Johnson JT-800 Tele Copy

Tobacco Sunburst
Tele(obviously)
Tele-style
Tuners are reletively cheap(They have their namesake on the back of the keys and are non-locking), But the do hold the tuning very well.
I would say it has a fat neck. Rosewood fingerboard.
I bought it without any accesories other than the strings that were on it. I bought it used Person-to-Person.
It does not say where it was made, but I would assume China or Japan. It appears to be a '95.
There are 21 frets.
It is a solid-body guitar, so the question of whether it is solid top or laminated does not apply.
It uses the basic Tele-style 3-way selector switch.
The configuration would be L/S.
The single coil is a Johnson EMG. The lipstick pickup I would assume is the same make.
Passive electronics. Like the Tele.
Body is solid alder. The neck is single-piece maple. The fret board is rosewood.
I give this category an eight because it is the closest any company has come to making an affordable and great sounding Tele copy.

I play mostly classic and southern rock, so it is as though it were custom built for me. I do occasionaly play blues.
I have used a couple amps such as a Berhinger 2x12 and a Squire SP-10. It sounds great in both.
It is noiseless.
It has a combination between Bright and Full sounds.
It can make some twangy pops like a Tele, and can closely resemble a Strat on the middle setting.
I like the fact that it sounds like a Tele, but dislike the fact that I had to adjust the intonation.

N/A(Already stated in previous section)

It has withstood some live playing. It has a wonderful Tone in the open air.

I have been playing for 4 years and have played some of the worlds best guitars, so I have no real comment for this section. I would be Disheartened if it were stolen.

Telecaster clone. Solid alder body. chrome, closed tuners. Maple necks, rosewood fretboard. Pickups are Johnson EMG.

This guitar, even with the terrible OEM strings, sounded astonishingly good right out of the box. Playing on the bridge pickup, I noticed a slight weakness on the high E string as mentioned by other reviewers. The bridge pickup needed a slight adjustment to correct this. The neck pickup is quite decent sounding. I didn't notice any loss on the high end that other reviewers noted. The bridge pickup is sweet! It has all of the 'Tele' bright twang and jangle without the shrill "ice pick in the ears" sound that Squire teles have. In any switch position, this little stinker sounds remarkably good. If you didn't already know better, you would think that it had alnico pickups on it.

It is remarkably touch sensitive too. I suspect these pickups may be hotter than 'vintage' wound, because if you lean into the pick a bit, they growel almost like a set of P-90's.

I rate this guitar suitable for blues, rock and country and even a little jazz. I tested on three practice amps (peavey, marshall and vox)and it sounds good. It even sounds pretty good on my old Peavey Deuce II.

Action was a bit high as shipped. Other than that everything else is good.

I think it is built like a tank. The volume and tone pots and jack are the only thing I would replace if I were gigging all the time.

Best bang for the buck I have ever bought.

Features are as listed by every other rater: Telecaster clone. Date of manufacture is probably between 2000 and 2005. Solid alder body. chrome, closed tuners. Both of the JT-800's I own have maple necks/fretboards. Pickups are manufactured for Johnson by EMG. I have one in honey-blonde, natural finish, and another (older model) in a mint/cream finish. No included accessories.

Surprising sound at this price. I play mostly contemporary Christian music. Excellent combination of bridge and neck pickups. Bright, biting, "quacky", Tele sound, as well as silky smooth bluesy sound. Used through a Fender Ultimate Reverb Amp. An array of Behringer effects and a Morley Wah-Volume pedal.

Factory fit and finish were excellent. Because I've had some custom work done on both of my JT-800's, action and intonation have been adjusted by my local music store tech.

This guitar does a great job during live play. I always play with a back-up guitar. Many times I have played with just the 2 JT-800's and find they are well-made and dependable. The hardware is of high quality and, although I was initially tempted to change out the tuners, I have not been able to justify spending the money. All hardware is heavily chromed and seems well-made. If I had to play without a back-up, I would trust this instrument.

I have no experience in dealing with the Johnson Company. My local music store stands behind my purchases in terms of warranty type work.

