but i doubt it's real.

The sound is great. I can get any clean or crunchy sound I want. The pickups are surprizingly strong and versatile. I run it through a MXR Dynacomp then to my Behringer Vintager AC112 (60W solid state modeling amp). This amp is one of the best solid states out there, and while I'd love to have a tube amp, this one does just fine.
The guitar has long sustain, and sounds great with any style I play.

I got this pretty cheap off of eBay, so I wasn't expecting it to be perfect. It has "2" stamped on the back of the headstock, so it's a factory second. The only real problem with action fit & finish that I've found is that in the center of the highest fret there's a little divit. It doesn't affect my playing at all, and it won't ever unless I feel like bending the D string on the 22nd fret.
Mine has a vintage sunburst, which I haven't seen very often on eBay. It also has the older headstock inlay so maybe it's a discontinued color. It looks okay w/ the flamed maple top.
The 'gold' hardware has kept up very will. Hardly any tarnishing in the last 9-ish months I've had it.

I've only used this guitar for recording so far. I have used an Epiphone Joe Pass Emperor II for all live performances I've had.
If there's anything I hate about this guitar most it's the tuners. They really don't do well when I bend. At all. So I'm gonna replace them once I get a chance.

N/A

I've been playing almost 3 years. This was my third guitar, and it was me second electric. I needed something better than my squier, and this did/does the job. Right now I'm looking for a guitar that I can trust a little better for live settings.
This guitar definitely measures up to any epiphone LP (except the epi elitists). And the inlay is pretty cool. It looks great and it's practically flawless.
If you're looking at buying one, make sure it's actually new, and try it out first if you have the chance. If you can't do that, then I'd say you should still get it if you can't afford something better.

Bought new in 2004..Made in China! Can't tell if laminated top but my guess is it is. as far as the wood Turser claims Mahogony but I can't tell. the finish is a Walnut Flame and short of openeing the electronics to take a peak at the wood stock again, probably some type of hard wood, but the sound is every bit as good as the Epi Mahogony stock LP I have. Has the usual 3 way switch, 2-tone and 2 _volumeknobs with Humbuck PAF style pick ups. I have to say they do rock. Very clean sounding yet fat and thick when you need it! The fret work is unbelievable. Very cool serpent but nothing you don't knbow except I have no fill in the work what so ever, perfect inlay work. Now the bad part..tuners. Well they just dont stay in tune and I was told that it could be due to the tuners( cheap chinese knock offs of Schaller-Gotohs, or a bad set up. I had the set up professionally done to 10's and the nut was filed along with some frets accordingly. However, I got a great deal on some new Sperzel Locking Tuners and replaced the cheap tuners that came with the guitar. Now, i can bend twist and everything in between and they stay in tune! The bridge and tailpiece are the standard LP knock offs but have no problem with them...they work just fine. All hardware is gold

I play everything from current to 70/80s rock , lead rythym, jazz etc. The sound on this guitar covers it all and sounds great. no feedback unless i adjust the gain for it. Bright, rich full sound. I play it through a Peavy express 112 ( sucks ) but can get the sound i like if i set the amp right. Its solid state and lots of humming. Also at times through my Digitech RP300 and I can get just about any sound i want. as far as tthe sound, its outstanding and will put it up against a LP Custom, not saying the Gibbys arent great but the Turser sound is that good.

It came ready tp play and the fit and action was good. I did take it to have it professionally set up as I placed Sperzels on it and had it set up 10's strings. However, the action is fast, smooth and just the way i like it. There were no issue with wood flaws misalignment etc. My only question and issue would be is if Turser claims it is mahogony it should be just that. i have heard they aren't but until I find out for sure I can't bitch about that.

This is a tight guitar for sure. i gig with it and its solid all the way around. I use other guitars for gigging when i need other sounds like single pick ups ...Fender Strat/Telecaster and Gibby SG. I have to say I use all of them but have NO hesitation using this guitar. I actually like the action on this guitar the best with its thin profile neck, next is my Telecaster( go figure it has a c neck ).I can totally depend on this guitar

Haven't need to deal with them

I have been playing for over 40 years. I have gibsons, Epiphones, washburns, Guilds, Ovations and I love them all. Different guitars for different styles. However, I love the Turser. Unlesss I came into a boatload of money I wouldn't feel the need to get a Gibson LP. I really love the Turser. it's solid, sounds outstanding, action is great , looks hot and highly recommend it if you are looking for a LP or the best possible LP copy you can afford. Forget the EPI's, these are better.If I lost this, well id'e shit a brick then buy another one.I wouldn't get mad if it were stolen,How could I couldn't blame them, its that good. But, I guess, hey let them buy their own so on second thought maybe i wouldn't be so forgiving. really if you are considering a LP copy or Gibbby, you should do yourself a favor and at least look at the JT Turser Serpent 200

bought in 2003 for $250 but have waited to give it a review. It's the serpent model in cherry sunburst with gold hardware - everything else will be well known to anyone reading this review

The twin humbuckers are really pretty good. I've had a 78 Les Paul and the sound out of the Turser is not far behind, not quite as rich and crunchy, but remember that the Turser is worth 1/5 what I sold my Gibson for.

the action wasn't quite right when it arrived, but an hour or so tweaking the truss rod and setting the action improved things. Apart from that the fit and finish on this guitar is fantastic. Very nice serpent inlay and gorgeous sunburst body with cream bindings. Not a fault anywhere to be found - and I really looked!

