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"You might want to check and clean the connectors because they might get dislodged but actual failure of the circuit on a PCB is pretty rare (the APX was down to cheap capacitors ageing badly)" Thank you! I will give that a try.

I have been talking to Line 6 customer service for three weeks. The representative is very nice, professional and trying to do all he can. Unfortunately Line 6 policy on this is that they want to repair the guitar and make a significant profit at my expense. (example they will charge $180 for a main board that Full compass sells for $128. I'm sure Full Compass has already put a hefty mark up on the part and Line 6 in their greed and in my opinion unethical dealing whats more at my expense.)

I have had: a half a dozen cell phones, none failed I replaced because of technological advances; I have had multiple TVs, again not one failed they were replaced for improvements sake; cars I have owned have not broken down, I got tired of the one I had before it gave out on me etc... Maybe my luck ran out with the Variaxes. however two out of two failures and many other es reporting similar problems with the Variaxe leads me to believe that it has design flaws and/or manufacturing process problems. I did overstate my criticism of the Variaxe sounds by just focusing on the negative. The Variaxe does a very good job modeling the Telecaster and Stratocaster.

Line 6 would be making a good business decision to terminate the Variaxe completely. From the standpoint of performance it does a lot of guitar models fairly well. When I play I don't want something that sounds kinda like a Tele, I want a Tele. Variaxe is a nice toy and fun to fiddle with using workbench but not a serious guitar by any means. It's acoustic models are embarrassing as is it's frumpy Lee Paul sounds. The other issue it is widely recognized as failure prone and finicky. I think it has done enough damage to the Line 6 name. Dump it and focus on core competency.

My apologies for lack of clarity. I never intended to make or imply a comparison between a Variaxe and a conventional guitar, you are correct that is apples and oranges. My comparison was intended to be to consumer electronics. I have had guitar amplifiers that have lasted for years with no problem except the occasional tube change which is expected. I have had used active pickups without failure. A yamaha electric piano and QY100 have performed flawlessly for years. Computers, cell phones, stereo receivers, surround sound units, electric razors...the list goes on an on regarding consumer electronics that I have had and they have performed without fail for years. Typically I am tired of the product or find something new and better when I have replaced something, not because it failed. So my experience in dealing with customer service regarding the failure of a product is limited to the Variaxe guitars - two which I have owned and both have failed. I am not alone as you can see with a browse of the internet. Failure of the Variaxe is a problem reported by many. I hope I have answered your assertion and I know I have repeated myself again but it seemed necessary to answer properly. I will conclude with my request again that Line 6 change their policy and provide significantly discounted charges for repair of failed Variaxe guitars.

Reading through the replys, thank you all again for providing a sounding board, I see personal testimonials about experience with their own Variaxe guitars. What I don't see is anyone denying the fact that Variaxe guitars overall have a higher failure rate than should be expected of a consumer electronics product. I think that any intelligent person viewing the large number of Variaxe failures reported would have to agree that the Variaxe is more subject to failure than most consumer electronic devices. This in itself is understandable based on the complexity of the guitar. (Apologies in advance for the repetition) What I cannot understand is Line 6 using these failures a source of profit(as I eluded to ealier. They should charge their actual unburned cost to make the repairs.

When I had the problem with the 300 all the places on the internet, and there are many, that I found that failure of the main board was quite common and was pointed to Full Compass as a source for a relacement. My JTV69's symptoms are very similar to what I experienced with the 300 so I am guessing it's a main board problem.Line 6 customer service will not provide a recommended fix even with the recording I sent the so they could listen to the horrible sounds the 69 is now making. Customer service discourages users from making repairs and in this I think they are correct as a user unfamiliar with some of the more delicate a and complicated aspects of the device could add more serious problems without fixing anything. Yes, I did a refresh and checked the cable. I have tried to contact the nearest service center, that is far from local, and have not received a response from emails and phone messages. Thank you for your advice and dialog something may eventually come out of this. I have also considered looking into the possibility of taking it back to a 300 configuration which is much simpler.

