Description
Review of the Leo Jaymz 39 Inch ST Style Electric Guitar Starter Kit, Violet Flame
The Leo Jaymz LJGBK is a full size 39 inch electric guitar in a Stratocaster style outline, sold in a violet flame finish with a 5 watt portable amplifier and a full accessory pack. It is aimed at a beginner who wants a complete package, and it publishes more neck specifications than almost anything else in this bracket.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- The neck measurements are actually published: a 25.5 inch scale, a 14 inch fingerboard radius and a 42 mm nut width. Those three numbers decide how a neck feels and most listings here give none of them.
- A 14 inch radius is unusually flat for this price. Flatter fingerboards make string bending easier without notes choking, which suits rock and lead playing.
- Three pickups with a five way switch, covering bright single coil tones through to a thicker humbucker sound.
- A battery powered amplifier quoted at up to six hours of playing time and weighing 0.8 pounds. That makes practice possible without a mains socket, which is genuinely useful for a teenager.
- A C shaped neck profile, the shallow rounded carve that suits most hands and does not force a particular thumb position.
- Poplar body, slightly denser and more consistent than the basswood normally fitted at this level.
Cons
- The fingerboard contradicts itself. The spec table says ebony while the description says maple. Those are not close: ebony is black, dense and unfinished, maple is pale, sealed with lacquer and shows dirt. One of the two is wrong.
- The pickup order disagrees as well. The spec table says H-S-S while the description says SSH. On a Stratocaster style guitar the humbucker normally sits at the bridge, which reads as SSH from the neck end, so the table appears to be listed backwards.
- The weight of 9.38 pounds is the packed kit including the amplifier and bag, not the guitar.
- A 5 watt amplifier is small. It is fine for a bedroom but will be inaudible alongside a drummer, so it is a stepping stone rather than a long term amp. How much power is actually needed is covered in the guide to guitar amp wattage for home practice.
- The fret count is not published, and neither is whether the amplifier has a headphone output.
Detailed Product Description
The body is poplar in the familiar double cutaway shape with a contoured back and a scratchplate. Poplar is a light, close grained hardwood that sits between basswood and alder in density. It is stiffer than basswood so it dents less readily, and tonally it is fairly neutral with a slight midrange emphasis. The violet flame finish is a figured pattern over the top.
The neck is maple with a C profile. At 42 mm the nut is at the narrow end of standard, which suits smaller hands and makes barre chords less of a stretch, though it leaves less room between strings for fingerpicking. Combined with the 14 inch radius, the neck should feel modern and fast rather than vintage. The 25.5 inch scale is the standard long scale, so any commonly sold electric string set will fit correctly.
Three pickups feed a five way selector, giving the full range of positions from the neck pickup’s warmth to the bridge pickup’s bite, with the in between settings that produce the thinner, quacking clean tone this design is known for. Nickel strings are the factory fitting, which are smooth under the fingers and the usual choice for a learner.
The bridge is a tremolo. Pitch can be lowered with the arm and springs return it, which also means strings should be changed one at a time, because releasing all six at once lets the bridge shift and disturbs the intonation.
What Comes with the Product
- The 39 inch electric guitar in violet flame
- A 5 watt portable amplifier
- A tuner
- A shoulder strap
- A gig bag
- An instrument cable
- A spare set of strings
Not included: a tremolo arm is not listed despite the tremolo bridge, and there is no stand, capo or lesson material. Whether the amplifier ships with batteries or a charging cable is not stated.
Who It Suits
This suits a beginner who wants to know what they are buying before it arrives, since the scale, radius and nut width are all published. The narrow nut and flat board make it a reasonable choice for someone with smaller hands, and the battery powered amplifier means practice is not tied to a plug socket. What a complete package normally contains is set out in the guide to what is in a guitar starter bundle.
It suits less well anyone who intends to play with other people soon, because 5 watts will not keep up with a drummer. It also suits less well a fingerstyle player, for whom a 42 mm nut is cramped. Comparable kits include the Leo Jaymz TL style kit, the Fesley FST100 starter set and the GEARit GI-150 Canyon kit. The wider range sits in electric guitars and beginner starter kits.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings after every session. Nickel wound strings corrode from sweat and a dull set is routinely mistaken for a dull guitar.
Change strings one at a time so the floating tremolo bridge does not shift and upset the intonation.
Charge or remove the amplifier’s cells according to its manual rather than leaving it permanently on charge, and keep the guitar in its bag away from radiators.
Tips and Recommendations
Confirm the fingerboard material on arrival. A dark, unfinished board is ebony or a substitute for it; a pale board with a lacquered surface is maple. Which one arrives determines how it should be cleaned.
Fit a fresh set of strings before judging the guitar. Factory sets are often months old by the time the box is opened.
If notes buzz or the action feels high, a setup at a local shop will do more for playability than any accessory. The guide to guitar action and setup covers what to ask for.
Product FAQ
Is the fingerboard maple or ebony?
The listing says both. The spec table records ebony and the manufacturer description says maple, and the data does not settle it.
Where is the humbucker?
Not confirmed. The description reads SSH and the spec table reads H-S-S, which place it at opposite ends of the guitar.
How heavy is the guitar?
Not stated. The 9.38 pound figure is the packed kit including the amplifier.
Is the amplifier loud enough to play with a band?
No. At 5 watts it is a practice amplifier for a room.
