Product: Jerry Jones Supreme Sitar
Price Paid: USD 1099
Submitted
08/30/2007
at
08:07pm
by
Ravi
Features
:
10
Everything is high quality and well thought out. No cut corners here, he balances keeping the spirit of the Coral Sitar with modernizing the design. I really love the neck and frets on it. It plays very smooth...
Sound
:
10
It sounds AMAZING! There is nothing like this. I've been playing guitar for almost 30 years and it is the only instrument I know how to play. I grew quite tired of the "guitar sound" and wanted some fresh inspiration. This instrument has provided me with plenty of that.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
The action, fit and finish are high quality. One has to come to terms with it being inspired by the Coral Sitar and therefore coming with the kind of bizarre paint job. The paint job is well executed, but not what I would have done if it was up to me. I'd prefer a more traditional type of body paint. But that is just aesthetics and does not reflect quality.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
It seems very well made, only time will tell.
Customer Support
:
10
I emailed with questions and got a response right away. So far so good.
Overall Rating
:
10
If you are looking for something to spice up your music, this might be it. It has been a lot of fun!
Product: Jerry Jones Supreme Sitar
Price Paid: US $900 w/case and shipping
Submitted
05/11/2005
at
07:30pm
by
Nick Brandes
Email: nbrandes at berklee<dot>net
Features
:
9
This is a 2005 model made in the US, Nashville is where Jerry's shop is located. This is an extremely well made guitar. Unlike the Master sitar, it has a second, fretless neck which holds the drone strings. The second neck is smaller and comes up to about the 5th fret on the guitar neck. There are three lipstick tube pickups; one for the drones and and two for the guitar neck with tone and volume controls for each pickup. Each neck has its own buzz bridge. The body is hollow like the Master sitar. This hollow body makes the guitar very resonant and fun to play even while not plugged in.
Sound
:
9
I am not really a fan of the lipstick tube pickups because to me, they sound sort of tinny and hollow. For getting a sitar sound they really work great, but I have replaced the buzz bridge on the guitar neck with a tune-a-matic bridge because I wanted to have a more versatile instrument. I may replace the pickups with mini-humbuckers sometime soon. The stock pickups are also slightly noisy. There is a distinct 60 cycle hum, which is not too loud but I still find very annoying. Turning down the tone knobs makes the hum less noticable.
The buzz bridges really make it sound like a sitar! I prefer to play with my fingers and can really get a great sitar sound by using a fairly light attack on the strings. Arpeggiating chords sounds wonderful, creates a very psychedelic sound as you can hear the strings swelling and almost acting as a natural phaser. Playing very lightly, I am able to get an almost buzz free sound.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
It came setup very well. Its funny though, with this neck it really feels and plays like a strat. I am not a strat lover but I do like this guitar. Having two set of tuners really makes the guitar neck heavey but it's not too bad. The Gotoh tuners don't really seem to hold their tune and I will replace them soon with some locking Sperzels.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
Very reliable/durable.
Customer Support
:
1
I sent them an email which was never returned. I hear Jerry is a nice guy, but not to me!
Overall Rating
:
10
I am a student at Berklee College of Music and had to sell my beloved '71 Gibson 325 in order to buy this guitar. It is my only guitar, and I use it in class, with ensembles, and for playing my own music. I play a combination of folkly jazz, disonant Bill Frissel-esque melodies, and of course with this guitar, Indian drone inspired music. I use a 70s Roland Cube-60 combo which it sounds great through. All the Berklee amps are Fender Deluxes. This guitar definitly sounds better with some tube in the signal chain, but what guitar doesn't?
When I decided to buy a new instrument, I wanted a guitar with extra non-fretted strings. I thought about getting an acoustic harp guitar or a bass lute but finally settled on this because I still wanted to be able to jam out with my friends in an amplified setting. I bought it with the intention of changing out both bridges, effectively making it an electric harp guitar. This is the cheapest way I could find to get a harp guitar. I am very pleased with the results and got exactly what I wanted. I left the buzz bridge on the drone strings though because I it was just too cool.
