clay-man

They've shown diagrams on how to wire new pickups for a JTV before. The main problem is they're active pickups and it's not going to work with the JTV electronics.

Use the original screws from the stock strap buttons if the new ones are too long. Honestly, you should just use those in general since the hole is already configured for the old screws. Should be able to fit with the strap locks.

I know, but you know, I just want to know what I can do with my guitar. As for having a US model, that's even worse. I wouldn't even want to deal with shipping the guitar in the first place just to get it repaired. I personally wouldn't ever get a US model just because of the slight higher chance of the guitar's functionality failing compared to a normal guitar, though in the long run, people just assume that, and a Variax could maybe last many decades, and most of the problemed Variax guitars come up with problems right away for being defectives out of the factory.

20 bucks versus 1 grand. small pieces of metal vs a guitar with a computer inside of it which can have problems.

Holy crap no kidding. I'll be sure to measure the screws when installing. Perhaps I can just use the original button's screws instead.

If anyone has a tube screamer or overdrive pedal that they can throw in front of a distorted amp, do it. It'll show the plink the worst.

I think the biggest problem with the Variax pitch shifting is the warbling if the DSP doesn't hear the pitch of the string right. Some pitch shifters rely on getting a good signal out of what it's reading, and usually these are monophonic in nature. Variax probably relies on this. It might be to save latency time. Who knows. But like I said, the Variax has a function called timbre/formant preservation, which basically shifts the harmonics according to how far you're pitching the sound, to compensate for losing frequency response or gaining too much when pitching. You tune down, the highs don't go away and it sounds tight, you tune up, it doesn't sound squeeky and nasally. Though, I must admit, the Variax does still have a bit of nasal tone when you tune up, but it's very subtle compared to other pitch shifters. I think the formant preserve is generally mild on the Variax. The problem with formant preserve technology, is that the more you push it to sound natural, the less higher notes you can play without it making strange harmonic overtones.

Well the huge part of the Variax is the alternate tuning function. You're supposed to no longer rely on detuning the guitar. That's why. I know that a physically tuned guitar won't truly be replaceable by digital pitch shifters, but the Variax does a really good job out of most of the other pitch shifting products for guitars. I might honestly say it's the best digital pitch shifter made for guitar ever right now. It still sounds really tight and bright when you tune down low, while pretty much 99% of guitar pitch shifters get muddy when you pitch shift down. It's the most realistic sounding detuning feature I've heard besides maybe using a high end pitch shifting plugin with timbre preserve in a DAW, but those aren't meant for live playing.

I like where this is going. Big praise to Tony.

Going from E to D with higher gauge strings isn't probably enough of a gap to start getting enough lack of tension for the piezos to start failing. If you notice when you change strings while your guitar is plugged in, the sound kind of struggles until you have it closer to E standard. The old Variaxes were worse. Whenever I used my trem too hard, the strings go silent because the old Variax honestly have a bad contact design regarding using piezos with the tremolo. The new JTVs have a curved pill design on the piezos so when you divebomb you don't get volume issues. Piezos are very different from mag pickups as they use physical contact to get the vibrations of the string instead of sensing the magnetic field around it, which doesn't require contact. Summary: You can only get away with physically downtuning the guitar so far. Also keep in mind that the modeling was built around E standard so maybe other tunings will sound off. The modeling is a lot of frequency wizardry and tuning so far below E standard might be below the modeling's range/register to properly process a good sound.

Thanks Cruisinon. I shouldn't probably overthink it, and just don't do things that are pretty obvious and bad. I mean, in the long run, if I really need to fix something in the future, it'll probably be more affordable than I think when my warranty ends. I still need to send it in to get the VDI door replaced (It just broke off randomly one day) and probably need the model pot replaced (glitches every once in a blue moon though simply turning the variax on and off makes the problem go away). I just like to be able to have something to fall back on while still doing what I want to do with MY guitar.

In what regards could you possibly short the circuit when replacing strap buttons? Static electricity? I never did it, which is why I'm asking how picky they are. Why is that so bad? I want to know the line of what I can do with my guitar without it being warranty-voiding alterations. I already have some minor problems with my guitar so it would be nice if I can know what to not do with my guitar while I still have the warranty.

Oh, what about strap locks and taking off the strap buttons?

So on those you mentioned, those are absolute? What about advanced guitar maintenance? Is this something that absolutely needs to be done by a Line 6 person? I'm not talking about messing with the electronics, but any other hardware which may need to be maintained just like any other guitar if it wears down or gets misadjusted.