I've been playing forever and I still don't know what I'm doing! If either of my JT-800's were lost or stolen, I would definitely replace it. Prior to purchase I compared this guitar to Fender USA Telecasters and, in my very humble opinion, find that the differences between the two guitars are small and unimportant. On the natural model (Paid $149.), I added a Bigsby B-5 Vibrato and a Jaguar floating bridge. On the (older) mint/cream model (paid $50. on ebay), I added a bridgeplate and chrome string ferules, and drilled through the body for string-through-body stringing, with individual adjustments (like the 70's Fender Tele's had). I also added the chrome (ashtray) bridge plate cover. With these small mods, the sustain on this guitar is remarkable. The look of this guitar is vintage and soooo sweet. Both guitars are a pleasure to play. I use a 9-set of Ernie Ball Slinky strings. My favorite feature on both guitars is the silky-smooth maple fretboard (only available on the natural and cream colored units). I would not have been as attracted to a JT-800 with the rosewood fretboard. You can purchase a JT-800 almost anytime on ebay for about $118. Because Johnson has truly cloned the original Fender design, all vintage and after-market add-ons/options fit as though they were made by Leo himself. Anyone can own this guitar, customize the heck out of it, and still not get anywhere near the cost of a "name-brand" headstock (that was probably made on the same assembly line as the Johnson guitars). I call the JT-800 a truly, fantastic buy. I'll put mine up against any similar model. I own several, very expensive guitars. I don't love any of them any more than my two JT-800's.

Paid $119.00

2005 Made of course in China
22 nickel /silver frets
Solid Maple Neck and Alder body
Well you know the setup regarding tele's standard setup and not string thru the body
Solid Maple neck / rosewood fretboard
Beautiful sunburst finish.. not a blemish at all..
meduim jumbo fast neck (love this neck, feels like butter)
Came with cheap cable and some allen keys.
It's a tele for God Sakes

This think ROCKS!. I play SRV, Funk, Classic Rock, Red hot chili peppers, U2, Led zep, some jazz etc..

Playing this puppy thru Line 6 - 75 watt amp (you know which one)
This thing is pretty versatile.. anything from rock, to country, to twangy, to metal (think Led Zep) blues, jazz..

Almost dead on setup from factory.. But again we are talking about a tele.. The final journey of a guitarist leads to a telecaster...what can I say

Nothing flawed about this guitar..

This tele would withstand an earthquake.. It's built solid. Strap buttons are solid but would invest in locking ones so you don't drop your guitar in mid jump flight

OK.. I think we need to get our heads out of the sand regarding this. We are in the new technology revolution with china coming onboard and hungry to take a piece of the pie for themselves.

Foreign firms are building plants in china, harvesting the cheap labor, educating a nation and building exception manufactoring products from guitars to cars....(there are currently over 100 manufactoring car plants making cars under pseudo names and selling it to the world)

My point here, is technolgy has changed the way musical instruments are manufactored. No longer needed to rely on a brand "you know who" manufactures.. Johnson guitars are built to last and sound great.

Never dealt with them.. Bought it off online music store.. but Johnson offers lifetime warranties.. That only says' Buckets on the value and long lasting of the product.

I own too much gear to list.. and yes including some LP's and fender strats..

I just wish they (Johnson) would of made a tele deluxe type with string thru the body (but again, SG's and LP's aren't thru the body either)
If stolen, yes for the price 119.00 I would get another one.. I would even so mod it (but those EMG's are very very good stock pickups) and surprisingly those machine cast tuners really keep this puppy in tune

Standard tele features from a Standard Tele copy.. with Johnson EMG pickups, Solid Alder Body, One-Piece Maple Neck, Rosewood Neck Stripe, Die-Cast Machine Heads, Nice Maple Fretboard, One Lipstick Pickup, One Slanted Pickup, 3-Position Pickup Selector. White pick guard, natural color. Not a lot of features as tele's tend to be basic..there is only one format for a tele design.

