cruisinon2

The window between a products' introduction and its inevitable obsolescence will become shorter and shorter as the march of technology rolls on. Right now we're still measuring that interval with a calendar. Eventually, we'll be using a stopwatch. Getting too attached to any one product line, from any company, is guaranteed to end in disappointment...unless of course we're talking about some company thats been around for 100 years, cranking out the same tired old crap because any innovation would be viewed as an afront to 'tradition'.

Apples and oranges my friend. Two very different units. Amplifi is more of a bluetooth speaker that you can play guitar through, and will have you tied to an iOS device to edit things. The HD Pods are more geared towards the professional/semi-pro/seriously committed weekend warrior players. Generally a pretty steep learning curve with the HD stuff, but once you get the hang of it, it's an amazingly versatile platform...not so much with the Amplifi, IMHO...others might disagree.

I was able to get it to work by lowering the pickup. Be careful! I lowered it too much and the screws actually came out. It was a MAJOR pain getting them back in. 

 

 

This is a very simple problem to solve. For $10-$20 at any Home Depot, or it's local equivalent, you can get a screw driver with a set of interchangeable heads...flat-head, Philips head, and Allen keys. I've been using such a set for a decade or more. I forget the manufacturer, but it was cheap,  has about 100 pieces to it, both metric and English measurements (for the Allen key sizes anyway), and it has worked just fine for a multitude of projects from motorcycles to guitars...just come straight down at the saddle adjustment screws, and then you'll never need to concern yourself with swinging an allen key out over a lowered pickup.

I don't have an 89f, but I do have an old Ibanez with a Floyd that has the saddle adjustment screws in the same place as the bridge on the 89f...never occured to me to try swinging an allen key out past the pickups. It's not necessary. I've been adjusting it this way for years on end, never a problem.

No harm will come to the head if you have no speakers plugged in and only have the headphone/DI output in use.  Most people keep the speakers plugged in all the time to ensure the amp is not accidentally damaged due to an uneven load (note that you should never plug into only 1 of the speaker outputs as this will unbalance the amp and could cause damage).

Then what is one supposed to do with a mono rig with only one speaker cab?

All I am saying is, you are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

That works with a big enough hammer... :P

This is the issue with a product such as a guitar amp, which should have a life of 10-15yrs+ being committed to some random piece of technology.. Its a case of designing something that is trendy and cool vs something for long term practicality.

 

Well that's just it...imho, Amplifi is being marketed to a completely different customer base. Companies are in business to make money, and if they don't embrace the wants and needs (however odd they may seem) of the people who have the money, they won't be in business for long. In this case, I believe they're going after lifetime members of the Latest and Greatest Gadget Club, most of whom aren't going to keep any one piece of technology for even 2 years, never mind 10 or 15. I don't think longevity was ever part of the equation. This thing was built for the gamer generation that wants something new every five minutes, and who will quickly get bored with it, and move on to the Next Big Thing...whatever that may be...which should be hitting the shelves today, just after lunch.

jamtrackcentral.com is also very cool. (No, I have no affiliation with them, but I have purchased a few things).

Not free, and they're not backing tracks for popular songs...rather, it's all original instrumental compositions by some very talented guitarists. Each track comes with the full version of the song, a separate rhythm-only track, a video with close-ups of the entire piece, as well as the whole thing written out in both in standard notation and tabs. Most of the stuff is sold as packages of handful of tunes...newer material can be a little pricey, but the older stuff that's been there a while is not all that expensive. It's a great tool for improving one's improv skills, and "borrowing" some cool licks. Many artists to choose from...imho, some are just doing fretboard gymnastics, but there are more than a few very tasteful players too, most I'd never heard of before. Check out their youtube channel too, you can get previews of a lot of the material, and some entire songs are posted there too.

I've crafted a tone on my hd500x while running it through a power amp and cab. The tone sounds really crisp, tight and nearly devoid of noise.

 

However when I run the same preset through my headphones it sounds really high in treble and isn't as clear as when I run it through my PA and Cab combo.

 

What I'm asking is how to fix the problem as it translates to when I'm recording as well and why it's happening as I'm utterly clueless on this.