Yes, I feel the same about Line 6. I will never buy or recommend a Line 6 product again and intend to unload the AmpliFi 30. So I am stuck with a $700 broken guitar. My plan for now is maybe she'll out $128 and replace the main board with a Full Compass part. If that fails I will trash the Line 6 electronics and replace with conventional wiring and pickups. At least then I will have a functioning guitar. And most I will not let Line 6 Rip me off for charging exhorbanet price for repair of a problem product they released.

I thought that it more appropriate to deal with this issue separately. You reported the failure rate but didn't address the second and more important issue. How well did Apple support the consumer who had a notebook that failed? Did they tell the consumer to ship the notebook back and they would charge them $90/hour to evaluate and repair in addition to the charging them a significantly marked up price for parts that needed to be replaced? I don't the know the answer regarding Apple but I do know that is exactly how Line 6 is dealing with me and my JTV69 Variaxe failure.

Thank you all for the excellent points. You are correct (typo) it was a 300. This is the main board I had to buy to repair it (http://www.fullcompass.com/prod/210098-Line-6-50-04-0020) I am not relying completely on the internet reports of failures. I have had two Variaxes, the 300 and the JTV69 and both failed. Maybe I'm just unlucky. However, I am using the many reports of failures of Variaxes on the internet to support the fact that perhaps I am not just unlucky but there is a higher than acceptable failure rate on Variaxes. I did scroll through Full Compass parts for Gibson and Fender. For Gibson I found no replacements for failed parts. For Fender there were many parts but again nothing equivalent to a Variaxe main board such as a replacement modeling circuit for a Mustang II. Repeating myself because I think it important: For guitar equipment and consumer electronics (from reputable brands) the typical experience is the product lasts longer and without failure than we use it. I believe, from my personal experience and what I have read that this is not the case with the Variaxe; In this regards I think Line 6 should offer special dispensation in regards to Variaxe failures and repair failed units for a minimal charge. (with my JTV69 customer service will not give me a quote or a ballpark figure for repair. They offer $90/hour bench rate to evaluate and repair and when asked specifically regarding replacement of the main board they said $180 for the part (Full Compass sells for $128). It would appear that Line 6 is intending to profit on my misfortune/their substandard product. Based on this scenario I could pay more than the guitar is worth to have it repaired. In conclusion, the Line 6 customer support team is excellent however, Line 6 policies regarding what they charge for repair on a product that does not meet the standards of consumer electronics in general is unreasonable.

Please let me introduce myself as and owner past and present of a Spider IV 75W, Variaxe 300, ApliFi 30 and JTV 69. I am not a Line 6 basher, the amplifiers performed above expectations. The Variax 300 failed and by searching the internet found that this was a common problem that could be remedied by replacing the main board (coffin module). I bought this part for $120 from Full Compass switched out the modules with no problem in a short amount of time and was rewarded with a fully functional 200 that I was completely pleased with. Now I have a JTV 69 and it has failed (modeling sounds are garbled, switches tuning erratically and the volume control works intermittently). I have working with Line 6 customer service, who have been as helpful as policy allows, for about three weeks regarding this problem and we cannot come to an agreeable solution. My point is that based on the volume of posts I have seen on the internet the Line 6 Variaxe is a piece of equipment that is prone to failure. Buying guitar equipment and consumer electronics the vast majority of products usually work until you are tired of them or something better comes out that you replace it with the new an improved. This does not seem to be the case with the Variaxe. If it was not an issue not only would you not find the large number of reported failures on various forums nor would you find a company like Full Compass carrying a broad range of replacement parts. Does Fender or Gibson or Apple etc...have a high volume of complaints about their hardware failing or have companies carrying replacement components (not upgrades or mods but replacement parts for original parts that fail)? From what I have seen the answer to this is no they don't. I believe that the Variaxe has either design problems, manufacturing process problems or a bit of both. The result is here I set with a $700 piece of fire wood. In conclusion I think that Line 6 should stand fully behind the complex Variaxe guitars and offer to repair these guitars that fail for a minimal charge.