January Birthdays 
The Jungle Master Series from J & D Guitars-- Review by Rio
SG101 is a great resource for historical and practical information about all things surf, and that includes a lot of information, and discussion, about gear. No doubt theres a heavy focus on Fender guitars and amps, and theres good reason for that, given Leo Fenders association with Dick Dale, Eddie Bertrand and others. But theres also a lot of discussion about many alternatives to Fender, both vintage manufacturers, and in modern production models.
Ive been fortunate over the years to collect a bunch of amps and guitars, including 60s vintage gear, American and foreign re-issues, some budget copies of varying authenticity, and some cheapo retro-type modern guitars too. Im a hobbyist, but I manage to play in a couple of different bands and I usually keep a few guitars handy, or set up & ready to go, at any given time. The way I look at it, theres different instruments for different purposes, depending on the music, the gig, or whatever.
A few weeks ago, while surfing this site, I came across a post from Fret City (kind of a cool name) asking for volunteers in the Toronto area where I live, to review one of their Jungle Master guitars. It sounded like a fun thing to do (I havent really done a guitar review before) and Im always curious about gear, so I volunteered. After beating out some of the local competition (riff raff, really) from fellow Toronto surf-band The von Drats, before I knew it, I had a Jungle Master JM10 guitar in my hands to check out for a few weeks.
J & D Guitars (by Jack & Danny brothers) is a line of guitars imported by Fret City, a Canadian on-line retailer. As they explain it, their guitars are built to specs they select from guitars designed and manufactured in Asia by Yeou Chern, who build guitars as an OEM for Gibson, Ibanez, and Aria since 1972 (theyve also built for Fender).
Some readers may curse them and their ilk as crude mass-productionistas, others may praise them as the best thing since the last thing, but I sit in neither camp, I have no axe to grind and nothing to gainIm just checking out a guitar imported by a local business (basically 3 guys who like music) that figured members of Surf Guitar 101 might be interested, which I cant really blame them for thinking.
Having checked out the JM10, my conclusion is that the Jungle Master guitars are a good quality budget option for a vintage inspired guitar. Youre not getting an authentic reproduction of a vintage instrument, but theyre well built guitars that play well and sound pretty decent, providing a level of quality at a price that make them an alternative to many name brand guitars selling for higher prices. .
The Jungle Master Series
Heres a link to the Jungle Master section of their website:
http://www.fretcity.com/shop/cart.php?target=category&category_id=70
The Jungle Master line features offset bodies, with different pick-up combinations and bridges. The JM10 is something like a maple-necked strat in an offset body. The JM20 is similar, but with a humbucker in the bridge, and a rosewood fretboard, while the JM30 has Jazzmaster-style pickups, but a strat-like bridge (its actually more logical than it sounds). The JM40 is the top of the line, and is the closest to a Jazzmaster in general appearance and design.
The guitars in this series range from $239 to $281 CDN (approximately $195 to $230 US). Having jammed around with the JM10 for a few weeks, my conclusion is that its a pretty decent guitar for very little money.
The JM10: Stratocaster in an Offset Body
My initial preference was to try out the top-of-the-line Jazzmaster-like JM40, but the shipment hadnt arrived at the time, so I went the other way, and selected the JM10, which is the cheapest model in the line, and closest to a Stratocaster, with a strat-style pickups, control layout and bridge, albeit in an offset body.
The JM10 comes in a very Fender-like surf-green acrylic finish, with chrome steel and nickel hardware, a mint three-ply pickguard and aged plastic parts (except the trem tipthis might bother some people, but for the money, it doesnt really bother me). It has a vintage-style strat bridge. The trem arm seems like a cross between a strat and a JMits a little longer than a strat trem arm, and with a less pronounced bend.
The neck has a maple fretboard with 22 frets, medium size and nicely crowned, and nicely filed along the edges (in fact, the edge of the fretboard seems just slightly beveled). Thats a nice touch on a $239 guitarthe frets are better dressed on the JM10 than a lot of other guitars Ive seen from the factory at any price point.
