MJ Guitar Engineering Speedster

Speedster Custom Finish Model. Solid poplar body; 25-1/2" maple neck with rosewood fretboard; wrap around bridge; non-locking tuners; strap locks; active EMG 85 neck p-up; active EMG 81 bridge p-up; one volume control; three way switch. It comes with a very sturdy, custom fit hardshell case. A wonderfully designed guitar that is visually striking and comfortable to play. Because it is a straight ahead guitar with minimal control features it lost a couple of points on versatility for certain styles of music.

I use this guitar with several amps I have ??? primarily a Koch Twintone, a Rivera Hundred Duo Twelve, or a Hughes and Kettner Puretone Half-Stack. The simplicity of the design is refreshing. Simple volume control, like an accelerator, step on the gas and you go faster. With a good amp, the tone in your hands really comes through. I found the guitar to be airy, resonant, and musical in all aspects of playing. I really, really liked the sounds it produced.

Out of the case the guitar was set up pretty low with a bit of buzzing on the low E and A strings. No worries as this could be remedied with a simple bridge adjustment, however, because of other issues with the instrument and company, I didn???t bother to set it up to my personal liking. As for fit and finish, unfortunately, this is one of the areas that could really use some work. The guitar arrived with numerous blemishes that I found unacceptable for a custom shop product that was bought new. For instance, there were two screw holes that had been filled on the back of the body that were expanding up a bit through the paint (you could both feel and see them), the lacquer on the fretboard was gapping/cracking up and down the neck at the fret edges, there was what appeared to be a razor blade scratch that cut across the back of the neck at the second/third fret, and most obviously, a 3/16th chip through the paint down to the bare wood at the bottom of the guitar body. The guitar was finished in a custom ???chameleon??? paint that changed from green to purple depending on the light, and there were two tiny dots that were in the paint at the end of one of the horns. Additionally, where the neck joined the body there was a gap that was totally unfinished ??? granted, you had to hold the guitar upside down to see it, but it showed a quality control/attention to detail shortfall in the company or at least in this particular guitar. While quite honestly I could have lived with all of these issues had they mentioned them to me before I placed the order for the guitar, the imperfections definitely nagged at me because I had specifically asked Joan at MJ Guitars (over the course of several telephone calls before my order) the condition of the guitar and I was assured it was both new and perfect.

I had no doubt the guitar was well made, however, I have to bump two points for the fretboard lacquer which I imagine would only get worse over time.

Ouch! This is where they really dropped the ball with me. I will say, BEFORE I placed the order, Joan was very pleasant and prompt in answering my many questions about the guitar and payment plans. Before the sale, calls and emails would be returned within a couple of hours and at most a half of a day. Things changed once I opened the case and immediately noticed the issues mentioned above (see Action, Fit and Finish category). I took the time to document my concerns in a lengthy email and sent it to MJ Guitars the same evening I received the guitar. Response? Nothing! I followed up the next day with a proposal to resolve the issue (I asked for a 25% discount off the purchase price and even offered if they gave me the 25% discount, I would buy a second guitar.). Again, No Response! I then took the time to photograph the issues with the guitar and emailed the pictures back to Joan. Still no response! After two days I finally got in contact with Joan via telephone. She said they had taken time off to be with family. (Perfectly acceptable, however, if I was running a business, I would have left a ???vacation??? message on the company???s voicemail or set up an auto reply on the company email system ??? there are customers out there after all). And regarding my proposal for a discount, Joan declined my suggestion, offered no adjustment to the selling price despite the problems with the guitar, and told me to ship it back if I wasn???t satisfied.

I???m 52 and have been buying, playing, and collecting guitars and amps for over 35 years. I am confident in my ability to recognize a quality instrument and have numerous custom produced instruments which, despite the normally higher cost than a big name mass-produced guitar, the custom is usually a better value. I had very high hopes for the MJ Guitar Engineering Speedster and I sincerely want to give a top grade for the innovative design and playability of the instrument. Had the Fit and Finish and, most importantly, Customer Support matched the guitar???s potential, I really think MJ Guitar Engineering would be swamped with orders for their instruments. Unfortunately, my experience with them left me very, very disappointed. Much as I wanted to keep the instrument, I shipped it back well within their 10-day Money Back Guarantee at the whopping UPS shipping cost of $73.33 (size and weight penalty)! (It only cost $34.79 for them to ship it to me ??? go figure.) 10 days after the guitar was signed for at MJ Guitar Engineering, I had to again contact the company to remind them to refund my money (they hadn't gotten to "checking it in" yet). To their credit, they refunded the full purchase price for the instrument (and kindly did not charge me the normal 10% restocking fee for a returned guitar ??? be sure to check the fine print regarding their return policy). All in all, in the end I paid about $108 in combined shipping charges to try out a ???new??? guitar that, in my opinion, was not in new condition ??? lesson learned.

Speedster Custom Finish Model. Solid poplar body; 25-1/2" maple neck with rosewood fretboard; wrap around bridge; non-locking tuners; strap locks; active EMG 85 neck p-up; active EMG 81 bridge p-up; one volume control; three way switch. It comes with a very sturdy, custom fit hardshell case. A wonderfully designed guitar that is visually striking and comfortable to play. Because it is a straight ahead guitar with minimal control features it lost a couple of points on versatility for certain styles of music.

I use this guitar with my several amps I have ??? primarily a Koch Twintone, a Rivera Hundred Duo Twelve, or a Hughes and Kettner Puretone Half-Stack. The simplicity of the design is refreshing. Simple volume control, like an accelerator, step on the gas and you go faster. With a good amp, the tone in your hands really comes through. I found the guitar to be airy, resonant, and musical in all aspects of playing. I really, really liked the sounds it produced.