The short answer is that there is no fix for this. If you were to run that same patch through a different amp and cab it won't sound the same that way either. Ditto for tweaking a patch with headphones then switching to a different pair of cans. Its gonna sound different in every case, even if you touch nothing in the patch itself...just the nature of the beast. You'll find that you'll be creating different patches for different purposes...even the same amp/cab at bedroom vs. gig volumes is gonna result in a very different final product. Tweak, tweak, and tweak some more...no way around it, unfortunately.

Hi all, in an effort to avoid bring 3 guitars to a gig, does anyone use the pitch glide to set up a patch say, in Eb for certain tunes, or even lower? If so, does it do the trick?

Get a JTV...problem solved.

Thanks, gangsterusa for taking the time to write your recommendations!

I will definitely consider getting my jtv-69 "professionally" set-up. The challenge for me is finding the right person to do it. I'm a casual guitar player and just play in the comfort of my home. I never played in the band and don't know personally anybody who plays in a band. So I might just check out the classified ads...

Don't know that I've ever seen a classified ad for guitar set-ups. Just check out whatever local music stores are nearby. At least one of them will have somebody who knows what he's doing. Failing that, Google 'guitar repair' in your area and see what pops up. A lot of times you'll find some luthiers who not only build axes from the ground up, but who take on repair work as well. I'd stay away from the Big Chain music stores if I were you.

I've been seriously considering going FRFR with an L2T, but this problem seems a bit too common for my comfort level...yeah I know, only the ones with the issue come to the forums to complain, and there's no real way to tell what % of units are affected. But 800 bones is too much for me to gamble on a problem that really shouldn't have existed in the first place, especially when there are other FRFR options out there for considerably less money.

1] does this mean my piezos are also faulty now

 

2] and if so any idea how much to get a service/repair on a jtv59 in the uk?

1] Certainly sounds like that's the case.

2] Don't know, but "more than it should" is a safe bet...I'm guessing you're out of warranty?

he was referring to the pickups on the 89, sounding different, than the modeled pickups on the 89 of the 89

if that makes sense.

OK...maybe that is what he meant, but then the gripe makes even less sense. Why would one assume that any model would automatically kick out a hotter signal than a mag pickup, especially if the model in question is supposed to be simulating the real mags that are sitting inches away in the same instrument? For one expecting flawless, 100% accuracy in the models...which is what he seems to want...then for this scenario you'd expect the models' output to be roughly the same as the mags in that case, no? Yet he seems to think the models should automatically be hotter... still don't know why anyone would expect that to be the case.

Modeling should produce more gain/high-output/distortion(whatever you like to say) as it's magnetic pickups.

Not sure why you are assuming this to be the case... each model is supposed to sound like the guitar its emulating. You can expect the relative outputs to vary accordingly. I find that most of my 'regular' guitars seem to spit out a hotter signal than most of the JTV models. I usually end up turning down the gain when switching to a traditional guitar...I even have separate patches for them. Just seems to be the way it is.

48 views and zero replies. Come on, Line6 -- give us an answer!

If you think you will get an answer from Line 6 in here, you're in for a very long and ultimately disappointing wait. They won't address individual problems in an open forum. If you actually want an answer you have to open a support ticket.

On the intonation topic though...while I don't have the 89, I've been adjusting intonation on guitars for 20+ years, and I've never seen one where the pickups had anything to do with intonation adjustment. It's the bridge saddles that have to move, so what difference does it make what the pickup height is?

I decided to swap out my JTV59 stock tuners for some locking ones to make string changing that much easier.

 

The replacements arrived today and they appear to be an exact match - certainly the holes line and the size is correct.

 

Changed out the first machine head for the low E (6th) - no problem.

Moved on to the A string (5th) - removed string, unscrewed bush, put screw driver in screw to remove the tiny holding screw and one turn and the screw head snapped off.   :(

Removed the machine head BUT now I have the body of the small screw embedded in my headstock - so I can't even replace it with a new screw.

So what can I do?   How can I fix it?  Shall I put the new machine head on without the retaining screw - or will it just move around?

Plus can I risk replacing the others now?

:(

 

And just to add to my worries - I need the guitar ready for a gig tomorrow night!   Didn't imagine that the screw heads would snap off the first time I tried to undo them!

