egkor

+1. No real reason, just fun to have a complement to my 69 (a 59 or 89). -Gary K

To chime in, I have owned and used, and still use a Variax 500 (the Original Variax) since approx. 2005. At that time the V700 had been out, and the V300 and V600 were just out and replacing the V500, which I got on clearance at my local GC. Just got a JTV-69, CA Red, used and pristine (manuf. 3/2012), V2.0 models, at a local GC, at about 1/2 price of new. So far I think it is an upgrade to the V500 w/ mags, better battery and management, locking tuners, additional selectable tunings. Bottom line, I would have put my money into a current-generation Variax (like the OP did) rather than buy a previous-gen. I think the current-gen is a better guitar. I do plan to keep the V500, its still a versatile and in some ways inspiring axe. But I would reach for the JTV first. :) -Gary K

:) :) :) -Gary K