Jet Guitars - JS 380 Red Gold

The Jet Guitars JS-380 Red Gold from the 380 series makes a bold stylistic statement: the red of the solid roasted poplar body — top, back and sides all made from the same material — contrasts with the gold of the hardware, tremolo bridge and self-locking tuners. The ivory pickguard acts as a bridge between the two. On stage under the spotlights, this trio of colours certainly doesn’t fade into the background.
The roasted poplar used here is the same material from the very top to the very bottom of the body, providing an acoustic consistency that composite wood bodies don’t always possess. The heat treatment hardens the fibres, drives out residual moisture and tightens the tonal response — the pick’s attack translates directly into sound, without unwanted damping. The three custom-wound Alnico V single-coil pickups in an SSS configuration capture this signal with the characteristic clarity of Alnico V magnets: punch in the bridge position for rock rhythms, warm tone in the neck position for blues lines, and the middle positions of the 5-way selector switch for funk and soul textures.
The Modern C-profile roasted Canadian maple neck holds up well during long sessions, and the rosewood fingerboard softens what might otherwise be an overly bright high-end from the maple. The 241.3 mm (9.5") radius remains the Strat standard: curved enough for first-fret chords, flat enough for solos up the neck. The 22 medium jumbo frets, bone nut, double-action truss rod and 647.7 mm (25.5") scale length round off the technical specifications — nothing to complain about, everything is in order.