Wow...quality is just oozing out of the hardware on these things, ain't it?

Secrets are fun...

Thats pretty scary for those of us that own the Tyler Variax that may decided to use other sound units.

I checked yesterday and there is no new FW release for the 500x listed in the downloads.

Baby steps...

I guess the 500x did not have the problem since this update is only for the 500.

Nope. My 500x did it once...fortunately hasn't happened since. Guess I'm SOL on a fix...

I sympathize with anyone having this issue...but if it's just static electricity, wouldn't whacking something metal discharge everything and solve the problem? How much static charge could one build up sitting in a chair and playing a guitar? Just seems like there's something more going on...

Anything that fits the ream should work...just a question of whether or not the mounting holes will line up on the back of the headstock. Not an insurrmountable problem even if they don't line up, question is does it matter to you or not? Be wary of warranty issues too...

Hello To All,  

I'm thinking of getting either the JTV-69s or JTV-89, right now I like them both equally.  I was wondering though, for those who have experienced on both guitars, do the modelling on both guitars sounds good?  And is there a noticeable difference on the modelling and acoustic sounds between the two?  I'm assuming that there will be at least a slight difference in sounds when comparing the two guitars since they have different PUs and configuration.  

 

I'm planning on purchasing one of these guitars soon.  

 

Thanks!

The mag pickup configurations have nothing to do with the modeling...piezos supply the input for the models, which are identicle on both guitars. The only difference is with some of the alt. tunings...the 89 has a few of the super low drop tunings that only whales can hear. Major differences are in look and feel.

This is my experience as well.  Never even had to use switch cleaner yet on any of my Strats or Teles.  Knowing quite a bit about electronic circuits plus seeing all the back plates on my JTV59 (not counting the battery compartment), methinks the bulk of the price of this guitar is in that and the mechanical parts are less than stellar to keep costs in low orbit.  A simplt thing like a 5 (or 3) way switch ought to last near forever really and is self cleaning with use and little exposure to smoking.  That said, I haven't taken my guitar apart because it scares the hell out of me -- and I've had large parts of KC-135 aircraft autopilot gear spread all over hangar floors in my time.  But that switch could be an absolutely beast below the waterline, similar to an iceberg -- owing to the myriad of things it really controls aside from the magnetics.  This may mean "one off part" which is sketchy if not QCd properly.

 

 

Well it seems that the powers that be don't want you to look at the JTV's guts cross-eyed anyway...

I've had my 59 since May 2011, it has a December 2010 mfr date per the S/N, it had the initial bad 3-way switch issue - returned for correction, has been solidly performing since then.

 

The guitar has been through all the available firmware updates since then, and I've never seen a change in the behaviour of the physical pickup selection.... The firmware updates mess with the models and some of the features and functions of the controls (volume and/or tone controls as HD500(X) parameter controls, etc.).

 

I do still periodically have to exercise the the switch for the physical pickups to get the neck PU to come back, but like I said, this happens on my regular guitars too, so I never saw it as anything but an occasional annoyance. The 5-way switches on my 69S (October 2012) and strat will do it, but never as often as a 3-way switch in the 59 and other guitars - typically LP or Tele styles.

 

I'm guessing you may have moved the switch enough to clear the oxidation away for now, and it may come back. One way to see if it is the electronics or just the phyiscal switch will be the next time it shows up, unplug the VDI or remove the battery so when you plug it in with a 1/4" cable the electronics are off, and see if the mag PU's still have the switching issue. Without power, the JTV is a passive guitar through the 1/4" like any other electric guitar. If you still have the switching issue, it'll likely be the dirty contacts on the mag PU side of the pickup selector switch...

 

Dave

Either I'm the luckiest guy in the world, or oxidation can't be that much of an issue...and I live in the NE, about 7 miles from the ocean...salt in the air, wretchedly humid summers, blah, blah.. .I've lost count of the number of guitars I've owned over the years. 3 way switches, 5 way switches, push/pull pots, etc, etc....and I can recall exactly one failed 5 way switch on a Strat, that was an every day player, and it probably took 15 years for that one to die. Some guitars would sit for quite a while without being played, and it never occured to me that the switches would need "exercise"...maybe it's me.