Jay Turser JT-200 VINEQMT

I got this guitar in 2003 from Musicland Central online. This is a les paul style guitar with two volume and two tone controls. It came with 22 frets with a Mahogany body and Maple top with the Vine Inlay on the rosewood neck. It has 5 ply binding on the body, neck and headstock (tremendous). It had two gold humbuckers with gold hardware. This is truly a "lawsuit"(all dimensions are the same) les paul copy on the body style. The strings were D'Adarrio.

The pickups were very similar to Epiphone pickups, which are dynamic to a point. Gibson, Dimarzio and Seymour Duncans are mor dynamic with more sound variations. However, there was definitely a thick les paul sound and grind to it. I used this with a Marshall DSL401 and it sounding excellent - good grind, thick tone, great classic rock sounds and modern rock sounds. I like everything about this guitar although, as mentioned, the pickups could be more dynamic.

The action was just like a les paul. The fit and finish were incredible. Quilt maple with abalone and mother of pearl inlays on the neck. The binding was vintage white and incredibly solid - looks like 5 ply. You usually find this type of binding on guitars priced $800 or higher. It had a fixed bridge, again all gold hardware. All parts like the bridge, nut and jacks were done very well. No flaws on this guitar, not even minor scratches.

I have had it for 5 years now and nothing has gone wrong. I keep comparing it to my gibson les paul and still can't believe how dead on the dimensions are. However, it seems as though after I bought this, the JT-200 design changed. I was lucky to have one of the first Jay Turser JT-200 that cost about $329-$349. A great price for this guitar and its looks. This guitar was used in a Blues Jam and was incredible.

Haven't needed them.

This guitar won the Gutiar Player Magazine award for best guitar under $500 either in 2003 or 2004. If it were stolen, I would definitely look for another one on ebay. I have been playing for 18 years and this guitar is one of the best buys for the price I have ever had. I wish I had more because you were able to get different colors and fretboard designs and for the price $329-$349 price, it was well worth it.

Finish: Purple Sun Burst Quilted Top
Body Style: LP copy
Bridge: Tune-O-Matic
Tuners: Non-locking
Neck/Scale: LP kinda but not as chunky, Med/Jumbo frets, Maple neck w/Rosewood Fretboard, Vine inlay
Accesories: None
When/Where made: 2005/China
Frets: 22
Top: Laminated QMT Purple Sunburst
Pickup Configuration: 2V/2T
Hardware: Gold covered
Make/Model of Pickups: Imported Alnico magnet Humbuckers
Electronics: Passive
Body/Neck Woods: Basswood Body w/QMT, Maple Neck w/Rosewood

How does it suit my style: I play rock and this guitar does it well.
Amp: Fender Cyber Twin SE using many b/i effects
Noisy: No, the pickups on this guitar are quiet.
Sound: Rich/Full
Kinds of sounds guitar makes: Clean to Crunchy
Likes: Beautiful Eye Candy, Sounds Great, Comfortable to Play
Dislikes: 20-22 neck frets are a little hard to reach due to the neck support piece. The guitar is a little heavy, but that is also a good thing.

Set-Up: Set up was good, action was re-adjusted to my taste.
Pickups: Pickups were dialed in from the get go.
Top/Bridge: Top was stunning, wife said it was like candy- later on this comment.
Flaws: No majors I have found, the Vine inlay was rough in only a spot or two but no big deal. The neck plays extremely well, actually better than most LP's I have played.

This guitar would handle live playing, no doubt.
Hardware is good.
Finish is great.
Strap buttons are solid.
I could depend on this guitar.
I do not gig with this guitar, although it is more than capable. It is mainly for show.

Never had to use Customer Service except to ask a question and they were extremely informative and polite. I honestly believe they would back up their products.
The warranty is limited life time to original purchaser.

Bottom line: I was online last year showing the wife another Jay Turser model I had purchased when she said "wait go back to that purple one"! So we looked at the "Purple Paul" clone and she said "that is beautiful, like something you want to lick"--hummm! So phone in hand I ordered it for her, yeah rite, like she would give up her 40 years of piano to learn guitar. When it came I gave it the "dawg" test. It played easy, the pickups had "soul" and a mile of sustaining harmonics, not like some of the lifeless humbuckers I have used (and we know who you are). This guitar is stunning and is for show, not only go. Although it rocks and would catch attention at any gig I keep this one in the music room. This was the 2nd of many Tursers I own and are a Fantastic value for the money imho. I have played rock for over 25 years using 2 Fender Strats and a Taylor 710CE and must say Jay Tursers are a great bang for the buck if you want a cost effective rocking axe w/humbuckers. With a Cyber Twin SE I can cover any style of music with this guitar, maybe xcept x-treme metal but that's not what this old "fat cat w/a strat" is about--ROCK ON!

