Re: Good jazzboxes
The absolute best ones in that price range are the Washburns like the J9.
Search Ebay daily for Washburns and you'll see some killer guitars go for cheap.
I've compared them to Ibanez, Epi, Samick, etc, and the Washburns own them all.
Seafoamer's right about the DeArmonds too. Fender discontinued them after buying DeArmond's mother company, Guild. They only made DeArmonds for 3 years, but they're the best cheap guitar ever made IMO.