Members Dr. Scottie C Posted July 2, 2014 Members Share Posted July 2, 2014 Questions I have: 1) On par with a Squier Affinity? Better? Worse?2) Why do some say "Vintage Series" on the headstock, yet there is no mention or photos of these on their website3) Neck radius? round? Flat?4) What is good on them? What is junk? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted July 3, 2014 Members Share Posted July 3, 2014 Neck radius appears to be 12" http://www.strat-talk.com/forum/guitar-owners-clubs/145504-jay-turser-jt-300-club.html. Beyond that, I can't say except that I have a Jay Jr. acoustic as my beater and it's a real POS. Not necessarily indicative of the whole line but something to consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Radar-Love Posted July 3, 2014 Members Share Posted July 3, 2014 Questions I have: 1) On par with a Squier Affinity? Better? Worse? 2) Why do some say "Vintage Series" on the headstock, yet there is no mention or photos of these on their website 3) Neck radius? round? Flat? 4) What is good on them? What is junk? Thanks Depending on the year made, the "regular" JT-300 is equal to or better than your average Squier Affinity. If the JT-300 was manufactured in 2010 or later, it will have a Tusq nut and *possibly* a better paint job on the body and *maybe* a better finish on the neck -- certainly nothing worse than the best Affinity. The so-called Vintage Series JT-300 is better than an Affinity. This will be immediately apparent when you pick one up and check it out. The JT-300 Vintage Series is a direct competitor with the Classic Vibe. These always have a heavy glossy neck finish and pearloid pickguard. The general consensus here with the bargain conscious is to get a Classic-Vibe-level instrument for $100+ less than what a Classic Vibe normally sells for. I own a very nice looking and excellent playing purple JT-300 Vintage Series with gold hardware. Fretwork is very well done. Pickups are quite decent. Hardware is good. No real need to replace anything, unless you want to go with some particular pickups. I also own another rare (apparently) Vintage Series JT-30-TBL (TBL = teal blue) model that is a so-called 3/4 scale "Strat." The unusual thing here is that it has a 24-inch scale neck, unlike other similar guitars that usually have a shorter 22.x inch scale neck. By the way, the body is actually 7/8 scale. This is the only mini-Strat that I've seen like this that has normal Strat hardware and configuration throughout (3 normal Strat pickups, a normal Strat tremolo unit, etc), but with a 24.0 inch scale neck. It plays as good as any Jaguar or Mustang, but has an unusually subdued tonal character -- basically a Strat with a darker sparkle -- due to the 1.5 inch reduction in scale length. It plays well and stays in tune well. As for the "regular" (non-Vintage) JT-300 model, I own no less than 4 of these. But, these are all early 2002 ~ 2005 models. Two are solid black, one is cream, and one is metallic gold. All of these are 4 slightly different sounding examples of freakishly lightweight Strats that have some very unusual qualities to them -- as they are much more akin to acoustic guitars than normal Strats and they have crazy-long natural sustain. These were all collected over a period of several years a while back in time. After going through probably 50 ~ 60, or more, new and used, JT-300s at various shops, I chose each one for its playing quality and what its weight measured on a digital fish scale. They all weight in right at 5 pounds, which is *very* close to what my Parker Fly weighs! I've outfitted each one with different pickups and different strings. I quickly found that overwound or dark-ish Strat pickups (such as the original Fender Texas Specials) don't work as well as vintage-wound pickups with Alnico V or Alnico III magnets, as they kill the woody acoustic attack and sustain qualities. I want to get back to fiddling around with these again sometime soon. I want to try some different tremolo blocks and maybe even some different tremolos, as well as jazz flatwound strings on one of them. The JT-300 of today has a normal weight of 7 or so pounds, just like a Squier Classic Vibe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dr. Scottie C Posted July 3, 2014 Author Members Share Posted July 3, 2014 Depending on the year made, the "regular" JT-300 is equal to or better than your average Squier Affinity. If the JT-300 was manufactured in 2010 or later, it will have a Tusq nut and *possibly* a better paint job on the body and *maybe* a better finish on the neck -- certainly nothing worse than the best Affinity. The so-called Vintage Series JT-300 is better than an Affinity. This will be