A Les Paul with a trem, really? I've only known one guy personally who had one. It was a black one with three pickups... the guitar must have cost a couple thousand at least, and then it must have been a few hundred for a great tech to install the vibrato. Personally I wouldn't want to do such extensive modifications to such an expensive instrument.

Ever since I broke a string on a Strat right before a solo during my first gig ever when I was a teenager, I've always blocked trems, used Graph Tech saddles, and preferred hardtail guitars. At least then the five remaining strings stay in tune!

Crusty_Old_Rocker wrote:

 

I personally couldn't understand why anyone would not want a trem on a Variax, simply because quite a few of the guitars modelled have trems.  If you want to have the features of the modelled guitar then that would include the trem.  Just imagine playing rockabilly on a Gretsch without being able to give it some whammy or playing some surf style on a vintage Strat without the trem?

 

The JTV 59 is a drop dead gorgeous guitar, no doubt about it, but Variaxes need a trem, that's why the 69 will be my weapon of choice.

 

For those who don't want or like a trem, they can just avoid using it.  Anyway, just my 2c worth.

 

Cheers,

 

Crusty

I currently own 3 vax electrics with 2 JTVs on order and only my 600 has a trem. Coincidentally I have been getting into rockabilly as of late but still use a trem very little. I am much more likely to do oblique bends or fake pedal steel type stuff and having the strings  that are not being bent go flat is more of a hassle than the benefit of a trem. M6 600 had all 5 springs in it to combat that problem but when I recently played it, it appears that my luthier blocked it off. I will un block it and if I need a trem for some rockabilly etc can use the 600 until I do an xplant that is on my list but will take a while to get to. Once I have JTV guts in my purple flame tele I can atek the 500 guts currently in that tele and buuld another tele with purple flame paint job, TV Jones pick ups, and bigsby. That plus the vax sounds will be a great twang type axe. Mixing the TV Jones with modeled gretsch or a tele etc.

In fact the only guitars I would use a trem on would probably be for rockabilly, maybe someday a strat with trem but as I said I am way more likely to do oblique bends than grab the bar etc.

skeletonpete wrote:

 

Rich,

 

Will there be any hardtailed JTV69's in the Korean build?

Not right away. Haven't really even thought about it to tell you the truth.

Why do you want a hardtailed version?

It probably is; it's uncommon to find two different models of guitar with perfectly compatible neck screw locations, even if they have the same size neck heel & pocket. Most likely, you could fill in the holes in the older neck and redrill them when attaching it to the new guitar. In my experience this is a fairly common practice.

But you might want to try the original neck on the new instrument for a while first...

Crusty_Old_Rocker wrote:

 

My HD500 and DT50s love me now that I have the JTV69 to plug into the rig.

 

Sweeeeeeet!

 

Cheers,

 

Crusty

Awesome, congratulations!

...Sound Samples...?