Better Than A BENTON?! | JET JS-450 Ocean Blue

JET JS-450: jetguitars.com...
If you were to see this JET JS-450 hanging on a guitar shop wall, would you be able to correctly guess the price? I was WAY off - these are more affordable than their features and looks would suggest. How does this mid tier JET stack up? Let's find out...
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[@ScienceofLoud]

JET JS-450: jetguitars.com/guitars/450-series/jet-js-450/ If you were to see this JET JS-450 hanging on a guitar shop wall, would you be able to correctly guess the price? I was WAY off - these are more affordable than their features and looks would suggest. How does this mid tier JET stack up? Let's find out... Buy at Merchant City Music - www.guitar.co.uk/jet-js-450-flamed-ocean-blue This video contains paid promotion from JET Guitars More details on how CSGuitars implements product promotion - www.csguitars.co.uk/disclosure #js450 #jetguitars #scienceofloud More from CSGuitars: Support on Patreon: www.patreon.com/csguitars Join CSGuitars Discord - discord.gg/csguitars Buy CSGuitars Merchandise - www.csguitars.co.uk/store Website - www.csguitars.co.uk Contact - [e-mail] ____________________________________________________________________ *Description contains affiliate links. Purchasing using one of these links will generate a small commission for CSGuitars at no additional cost to you.*

[@Kdschaak]

The thing is, there are so many stellar, inexpensive guitars out there. If a person doesn't have a preference for what name is on the headstock, there are some fantastic guitars to choose from. Some people just can't spend a whole lot on a luxury item like a nice guitar. Companies like HB and the like, are doing a great job of getting affordable, beautiful and well playing instrument into the hands of people at at a comfortable price point.

[@neilomac]

I've got a Jet JS-400 in Seafoam Green. Great wee guitar for the £200 I paid for it (it was modded by its previous owner with a Wilkinson bridge and locking tuners).

[@alexwalker67]

Was that a bit of the darkness? Nice. I own a JS400 and it's lovely. Smokes anything Squire are doing for similar money. What a time to be a guitarist!

[@concretebadger]

Blimey, some really nice sounds there. It's so cool to see how many options there are in this price range these days, and I really want to emphasise that I think it's an overwhelmingly good thing. I'm not annoyed that this wasn't around when I was a youngster; I'm just glad that KIDS TODAY can own something like this!

[@pudss]

Bought a Jet js-400 from a local guitar shop brand new, around 2 years ago. (£160) Unreal value for money, contoured heel, comfy necks, decent sounding pickups. Frets were leveled nicely and the edges of the fret board definitely felt rolled. passed it onto a beginner pal for his first guitar. would have loved one of these when I was first starting out all those years ago 😄

[@Mendelian]

8:09 YEEESSSSS

[@blacktarajam]

Got this exact model recently from Merchant City Music in Glasgow, was set up really nice and it's lovely to play. Well worth the money.

[@thisguy2973]

Reminds me of the Yamaha PAC612VIIFM, but with generic pickups. Very cool!

[@peterfaris3398]

I bought one. The build quality is exceptional and I love the neck. Pickups are so so (pretty good), and the sound when the middle/bridge position is selected is anemic. I have an extra humbucker kicking around and I've ordered bootstrap pickups for the neck and middle pickups...so for an extra $50 I'll have an amazing guitar. May swap out the trem at some point too.

[@huginstarkstrom]

I have a JS-450 and their Tele with HB. Both guitars are amazing. At least the tele has those smaller pots and my fingers turned black after playing for a few weeks, but now the surplus paint has worn off, that's not the case anymore. The JS-450 didn't look like on the pics, but it looks still nice. And the playability is great.

[@mcfek8295]

JET JS450 is inspired by the Suhr standard plus HSS.

[@lurklingX]

i always liked this look/finish/combo. there's a benton in a similar blue that i'd been looking at a while. i think they look particularly nice with the roasted maple neck against the blue.

