Is the line6 Variax JTV69 a toy or a pro piece?

[BadMelonFarmer]

Slightly OT but relevant to the question of reliability....

I have a JVT-59p and as physical Korean guitar I am surprisingly impressed withe the playability ... Sure it needed a setup out of the box, but hey.

My major gripe is that the modelling has this really horrible plinky plonk sound going on on the bottom E string... This has been on the guitar since day 1 ... It has been back to Line 6 and they replaced the piezo but it still is there on all models.

Others on the line 6 forum are complaining of the same thing with other models too, mainly the 89f.

Here is a recording, do you guys get the same problem?



It was recorded through the Axe-FX II using the stock Top Boost preset number 6(?)

In discussions with line 6 to send it back again, but thought I would ask to see if everyone has this issue?

 

[inbouwer]

Like I said I can't say anything about the 69, but I wouldn't say that it's as flawed as much as I would say that you have to go into it with some realistic expectations. It's not the real thing and it doesn't pretend to be the real thing, but if it sounds close enough to the real thing than that's mission accomplished in my opinion.

And I'd be real interested to see the difference between the 59 and 69 in terms of quality because I'm completely blown away by the construction of the 59 for it being an import and the economy version. Now maybe because it was used the guy paid to have it set up really well, but regardless it doesn't have any flaws that I can point out.

I mean we ALL get a little bit of the gear snobbery going and I'm one of the harshest towards Line6 gear, but I like to think that I'm fair and objective at times. For what it's trying to pull off it's pretty good. But if you are looking for the absolute best Les Paul and Stratocaster, etc., sounds ever than you need to just go and buy the real things.

Actually i did not mean the modeling sound but more like the rare that it will stop working.

After reading the comments on the Electronics and neck i did not get really blown away, at this point atleast...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bojangles]

Slightly OT but relevant to the question of reliability....

I have a JVT-59p and as physical Korean guitar I am surprisingly impressed withe the playability ... Sure it needed a setup out of the box, but hey.

My major gripe is that the modelling has this really horrible plinky plonk sound going on on the bottom E string... This has been on the guitar since day 1 ... It has been back to Line 6 and they replaced the piezo but it still is there on all models.

Others on the line 6 forum are complaining of the same thing with other models too, mainly the 89f.

Here is a recording, do you guys get the same problem?



It was recorded through the Axe-FX II using the stock Top Boost preset number 6(?)

In discussions with line 6 to send it back again, but thought I would ask to see if everyone has this issue?

That sounds disgusting

 

[Dancing Frog]

I get the same problem. Piezos have known problems with palm muting. They are very sensitive to the amount of pressure and the location of the hand resting on the strings. I wasn't surprised that the processing couldn't fix it.

I bought JTV-69 because the Korean JTV's are made by the same company that makes the PRS SE's. The build is mediocre, and the feel is stiff even for a Strat. It's SE quality, and the models sound like cheap copies even after I upgraded to the HD versions.

 

[toasterdude]

From what I've heard from other Variax users, it's not so much the actual idea and features that are lacking, but the general build quality of the actual guitars. Line6 should definitely venture into a cooperation with a professional guitar builder to make the physical build quality and playability and quality of components of those guitars match the versatility.

I just feel that the Variax guitars aim for a market segment that is
1) too expensive for the beginning player that loves the versatility
2) too cheap and low quality for the professional player


To sum it up: it's neither a toy nor a professional tool. It's something in-between. Wether that is good or bad is up to you.

I have 4 JTV variaxes that have been transplanted into Warmoth bodies and necks and one that is the original JTV body but refinished with warnoth neck. That solves number 2 for me. . . .

 

[jyflorida]

Slightly OT but relevant to the question of reliability....

I have a JVT-59p and as physical Korean guitar I am surprisingly impressed withe the playability ... Sure it needed a setup out of the box, but hey.

My major gripe is that the modelling has this really horrible plinky plonk sound going on on the bottom E string... This has been on the guitar since day 1 ... It has been back to Line 6 and they replaced the piezo but it still is there on all models.

Others on the line 6 forum are complaining of the same thing with other models too, mainly the 89f.

Here is a recording, do you guys get the same problem?



It was recorded through the Axe-FX II using the stock Top Boost preset number 6(?)

In discussions with line 6 to send it back again, but thought I would ask to see if everyone has this issue?

Yes, that sounds very familiar! I've heard of people replacing the stock piezos with Graphtec ones to help alleviate the plink.

 

[BadMelonFarmer]

The weird thing is that most of people complaining have the 89F which has a graphtech bridge.... Other people, myself included have the 59.

It only seems to affect the low e as well...., for all of us.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

I have 4 JTV variaxes that have been transplanted into Warmoth bodies and necks and one that is the original JTV body but refinished with warnoth neck. That solves number 2 for me. . . .

Still doesn't fix the build quality issue of the electronics. :/

 

[Tommy Tequila]

Regarding the modelling switch, I've heard of people taking a small bit of paper & folding it a couple times, then sticking it up inside the knob to act as a shim. Seems to clear up the problem.

Yeah, one shop tried that with a bit of wood, but all that happened was the end of the knob started coming off. *sigh*

Getting something below the knob has proven to be the best workaround so far.

TT