This guitar actually blew me away when I took it out of the box. I was very surprised at the quality of this booger. I have aquired over the past 40 years nearly 30 keeper guitars and about a dozen various combo amps and heads and even twin full stacks that will redo your DNA genetic structure if you don't wear ear plugs. Yet when I pulled this 100 + dollar tele copy out of the box..tuned it up..and test drove it on my little 50 watt Marshall 1x12 combo amp..I was blown away to be honest. Nice chunky maple neck..fast action...surprisingly heavy solid alder body...and I knew after five or so minutes of playihng that I will not have to replace the pickups...this thing will howl like a hit dog anytime you need it to. The lipstick neck pickup produces beautiful rich bluesy tones with the Marshall....just goosebump beauty on blues solos..and the bridge pickup??...Well..I test drove this guitar by putting on one of my Stones tour DVD's and played right along with the band on 3/4 of the show..I was swapping riffs with Keith and Ronnie like I was a member of the gang. I would definately gig with this guitar. The only dislike/concern I have with this guitar is the nut.

Guitar was nearly spot on right out of the box..just minor intonatiohn needed and already came out of the box with a low action. Superior craftsmanship for this price range..really surprising to tell the truth. I bought the natural as I don't like a painted tele. And even though there is not heavy grain to the wood, there is a bit and it does look pretty good..and I know that it is a solid chunk of alder there and that makes me feel good. Fretwire posed no problems..properly set and machine sanded I assume..but no sharp edges and no buzzing. The maple fretboard is absolutely beautiful and looks like it will take some heavy playing..which I intend to do to this axe. I don't like the giagantic plastic knob on the pickup selector..so I removed it and will get me a small little rubber thingamajig to put over the bare metal. Nicely machined knurled volume and tone knobs...nice ans shiny chromed tele parts..really a sharp looking and solid guitar for this kind of money. Again...I am concerned about the placement of the nut on the neck...may be nothing but it's something that distracts me.

This guitar will withstand a Who tribute band concert :) Really, I am amazed at the quality of craftsmanship in this guitar. I never play live without taking three or four guitars..I need an acoustic and a semi hollow and slabs and several various guitars to achieve certain sounds so I take what I need...so I never go to a gig without three to five guitars. But if I went to a garage band gig at a friends house..I would have no 2nd thoughts about taking this guitar by itself...and I would get as trashy as a two dollar %$@& with it in a garage band scenario. :)

I bought a Johnson Las Vegas four years ago from a sorry piece of white trash and he sent me a boat anchor..would not refrnd and Johnson would not respond to my emails at the time. However, the guy I bought these two teles from is top notch and told me Johnson has undergone some serious internal changes since I bought that Las Vegas and they offer top notch warranty service. I will write again when I try to use them.

I have been playing nearly 45 years. I started playing with a Sears shorty strat with ampified carrying case. Drove my Dad crazy..so I had to switch to a cat gut acoustic while playing at home. I have played with some people who went on to fame and glory..still stay in touch with some of them..raised in Houston, Texas and know most everyone in the "original" scene there in the 60's and 70's. Played everything from 13th Floor Evlevators...to Fever Tree...to Johnnie Taylor..Chuck Berry...and then a swap to Country and Western..back to blues and then back to Rock and now anything I feel like. Seriously..you will not find a better 100 dollar guitar ANYWHERE on the planet that is this close to a real tele and made so well. I have a Silvertone 335 style that I paid around 100 bucks new for that I rave over too...but that's a 335 style and we are talking tele's here. Do yourself a favor..try one of these before they disappear...you may even be able to put a real tele neck and parts on this heavy solid alder body and build your own real tele if that is your thing.

Standard Tele copy with Johnson EMG pickups, Solid Alder Body, One-Piece Maple Neck, Rosewood Neck Stripe, Die-Cast Machine Heads, Rosewood Fretboard, One Lipstick Pickup, One Slanted Pickup, 3-Position Pickup Selector. White pick guard, sunburst colour. Not a lot of features as tele's tend to be basic.

I have no real musical style. I tend to play everything, 60's, blues, pink floyd, metallica etc etc. Am using a really bad cheap nasty little amp at the moment so it's hard to tell on the sound but I love the sound I can get out of it for the price & compared to other guitars I've had plugged into this amp. Clean is beautiful, rich & warm tone especially from neck pickup. Can't test any other settings as the amp can't take it. Would love to hear it thru a nice amp. But so far I can't believe the sound out of this for the price.

Played ok out of the box, replaced the strings which made a difference. other than that setup was fine. The guitar is beautiful to look at with no major flaw except minor chipping on top edge of the fretboard, on the bottom it would've been an issue. Tuners seem cheap but it staying in tune so no problem there. Minor design issue is the pickup selector can get in the way a little bit, it's quite high. Just looking at this guitar you'd swear it cost 3 or 4 times as much as it did.