I've had it for a year and it has held up well with no obvious signs of wear. The goldware needs a polish every once in a while to keep it looking new - but nothing at all has gone wrong or worn

n/a

I have been playing on and off (more off) for 5+ years and really like this guitar - in fact because of the lighter weight it is more enjoyable to play than my Gibson LP and sounds almost as good - and you can't say fairer that that for the price

2003-2004 model, made in china.
22 frets
laminated flame top
2vol,2tone, 3 way toggle
2 passive humbuckers
mahogany body, think its a maple neck
transparent flame finish
les paul body
non locking tuners gold
thin profile neck, thin frets, rosewood fretboard
bought with gigbag and stand.

can play anything i want ,metal,blues,clean.
using a line6 ax212 amp or art sgx2000 express procesor
pretty quiet for passive pickups
good full sound ,not real bright , it has the les paul sound.
likes , finish ,neck profile,sound.dislikes, frets, hardware.

bought the guitar used but the guy bought it new and was onlt a couple months old when i got it. he said he didnt change the setup.the setup sucked for my taste. it had .09 strings , i play.10's orheavier, action was set way too low, alot of fret buzzing, after adjusting the neck and action using a set of .10's it played nice.
flaws- crappy frets , a little thin for my taste and had to polish them (they were gritty).bridge was noisy , had to lubricate the saddle threads , torch inlay on headstock is off center. everything else was nice.

dont see why this guitar cant play live.
the bridge is kinda cheap, the other hardware seems as good if not better than that was on mt epiphone sg-400.
the gold finish is so far holding up.
strap buttons are solid.
this guitar seems dependable.
have no problems after properly setup. but never gig without a backup.

never had to use customer support.

been playing 15yrs. own 2 other electrics 1 acoustic, digital amp, effects processor,4 track recorder, cd trainer.
if it were stolen i would replace it.
love the sound for a cheap guitar the pickups are amazing.hate the frets would like to refret it. favorite feature would be the sound and finish, the serpent inlay looks cool onstage.
compared this to other les pauls and epiphone les pauls, you cant beat a real les paul but the jt for the price comes close, compared to the epi, the jt blows them away with sound and value, but the epi's had nicer frets.
i wish it had jumbo frets or nicely polished frets of good quality.
overall one of the best cheap guitars i ever owned. if you cant afford a real les paul this should your next choice. great looks, great sound, decent playabilty. great value. i would like to add , ive heard there is two versions of this guitar , china, and korean, the china one seems to the better one, from what ive heard.

This guitar has a complete compliment of features you would expect to find on any Les Paul model: Flamed maple top with a transparent finish, solid mahogany body, set maple neck, rosewood fretboard, electronics with good range, etc...The star of this guitar is the inlaid serpent. It is absolutely beautiful! There is a bit of filler used in places but my Gibson SG Standard has the same amount around the block inlays. In fact, Gibson's filler doesn't match the fretboard very well while the Turser does nearly perfectly. This guitar is the easiest to play that I have ever owned, including the SG.

I play everything I like, which covers alot of ground. I usually run through a Silvertone 1481 but I do also run it through an EMC G100. I get everything I want with the exception of country. Honestly though, who buys a Paul for country...I want to rock!!!The guitar is very versatile, I might be more limited by my amps than the guitar.

I can honestly say that when I received the guitar new from the factory, all I had to do was tune the sucker and go, go, go! I realize at this price point luck may have alot to do with the guitar arriving properly set up and with good fit and finish; but man I got a winner! The top looks excellent, the only thing I could find that was remotely wrong was a black speck under the lamination. It is so small and unnoticeable that I feel silly mentioning it, especially considering what I stole this thing for.

I don't play live very often but if I did I would play the Turser with out a back up. The guitar seems very solid, better than my $800.00 Epiphone Paul and on par with the Gibson. This is the first guitar I have ever owned with gold hardware so only time will tell how it will stand up.

Limited lifetime warranty. Haven't had to use it in the three months I've been playing the Turser.