The maple fretboard has the flatter, modern neck profile, and a medium C shaped-neck, neither super-chunky nor super-slim, which I found quite comfortable and easy to play (speaking personally I prefer the 60s C shape to the 50s V). It came set up with .9 gauge strings (round-wound), which are not what I want for surf, but typical of how most American and Asian guitars come shipped from the factory these days.
I raised this with Rob, one of the partners in Fret City, who told me that theyll be stocking SIT Flatwound strings in a number of gauges, including 3 groundwound gauges and one traditional true flatwound gauge, which can be requested to be installed as part of the customer setup prior to shipping. These strings will be in stock by about the end of January 2009. Im not personally familiar with SIT strings, but having the option to order the guitar set up with flats from the factory is another nice touch.
I prefer a floating trem, and naturally, the JM10 wasnt set up that way from the factory, and I didnt feel like messing with the set-up to change it, but otherwise, the set-up was great out of the box, with absolutely no fret-buzzing and no choking-out anywhere on the neck, and overall, a nice, easy medium-low action. Again, the set-up wasnt to my personal liking, but the fact it generally came well set up from the factory is another nice touch in its favour.
The pickups are alnico strat-style single coils, maybe a little hotter than youd associate with a vintage sound, but still quite fine for rocknroll. A set of flatwounds would maybe take some of the edge off the pickups and improve the sound for surf, so thatll be another option worth trying from the factory, starting at the end of January.
There are a few things that remind you its a budget guitarthe pickguard on the JM10 wasnt cut quite rightit was a bit sloppy in a couple of places, but thats only if you look right up close-- the pick-up selector switch is a little stiff, and the colour selection is initially limited, although there may be custom colours available in future. Fret City has apparently brought the pick-guard issue to the attention of the manufacturer, and Im told that the pickguards on the JM40s (which have now arrived) are finished much better. But again, these minor issues have to be balanced against the overall quality of the guitar, which is generally quite sound, and, of course, the price.
As far as weight is concerned, its not exactly a light guitar-- but the body is US Alder, and the neck is Canadian maple, so at least, youre lugging around classic tone-wood, rather than who-knows-what.
Overall, I liked the guitar, it was fun to play, and the neck pick-up had a nice bite. Its solidly built, and felt comfortable enough, if a bit heavy overall. For less than $240 CDN, its a pretty decent instrument that is comparable in many respects to guitars costing considerably more.
As I say, I didnt get a chance to check out the JM40, but if its anything like the JM10, its going to be pretty decent Jazzmaster-style guitar for the price
Conclusion
The J & D Jungle Master guitars arent going to replace vintage Fenders any time soon. With 22 medium frets and modern neck profile, they are not intended to be direct copies of vintage instruments, so you shouldnt expect authenticity and all-vintage features. And they certainly dont have the name recognition associated with the labels of better known American companies. They are mass-produced and not necessarily created with an eye to individual detail, but they are very playable and well-put together instruments that offer good value-- alder bodies, maple necks, alnico pickups, vintage strat-style trem, and surf green offset body-- for about $200 US.
They have the look, feel and build-quality of guitars worth more than the asking price. If youre on a budget, theyre definitely worth a look, and compare favorably to guitars costing considerably more.
These are decent guitars that are affordable and well suited for younger players, or those just starting out-- but also for anybody whose budget or interest level cannot justify the purchase of a more expensive, professional-grade instrument. It would also make an inexpensive back-up for those who need (or want) a decent and reliable second guitar but cant really afford the price of another name-brand instrument, whether for gigging, or jamming at the cottage, or anywhere else you might not want to bring your favorite instrument.
Speaking personally, they probably wont replace a Jaguar as my favorite surf guitar, but I liked the JM10 and I can think of reasons to have one (or two, at that price) kicking around.
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