Thread: Jester Guitars
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Old 05-01-2013, 07:43 PM
Luke52 Luke52 is offline
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About a year ago I bought a used Jester guitar for $200. But I couldn't find any information about it. So I was on mission for about a month to gather what I could. Here is what I have found out so far. In 1979 Jay Associates International was incorporated. In 1980 They applied for and received a copy right patent from the US government for the Jester logo to be used on guitars. In 1981 Jester guitars where built in Holland. They are apparently copies of Martins, right down to the bracing. Around 1976 a young John Pearse came to America from Germany after working for the Baldwin String company and went to work for CF Martin making and designing accessories for their guitars. He married a girl from PA who was a musician and they went back to Germany. John Pearse started making his own line of strings as well as some other instruments. In his bio it mentions that he sold strings to Jay Associates International makers of the Jester guitar. In 1988 the Jester logo was allowed to lapse. The last known address for Jay Associates International was in Easton PA. I contacted the current owners at the address and they said that in the 80's the house was owned by a Mr Johnson who was some kind of executive at the Martin Guitar company.
A friend of mind who lives in PA, sells antiques and is a player said he has seen two of these guitars in his life time and that they are exact copies of Martins. He heard that a music store in the Easton area were the importers of Jester guitars. The plan was to go big time like guitar center, with Jester being the house brand. Martin got wind of this sued and put a stop to it.

You can't find these guitars anywhere (e-bay) and very little info on line. Supposedly they where made from 1981-1986 in Holland. I am betting John Pearse had more to do with this than his bio mentions. I been trying to fit the rest of the puzzle together. Who was Johnson, what happened to him and Jay Associates? What company or luthier built the guitars in Holland and how many were made?
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