James Tyler Guitars

alanohagan

Forgot all about these - all of the yes

https://youtu.be/kzlvgBzY-Pg

Loobs

That headstock - all of the no 

Guitarnut

My favourite guitars, I've had four over the years and would have loved to keep them all but funds didn't allow at the time. I do still have a burning water that I'll never sell. Shaun Tubbs does a great job of making them sound good of course.

DrBob

My greatest guitar based regret is selling my Studio Elite Hollow HD but yeah, needed the cash and now they’ve gone stratospheric money wise so I shall admire from afar 

PFAllen2

Loobs said:

That headstock - all of the no 

Funny thing though, I've never noticed a head stock from the playing position either a 3 a side acoustic, 335 style, or a 6 a side Fender style UNTIL I got a reverse headstock Harley Benton. I miss seeing some tuners on the top go the headstock, but only for 2 seconds or when I have to look to tune.

PC_Dave

Loobs said:

That headstock - all of the no 

Agreed

axisus

I hated the headstock for years, really hated it. I don't mind it now. 

Rowby1

Mate of mine has a couple. Cool colours, headstock spoils the look for me. They play great but honestly, I find them a bit too nice.....maybe a bit characterless? 

Apart from how much they’re worth I wouldn’t swap any of my (much cheaper) guitars for one.

Shaun Tubbs really does make them sound great.....but I’ve yet to see any video of him sounding anything other than brilliant.

March

Shawn's a fantastic guitarist - he reviewed one of the guitars I own, a John McGuire Valley Pro (this model was also used by the late Mike Casswell). I recently got his album - it's full of tasty guitar work from beginning to end. 

I make no secret of it, Tyler builds my favourite guitars - currently own four, have owned nine in total including the current ones and am currently in the process of spec'ing no.5. I've never minded the headstock, I even have one the wrong way around. I've n never had an issue with it from an aesthetic viewpoint, personally I find the Valley Arts or Saito S622 headstocks to be uglier. Details like the finish of the necks (rolled edges) and the fretwork is the bar by which I judge a lot of boutique builders by. 

alanohagan

I love the headstock but I also love the Bonabyrd - go figure LOL

Guitarnut

Far from characterless to me, but it you want more "vintage" sounds you need the right spec. Body woods, pickups and bridge saddles make a big difference. James was very kind in sending me some pickups when he first brought them out. I prefer the bent raw vintage saddles and alder body.  

March

Guitarnut said:

Far from characterless to me, but it you want more "vintage" sounds you need the right spec. Body woods, pickups and bridge saddles make a big difference. James was very kind in sending me some pickups when he first brought them out. I prefer the bent raw vintage saddles and alder body.  

Agreed, there is a lot of variation within the Tyler pickup range and because there are so many options available in resect to body wood, bridges etc, the right spec . For myself, I've found myself preferring the combination of the JTS2 Hot Laura singles and Supercharged Studebaker covering the tones I need. JTS2 are nice and woody to my ears, the Supercharged Studebaker balances well, especially with a solid alder body.

With the four I have at present I have hollow alder, solid alder, solid ash and hollow mahogany (with mahogany/rosewood neck), I have a wide range of tones covered.

Guitarnut

March said:

Guitarnut said:

Far from characterless to me, but it you want more "vintage" sounds you need the right spec. Body woods, pickups and bridge saddles make a big difference. James was very kind in sending me some pickups when he first brought them out. I prefer the bent raw vintage saddles and alder body.  

Agreed, there is a lot of variation within the Tyler pickup range and because there are so many options available in resect to body wood, bridges etc, the right spec . For myself, I've found myself preferring the combination of the JTS2 Hot Laura singles and Supercharged Studebaker covering the tones I need. JTS2 are nice and woody to my ears, the Supercharged Studebaker balances well, especially with a solid alder body.

With the four I have at present I have hollow alder, solid alder, solid ash and hollow mahogany (with mahogany/rosewood neck), I have a wide range of tones covered.

