Jerry Jones Baritone Guitar

This is the new 2001 Neptune model, with 3 single-coil lipstick tube pickups and short horns. Made in USA. 28" scale, tuned A-A. 5-way switch, bridge-bridge and middle, middle, middle and neck, neck. The middle is reverse wired so that when it's in combo with another pickup the two form a humbucking pair.

Mine has a black finish, rosewood fingerboard, and says Neptune on the headstock. It uses a fully height and intonation adjustable Gotoh bridge, and good Gotoh tuning machines. Much higher quality parts than the Danos. I got mine without a case or bag.

Sounds great! It falls nicely between bass (which is my main instrument) and guitar. I use it through my SVT bass head, with a 4X10 SVT speaker, and it sounds quite good with that. It's surprisingly quiet, even on the single pickup settings. Lots of variety in the tones by switching between pickup settings, from big-n-chunky to thin and twangy.

Setup was very good. No flaws to speak of, great fretwork, good neck pocket fit for a non-custom guitar. Pick this up after handling a Danelectro and you'll immediately feel and hear why it costs twice as much -- It's more than twice the guitar. And it's still relatively inexpensive. The top quality hardware really solves a lot of problems. Tuning and intonation are much better.

The tone pot is a bit strange. I turn it down and not much happens until 3/4 of the way, then the highs roll off quickly. I like it wide open anyway. The volume pot seems to be a bit more even, but I leave it wide open, too. The pots and switch are quiet.

This is far more solid than the Danos I compared it to. I feel totally comfortable sticking in the front seat of my car without a case. It has a typical finish for the type of guitar -- not fancy -- and it doesn't bother me to scratch it. It's built very solidly, the switches, hardware, and the instrument in general have a substantial, solid feel.

No need.

This is far from a fancy guitar, but that's obviously not the point with these. But it's nice that someone is building this type of guitar as a pro-quality instrument and still keeping the price reasonable, if not dirt-cheap like the Danos. I picked it over the Dano because I figured if I'm going to spend $300 I might as well spend $650 and get a real instrument that will last and has high quality hardware and can be better intonated. It feels solid like a real instrument and sounds much better, too. Working with it is more of a pleasure, because of the high-quality tuners, bridge, and electronics. I hate the hassle of cheap parts, especially tuning machines. I'm very satisfied with it.

Think Danelectro guitar with QUALITY construction. Single cutaway, 23 fret hollow body with masonite cover (mine's black with white accents). 1 Volume and 1 Tone Control. 3 Way pick-up switch controls, 2 Jerry Jones-made single coil "lipstick tube" pickups. It has the Neptune bridge, which -- if you've seen the Danelectro wooden bridge -- is a major (and necessary) improvement. The tuners are high quality and worked perfectly. The neck is bass length, but very easy to get accustomed to for a guitarist. The guitar is retro-chic just like the re-issued Dano's with USA hand-constructed workmanship. It came with a humungous hard shell case.

I thought of getting the Bass VI because I wanted the tick-tack bass sound used in a zillion country songs, but in recent years on many Steve Earle songs I've been listening to. Using the treble pickup and a lot of compression through a blackface Super Reverb with a touch of reverb, I get "the sound" with this baritone. Better, I get much more! Its unique "cross-over" tuning allows me to use the baritone as a unique sounding electric guitar. Everyone's getting into dropped D and C tunings on the guitar these days. Well, you're there already with this guitar. And, in the middle and neck positions, you can generate some powerful chords. I agree with the other reviewer -- it sounds great with a bit of distortion. If you're looking for a unique sound -- this is it!

Action is non-adjustable, but fine for me. It is a compromise between a bass and a guitar so if you're gonna play a Joe Satriani lick, save yourself the disappointment. Fit and finish -- body, neck, frets -- all were very good. I'd compare it to any American-made Fender priced in the $700 - $1,000 range. No, it's not the same as PRS quality, but then neither is the price!

I've had this guitar for about nine months. Unlike the new (or old Danos), it is very well constructed. It is not fragile. I love the guy's comment that the "pickup switch looks like something you'd use to turn all the lights off in New York City" It's true and perfectly fitting for anyone enamored with a 50's look, but concerned about buying a guitar that will last.

I called Jerry Jones -- it was tough to find the Nashville-based company's phone number. He answered the phone and was terrific in taking time to explain about the strings to use and to set me straight on the difference between the Neptune bridge and the wooden one. Great guy, whose heart is obviously in creating not only grteat reproductions, but fine guitars. He just put up a web site -- www.jerryjonesguitars.com so hopefully, more people will learn about the fine work he's doing.

I have been playing guitar and bass for 38 years. I've owned every fine guitar you can think of from the 50's onward. In the past decade, I've come back to -- time and time again -- PRS as my mainstay guitars. But I am also inspired by unique sounding instruments. I own a '63 Vox mando-guitar, a Carvin bass, a Rickenbacker 360 V64 12 string, an Ovation nylon string Viper, a Tacoma Papoose and a JJ electric sitar. Jerry Jones has a great niche. The Dano sound and look is unique. He's captured that and added superior workmanship for those who expect a product to work right first and every time for many years to come. Highly recommended.