immediately apparent when you pick one up and check it out. The JT-300 Vintage Series is a direct competitor with the Classic Vibe. These always have a heavy glossy neck finish and pearloid pickguard. The general consensus here with the bargain conscious is to get a Classic-Vibe-level instrument for $100+ less than what a Classic Vibe normally sells for. I own a very nice looking and excellent playing purple JT-300 Vintage Series with gold hardware. Fretwork is very well done. Pickups are quite decent. Hardware is good. No real need to replace anything, unless you want to go with some particular pickups. I also own another rare (apparently) Vintage Series JT-30-TBL (TBL = teal blue) model that is a so-called 3/4 scale "Strat." The unusual thing here is that it has a 24-inch scale neck, unlike other similar guitars that usually have a shorter 22.x inch scale neck. By the way, the body is actually 7/8 scale. This is the only mini-Strat that I've seen like this that has normal Strat hardware and configuration throughout (3 normal Strat pickups, a normal Strat tremolo unit, etc), but with a 24.0 inch scale neck. It plays as good as any Jaguar or Mustang, but has an unusually subdued tonal character -- basically a Strat with a darker sparkle -- due to the 1.5 inch reduction in scale length. It plays well and stays in tune well. As for the "regular" (non-Vintage) JT-300 model, I own no less than 4 of these. But, these are all early 2002 ~ 2005 models. Two are solid black, one is cream, and one is metallic gold. All of these are 4 slightly different sounding examples of freakishly lightweight Strats that have some very unusual qualities to them -- as they are much more akin to acoustic guitars than normal Strats and they have crazy-long natural sustain. These were all collected over a period of several years a while back in time. After going through probably 50 ~ 60, or more, new and used, JT-300s at various shops, I chose each one for its playing quality and what its weight measured on a digital fish scale. They all weight in right at 5 pounds, which is *very* close to what my Parker Fly weighs! I've outfitted each one with different pickups and different strings. I quickly found that overwound or dark-ish Strat pickups (such as the original Fender Texas Specials) don't work as well as vintage-wound pickups with Alnico V or Alnico III magnets, as they kill the woody acoustic attack and sustain qualities. I want to get back to fiddling around with these again sometime soon. I want to try some different tremolo blocks and maybe even some different tremolos, as well as jazz flatwound strings on one of them. The JT-300 of today has a normal weight of 7 or so pounds, just like a Squier Classic Vibe. Very good review...a few questions.... 1) Is it your opinion that the newer these are...the better the quality? 2) Are the "Vintage Series" made anymore? I cannot find a single source for them anywhere on the web. 3) Besides the glossy neck, any other spec difference between those and the "regular" 300...and note: I have seen a few used that say vintage series on the headstock.... but have yet to see one for sale with pearloid pickguard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Radar-Love Posted July 24, 2014 Members Share Posted July 24, 2014 Very good review...a few questions.... 1) Is it your opinion that the newer these are...the better the quality? As long as they are from 2010 or later, yes. Jay Turser began competing directly with the Classic Vibe and Vintage Modified models from Squier starting 2010. 2) Are the "Vintage Series" made anymore? I cannot find a single source for them anywhere on the web. I suspect they still make "Vintage Series" models, but could have quit mentioning the term in their advertising literature even though the script may still be on the headstock. If you see a "Vintage Series," they will have that script in small letters on the headstock. "Vintage Series" always have a gloss finish over the entire maple area of the neck. 3) Besides the glossy neck, any other spec difference between those and the "regular" 300...and note: I have seen a few used that say vintage series on the headstock.... but have yet to see one for sale with pearloid pickguard. I can't say with certainty when they quit putting pearloid pickguards on their top models. Mine has one. Other than that, I suspect that the higher-end "Vintage Series" models are made at a different factory than the basic models. That's only a guess, but probably a good guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Buttcrust Posted July 24, 2014 Members Share Posted July 24, 2014 "Sears" online sells the Jay Turser line of guitars, there are lots of different models to choose from. I'm looking at the electric resophonic thing, looks cool, to me...