When we get a guitar, one of the things you have to do is maintain your guitar. What are things acceptable and unacceptable through the guitar's warranty? here are some examples: -basic setup from like a luthier (action, truss rod, tremolo block) -messing with basic hardware (temporary removing knobs, unscrewing parts for access to setup) -fret work -maintaining satin neck (what if I want to sand the neck to maintain a satin neck?) -installing additional hardware to the guitar (MIDI pickup devices) -decals or stickers

I made mine satin with sandpaper, but sadly it wears off pretty quickly.

It's less noticeable if you have certain amp tones. I get not liking some the shapes the JTVs provide. I still like the 600 neck a little more than the JTV69's neck. I do like how twangy I can get my 600 to sound compared to my JTV though. For some reason I can't get the tele model as bright as I want it on the new firmware on the JTV. I used to be able to just back the pickup towards the bridge in Workbench, but on the new firmware, instead of getting brighter, it gets nasally, if that makes any sense. I will admit, I just fixed my 600's 1/4 jack a month ago for backup, so I do still value the guitar. I found some rechargeable Double A batteries. I'd love to use it to just mess around and play anywhere without worrying about having an expensive guitar with electronics out in public.

When did you buy it? You could simply prefer old modeling to the new modeling. Some places pre-install the HD firmware on the guitar. Since you've installed ghosts on your Variaxes, you probably got rid of the weird noise I get from my 600 with stock LR baggs. It's why I think the JTV is better, because I think they improved the piezos to be more responsive and to not quack when you hit the strings hard. I do admit the 600 can get some great sounds, and I loved it, but I barely touch it anymore. My main argument is that technically you can get the same sound out of a JTV as the 600 if you just roll back the firmware. There are some slight tonal variations between a old Variax and JTV even with the same modeling, but I think the JTV sounds brighter and more responsive, which is good in my opinion. Either way, I guess it's personal preference, and like I said, maybe you don't have that weird quack problem I have on my 600 on your guitars.

Because without enough tension, the piezo, which is a contact mic, won't have enough of a pull from the strings onto the piezos to properly get a good sound from the strings. If the strings are too loose from the piezos then when the strings vibrate, it'll lose contact with the piezos when it vibrates and it won't sound right.

That's hilarious because my JTV Variax seems to be more responsive to tuning below standard tuning than my 600 Variax. You realize that won't work at all because it's the ACTUAL PIEZOS that is your main issue, so just changing guts isn't going to change how responsive the piezos are to your tunings. When you buy a Variax, you really have to keep in mind that you're going to probably ALWAYS physically be in E standard, and should rely on the digital retuning for any alternate tunings. If the alt tuning feature does not cut it for you, then the guitar probably isn't for you. It's not a perfect pitch shifter and there are ways to confuse the pitch shifter into making warbled notes, but ultimately I think my JTV warbles WAAAAY less than my 600. If you have problems then maybe you need to adjust your setup. Fret buzz or any interference can create warble in alt tuning mode. Either way, physically retuning a Variax is not really something you can rely on. Upping the gauges of your string to make up for lack of tension might help a bit, but ultimately the piezos are designed for E standard. Without that tension, the strings don't contact with the piezos good enough.

I know there's a lot of personal experience, but I don't see how someone could flat out say a 500 and 600 sound better than a JTV. You can get the same modeling on a JTV by rolling back, and from personal experience, my 600 has this weird unnatural tone when you hit the strings to hard that doesn't happen on any guitar I own or heard. Did you have the stock LR baggs pickups yours or did you upgrade to the ghost system? What makes you come to the conclusion that the old Variaxes beat the new ones?

I've seen this before and I love it. He did one with an old Variax too. He says this is the new firmware btw.

Oh trust me, palm muting has been improved dramatically compared to the old firmware. The palm muting on the old firmware sounds awkward. On the new one, it sounds 100 times more better. It's still a bit muddy compared to a regular guitar, but it sounds a lot more natural. I've suggested on ideascale that they increase the higher frequencies to compensate for the muddiness. I'm sure it would work. One of the biggest sounds out of palm muting for high gain metal tones is the sharp scrapping on the attack of a palm mute. Obviously not to the sound of the "plink" noise, but a nice "chugging" noise.

600 does not have real pickups you can switch to, and has old modeling and technology from 2000's. Standard has mag pickups, HD modeling from 2013, and has a tuning knob you can use to designate tuning options to, instead of relying on patch-by-patch tuning presets, which limits which tunings you can select for what model you want. At this day and age, the JTVs and Standards are probably worth getting over the old Variaxes now. JTVs on ebay go pretty low these days.

Any way to improve sustain on my variax?