Do Jay Tursers use playwood bodies?

[gtrjones]

 

Jay Turser's are priced for the beginner. They are made with that customer target in mind. I how ever would still buy some thing better in the 'used' category. I feel that as we all get older, get better jobs, aquire more money and more disposable cash, we all just naturally step up to the name brands as we get older and better at playing the guitar. When we're young and not so rich, we make do with what we've got. If it sounds half decent, 'playwood' will do! It's just not worth it to mod the hell out of a $200 or less brand new guitar. IMO. What's a Jay Turser made out of? Why would you want to know? It'll never be collectible even if EVH owned it. I doubt his Teisco Del Ray (if he still has it) is worth anything except maybe at an auction for charity. I still doubt it. Will the Jay Turser, rot and stink after a while? No, but it might start to fall apart if you don't take care of it. I think of them as a hand-me-down type of thing. Not for re-sale but for your little bro, cousin or friend. When you reach your late teens and after, your associates will probably all be into 'one-upmanship' and the whole bragging rights kind of thing. The fortunate thing these days is, that type of guitar can still be found used for around $1,000. It might sound like a lot at this time but it really isn't. It's still cheaper than a car, insurance and maintenance.

 

 

Maybe, maybe not. You typed these things as if they were accepted truth - far from it. First of all, that teisco is a very collectible model. Not just the specific guitar that EVH owned, but any original, unmodified version of that model is quite rare and collectible.

 

Second, while I don't make a living playing guitar, My bands gigs about 6 times/month. I have a Turser 'telecaster' that I paid less than $200 for new, took it out of the box, tuned it, checked the action/intonation (which were fine) and took it straight to the gig. It performed fine. I bought it, however with the intention of modifying it, which I did - it's now a great looking, great sounding, great feeling 'custom' guitar that I have about $300 in...

 

I'm in my 40s, have a good career, and can afford (and have purchased) some very expensive guitars. But I still love my modded turser and modded $70 squier 51 and other cheap guitars that I have made MINE...

 

A lot of people talk to me about guitars at gigs. I'm a bit of a gearhead, too, so I love talking guitars. And not ONCE has anyone said anything disparaging about my cheap guitars. I have had comments like "I can't believe that thing sounds so great!" - but never "Why do you play such a cheap guitar?" It's almost never about the gear, it's about the playing and the player.

 

 

For the OP: My turser tele is a 'rosewood' tele, which has a thin laminate of rosewood on the front and back. The center is definately not plywood, looks to be about 3 pieces, and looks to me to be a version of alder. The guitar sounds and plays great.

[Wilfredo]

I’ve got a Jay Turser les Paul copy with no markings that I can see. How can I find out what the model is?

[Verne Andru]

Tursers are fine. If the body wood isn't listed it's usually basswood. For their higher-end they will list the wood they use but I've never seen a Turser made from plywood. I have a Turser 7 string and, electronics aside, it's fine.

My Frankenstrat uses a Hondo body which is plywood. Aside from it being a bit on the heavy side there's nothing wrong with it either.

[jwguitar]

On 9/2/2007 at 5:54 PM, G33Z3R said:

I've noticed Jay Turser doesn't list what wood their JT-300 (Strat) bodies are made of -- they're just described as "solid bodies" with maple necks.

 

"Solid body" can mean anything.

 

As they're made in China, and cost so little, are they plywood? Has anyone ever opened one up to see?

 

Someone here posted clips of a bit played with 5 Tele-type guitars, including a Jay-Turser. It sounded fine, but I'm wondering what's really inside these guitars.

Im not sure why they don't list the body wood.  But I can tell you that they are definitely not plywood bodies.  I believe that for most of the bodies that they use for their guitars they use basswood.  Im sure it is an inexpensive variant.  If you have ever picked up a Jay Turser strat or Les Paul they seem pretty light.  If they were plywood they would be extremely heavy boat anchors.