[@stevecassidyguitar]

Love that Ocean Blue 😎👌 I have the one that looks like a Beach (reviewed it recently). The Jet JS400 is my favourite though. Just upgraded the bejeezez oot it! Teckle mate! 😃👌

[@JJames666male]

Never tried a Harley Benton strat, but I did try a JS and feel wise it felt on par with my mexican Strat. Super impressed. Not even the one in the video with flame maple and roasted neck, the more basic S S S with plain top and regular maple neck.

[@tostrmofo6686]

JET Guitars are just insane value for the money. Regarding the pickups I have to say I don't care about pickups at all, in fact I'd like to be able to get some high quality guitars for less money instead of having a set of 300 bucks (retail) pickups in there. As long as they aren't muddy or very noisy I just use an EQ pedal to get the tone I want. As soon as distortion comes into play it doesn't matter at all.

[@scottbrower9052]

Just re-watched this. Hope you're well, brother.

[@JamesDierken]

The "harsh" sound you mention of the single coils might be due to the potentiometer values as the guitar is likely using 500k pots which is better tailored for the humbucker rather than the single coils. An upgrade worth trying is replacing the existing ones (or at least the volume ) with a 500k/250k double potentiometer where you can connect the single coils to the 250k side and the humbucker to the 500k side. This is just a suggestion and I'm curious to know what you think of it. I really love how far budget guitars have come since beginners and pros alike don't always have to spend tons of money to get a quality instrument that they are satisfied with. Plus, you won't feel too guilty about modding it since it's not several thousand dollars. Ultimately it's all about finding what suits you best.

[@vexillidan]

nice to see JET Guitars getting some more traction! i have the JS-400 shell pink HSS config and as someone who has a Fusion-III, Fusion-T and SC 550 II from Harley Benton, i see myself picking up the JET even more than the Bentons. Its in my opinion, much more comfortable and a better playing experience for me. I will definitely switch out the pickups for something more high gain in the bridge and the single coils im not so sure what would go well for those yet. Feel free to leave some suggestions!

[@PedalPlayhouse]

The blue flame is really what grabs my attention on this one tho I’m not been an S-Type person. What pickups would you drop in since you mentioned swapping them Colin?

[@SisterRose]

I'm pretty interested in the JET JS-450 TGR R which is a really nice trans green and has a rail pickup in the neck, but can't find any demos anywhere sadly! Hopefully they'll turn up at a local music shop.

[@julirichmond3]

Great guitars. The necks are amazing

[@naruto199797]

When you're a beginner you need a guitar that is playable and sound decent out the box after a set up thankfully its really starting to happen for more brands at cheaper price points

[@J.C...]

There are companies that sell guitars for less that comes perfectly setup from the mfg. 🤷 No taking it anywhere and spending another $100 for a setup. Essentially another $100 to add to the price of that guitar 👎👎

[@mcliffe26]

If I was gigging regularly, I'd be really tempted by one of these as a backup to my Suhr Standard. They're incredible value. Obviously I'd swap out the electrics, but that's an easy job if the bones are solid.

[@RandomCoyote]

these look pretty awesome I've been kinda looking around for a good cheap strat or copy

[@alexcorona]

Get a Kramer Vt211, has down best buck for the price. I got a new one at guitar center for $80. Mahogany body, Maple neck, Alnico Pickups and a bridge that stays in tune even with crazy dive bombs. The finish on these guitars is great also, no paint runs or orange peel at all. I got two and both had nice frets as well.

[@LocrianDorian]

Crazy how much your playing has improved over the years dude, do you play live anywhere?

[@damasterkarej]

I don't like strat look on any guitar. But I have JT300 and it rocks. The neck is sooooooo good!

[@МихаилКоверзнев-ш2ч]

Jet 👍

[@Thorgnor]

Impressive! Outstanding features at this price point, but dang my larger hands aren't compatible with a neck so slim...

[@rockkevinrock]

1:45 Flanders quote!

[@sauninetivi]

What a nice guitar, thanks for the review...

[@JosephGallagher]

The neck pickup is deffo a goner, but what a beautiful beast this one is

[@jonathanwapner6262]

Baked maple has come a long way.