In my BW I've a Supercharged Studebaker and the JTS5500 single coils right now. I love the JTS5500 and they've been in three of the Tylers I've had. Easily as good but different to Lollar blackface I have in another guitar. I'd like to try the Hot Lauras at some point. Next time I'm in GuitarGuitar I'll have to see what's in.

The oldest Classic I owned came with Suhr V60s and a Wilkinson VSV & the body was an Ash/Alder/Ash sandwich very breathy and zingy sounding but not as good as the later guitars.

Kebabkid

I have a James Tyler Japan Classic (slightly based on the Dann Huff model but without the fancy switching).

I don't know what the difference is between this and the full US version as the spec seems the same, but it's superb. The neck is based on James Tyler's '59 Strat and is quite full but it's not a baseball bat. The finishing and fretwork (rolled edges) are fabulous, as is the playability. The pickups, 2 X JTS5500 single coils and a Secret Humbucker in the bridge are well-balanced and deliver the tones I like and it's a versatile beast.

The headstock used to bother me but once I saw it and played it, it didn't matter as it did everything I wanted and sounded great with my rig. Also, when you're playing it, you don't even notice the headstock and the lettering goes along the top and IMHO, looks stylish. 
That's just a camera flash reflection on the body not a relic job or my attempt at a Burning Water or Psychedelic Vomit


I've had various quality guitars and I'd put it on par with the Tom Anderson Drop Top I had and it has a little more of a traditional vibe to it than TA's, Suhrs and PRS guitars I've had.

Edit: One thing in my opinion which I think accentuates the headstock shape in models, such as on the Studio Elites, is the slightly different body shape and squared-off scratchplate. On my Classic, the body and scratchplate are pretty conventional and closer to a Strat and because of that, I think the headstock looks 'less severe'

guitarmanessex89

I had a USA HSS Classic. Was pretty cool. They've got a lot more expensive since! Really cool guitar, but I'm content with my Classic Antique and it definitely plays better than my old Tyler. I quite liked the headstock.
Mike Casswell nearly bought mine. He had a few. We knew each other pretty well, and exchanged a few guitars and beers over several years!
They're great, but 5k is a bit rich for me. Japanese ones look great and if @Kebabkid says they're quality then they're not going to disappoint.
I missed out on an amazing Classic Burning Water wirh the switchable mid boost circuit. This led to me buying @Kebabkid's Schecter CS and ultimately my Suhr. Bit of a rabbit hole and I was gutted, but it worked out well :-)

Kebabkid

A short video at the James Tyler factory facility

BGG

Rowby1 said:

Mate of mine has a couple. Cool colours, headstock spoils the look for me. They play great but honestly, I find them a bit too nice.....maybe a bit characterless? 

Apart from how much they’re worth I wouldn’t swap any of my (much cheaper) guitars for one.

Shaun Tubbs really does make them sound great.....but I’ve yet to see any video of him sounding anything other than brilliant.

Characterless is how I found my Suhr’s, too nice and sterile sounding to my ears. 

Tyler’s just sound alive to me, full of mojo and zing. 

Massively regret selling my two US ones, a hollow body SE in hazmat schmear and a burning water. 

Because of that I’ve just bought a used Jap Tyler and I’m in love again. 

BGG

March

Kebabkid said:

A short video at the James Tyler factory facility

I remember watching this video for the first time and getting to 8:18 and losing my shit as the guitar I had ordered 12 months earlier appeared on screen!

BGG said:

Love that one BGG! Drop (top) dead gorgeous. 

bgmartinsbridge

@March - where did you lose your shit?


BTW - am I the only one who has always loved the headstock shape, since the moment I first saw a Tyler! Seriously a great alternative to traditional Fender and Gibson. 

March

bgmartinsbridge said:

@March - where did you lose your shit?


BTW - am I the only one who has always loved the headstock shape, since the moment I first saw a Tyler! Seriously a great alternative to traditional Fender and Gibson. 

8 mins 18 seconds - lost it through excitement! My reverse headstock Tyler looms into view for the first time, which is the first time I had seen the guitar in the flesh since putting the order in the previous October.