mccarticus

Excellent advice chaps, many thanks. I've narrowed it down to the 59 or the 89 methinks. I agree with stevekc about the visual aspect of the instrument (I always thought The Edge looked a bit odd playing U2 tunes on an Explorer...) I already own 3 LP's and an EVH so maybe it's a no-brainer- I love that shape.... It's a nice quandry to be in. If I can squirrel enough money away from the wife I might get both!

As an avid Variax acoustic user, I want to purchase on of the JTV models- but which one? Any advice would be very welcome.... My situation is as follows- 1) The guitar will be primarily a workhorse, for gigs in particular. I play a very wide range of styles from funk and pop to classic rock and blues (even the odd metal track) often within the same set!! I need clear strat and tele sounds, and also thick and chunky distortions. Considerable variety in other words. I currently use a strat and Variax acoustic. 2) I never use a tremolo arm and therefore much prefer a hard-tail (stop-tail?) bridge. So, in essence, a 59, 69 or 89? I like the look of the 59 but am concerned that the 3-way toggle will limit my tone choices; the 69 seems to be the most strat-like but I don't like trem arms; the 89... again is it a shredding machine or would I get a full tonal range? Any advice would be much appreciated. I intend pairing the JTV with the HD500X so maybe that will make a difference (is that Mac compatible?) Thanks in advance.