[@CarloGuitardello]

Looks very Nice!, although the neck pickup is kinda harsh

[@Addahasan]

Very good guitar. I have Yamaha Pacifica, one of the mid end ones. 112VM. I wish it had medium jumbo frets with 9.5 inch radius or 12 inch cannot even get a replacement neck for it that can fit :(

[@williammolina9792]

What's the weight in kilos. ??

[@canyonproductions7683]

Looks great

[@rodneydelboy6910]

Is it possible to take out the humbucker cap

[@hodshonf]

Jet's influencer and ChatGPT budget must be huge

[@cancelbubble6535]

Last time I looked at these, there were two things that really stood out that would be big differentiators among competitors: 1) No stainless steel frets 2) A lot/most of their models only come in one color/finish

[@ScienceofLoud]

I'm interested to know where you are seeing stainless steel frets on instruments that are sub £300, because they can't be using very hard grades of SS rendering any advantage redundant.

[@longwalkinthewoods5457]

Don't most of the Harley Bentons have SS frets? I know all their Fusion III guitars do and they run about $300-$400 US. @@ScienceofLoud

[@ScienceofLoud]

None of the HBs I've tried feature SS frets. Perhaps some of the higher end Fusions are spec'd out that way, but 2 things to consider there: 1 - as I stated above: not all SS is equal, there are about 150 different grades of SS - of different cost and material properties. For example 304 SS (the cheapest, most common grade) has a Rockwell hardness of 70 - Nickel Silver ranks at 73 on the same scale. If you are running into SS on low price instruments I'd caution if it holds any real advantage beyond corrosion resistance. I would guess HB are using 304 so they can print SS on the specs without having to incur the increased costs of time and tooling wear for a harder material. 2 - Thomann sell HB direct which skews their price range. Without the additional cut taken by distribution and independent retail stores HB seem to be able to offer a lot more for a lot less. Directly comparing features and price of HB and JET isn't an equivalence.

[@cancelbubble6535]

@@ScienceofLoud "Directly comparing features and price of HB and JET isn't an equivalence." no, but that's how you comparison shop and make a decision based on what features you value and at what price range you have budgeted. Someone might not care about SS frets and make the decision to buy that JET just because of the top/finish. And that's cool, whatever draws you to the instrument and encourages you to play it.

[@Ari_Calamari]

@@ScienceofLoudActually, all the fusions afaik comes with blacksmith brand stainless steel frets. Blacksmith have delivered fretwire for many known brands, Gibson, Fender and ESP, to name a few mentioned on their website. They produce both 304cu and 316L stainless steel. And from what I can tell, 304cu is generally considered stronger and more durable than most nickel silver, but there is quite a bit of variety within even the specific types of steel aswell. Same goes with nickel silver. But the blacksmith frets seem to be of decent quality. But it would be awesome if you wanted to do some tests with different fretwires. Like, which are the hardest to cut, or work with etc. 😎 Ps. The Harley Benton fusions also comes with alnico pickups. Even most of their cheaper ones. That said, I have a Jet js-400 in shell pink that I’m pretty happy with, after a bit of work. But Harley Benton still has them beat on features for the price. Although just the name and the logo, could make me go Jet.

[@indybingyi]

There is a string through jazzmaster with humbuckers. I'm planning to get one

[@CharlySantosGuitarrista]

¿Is This is better than a Sire S7?

[@marksy5560]

Please clarify, is this sent in to review or pulled off a wall in a shop? It maters so much. You mentioned it was "on the wall with other guitar In the shop". Then mentioned it was sent in for review? Is this review representative as I would receive this guitar or a review model?

