Jay Turser strat copies

[jmartyg]

I dont know how often these are seen down south, but in easternt canada, they are everywhere. 2-5 at any pawn shop. the music stores the sells them always has enough to heat a house in the winter with..

I own two. One righty done hendrix style and a left handed.

the necks are either a fat C or sovt V depending on who was watching the machine that day. nice rosewood frettboard, Skunk stripe. the only beef with the necks I have is the small fret wire.
The electronics are above normal for a cheap guitar. the pickups are the worst single coils i've ever heard. very thin and quiet. the holes in the pickguard needed to be sanded to size to properly fit a standard single coil. I have one guitar in my arsenal that has stock pickups anyway.. they are also routed for HSS. alder bodies. the translucent red one i have has no seams that i can find in it. I really think these guitars are a product of fast machining without sacrificing parts.

Well, I was at a pawn shop the other day (got a beer capper for $10) and there was one on the rack "$129 final, lose tuner"

Normally, i'd not give it a second thought. they are $200 new. Its the finish that got me. Lake placid blue. Faded green on the front. finish cracks throughout. This thing saw a lot of morning sun.

So if i get this, here is the list:

- fix that tuner (most likely a lose screw as all the parts were
there)
- find 2 single coils and a humbucker
- cut the guard to fit those pickups
- fully shield the cavity
- cut a new nut
- block the vibrato
- most likely replace the 5 way as they always get beaten up.

so, yas think its worth my time? the thing would just be another money pit, as i have 2 strat copies collecting dust under my bed waiting for new pickups. maybe its about time i got some pickups kits from stumac and modded a sewing machine..

but it would look AWESOME!

www.jaytursercanada.com/jay_turser_electric_results.asp?ModelID=11&CategoriesID=1

[ijustwannastrat]

In my non-specified home state, I only see these pigs in pawn shops, but they are plentiful. Personally, out of the 4 I've played, none of them were playable IMO. Probably from previous owners, but those nasty first impressions....


If you like it, I say go for it. But I'm sure somebody with experience will reply something more in-depth...

[sumgai]

Around here we have a bunch of them too. They're also sold under the brand name Stagg in various parts of the world.

If you're buying it for the looks, then I'd say take it. You probably can't do as good a job for as cheap, when all is said and done, unless you're a pro at guitar finishing.

If you're buying it for mods, then get rid of the other two to help pay for this one.

HTH



sumgai

[vonFrenchie]

I just walked into a guitar shop today in downtown(ish) Milwaukee and there were eight or nine Staggs hanging on the wall, along with a bunch of Austins. For some reason though they were selling them for 250 to 400 dollars a pop. Thats probably why they had nine of them.

As for your list. These are pretty simple things. You'll probably spend a sunday afternoon to do every item on your list (except for cutting a new nut, I personally have never done/seen it done/even know how to do it).

I personally would do it because of the simple fact of the finish. Take a picture of the ugly duckling. The guitar itself sounds kinda artsy in the "left in the barn to collect dust" kind of way. I'd take a beat up guitar over a brand new one any day, unless its unplayable. Just shows it's experience and story. Its just that much more unique.

For 130 bucks... its got to be better than a squier right?

[JohnH]

Oct 17, 2009 2:42:41 GMT -5 vonFrenchie said:

I just walked into a guitar shop today in downtown(ish) Milwaukee

Hey vF, is that where you live? How are the Brewers going? I used to visit Milwaukee frequently when I was working on Miller Park in the 90's.

[vonFrenchie]

Yeah I live in Milwaukee. The Brewers ended the season at 80-82, 11 games behind the Cardinals who went to the playoffs. Miller Park on the other hand is still one of the best stadiums in all of baseball. I love that place.

[mps]

Oct 17, 2009 2:42:41 GMT -5 vonFrenchie said:

I'd take a beat up guitar over a brand new one any day, unless its unplayable. Just shows it's experience and story. Its just that much more unique.

Funny statement, yet I sympathize with the sentiment. Although I don't set out to buy "weathered" guitars, I find myself picking up and playing those in this condition in my hoard much more often than many of my more minty examples.

I suppose it is like the new car jitters, fear of that first ding that makes me reticent to really dig into the less cosmetically challenged guitars. It's all about the playability and the sound after all, or should be.

BTW, for cheap guitars, don't discount the newer Squiers. Their CV series beats the MIM Standard Fenders on many levels.

[bobbarcus]

I bought a Flying Vee I put a new Gibson bridge on and new rear P-up and a Gibson truss rod cover When I took it in to have the Bridge put on the Pro Tech thought it Was a $1,200.00 Vee This modal has a throu neck All Mahogany body,Just the hardware was cheap...Noone can tell it an't a real Fly'n Vee No wonder they were only made for a short time...

[jmartyg]

As and update,
I ended up passing on that Turser.

However, last week, I remembered that I had the right handed one stored under my bed. The neck went wonky, so I harvested the parts and left it to collect dust in a box. With the dry winter, and warm room, the neck seems to have straightened itself out enough to be playable. I went through my parts drawer and found a mmk45, and some stu-mac single coils, went out and got some 500k pots and soldered it all together. It's awaiting me to get the time to do a proper setup on it. the neck warping was my own fault.

All in all, i like these things. I usually swap out pickups on any strat, so there isn't a point in me paying an arm and a leg for a big apple or lonestar, just to replace what makes them expensive. The necks are beefy enough to reshape if i wanted, but i find fatter ones hurt my wrist a lot less.

Here is one in my apartment: