World-renowned boutique electric guitar maker James Tyler Guitars has announced the JTG Series – a collection of six-strings that will be built overseas in China.
It’s a significant development for the high-end gear firm, which was founded in the late 1980s by the late James Tyler. One of the guitar world’s most respected instrument designers and a pioneer of the Superstrat, Tyler spent much of his career building and modding guitars for a huge list of A-list players, including session greats Michael Landau, Dean Parks and Dann Huff.
Under his eponymous brand, Tyler put together a hugely well-regarded collection of guitars, which are known for – aside from that eternally divisive headstock shape – their top-notch build quality, expansive tonal setups and unmissable aesthetics.
Those guitars – especially the US-made ones – are also known for their hefty price tags: you’d be hard-pressed to find one under the $6k mark, with some Studio Elite models weighing in at around $7,500 mark.
Furthermore, James Tyler Guitars does already produce some guitars in Asia in the form of its Tyler Japan range, but those are still noted for their premium provenance and lofty prices, which hover around the $4k price bracket.
That, of course, prices a large portion of players out of a move, but with the forthcoming JTG Series, it looks as though Tyler-branded guitars are about to become more affordable than ever.
The China-made JTG guitars, if comments made by the firm’s official Instagram account are correct, will arrive in the $1.8k range, representing a sizeable price drop from existing Tyler offerings.
Though the China provenance may deter some owing to the country’s association with budget guitars – something that may contrast with James Tyler’s boutique status – it’s worth noting that Chinese factories are becoming increasingly popular for more premium builds these days.
That, and it is clear James Tyler Guitars has full faith in the selected factory it is working with, and has refused to compromise when it comes to designing the guitars. To that end, the extent to which the firm has drilled down on each individual component is impressive.
“I travelled all over Asia looking at factories. I’ve been to all the major factories,” says the brand’s General Manager Rich Renken in an announcement video for the JTG series. “One thing I want you guys to know is that these guitars weren’t just spec’d and then built and we went, ‘Okay, yeah that’s great.’
“We actually got in prototypes and we would all look at them together. We would work with each other and even fight for what we thought was the right thing to do for these guitars. It led to some really great products. It was just a perfect partnership.”
In its pursuit for “really great products”, James Tyler Guitars has opted for custom-made hardware – bridges, tuners, pickups included – as well as high-end tonewoods, such as Indian rosewood for rolled fingerboards, and two-piece North American alder and maple.
Other components include onboard preamp systems, and a suite of brand-appropriate finishes, which will be applied to two distinct designs: the Strat-style SE MK I and the T-type M I.
“We care as much about this product as the guitars we’ve been building for over 35 years,” Renken continues. “If Jim was with us today, he would be caring as much as he cared about anything in his 50-year career.”
The JTG Series is set to arrive at some point in the near-future.
Visit James Tyler Guitars for more information.