[@ScienceofLoud]

I was first made aware of JET by seeing them hanging on the wall in my local guitar shop. Later I met with a representative from the brand while at Guitar Summit last year, where we discussed possible collaboration. After much back and forth between the UK representative and JET HQ, my video fee was agreed and this guitar was shipped to me from the UK distribution for the purpose of review. The guitar as I received it is entirely representative of how any guitar shop would receive one in the UK. If a guitar shop were to place an order for X of these guitars they would be shipped from the same distribution centre and be received in the same condition. In fact if you are picking one off the wall of a guitar shop it is likely better set up than mine, as guitar shops tend to give all the instruments they receive a quick set up before putting them on display. They may even change strings - something I did not do with mine. There is no such thing as a special "review model" that gets sent out to reviewers. They are just taken out of warehouse stock and their value written off against promotional expense. As flattering as the suggestion is, I'm not important enough to receive any special treatment. You can find out more about how I utilise paid promotion with the links provided in the video description.

[@marksy5560]

@@ScienceofLoud awsome reply! As much as there is not such thing as a "reviewer model" it's important to clarify imo. I don't trust a company I've never heard of not to send a picked from the "top shelf" or had a setup they don't normally do model to a reviewer who might be known. I trust you, you've proved your word is accurate and honest many times. But you can only report what you see and are told.

[@ScienceofLoud]

I understand being sceptical, but that has to be tempered with some rational thought - 'youtube reviewers being sent special product that the company has graded as better and is deliberately keeping in reserve for promotion in a designed effort to trick the customer into buying known lesser quality product' just doesn't make sense beyond conspiracy theory conjecture. Occam's razor would suggest that to orchestrate such a thing would be vastly more effort and cost the company more in time, man power, and storage space that the simpler (and therefore more likely) solution is that customers and reviewers alike are being shipped the first product off the shelf at their closest distribution by a worker who isn't paid enough to even question who the item they are picking is for. The artist relations manager, or social media coordinator who I'm talking to aren't the ones picking out the product - they are simply authorising a shipment in the system without payment being received. That's the extent of their influence; in almost all cases where the product is in production, that order will be processed like any other - by a minimum wage worker in a different building receiving instruction to ship one box to the address on screen. The only times it works differently are when I'm receiving a product ahead of official launch, in which case I may receive a pre-production or even prototype model. These are usually collected back at the end of the exchange - because they don't represent the final quality of the product and don't have serial numbers. When I did Boss HM-2W for example it was a 00000 serial prototype with a paint job I was warned to be careful with because it wasn't as hard wearing as what the final production enclosures would have. The other time it may be different is when items are sent out of 'loan stock' - The brand will have a number of items that are shipped around different places on loan, meaning I'll often get an amplifier after several other people have had it. These sometimes come dirty, or with problems if they haven't been serviced between loans. (My Orange AD30 which I purchased at deep discount from Orange's loan stock still has beer spilled down the back panel from a previous loan) Often the items that get put into 'loan stock' are B grade to begin with - they'll have some minor issue that means they can't be sold as normal stock and are assigned the duty of being shipped around to bands for music videos/tours, and to youtubers for making videos with because it doesn't matter if they get further damaged in the process. The reality is the products I receive are either going to be the same quality, or worse than what you'd expect if you bought one new.

[@marksy5560]

@@ScienceofLoud I'm not saying they have reviewer models or your rep is saying to send a special model. All it takes is one person in that chain thinking "oh Colin! That's that KZbin reviewer I'll make sure this is a nice one for him" or something similar. They don't even have to do it maliciously. You mention "loan stock" if those can come with more problems than normal it's probably worth mentioning too. Transparency is all I'm asking for, we can have our own opinions on what to believe that way.

[@ScienceofLoud]

"I'm not saying [ ] your rep is saying to send a special model. All it takes is one person in that chain thinking "oh Colin! That's that KZbin reviewer I'll make sure this is a nice one for him" [ ]" - That's a direct contraction: You are literally saying that! Again, no one has the time or money to be doing that. Most products are processed through an ordering system, with the box picked and labelled by someone in a different building - sometimes even in a different post code - with no affiliation or knowledge of who it is being sent to. There is no shelf of nicer products to pick from even if they DID know who it was for, and my contacts are only authorising my payment and processing the order in the system. It's flattering that you think I'm that famous and can wield such power, but it's simply not reality. Here's the thing about loan stock: unless its a case where clearly the previous person spilled something over it (where it obviously isn't worth bringing up because it's not a flaw with the product), I don't know what flaws (if any) it may have - so it will be demonstrated exactly as it is, the same as if it were fresh stock the first time out the box. You talk about transparency still as if there is some secret that I'm keeping hidden from you - there isn't one. If I'm being shipped expensive demo gear it should be logical that it's probably loaner stock that other people have had prior, and such stock probably isn't the immaculate cosmetic condition you'd get buying one new. This isn't an issue with reviewer transparency, I'm needing you to meet me half way with some knowledge and rational thought. I can't be the only one doing the heavy lifting here - viewers have to bring there own sense of reason to the table instead of blind scepticism.

