Bren0214

Just tried to update my brand new Helix LT and had the same issue. The instructions in the above link worked thank goodness!! This is the most satisfying thing I've seen in a long time:

Every JTV I've ordered (four of them now) have been brand new and unused. The Line 6 tape hadn't even been cut on the box until I got them. I had the same issues years ago when they first came out too so I don't know what's going on. I know some online retailers will do a full setup and inspection for you before they ship but Musician's Friend doesn't do that. I've ordered many guitars from MF and have never had a problem otherwise.

This has been my expectation even at $650. This expectation was partially set by even the cheapest guitar I have, which came built and set up nearly perfectly. Most Schecters I've seen at this price point come with Tusq nuts cut and fit perfectly into the neck, US EMG pickups, etc. If I'm buying something at American Strat prices (nearly the deluxe model even) then I expect way more. American Strats come with upgraded trems, steel saddles, steel trem block, hard shell case, upgraded pickups/electronics, etc. for example. Aside from all this, the American Strats I've had have been built and set up nearly perfectly - the type of guitars that would make me feel that WOW feeling whenever I'd pick them up. I've never gotten that with the JTV-69/89. "Little" things that added up, like the nut not being flush with the neck, probably have contributed to this. Plus overall, there is something just not quite "right" about the JTV 69/89 that I can't quite put my finger on. I don't really know what it is, but I'm reminded of some of the stories in the book "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell. The best way I can put it is say you were to take detailed guitar specs for each part of the JTV to a furniture and/or machine shop. They'd probably be able to put together a guitar I'm sure, but certain things might not be quite right vs. if an experienced guitar manufacturer / luthier had built the guitar. I don't know what it is exactly, but I've never had this experience with any of the 10+ (maybe 20+ now) guitars I've had. When the Variax was first released, a Line 6 guy said "this is a $700 guitar with $700 in electronics." Personally, I don't think this is even a $150 guitar, but that's based on my own experiences and biases (maybe a $150 guitar with $500 in electronics at the current sale price). I've said it a few times, but I have a $179 Squier Affinity Strat that's far better built than any JTV I've had. If the neck/nut/string spacing works for you, that's great. Like others have said, it's partly personal preference and playing style. Mine had other problems too - gash in the finish, bent volume knob, crack in the neck, etc. If you like the guitar then I think that's really all that matters. I just couldn't get past each guitar's flaws as well as my own personal issues with them (and maybe Line 6 in general after these experiences). I know many others have gotten a LOT of value out of their JTVs. If that first 69 I got recently hadn't come with a crack in the neck, we probably wouldn't even be having this conversation. I would have modified it enough to make it my own like many others here seem to do, and would have just let go of the rest. Well put, but I just have to wonder how practical swapping a neck on such an expensive guitar is. I guess if I were playing professionally, this would make more sense. I know many pro/semi-pro players heavily modify their guitars - I have myself on my cheaper guitars. As a hobbyist, I would just have such a hard time doing so on such an expensive guitar though, but that's me.

If you want, you can check out my recent thread on this very issue. I just bought and had to return two JTV-69s (plural, non-S versions) because of various issues. The second one had a 14 serial so according to what people are saying here, it was built in 2014, and it still had string slippage. Oddly, the first 69 I bought was built in 2013 and didn't have this issue. I measured the nut and it was slightly shifted towards the treble side, so I definitely think that was the issue. I could tell the minute I pulled it out of the bag. Plus the nut looked like crap - gaps on each end, etc. This isn't what I'd expected out of such an expensive guitar. This is my fourth and last try with the JTVs (three 69 and one 89) - they always seem to come screws lose, bent knobs, misaligned nuts, gashes in the paint, fret wear, or something. I've never had these issues with any other guitar I've ever had. Even my modified $179 Squier Affiniity Strat feels, looks, and plays much better than the JTVs and has since the day I bought it off the wall at Best Buy! Have to vehemently disagree with you here. I've purchased at least 10-15 guitars in my life, from cheap Squiers to American strats, and I have never had a guitar that came with such cheap build quality so consistently. Not even close. This isn't even about basic setup issues either - having to replace the nut because it's misaligned and causes string slippage isn't a basic setup task!

Well I sent this last 69 back. I was set to keep it and just work with the guitar's flaws (e.g. have the nut replaced) but then one night I was playing it and noticed the volume knob was bent. That was the last straw for me so I sent back the 69 and the POD. I'm done. The screws on the locking tuners weren't even screwed all the way down ffs. I thought these things were inspected and set up in CA before they go out to retailers?? I don't buy that shipping had anything to do with this either. I have NEVER seen anything like this with any other guitar I have ever purchased. I picked up a Schecter Blackjack used off eBay and the thing came set up near perfectly. The nut meets all four points on the checklist I posted above - it looks great. The bridge is a nice Hipshot that doesn't look and feel like cheap mystery metal crap. It came with Seymour Duncan blackouts and locking tuners. The guitar feels, looks, and plays great at a $950 price point, so I KNOW it can be done! It's really too bad Line 6 couldn't meet same standard of quality with the Korean JTVs. Some of this stuff is really basic so I don't know what's going on there.

