Sparky and the rest of the Canadian's still waiting, I'm happy to report that my JTV-69 Sunburst is around my neck right now.  Got an e-mail from L&M this afternoon and picked it up this evening.  The treble E string is a bit close to the edge but I generally bend up or if I tremlo by shaking the string, so hopefully, this won't be a problem for me.  When I get the free setup from L&M, I'll see it they can adjust it a bit.  My initial impression is that it's a keeper but still have to run it through it's paces to see if anything else crops up. 

I'm hoping at some point to do a compare of the JTV to my Variax 500. For those of you waiting, hopefully it won't be too long.  BTW, I think the manufacture date is Aug 2011 if that means anything.

Cheers,

jayson

That's the plan but I'm going to wait a bit to break in the JTV.  Plus, I'll put new strings on both guitars to try to remove any variables.  I'll do it through my HD500 and probably use a clean patch or dry for the acoustic's.  I'll probably do audio only and use soundclick or soundcloud.  Anyone have any requests, let me know.

Cheers,

jayson

It should be coming soon buddy, I just picked up mine today at Long & McQuade in Ottawa (JTV-69 3 color). I'd ordered in Janurary.

It's the engineer's guitar so it's worth waiting for it

I retract my rant (well, only somewhat); just got the e-mail saying it's in.

Hey - glad to hear you've finally got it, sparky. As an Ottawa-based L&M (and Steve's) customer I'm glad to see the product finally appearing.  I hope you have a positive outcome - you've been waiting long enough to really enjoy it! I trust we'll hear about your first (and subsequent) impressions?

As I've been critical of the wait others and I have had getting my hands on a JTV-69, I figured it would be fair to Line 6 to post my positve review after playing it for 3 days.  It's a keeper!

Build is very nice and the finish seems a bit closer to a tobacco burst (which I prefer) versus a sunburst.  The set-up is good as well.  I think I hear a slight fret buzz when I play an open high E but it can wait before I get it looked at. 

No problems with alt tunings ... maybe a bit of warble but only if I play very hard.  It's better than my Variax 500 especially with the knob built in.  I also used both the 1/4 inch and VDI output's at the same time and don't hear any hum or ground loops.  The high E string is a bit closer the edge of the neck compared to all other guitar's I have but I guess with my playing technique, is not an issue.  I will have a pro setup done and see if anything can be done to adjusted it.

The biggest surprise are the mag pickups.  The neck and middle single coils are amazing and the humbucker has a nice crunch to it.  Without the modelling, I'd probably compare the JTV to my 89 Fender Strat Plus.  With the modelling, it's worth the price I paid and I'd buy one again if it was destroyed or stolen (but I'd hope I don't have to wait as long)!

Cheers,

jayson

sparkyERTW wrote:

 

Well, I've had mine for a few days now, and while there's a lot of stuff I like, the alternate tunings have been giving me a bit of trouble so far (which I'm about to make a post about in just a second).  I'm hoping I can get it sorted out, but as it stands right now I'm on the fence about whether it's going back.

Looking forward to reading your reports sparky. Also quite interested in your troubles with the alternate tunings.

Hey Sparky,

How's it going over there with your new guitar? Are you happy with it?

I was looking for your post on the alternate tunings issue, but I couldn't find it.

Would love to read a little Sparky Report.

Zeddd