Out of the case the guitar was set up pretty low with a bit of buzzing on the low E and A strings. No worries as this could be remedied with a simple bridge adjustment, however, because of other issues with the instrument and company, I didn???t bother to set it up to my personal liking. As for fit and finish, unfortunately, this is one of the areas that could really use some work. The guitar arrived with numerous blemishes that I found unacceptable for a custom shop product that was bought new. For instance, there were two screw holes that had been filled on the back of the body that were expanding up a bit through the paint (you could both feel and see them), the lacquer on the fretboard was gapping/cracking up and down the neck at the fret edges, there was what appeared to be a razor blade scratch that cut across the back of the neck at the second/third fret, and most obviously, a 3/16th chip through the paint down to the bare wood at the bottom of the guitar body. The guitar was finished in a custom ???chameleon??? paint that changed from green to purple depending on the light, and there were two tiny dots that were in the paint at the end of one of the horns. Additionally, where the neck joined the body there was a gap that was totally unfinished ??? granted, you had to hold the guitar upside down to see it, but it showed a quality control/attention to detail shortfall in the company or at least in this particular guitar. While quite honestly I could have lived with all of these issues had they mentioned them to me before I placed the order for the guitar, the imperfections definitely nagged at me because I had specifically asked Joan at MJ Guitars (over the course of several telephone calls before my order) the condition of the guitar and I was assured it was both new and perfect.

I had no doubt the guitar was well made, however, I have to bump two points for the fretboard lacquer which I imagine would only get worse over time.

Ouch! This is where they really dropped the ball with me. I will say, BEFORE I placed the order, Joan was very pleasant and prompt in answering my many questions about the guitar and payment plans. Before the sale, calls and emails would be returned within a couple of hours and at most a half of a day. Things changed once I opened the case and immediately noticed the issues mentioned above (see Action, Fit and Finish category). I took the time to document my concerns in a lengthy email and sent it to MJ Guitars the same evening I received the guitar. Response? Nothing! I followed up the next day with a proposal to resolve the issue (I asked for a 25% discount off the purchase price and even offered if they gave me the 25% discount, I would buy a second guitar.). Again, No Response! I then took the time to photograph the issues with the guitar and emailed the pictures back to Joan. Still no response! After two days I finally got in contact with Joan via telephone. She said they had taken time off to be with family. (Perfectly acceptable, however, if I was running a business, I would have left a ???vacation??? message on the company???s voicemail or set up an auto reply on the company email system if you close down in the middle of the work week ??? there are customers out there after all). And regarding my proposal for a discount, Joan declined any compromise, offered no adjustment to the selling price despite the problems with the guitar, and told me to ship it back if I wasn???t satisfied.

I???m 52 and have been buying, playing, and collecting guitars and amps for over 35 years. I am confident in my ability to recognize a quality instrument and have numerous custom produced instruments which, despite the normally higher cost than a big name mass-produced guitar, the custom is usually a better value. I had very high hopes for the MJ Guitar Engineering Speedster and I sincerely want to give a top grade for the innovative design and playability of the instrument. Had the Fit and Finish and, most importantly, Customer Support matched the guitar???s potential, I really think MJ Guitar Engineering would be swamped with orders for their instruments. Unfortunately, my experience with them left me very, very disappointed. Much as I wanted to keep the instrument, I shipped it back well within their 10-day Money Back Guarantee at the whopping UPS shipping cost of $73.33! (It only cost $34.79 for them to ship it to me ??? go figure.) 10 days after the guitar was signed for at MJ Guitar Engineering, I had to again contact the company to remind them to refund my money. To their credit, they refunded the full purchase price for the instrument (and kindly did not charge me the normal 10% restocking fee for a returned guitar ??? be sure to check the fine print regarding their return policy - there is a 10% re-stocking fee). All in all, in the end I paid about $112 in combined shipping charges to try out a ???new??? guitar that, in my opinion, was not in new condition ??? lesson learned.

2002 Model. Solid poplar body; 25-1/2" maple neck with rosewood fretboard; wrap around bridge; non-locking tuners; strap locks;active EMG 85 neck pup; active EMG 81 bridge pup; one volume control; three way switch. It comes with a hardshell case. With it's radical body shape, super fast neck and hot pickups, this guitar was made for metal.

I have used this guitar with my Music Man amp and my Fender Blues Jr. It works very well on its on or with pedals to shape the sound. At full volume, the pickups are very hot and will overdrive just about any amp on their own. Roll back the volume, and the EMG 85 in the neck makes one outstanding blues tone. The pickups would probably not be popular for totally clean jazz or country, but will cover just about anything in which you want a little grit in the sound (blues-rock, fusion, hard rock, heavy metal).

The guitar was set up very well when it arrived. However, I always change things to my specific tastes anyway. The action is fast and the neck is set to play, very enjoyable. The fret work is the best I have ever seen on any guitar and the nut was perfectly cut. There were only two flaws: a minor imperfection in the finish on one of the horns; and a little roughness on the routing for the bridge pup. You have to look very, very closely at the guitar to find either of these. But, for a guitar in this price range, it has to cost points.

The guitar and all of the hardware seems very well put together and I have no doubt about it's ability to survive gigging. I've only had the guitar for a month at the time of this review so I can't speak further on this without it being blind speculation.

This is where they really should have a score more than 10. When I started doing the setup I normally do with my guitars, I found the active pickups a little strange to work with (just from my lack of experience). I was able to e-mail them with questions and get a reply within hours. Finally, I called to get more detailed instructions and Mark took the time to chat with me until I understood all the details of getting my guitar setup to my liking. OUTSTANDING customer support.

This is my first purchase of a high-end, non mass-produced guitar. I'm spoiled; I will never look at production models again. And, there is no doubt in my mind that my next guitar will be another model from MJ Guitar Engineering.