I've been playing for about five years now off and on. Since receiving the Turser three months ago I have played more hours than the previous two years combined. That's got to say something about the guitar! It's just fun to play...it feels like it belongs in my hands. I chose this guitar because my Epi felt odd to me, my Strat was starting to get on my nerves, and my SG's fretboard is too small. How could I go wrong at $240.00? I could get that back out of some of the worst Pauls on the market today. This just turned out to be a wonderful experience. It just goes to show that money can't buy everything. I'd just like to know how they can sell this guitar with these features and quality for this price...it is truely amazing. I might look into becomming an authorized dealer here in Iowa, that should tell you something about the guitar as well.

This is a 2003 JT200 Serpent,prob.chinese, with tobacco burst and Flame Top. AND THIS GUITAR IS A LOOKER!!!, though for this price i think the top is laminate, and the body/top isn't carved, so there are cavities between top and body. But i have the idea that this gives the guitar a distinct own sound. It's a very nice alternative to the LP-theme. I love the guitar, although it does not have what JT promises: The bindings aren't really 5 ply, the body is NOT mahogany, the fretboard is NOT real rosewood. It DOES have a nice MOP/Abalone inlay, good sounding humbuckers, good finish. 2 vol/2 tone cntrls, schaller tuners (VERY GOOD) good tune-o matic/ stoptail bridge clone. The neck feels very good, though i find the frets too thin. The body is made of something like alder or maple, or some unknown cheap chinese wood, although it IS really quite heavy and solid. So, even though it's clear that it's not a $1000 or more guitar, it's got very nice features for it;'s price, so i'll rate it high

This is where the amazement goes further. When i first plugged it into my '73 JMP MArshall through a TS808...IT ROCKED and BLUESED BIGTIME. The bridgepickup sounds clear, crunchy. Bit brighter than a orig.LP, and with more mids wich i love. When i plug it into my modified (xtremely) highgain JCM900... there is no return. The neck pickup was too dark sounding to my taste, but i've modified the electronics (pot's,and caps) to make it sound brighter. Now it gives creamy lead tones as well, instead of muddy. I was shocked that a <$400 guitar sounded sooooo well. It's not much unlike a Les Paul Classic, wich i own as well, but still has some tones of its own. I'll rate this high too, because of the GREAT sound, and especially the TONE for MONEY balance!

From factory the guitar was playable. Better even than some expensive guitar i got from factory. The frets are too thin to my taste. Might have installed jumbo ones, when these wear out a little. There is some string buzz and dying notes on the high positions when playing solos, but i'll have the frets dressed soon. Overall it plays really smooth. The intonation was perfect, as was the action. And my biggest amazement was, that it stays in tune EXTREMELY WELL!!! During gigs, i only have to tune once, and even the day after the guitar is in tune still. That IS a sign of a well-built guitar! Even my CustomSHop Strat, and Gibson LP don't stay in tune this well. The finish looked very nice, with some really minor flaws on the headstock bindings. The flame top is very nicely finished, allthough you can clearly see some brush marks in the transition from black sides to natural tobacco middle. (But hey, it's a <400 guitar. I've seen worse finishes on guitars 3, 4 times this price!!

I only had it for about 3 weeks now, so I have no idea about durability. The guitar seems very sturdily built. I think the gold hardware will fade pretty soon, but that will give it a nice vintage look. reliability no problem: I haven't broken strings yet, and the stringsaddles and nut seem very smooth, so i don't expect to break any strings.

Not dealt with JT, but i'm gonna try to contact them about the materials they used for the guitar.. I can't wait how they will react.

Well, allthough there can be minor flaws in the JT's.. for this money YOU CAN'T GO WRONG!!!!
I've been playing for about 10 years now, and now i play through and '73 marshall JMP stack, and a 90's JCM stack, and some tube based (still can't beat them tubes!!) and other analogue effects. I own a Custom Shop Strat (for wich i sold my car!!) and a '98 LP classic premium plus (for wich i sold my soul :-P) I mainly play blues, classic rock, modern rock and funk.
And now i've bought the JT200, wich is a perfect addition to my equipment! For the money this guitar is AWESOME... unless you know alot about guitars you won't see this is a cheaply made guitar (allthough cheap does NOT mean BAD in this case), and even if you DO know alot about guitars, you wouldn't hear or feel that this is a cheap guitar! I bring it out to gigs more then my expensive original LP, just to save the latter, but it sounds and plays almost like my real LP, and also has some distinctive sounds of it's own, wich are really useable and professional as well. If it were stolen, i would definately buy another. I'm even thinking about buying 1 or two JT-200's more in different looks (maybe the 200DLX or so) as a back-up, and they will also look VERY NICE in any collection!! whether you put them in a rack onstage, in your room, or hang them on a wall!!

One last tip: Because these guitars are cheaply but handmade, there are differences in specimens. So one JT200 can be perfect, while another one can have flaws. I was so lucky to find one wich was really good, so if there's a shop who has multiple JT's in stock, ask them if you can see the different guitars and buy the one that seems best!