I don't play live, I don't take it anywhere & I'm very careful with it so there's no issue there. The only thing is the tuners may need replacing at some stage but at this price who cares? It looks rock solid to me.

no idea..

I've only been playing 2 years, self taught & not very well. But it's all about how much you enjoy it isn't it? I wanted a nice looking & sounding guitar without paying a fortune & I couldn't recommend this guitar more highly.
I would buy another one in a minute.
I chose this one compared to other similar priced guitars & this had the best overall reviews. I can't say enough how much I love this guitar & how impressed I am with the sound & build quality for the price.

I suppose it was made 2005, 22 frets, solid top, one vol & one tone, 3way select, 2 single coils, (lipstick & slanted) made by EMG. Don't know wood, standard painted body. Maple neck, with a maple fretboard, (the fredboard is a separate piece) std tele bridge (cheap) tuners (cheap) electronics (cheap) the 3way switch has a lot of play. It feels like it will break if you don't treat it with care. It came with a chord and wrenches.

Here is the amazing part of this guitar. It has a wonderful sound. It is not at all like a Fender tele. The lipstick does not have that smooth, jazzy sound with the tone knob in its No 1 position. (treble down). the bridge pup does not have that quacky thin (Johnny Cash) country kind of sound of a real tele. These are not complaints, unles you buy this guitar expecting it to sound like a Fender. It does not sound like a Fender tele, but it sounds great. They call this guitar Del-Sol. In Spanish this translates literaly, "Of the Sun". or "From the Sun" Which is a good name for this guitar cuz it is "HOT" It has a fatter sound than my fender. Kinda a cross between a humbucker and a single coil. It is fatter than a single, but not as fat as a h/b. which is nice, cuz I already have a tele and several hb guitars.

OK setup. Had to straighten neck, raise pickup (the lipstick is not adjustable from the top. you might be able to adjust it by taking off the pick guard but I don't really know) The saddles on the bridge are not very adjustable, they only go back so far & I can't get some of the strings intonated. Some of the little screws in the saddle are very hard to turn and get the allen wrench into. If you buy this guitar, be prepared to replace this part, it is useless. Tuners feel cheap, but stay in tune. Fret board is very nice, smooth with frets all nicely done. It is easy to play. Also, the neck wrench given in this package is difficult to get into the neck adjusting rod. It is almost too big to fit in the hole. I had to struggle, wiggle it, push it to get it in. The looks of this guitar get a 10 but because of the bridge and tuners and non adjustable pup, the wrenches, I have to give it an overall 5

My only concern here is the 3 way selecter switch. Dont know if it will last.

?????

Been playing long long long long long time. Probably longer than most of you have been alive. (I still suck) Too much gear to list. If it were lost or stolen I would not buy another one. The only thing to love about this guitar is the sound. Remember, this is a cheap guitar and you get what you pay for. It is not as good as some other "cheap" guitars but what it lacks in quality components, it makes up for in sound. So replacing these components would put this in the catagory of these other "cheap" guitars, now you have spent more money than is necessary.

2005 Model, Made in China, Tele style, 22 frets all smooth and playable, 3-piece solid Alder body (Nicely fitted together), excellent Natural high gloss finish, top loading bridge, maple neck (straight), maple fretboard, 1 volume, 1 tone, 3-way selector, open single bridge pickup and lipstick neck pickup, adjustable closed chrome tuners, 2 string trees, neck stripe, white 3-py pickgard, chrome parts.

Sounds like a Tele.

Good sustain.

Excellent! No blemishes, frets fine, neck good, action perfect.

Natural finish is beautiful.

Intonation dead on. Replaced strings as they were corroded.

Seems solid. Can't see why it wouldn't perform.

Lifetime warranty. Bought from a dealer. No problems. No repairs needed.

Also own a Johnson JS-800 which has been excellent too. Satisfaction with that encouraged me to buy this guitar.

Also have a SX GG1 LP clone.

