Jet JS 400 set up

I had seen and read several glowing reviews about the Jet range of guitars - in particular the JS models so was interested in seeing one. So much so that a few weeks ago I was considering buying one (JS-100) just to see what the hype was about. But I exercised self-control and, like some kind of cosmic reward, the Universe sent me Trevor, a old customer, with his brand new JS-400 to set up direct from the retailer.

I'll give you my take up-front. This guitar looks great, feels great, plays pretty well and - to my ears - sounds good too. At under £200 it's definitely in the zone to compete with Squier Affinity and Harley Benton guitars. This guitar also had one of the best necks I've encountered on any guitar at any price point. What makes ME call it 'best'? The fact that under load i.e. under compression with a full string loading it has the fewest 'hills and valleys' along its length than almost any other guitar I've set up. What does this translate into? Less 'fret slap' than any other; less choke-out on bends... even less individual high or low frets. That IS stand-out special. What I don't know is whether this is a one-off or whether all Jet necks share these qualities. And I also don't know what makes this neck this way. I wondered if it had something to do with the roasting process? And if it did, might this be a quality shared by all roasted necks? I have no idea how or even if roasting the wood might result in a decrease in its tendency to 'bunch' under compression (resulting in a series of 'hills and valleys' across the length of the neck) but my interest is piqued to find out.

But on the down side, this superb neck and the general superb look and playability was spoiled by three main issues. The first would be a complete downer for an inexperienced guitarist right out of the box: a faulty jack socket. Talk about a quick way to spoil someone's vibe. Cheap part, slack quality testing. The jack socket also resists upgrading because the tunnel is slightly too small to comfortably fit better quality replacements. Grrrr!!!

The second was a slightly thicker (front-to-back) nut. The nut itself is a well-made bone nut which is good; BUT the excess thickness means that a standard nut designed for a Fender will rattle around and tilt forward. The replacement Tusq PQ-5000-00 nut that's a drop-in for Fender Strats was too thin and unusably loose - leaving me with no choice other than replacing the original nut, replacing with a fatter Chinese cheap bone alternative (no real point) or hand-making my own custom Tusq nut to fit. So I had to do the latter which turns into an hour-long diversion. Jet, if you'd care to re-tool your production line to cut nut slots to Fender dimensions you would make the Jet more effortlessly upgradable.

The third flaw was the 'chop and go' approach to the fret ends. End-bevelled, left razor sharp. Move on and out the door. This is NOT a 'stylish appointment' it's lazy and stupid. When you bevel your frets you get a sharp edge where the bevelling file cuts at 90º to the fret's length. If you don't bother to file this to round it off it's going to look sharp.... but it will also feel sharp.

A final small grouse is that the basic neck / body geometry leaves MY target low playing action with the E string saddles decked on the tremolo base plate. There's no leeway there for the extra bit of reduction I would need to pre-set this bridge prior to floating the tremolo. A slight raise in the basic height of the fingerboard at that end (either via the depth of the pocket, the thickness of the heel or even the angle of the pocket) would be preferable so that we weren't at rock bottom and only just reaching my target low action.

If Jet could:
• test the jack more effectively before shipping!
• add 2mm to the diameter of the jack tunnel to allow upgrades
• reduce the front-to-back thickness of the nut to match the Fender (and thereby Tusq) standard for easy upgrade / replacement
• round off the fret ends and polish them before shipping
• push up the heel at the neck/body joint slightly

and if
• all Jet necks were as un-bumpy as this one

then I would say this could beat the competition by miles.