Jet Guitars - JS 400 Plum

The Jet Guitars JS-400 Plum features a colour that few brands dare to include in their range. The glossy plum finish doesn’t belong to any particular decade — it doesn’t reference the 60s, nor does it aim for 90s metal; it simply exists for its own sake. The black pickguard against this deep background creates a stark contrast, without attempting to alter what already works so well.

The choice of rosewood fingerboard on this model is no accident. Compared to the all-maple versions of the JS-400 series, the rosewood adds an extra layer of warmth at the lower end of the spectrum and slightly softens the attack — which, coupled with the roasted Canadian maple neck, results in a rounder tone profile, better suited to funk, blues or indie rock, where the single-coil pickups in positions 2 and 4 of the 5-way selector switch really come into their own.

The body, back and sides in roasted poplar maintain the same acoustic architecture as across the series: a direct response, clear mid-range, and bass that doesn’t overpower. The Modern C profile with a nut width of 41.9 mm and a radius of 241.3 mm remains familiar territory for anyone who grew up on double-cutaway guitars — flat enough for high-fret bends, curved enough to keep low-fret chords sounding natural. The 22 frets and dual truss rod round off the craftsmanship with understated precision.

The chrome tuners and chrome hardware complement the whole with understated elegance. The vibrato, volume/tone controls and ceramic HSS pickups round off an instrument that knows exactly what it is.