Made in China, 2004. 22 frets features the same as all the other reviews

I play straight blues rock and the guitar's great for this sort of stuff. I play through a hiwatt custom 100 and a 4x12" home made cab with Fane crescendos. The guitar is not noisy at all, although the amp is! Guitar sound is good and crunchy on the bridge pick up although the top E string lacks sound quality. Must do something about that. With pedals the guitar can make a decent range of sounds for the sort of thing I play.

Set up was OK, but the strings were crap. Pick ups probably still need adjustment.

Who knows? I've already gigged with it and so far so good. Best thing is I paid for the guitar with 1 gig!

Don't know

I have a Westbury standard that I play in open G, and this Johnson for the standard tuning. Sure if it was stolen I'd buy another one. Value for money is unbeatable.

The Johnson is a Telecaster style guitar, with two single coil pickups, 3 way pickup switch and a volume and tone control. I'm not sure about the year of this model but it is probably within last 2 or 3 years. It has the older arrowhead style peghead so I am using this to give a rough estimate or it's age. It has 21 frets which is the standard on all of my Fender type guitars. The body is solid, I believe it is alder, and has the translucent red finish with a beautiful woodgrain showing through. It has a nice, fat, 1 piece maple neck with a rosewood fretboard with 6 in line unnamed tuners. This neck is what really won me over with its bulky feel, which fits my long fingers to a tee! A 9 for the great feeling neck.

I play a variety of music, 50's-90's rock, Blues, Country...etc. This guitar will work out well for about any of this stuff. I play through either a Marshall AVT 50 combo or a Fender Deluxe 85 amp, both with Celestion speakers. Sometimes I use a Music Man 65 with 2 12" Celestions when I want to lug something that heavy around. For effects I use a Boss Harmonist, DD-6 Digital delay, Tremolo pedal, and an old Digitech Delay for slapback for rockabilly & country stuff. The Harmonist is excellent for 12 string simulations and has an awesome chorus sound when both controls are set to 12 o'clock. Of course it will do harmonies and octaves as well, it's a very versatile pedal....but back to the guitar now! I took it to a benefit jam a week after I got it and every other guitarist had a Fender Telecaster so I was able to judge it against some stiff competition. This Johnson doesn't have the thin, clucky lead guitar sound that the Fenders had, to my ears anyway, it was thicker and outright bluesy. The other lead player had a B-bender telecaster that just didn't have the bite my Johnson did at all.

This Tele copy was a new instrument that had hung in the store for several years and the neck shows absolutely no fretboard wear at all. Well this guitar was not setup in the least when I grabbed it off the display rack, but the neck and the balance of it felt superb to me as soon as I felt it. The strings were totally dead, the bridge saddles were all the way down, and the truss rod was totally loose! Pickups were far from the strings and some of the frets needed filing on the edges. The pickup selector has some play in it but I can deal with it fine. I just spent the afternoon with my tuner setting the neck up, the saddles & intonation, the pickup adjustment, and also a new set of guitar strings the store threw in on the deal, which I couldn't believe as the price was so low anyway!

I play them pretty hard and I can tell this one will take it. I thought about replacing the saddles and maybe the tuners, but with the intonation being so good and the thing stays in tune despite my playing it hard, I can't see the point. I'm leaving it stock, as is, it's a brute. I always carry a back-up guitar in case of strings breaking or tuning problems, its just common sense to me. Also I like to have a Gibson style guitar for variety.

Seems rock solid to me so I doubt I'll need any customer support. Its a Tele copy so parts are very accessible and I think I can repair any problem that would arise. It was bought from a Music store that is going out of business, so I got what I got at a great price and I'm greatly satisfied.

Hmmm, I've been playing for like 33 years now and enjoy variety in my music. Guitars include, 1974 Fender Stratocaster, Fernandez Strat with slanted Humbucker in bridge, Gibson les Paul, Epiphone Sheraton 2-In beautiful ebony black, A bolt-on neck Firebird copy, an Explorer body style guitar I built from a piece of 70 year old walnut-very well seasoned, a Martin 16-GT, Regal resonator guitar, Washburn mandolin...and a Johnson tele now. I compared the Johnson to an Alverez tele copy, but the Alverez neck did not compare at all-too thin and wimpy for me.
I would like to thank the other players who reviewed this guitar because it really influenced me to take a hard look at this great little guitar and realize what a solid instrument it really is!