Got it off Music123.com in 2005. It had a blemish even though I ordered a brand new one, but they compensated for it. So I got it for about $300CAD. It had a little "bump" on the neck. When it was being finished, the nitro spray gun must've been clogged and shot that out. But having building guitars myself, I just sanded it down. Saved about $200 for a little workout.
LesPaul knockoff: Made in China. set neck.
22 Frets. The reason I bought this was the fingerboard. It had a Vine Inlay. Looking from the pictures, I was surprised. Then when it arrived, I was mediocre, and now.. Eww.. The pearl's are nice, it's just that the routing for inlay was done horribly.. I mean if this was done by cnc.. it must've had like +/- 0.5cm.. but the only way they could do for cheap guitars I guess. Huge routings for small inlays = huge load of epoxy.
Now.. epoxies are glue.. nothing to be awed at..
Solid body, Green Quilted Maple top,.. of course it's laminated.
Looks like Nitro, its pretty hard. Its gloss.
2 Volumes, 2 Controls, 3-way, no split.
2 Stock Humbuckers (still a mystery to me who made these)
Passive electronics.
The body I believe is Mahogany, or at least its family, reason I say this is because they don't claim it to be mahogany, so I suspect they're hiding something. (those Chinese ppl.. *sigh*) Same material in the neck. The fretboard's rosewood, but it's a cheap quality.
Bridge is Tune O Matic. It holds up. You won't find much problems in TOMs in itself. All the machines are gold.
Tuners aren't locking, but it stays in tune. You can tighten it through the screw, which holds up even through harsh bends. You shouldn't be complaining about them at what you're paying anyway.
Oh.. neck scale is 24.75" and the frets are medium-slightly tall.
Comes with a warranty card, D'addario strings (10s).
It does an ok job imitating lespauls. The neck angle is properly at 2 degrees and headstock at about 9. Except that it's not as heavy as the Gibsons, but nonetheless still heavy.

This is where it kind of dies..
I wouldn't mind paying $100 more for using at least A quality wood..
The guitar's tone or sound can't imitate like the Gibson's.
But if you have lots of pedals and know how to use them, but you just want a good lookin guitar from 20 feet. This does the job.
You might want new pickups.
These are ok, but weak.. I'd say these are about 9ish ohm.
I'm not a pickup expert, but they ARE versatile.
Heck if you get guitars at this range, make sure you have a good EQ pedal. That's all I got to say.

Well.. Factory setup? Factory setup doesnt mean it will suite you.
You might want to tweak it here and there, and if it does the job for you. Then I say it's good action and fit.
Well, it does the job. So it's a good action and fit.
Finish to my spoiledness is horrible. Quilted maples shouldn't be 2-D.. It should at leasssttt show some dimension. This has close to none. But again, at 20 feet away nobody can really tell.. unless the camera does a close-up.. then you're screwed.
Pickups, I left them alone, because I'm not going to install +$100 worth of pickups in a $300 guitar.
The routing for bridge is well done. Frets are in place, although not crowned to the best it can be.
Oh, is it bookmatched top? No. I think they try to make it flow, but no it's not bkmtched.
As I mentioned the guitar came with the bump on neck, but for $200 off, I'm happy.
I wish they'd have done a solid paint. Something simpler so they can spend more money on quality. But I can tell this guitar is made for eye-candy.. and attract all those beginners and ZakkWylde wanna-bes or what not.

Very reliable.
Stand live playing?
I don't think you'll go far in a metal or even punk bands, but pop/jazz/or even virtuosos? Yea.
So I guess it won't stand live playing.
Finish is good enough to last. It's relatively thin, but it will last as long as there are no cats around.
Strap buttons are solid, but get strap-locks for safety.. $20 is a little investment to any guitar's safety.
Can I depend on it? Hm... Maybe.. I don't want to...
Would I use it on a gig without a backup? Eck no... No..
I just don't want to..
But it IS reliable and durable.

Haven't dealt with them.. don't plan to even if it breaks. I'll just strip everything down and use some parts to make another guitar

If you're looking for the LesPaul sound, you got the wrong idea.. get a real Gib used off eBay for about $700 ish. Reasonable. If you're looking for the LesPaul look.. Sure why not. But I warn you about the inlays on frets.
All the guitars I own are homemade/custom.. The only ones I bought in my life are.. Yamaha FG411, Yamaha PAC112(sold this..), and this.
If it was stolen, I would chase the person down, steal his credit card/money/jewelery and burn him, and use this guitar as firewood.
Favorite feature.. the gold hardwares. These are reusuable and good quality.
Anything you wish it had? Um.. yea.. how about a nice Paua purfling, and a custom fret inlay with letters "I SWEAR THIS IS REAL GIBSON", put some Ibanez Edge in it, EMG 81/85 with 1 vol, 1 tone, and built in sustainer effect. Also a nice deep set neck, with 5A Grade Quilt Top with an actual stain job. All Gotoh hardwares, Schaller locking tuners. I wish it had those.. But the price would go up.. the roof.. the sky..
I'd like to share the fact that there are too many kids with LesPauls these days.. It's true.. What happen to those good old Iceman, Kelly, PRS24 originals, Rickenbackers, Gretsches..
Trust me, you don't find gold lying around or bannered for claims. You find them in the deep secret lairs of caves. You find them in rare custom.
If you want to throw your money way on some guitar labelled "Gibson".. just remember how much of that is just for that name. Over 60%.
Check out some eBay stuff, sometimes they have good guitars; althought beat up, with some mods they're dream guitars. Looks ugly.. sounds good.
For the guitar I give 6.5 overall if it was new without blemishes at $500. I give 8 overall for the condition and price it followed.