Hand msde in 1998 in NAshville, TN. Single cutaway, 23 fret hollow body (no holes) with masonite (that's right) edges. 1 Volume and 1 Tone Control. 3 Way pick-up switch controls 2 single coil "lipstick tube" pickups. I usually use the neck position to get even more bassy *ie if a song uses only baritone and guitar), the middle configuration is just that, middle. I used it most when playing in a band with bass, bari and regular (alto??) guitars, together. The bridge position is very trebly. I actually don't use it much, but it's great for making the guitar the most audible thing at practices. The body looks like a DanElectro, as do all of JJ's guitars, but it's 10 times the guitar. It has a the Neptune bridge, which has alan wrench-adjustable intonation but no action adjustment for the saddles. This is actually great because the action is at a meduium level (not too low, but it could be a little lower for my tastes)and if your a real string pounder, there's no way you can knock the saddles down onto the bridge because they're already resting on it!! It prevents you from knocking yourself out of tune at intense moments. The tuner are very fifties style and must be JJ's own creation but they are wonderful. I am very picky about machine heads and these are some strong tuners! As it's a baritone, the open notes are (going up) A,E,C,G,D,A. The neck is about as long a bass and very comfortable. It's just barely convex. The frets are thin and it has the clear pick guard without the Danelectro "d" on it. The headstock is shape like a beer bottle and mine is a teal green. The guitar is gorgeous. It's very plain, no flashy frills. Not too many features. I've gotten many compliments on it's appearance. The guitar weighs about half a pound and comes with a heavy duty, plush-red interior case that weighs as much as a small human.

I love the way this guitar sounds. If you've never played one and are considering buying a baritone guitar, play it amplified through both bass and guitar gear before you make your decision. A friend used to play it through my Gallien Krueger head and he loved it! The lows are magnificent through a bass amp, however, bass amps are not made to pick up the high notes on the little strings so those would often times be lost in the mix of other instruments. Through a guitar amp (as I play it now) it sounds great over all, but the low notes aren't as ball shaking as they were through the GK. It's absolutley awesome to play it with a regular guitar and hear how low it really is. It's primarily a country guitar, but I am playing math/indie stuff with it. It sounds great with a bit of distorion and with a lot, loses some of it's effect but still sounds unique. The pickups sound horrifically good. Very rich with the tone al the way up...very bright. Also, with tone all the way down it sounds like some wacky keyboard effect. I couldn't be happier with sound of this instrument. Unique IS the word to describe it. It's an awesome feeling of power to go from the midrange notes sounding like a guitar and then slide down to the beefy bass notes. The really cool thing is it's natural tone. What I mean is that the low notes are low but have the twang of a regular guitar string. The high notes are also low but it's weird to hear the really high notes played in conjuntion with the smae notes on a regular guitar, which are it's medium range pitches. You're getting the same pitch but it's the TONE that is almost consfusing when you hear it. The first time my girlfriend heard us play a song with it (just drums, guitar and bariton) she was in awe. "Where's that low stuff coming from??" haha!! Also, I have NEVER heard so mush as a buzz from the pickups, even out of the crappiest amplifiers or least grounded stages. The sound is purely the reason the guitar is great.

The action on this guitar is not my favourite. It's not adjustable, as I mentioned above, so you have to like it or deal with (or, snif, not play it). I went to intonate the thing when I got it and it was already done. The pickups are just right for me, very close to the strings and very rich and bright. The guitar is of the utmost quality. They are hand made and I was so excited at it's beauty when I got that I didn't want to play it. I still baby it!! The only other thing I can say I DON'T particularly care for is the masonite siding. It's very cool, but until you get used to it, it does rub the inside of your right arm raw where you rest it up top. Again, the strings are enormous, so that makes the comfort level of the guitar not too high, but with practice (as with moving from guitar to bass) you get used to it and your doing all your full jazz chords in no time!!

I tend to baby this guitar, but it is very reliable and duarble. The hardware is so heavy duty it's almost cheesy. The pickup switch looks like something you'd use to turn all the lights off in New York City!! It's a burly looking thing. The machine heads are very resilient. I sometimes don't bother to make tuning adjustments before a practice because the thing is so close from the last time I did it that I don't want to move it! I have not broken a string on it yet, as they are huge, I suppose. I never use a backup because I can't afford one!! It's very easy to clean. I found some arm funk on it's top where I rest my right arm and it I jut wiped it away. On my other guitar (Samick) I had to get out the polish and windex and all of that stuff. Still, something about it makes me want to baby it. It seems brutal and yet delicate...

I have not had to deal with JJ directly. I just go through Indoor Storm which is the shop I bought it from. If you need new strings for it, I recommend that you buy the JJ strings or THAT YOU STICK WITH SAME GUAGE YOU HAVE WHEN YOU BUY IT!! A friend of mine bought a year supply (Ernie bALL)for his and the big A was too big to fit in the tuner. Foolishly, he drilled a hole through the tuner...I guess he justified it by the fact that he'd just spent $100+ on strings for the next year or so. If he could've just found the Jerry Jones strings!! Also, don't play this guitar with a quarter. Use a real pick!! Just trust me on that...Anyway, Indoor Storm is very helpful and a helluva a shop. I recommend going through them once you make your decision. They had Jerry make the teal one for me. Apparently they don't make that color anymore...? As far as the Jerry Jones company, though...no I have had no contact directly with them. I can't find anything on them anywhere. It's almost like they don't want you to buy their stuff!! I have to order the strings through Indoor Storm as well.

I have been playing guitar for 8 years and this one for the last year or so. When I bought it, I had played my friend's (the guy who drilled the hole and used the quarter...i love him) a lot and I knew a good dela about it. I was VERY happy with the price I found it at! My friend bought his in Portland, OR for about $800 plus $90 for the case. I got mine shipped from NC (to Dallas) with case for $720.00!! My favourite thing about the guitar is that it's versatility and uniqueenss. I am one of two or three people I know with one. If I ever lost this guitar I would cry. Mostly because they take a long to time to replace (handmade). I chose this guitar because of it's sound. That is the bottom line...it sounds GREAT!!!