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rudedawg Posted March 22, 2020 Members Share Posted March 22, 2020 I realize this is an old thread but am asking for help and input on my Jay Turser JT300's tremolo. I don't know if its the springs or what but the tremolo takes excessive force to use, is there an adjustment that could be made to the spring claw or maybe just replace the 3 springs? I know there's a difference in quality but my MIK and Hwy1 strat tremolos are so much easier to use and the JT is a really nice sounding guitar if I could just get the tremolo to work more easily. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted March 22, 2020 Members Share Posted March 22, 2020 Start a separate thread. The stiffness is prolly to mask intonation issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6down1togo Posted April 7, 2020 Members Share Posted April 7, 2020 Lots of YouTube videos on how to set up a Strat floating tremolo. The short but sweet version: Make sure the heads of the 6 screws holding the trem plate down are about 1/16" above the trem plate and all the same height (loosen the screws, slip a shim under the heads, tighten each down to contact and back off slighty to release the shim). With the stings tensioned to pitch, adjust the spring tension by turning the screws holding the claw in or out until the back edge of the trem plate free floats 1/16" above the body. You should have only 3 springs installed and the strings should be parallel to each other. More than 3 springs is excessive and not needed. Do not angle the 2 outer springs, this will cause binding issues. A drop of light oil on each of the 6 bridge hold down screws will further smooth it up. Your Jay Turser is no different that any other Strat and their is no real benefit in changing the springs. They are all pretty much the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rudedawg Posted April 14, 2020 Members Share Posted April 14, 2020 Well I got the tremolo straightened out. I started adjustment of the springs and noticed one of the claw screw holes was drilled higher than the other therefore the claw was screwed in tighter so the back plate to attach. Evidently they either did not use a jig when drilling are just plain missed it; anyway got the issue resolved, claw adjusted and springs adjusted and the trem works so much better now. Thanks for all the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PeterwithJT300 Posted February 14, 2021 Members Share Posted February 14, 2021 I find mine very nice: Jay Turser JT-300M seafoam green, maple neck, made in 2019. Guitar is my hobby only, I don't play in a band, no rigs etc. During the years I've played mostly on my Aria Pro2 Ma29 which is a serious instrument with a very strong&fat neck tone, ash body, brass floyd rose block etc. I bought it back in 1996, after I got rid of a quite weak Strat copy As a teenager I wanted a more “powerful” guitar. At this point I would recommend today to all beginners: if you need more power, don’t diy-build a strat, instead just buy a real superstrat with humbuckers sitting in the body. Anyway, getting older I wanted to possess the real strat-tone as well, since the Aria superstrat is different. The Jay Turser seemed as no risk to order from a webstore. As it arrived I've done the common setup (changing strings to ErnieBall hybrid slinky, intonation, action) and the tone was very impressive. It has the tone I was looking for. Playability was ok, but overall I had some minor issues on this guitar, blissfully these are easy to fix: intonation problems due to cheap tuners and the nut was too high, glossy neck was a bit tacky, trem bar was too loose in the thread of the cheap monkey metal trem block. But the rest of the guitar is made in a good quality: neck shape feels right, body and paint are nicely done, the electronics, pickups, pots work fine. The stock ceramic pickups have a really nice tone, you don't need to replace them. The electronics are shielded and I have no hum. (by the way, against the noise I use a UPS before the amp, it has a good noise gate. And it also matters which position you turn with the guitar relative to the amp.) Well, it was easy to turn this guitar to a perfect strat-like instrument and still didn't cost much. I've bought locking tuners Harley Benton from Thomann (this is the only long version that fits the thick head). Also ordered 2-point trem bridge with stick-in bar and with brass block and brass saddles. I've taken the guitar to the workshop and they made the bridge-replacement, polished the neck satin finish and made frets leveling by reducing