[@Peter-by3ox]

BE nice to see u review their LP model the 500 cool vid nice axe

[@MrLoompi]

Great guitars, regardless of the price. Own JS-400 and JS-800 and sold my Pacifica 612. Yes its that good.

[@SixStringViolence]

I love it and I need it I bleed it Yeah, it's a wild hurricane Alright, hold tight I'm a highway star

[@DarthKofi391]

try one at a guitar store last year and thought these were amazing for the price especially when you it $400AUD

[@albertplaysguitar]

Blue Guitar: Colin is not my favorite type of human... But in all seriousness... the guitar looks great... I would gladly swap the pick ups!

[@fundude365]

Love so much about this guitar. EXCEPT for the logo that looks like it was designed by a 13 year old in their maths exercise book.

[@ScienceofLoud]

Sounds like that 13 year old has a quality career ahead of them in graffiti inspired graphic art. I'd hire them.

[@gearViewmirror]

@@ScienceofLoudI love my Jet guitars, logo, pickups...everything except the tuners, which i swapped out!🎸🤘

[@allenthomas834]

Why do some ocean blue colours look brighter and more blue this ocean blue is nice other ones are terrible ?

[@wintyrqueen]

Unison bends aren’t out of the question; you just have to bend both the notes

[@JDODify]

I don’t normally give a shit about pickups as I think a lot of it is snake oil, but I thought this sounded awful. Looks like a nice guitar though, and I find even high end stuff often feels crap and is badly setup off the peg though, so it’s cool that this seems so well made

[@oliverjames7315]

Yeah I agree on the sound and I'm sure it's the pickups because Colin usually dials in great tones.

[@zezuntxiduntxi]

I have a HB JA60 and a Jet300. HB is cool, but Jet wins.

[@cwinkels]

"As is documented, blue is not my favourite colour". I see what you did there.

[@ScienceofLoud]

That statement is quite literal: there is no subtext or hidden meaning. What do you think I've done here?

[@cwinkels]

@@ScienceofLoud I honestly thought it was an Old Firm reference! Looks like I read too much into it.

[@Allan-ts1ux]

How hard is it to make a good pup anyway ... It's all done very much the same.i don't get it

[@adrian_V99]

It better be better than a Benton. Even a SquierBullet is...😂😂

[@PooNinja]

Mother of toilet seat is a relative… I’m not sure?

[@martinclayton7260]

Your intros always sound like a M&S advert?

[@ScienceofLoud]

This isn't just any guitar equipment channel...

[@richardx4456]

how is this compared to squier?

[@scottharrison9083]

The quality control is still not there Fender and Squier are superior

[@DMSProduktions]

Sewer? They stink!

[@DVARTBASS]

Jet 450 have neck sounds better than jet 600

[@pinkyellowblue007]

Don't compare this work of art to a HB piece of junk

[@folkvarwolfwind]

They are crap. Sorry. But then again so are all cheap guitars 🎉

[@ScienceofLoud]

Sounds like elitism rather than objective criticism, but OK.

[@Juno58]

My 279 € Harley Benton CST 24 T (with SS frets) is everything than crap, it's same level as a Player Fender Strat or Ibanez AR.

[@taz3672]

The Jet JL-500 has my attention!

[@J.C...]

Random noodling 👎

[@ScienceofLoud]

You really are negative about everything these days, huh. Want to give me more constructive criticism about how I can make it better, rather than a blunt statement of disapproval? What is it you would like instead? Use your words.