Jim Reed Guitars

Jim Reed Guitars is a “Customer Shop” directed by the guitar player Jim Reed,who places his thirty-year-old experience in the field of sonority research at hiscustomer’s disposal, in order to make guitars with exclusive timbre qualities.
Each guitar is provided with a “Flatback neck” worked out and patented by Jim Reed himself.

18 thoughts on “Jim Reed Guitars”

    1. Re: This popular thread has been given its own page :... rob luke
      rob luke

      Well, having read all the various superb reviews on Jim Read guitars, I thought what the hell,let’s buy one ~~~~ MISTAKE!! Don’t get me wrong, for the money it’s a nice feeling guitar, better than some US Fenders, but oh the build quality ~ The nut was cut too short and the binding had been marked, probably when the coating was still wet. I advised the distributer in Hull, UK and got no response. I have had the nut replaced by my local guitar tech at a cost of £40. So the moral is i’ll stick to Fender and Ibanez in future!!

  1. jim reed guitars
    ken

    i would like to buy the tiger maple striped top lp model -but never having seen (excluding the picture on your web site) or played one, would like to know some information on your return policy if i am not happy with your product-does anyone own one of these who can give me comments about them???????

    1. Re: jim reed guitars
      Larry Tidwell

      : i would like to buy the tiger maple striped top lp model -but never having seen (excluding the picture on your web site) or played one, would like to know some information on your return policy if i am not happy with your product-does anyone own one of these who can give me comments about them???????
      I have the Jim Reed PRS Model…I have been a player for 30 yrs. and make my living as guitarist playing on the road.I just happened upon these guitars and thought I would try one.When I opened the shipping box….I thought they had sent the wrong guitar!! I have played older Gibsons (335,Lp,LPjr,L6S) and I have also played the new Gibsons which feel cheap in your hands.These guitars without doubt have the feel of quality guitars of days gone by!The craftsmanship and the hardware are top of the line!How they sell them so cheap is a mystery to me but I hope they continue to do so…Highy recommended Guitars…

        1. Re: jim reed guitars
          Lewis

          Hi everyone. I have a JR Jazz Bass in Ash. I bought it to replace my treasured 1969 Precesion bass which I sold to enable me to buy a digital recorder. The JR feels and plays better than my old Fender! The neck is glorious. I’ve since bought a brand new Fender Mexican Jazz which is poor in comparison. Ugly fat neck, weedy hardware etc. Its going on Ebay shortly. The JR arrived direct from the factory in Italy (via the only UK distributor) in a cardboard box! It was 6 months before I needed to adjust the set-up and that was only a tweak. Like everyone else who has bought a Jim Reed guitar, I just don’t know how they do it for the money. get one (or more) while you can. Lewis

        2. Re: jim reed guitars PRS
          steve elliott

          I have 2 new style jim reeds with jim reed trem one tiger stripe one trans blue .One piece mahogany body! After some initial isuues with breaking strings ,i did some mods to saddles ,(I work on my own guitars)I now can get 2 weeks without breaking a string , I am a heavy whammy bar user .these guitars are amazing value for money ,the only problem i have is a feeling of guilt ,leaving my trusty strat unused since i bought them

          1. Re: jim reed guitars PRS
            Rob (via moderator)

            Jim Reed guitars have no re-sale value. The top end models go for around £120 on ebay and are generally in innac condition.

            They make them for the momey because the build quailty is suspect. I have had over 5 of these guitars in my shop and they all had problems with badly routed Pickup and Neck pockets. Most of them had poor finish and needed a lot of setting up.

            I suspect the bodys are bought in from the far east because they have swimming pool routing which is a sign of cheap production.

            A decent far east strat copy will be better made.

            1. Re: jim reed guitars PRS
              Joe

              I have a Jim Reed LP, a Jackson Soloist, and two Vintage Ibanez Artists…. I read a lot of reviews on jim reed’s before I bought one and all I can say is it’s worth the money I paid for it – It will never even approach the quality of the Ibanez or Jacksons I have, but it’s a nice guitar nevertheless that I don’t feel guilty about knocking around. It sounds more like an SG than a Les Paul. I would question the people that rave about the build quality – mine had a hairline crack in the finish in the neck straight from the factory…. it also has plastic covers over the electrics that don’t fit perfectly and the binding isn’t the best quality I’ve ever seen. The best thing I can say about this guitar is that through a nice big valve amp it ‘sounds’ like a more expensive guitar than it is – and when I play gigs, I don’t worry about someone stealing it:-)

            2. Re: jim reed guitars PRS
              Bilbow

              : Jim Reed guitars have no re-sale value. The top end models go for around £120 on ebay and are generally in innac condition.

