I am not here to flame anyone, but right out of the box I have an issue with my brand new Yamaha Variax Standard. Please understand, I am a professional musician and have been for more than 50 years, so I am not some disgruntled newcomer who does not understand guitars and technology. I have extensive experience touring, as well as playing in local and regional bands, and have traveled overseas and performed in numerous countries in Asia and Europe. Also, I already own three other Variax guitars, a JTV69 and two identical JTV89's with locking strings, and a wide range of Line6 effects and amplifiers. (In all, I own 65 guitars and more than 40 amps). I am a SERIOUS musician, and overall, I am very well pleased with Line6's products.
However, the new Yamaha Standard Variax pickguard is nothing other than a dust magnet. My home and studio are climate controlled to include a humidification system, so it's not an environmental thing...and exactly NONE of my 64 other guitars have the problem that my new Variax Standard has. Dust is literally attracted to the plastic, and sticks to it. Also, just ordinary pick usage for several days already has the pickguard badly scraped and worn. You can see the marks from ordinary guitar picks (no metal involved), from 6 or 7 feet away, and the pickguard looks like total crap. Also, the very minute skin cells that exfoliate when you use various muting techniques with your strumming hand cling to the plastic and are bizarre to see. Again, not a single guitar that I presently own, or have owned in the past 50 years, has exhibited this. Because everything is attracted to the plastic in some bizarre magnetic way, it takes while to clean everything from under the strings every time I use the guitar.
Line6, perhaps you can tell your new Yamaha masters that they should invest another dollar in the pickguard material. and get rid of the inferior product that I wound up with. Since the guitar is too new, no pickguard manufacturers that I've found have a replacement upgrade for the Variax Standard, and Line6 does not even offer it as a replacement item in their parts inventory. I understand that the guitar is priced low to attract a new market share in a highly competitive industry, but if you want to get new customers and keep them, attention needs to be paid to even the slightest details.
As it is, I will never use this guitar in a live performance unless I can find a new "non-magnetic" pickguard for it.
Thank you for your continuing development of leading-edge musical technology. The general superiority of your products is truly remarkable, and the evolution of your design and quality control processes have set a new standard for the industry. As a professional, I truly appreciate that, and I appreciate the remarkable repair service you have provided to me in the past; fast, efficient and very inexpensive.
Your attention to this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Chuck R.