the height a bit. They have also set the nut gaps height (actually the nut is made of a decent bone-like material) and they’ve put a lubricant there as well. Setup of low action of course. I soldered a small bridge-wire on the pu-selector, this way I can control the tone of the bridge pickup as well. I took out the shorter string retainer from the head and installed only the longer one to the highE & B strings. So now… This plays like a dream and the tone is really beautiful, sustaining also longer. Holds tuning very well (I have 3 trem springs in parallel orientation). Interesting fact was that after the bridge had been changed from the light metal to the brass, I had to re-set the amp by adding more treble, more presence. Now the tone is clean, warm, has plenty of low end. Of course I am convinced that you need a very good amp and good gadgets around, otherwise it doesn't matter what guitar you plug in.. If you are a beginner looking for a cheap stratlike guitar, my advice definitely: buy the Jay Turser, tune-up like I did, finally you end up with a perfect guitar for still in the budget (I’ve done it within 400 USD in total). Then focus on the amp! The amp has to provide a massive low end, strong bass. Don't believe the perfectly made promos of F. Mustang or M. Code etc. You need to try them in your own environment. I have a 1969 Laney sound 60W with a 4x12 Cel.Greenback closed cabinet. It is like a Marshall Plexi. This thing doesn’t ask back if you understand what I mean. Anyway, I use a VOX AV30 as well, I can strongly recommend it! Works pretty well with this JT strat and this amp has enough power to push the bass too. If you go for the AV60, you will have even more of it To get to the good tones with the Jay Turser strat I can also recommend you to make a chain of these pedals: TC Spark booster, Joyo Sweet Baby, Joyo AT drive, Marshall JH-1 + reverb, delay. All the overdrives need only ca. 50% gain and you can switch them together (2-3 pedals) in different combinations. This way the JT-300 will give you the big clean, the sweet fat, the punchy, the crispy rhythm or the fat endless compressed solo tone. Overall the JT strat is a very good instrument you can achieve anything with. I like mine so much that I had to write this long review, although I usually don’t write reviews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rudedawg Posted February 28, 2021 Members Share Posted February 28, 2021 Here's an update. The misaligned claw screw hole was filled, redrilled and the claw screw was reinstalled then the trem was adjusted to floating and works much better. I also replaced the horribly stiff tuners with a set of Korean Jin-Ho thumb screw lockers and they are rock solid; they look exactly like Hip-Shot tuners, go figure. For kicks I replaced the electronics with a preloaded white pearloid pickguard w/GFS pickups from Guitar-Fetish and they sound amazing. The white pearloid pops against the JT's Daphne Blue body. I initially paid $97.00 usd with free shipping for this guitar in brand new condition and it still had the plastic covering on the pickguard and pickups plus stickers. The $60.00 of add-ons plus a full set up from a luthier buddy made it sound and play worlds better than when in stock form; he was really impressed with it also. It will certainly not replace my MIA and MIK strats but I really enjoy playing it thru my Fender Cyber Twin SE's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrbrown49 Posted March 1, 2021 Members Share Posted March 1, 2021 10 hours ago, Rudedawg said: Here's an update. The misaligned claw screw hole was filled, redrilled and the claw screw was reinstalled then the trem was adjusted to floating and works much better. I also replaced the horribly stiff tuners with a set of Korean Jin-Ho thumb screw lockers and they are rock solid; they look exactly like Hip-Shot tuners, go figure. For kicks I replaced the electronics with a preloaded white pearloid pickguard w/GFS pickups from Guitar-Fetish and they sound amazing. The white pearloid pops against the JT's Daphne Blue body. I initially paid $97.00 usd with free shipping for this guitar in brand new condition and it still had the plastic covering on the pickguard and pickups plus stickers. The $60.00 of add-ons plus a full set up from a luthier buddy made it sound and play worlds better than when in stock form; he was really impressed with it also. It will certainly not replace my MIA and MIK strats but I really enjoy playing it thru my Fender Cyber Twin SE's. Fwiw, usually the screw that holds the knob on can be adjusted to change the "stiffness". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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