              : They make them for the momey because the build quailty is suspect. I have had over 5 of these guitars in my shop and they all had problems with badly routed Pickup and Neck pockets. Most of them had poor finish and needed a lot of setting up.

              : I suspect the bodys are bought in from the far east because they have swimming pool routing which is a sign of cheap production.

              : A decent far east strat copy will be better made.

              strange… you’re the ONLY person who complains about these guitars. The bodies are definitely NOT from far east (hand built in Italy..), pickups (Kent Armstrong) are wayyy better than anything you can find on cheap korean ou chinese copies. I don’t know about the strat copies, but I’ve tried 3 different tele-like, and they sound just wonderful… the finish is thin but nice. I own a jim reed LP-custom copy, and IT’S REALLY AMAZING ! no doubt that when you play one, you really think Gibson is screwing you up (btw gibbies are still fantastic guitars). pickup routing is very clean in mine, so…

              no resale value ? Why bother ? I don’t want to sell it… ever !

              1. Jim Reeds
                Micthetic

                I partly agree with the OP on the fact that the guitars are assembled in Italy, probably from a Korean OEM manufacturer of necks and bodies, which is no bad thing. But their top line models fetch a bit more than £120, yes they do depreciate but that is to be expected. Finish is somewhere between a Vintage and an Epiphone. Hardware is usually great, Kent pickups (made under license by Sky Pickups) are great. Their two point trems are mid priced Wilkinson/Gotoh.Tuners are normal sealed Jinho. All in all they’re a good alternative budget/mid priced guitar.
                Dont go along with the notion of a Geppetto type character weaving his magic before you finally get your hands on one. They’re assembled in Italt but still well worth checking out, insist on a pro setup as part of the purchase.

        3. Re: This popular thread has been given its own page :... Joe Watson
          Joe Watson

          Hi, Ive got a tiger top, and it is excellent. Like the PRS, how they can make it for the money I dont know. It looks fabulous, alabone inlays 5ply binding all the way round quality finishing and hardware, just buy one. Joe

          : : i would like to buy the tiger maple striped top lp model -but never having seen (excluding the picture on your web site) or played one, would like to know some information on your return policy if i am not happy with your product-does anyone own one of these who can give me comments about them???????
          : I have the Jim Reed PRS Model…I have been a player for 30 yrs. and make my living as guitarist playing on the road.I just happened upon these guitars and thought I would try one.When I opened the shipping box….I thought they had sent the wrong guitar!! I have played older Gibsons (335,Lp,LPjr,L6S) and I have also played the new Gibsons which feel cheap in your hands.These guitars without doubt have the feel of quality guitars of days gone by!The craftsmanship and the hardware are top of the line!How they sell them so cheap is a mystery to me but I hope they continue to do so…Highy recommended Guitars…

          1. Jim Reed guitars
            Waldo boy

            I have a Jim. Reed strat. I spotted it a local pawn shop for £ 30.When I asked about the price, the owner said ” never heard of them and Ican’t sell it for any more than that. The guitar was armed with a S Duncan hot rail at the neck, a K Armstrong single coil middle and a S Duncan humbucker at the bridge. If it was junk then the pickups alone were worth many times the asking price. I paid the man.
            It is a fabulous guitar and I can find no faults at all. All the pots are high quality and respond perfectly. The pickups are as you would expect and the body is finished in a dark linseed oil.
            I have corresponded with a brilliant Italian jazz fusion player who endorses the company ( Roggero Robin on youtube) He told me the company will build a guitar to your spec from Korean quality parts in their workshop, east of Naples. The guys are all working musicians and demand a high standard from the far east suppliers.
            Since that time, I have gigged every weekend with the guitar, forsaking all others in my collection as she is such a joy to play.

Leave a Reply