Good call - I just measured the spacing at the nut with a precision ruler. On the 69 I just got, the spacing from the edge of the fretboard to the low E is a hair over 3mm. The same spacing at the high E is about 2.5mm. Measuring at the 12th fret, I get about 4mm on the bass side and 2.5mm on the treble. To my eyes, the strings look very obviously shifted towards the treble side, and the ruler confirms that. I don't think it's the bridge in my case. I thought maybe the neck might be a bit crooked, but I haven't been able to prove that by measuring. I think maybe the nut and subsequent string placement might be making it look that way. Comparing this to my Squier Affinity Strat (the only other electric guitar I have at the moment) the nut is just about centered on each side at 3mm at the nut and 4mm at the 12th fret on both sides (within 0.5mm). The strings look perfectly centered on the fretboard. This is how every Fender Strat I've had has been (Mexican, Chinese, and American) which is probably why this current 69 I have immediately looked "off" to me. I have a couple guitar repair / setup books (I've always done this myself). In "How To Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great" by Dan Erlewine, in the section on nut maintenance there is a "Checklist for a perfect nut." It says (summarizing a bit): The nut would rest clean and tight in the slot and all adjacent surfaces would contact precisely. It would look good. No exposed or sharp edges, etc. The outer E strings would not be too far or too close to the outer edges of the fretboard according to player preference. Each string would fit cleanly in its respective nut slot. My 69 seems OK on #4, but WAY off on #1-3 in my opinion (in other words, the nut looks like sh*t). In contrast, my Squier came with a nut setup that's nearly perfect relative to this checklist. I've never had a guitar come set up so poorly as all four Variaxes I've had did. As far as buzz, mine has a fair bit of that too. I think I'm either going to throw on a set of 11s and do the setup myself, or wait and have the whole thing done by a luthier. I was inspired to try 11s because of this blog post on getting great acoustic sounds out of the Variax. Granted, Sean Halley is a master player/presenter so that might be the main reason his acoustic tones sound so good, but I thought I'd try 11s anyway just to see how much of a difference it makes. Oh, good tip man. I probably would have removed all of the strings without even thinking.

Yeah so far it isn't a problem. I'm comparing the spacing to the last 69 I sent back and my Squier Affinity Strat - both of those guitar have strings pretty much centered on the fingerboard. I guess worst case, if it's just a matter of moving the nut, I can have a luthier take care of that. This might be as good as it gets with this guitar.

Do you mean maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard? The 69 has a maple neck w/ a rosewood fingerboard, and there is a black model of the 69s (maybe others) that has a maple neck and fingerboard. And I just received a new 69 today with string spacing closer to the high E side, which makes the high E slip off the neck rather easily (I made another thread about these issues). The previous 69 I had to return did NOT have this issue. If this is the neck issue in question, it's possible that there are 69 models out there that still have it.

Well I received my replacement. So far everything looks good except one thing - the string spacing on the neck looks off to me. The treble side is closer to the edge than the bass side. The previous Variax had strings spacing pretty well centered on the neck just like my other guitars. I'm a bit confused here - I thought this was a problem with earlier 69s but it had been fixed. The previous 69 was a W1204 model and this one is a W1404 model. If I understand correctly, the W1404 Variax was made this year, and the previous one was made in 2012. Maybe I've got my facts wrong. The high E does slip off the edge rather easily, but so far in normal playing, I haven't had a problem so we'll see. Anyone else have experience with this issue?

That's what I decided to do. Hopefully the next one doesn't have any issues!

Hrm OK. I'm leaning towards maybe going the warranty repair route. It is nice that you can replace the neck. Aside from finish issues, and the fret wires wearing already, I don't mind it too much. That said, the minute this comes off warranty, I'm probably going to replace it (and the junk stock pickups too, I think). I wish we could replace the trem and trem block too.

Just did some research - the serial starts with W1202, so it looks like it was made in Feb. of 2012? Is that still considered an older one?

I don't think this is an older one. I know there was a neck issue that had been fixed, so I checked the dates on the box and it looks like it was built earlier this year. Nope - this was brand new, factory sealed. The price is still $799 for the black 69 new (that's why I said $650 after rebate). That's why this is so discouraging.

Just thought I'd reach out and get some input on this. I had an 89 when they first came out and a 69 about a year later. Both had to go back due to issues with the guitars, like the 69 had a gash in the finish I believe. Plus the guitars felt so ultra cheap I just couldn't get past that at ~$1400, so I opted for refunds. Well Musicians Friend has a sale now on the black JTV-69 at $650 after rebate so I thought I'd give the JTV another chance. I figured I could live with $650 knowing what the guitar would be like. I really love the idea of the Variax. I know what kind of awesome things these guitars can do, esp. when paired with a POD. I've had two Variax 700s, several PODs, L6 amps, and other devices. I even bought a new POD HD500X to use with this Variax. This is just my hobby but I love playing with this stuff, and always have. I usually do my own setup, but decided to take this guitar to a proper luthier. I really want the guitar set up perfectly. Plus the nut looks like crap (pic attached) and I can get that replaced for just $35 more than a setup alone, so I'm considering having that done too. But then I noticed a few other things which might be deal breakers. The neck has a ridge or bump towards the nut, but on closer inspection it actually looks like a hairline crack. It's hard to see, so I rubbed some graphite on it to accentuate the ridge and took a pic (attached). I don't know if this is cosmetic or not. The crack goes up into the fretboard too, so this worries me. Then when I was taking pics of this, I noticed some pretty disturbing levels of fret wear on several frets (pic attached). I've only played the guitar for a few hours now. I don't think this is due to my playing style because my other guitar, which is a $179 Squier Affinity Strat, doesn't show signs of wear like this. So I'm a bit on the fence here. I could take it to a luthier to see what he thinks, but so far I'm up to about $205 of work that needs to be done, maybe more. I'm sure this probably qualifies for warranty work, especially the crack, but I'm not sure what to do at this point. I feel pretty damn disappointed and I'm not sure I'm willing to give the JTV or Line 6 another chance.