Leftzilla

Yes mine showed up the same way. Adjusting the bridge is quite easy so don't worry too much about it. I would not try and adjust individual saddles (if you even can)

You will be very happy with this tremelo system. Very robust and responsive. The guitar should show up setup with very low action.

Have you tried running the headphone out into the Amp? This would at least determine if the Amp is actually "coloring" the sound meaning something in the input is adding or subtracting EQ or if not the outputs are set wrong (i.e. instead of studio direct they are set to power amp etc). Double check that. I run straight from my HD500 to the mixing board and everything sound the exact same as they do in the headphones. Also Behringer makes a very affordable (180 dollar range) small keyboard amp that I have used very successfully to edit my sounds and use on stage and sounds the exact same as the PA.

Not quite the problem you are having but..........I started noticing electronic interference from of all things a T-Qualizer (one of those reactive tshirts with a glowing equalizer that moves to the music) through my wireless when going through an HD 500. I don't think this is isolated to the hd 500 but just a reaction of an amplified electronic signal to an electronic interference.

scottgmusic as thorneven said I can certainly understand why you would think that way getting two bad guitars. Personally I work in an 80s cover band and an original recording progressive band and I am also on my fourth Variax starting with the Red VAX 700 and VAC 700 and now a JTV59 and JTV89F and I can say all of these guitars have worked flawlessly and saved tons aggravation and given me great capability on stage. The Original Band Elephants of Scotland is now recording its second album and will be appearing at RosFest in May of next year and I can definitely tell you the albums would sound no where near as good as they do, nor would I have the capability of going from a Sitar, Les Paul, Fender Strat and Martin Acoustic all in one song and be able to recreate it on stage. So hopefully your not completely turned off to this instrument and can get a good working one.

Clay-man you are talking about the original VAX 700 correct? I never had an issue with mine but the quacking I am hearing is coming from my 89F which has the graphtec piezos. However I again think my problem is mainly due to how low my action is and not the Graphtec piezo.

I have had problems with the acoustic models breaking up or sounding distorted and quacking on certain strings when I really dig into the guitar. I have a feeling it may be related to fret buzz feeding into the piezo since I keep my action very low. If I back off of the guitar it doesn't seem to be a problem. I am also going through Workbench HD and backing off on the string volume as some other posters have suggested.

I have two perfectly working JTV's. A 59 and an 89F.

Fishman released a foot pedal at one time specifically made for guitars with piezo systems (Parker Systems with Fishman pickups etc) and I know the Zoom pedal (X3?) also has a piezo input. Both of these pedals are made to enhance the base piezo signal to make them sound more realistic and the Zoom pedal also will enhance sound hole pickups as well. On the EQing side of things I can't really help.

The JTV89F has the graphtec piezos. But to truly compare you would need the 89 hard tail and 89F with the Flotd Rose. I have a 59 and the difference between guitars seems to influence the sound more than the different piezo's (At least to me). I have two bands and they both thought that the acoustic emulation out of the 89F "sounded" better. However when I recorded them side to side no one could tell the difference

Originally I felt that having access to both the 1.9 and 2.0 sounds was a little over kill but I have to say I agree that having capability to access these patches would be useful. I upgraded my JTV89F to 2.0 and left my 59 at 1.9. Over the week-end I gigged with my 89F on Friday and then the 59 on Saturday. The new Strat emulation in 2.0 didn't cut it based on change in volume and tone. Granted I have not futzed with the new work bench nor did a lot of pre re editing with the HD500x prior to the show (or rather I tweaked based on my prog band not my 80s band for whom the two gigs were with). I personally do not have enough experience with Workbench to edit the new strat more towards the old one. Any ideas on that front would be greatly appreciated. Or I could leave the two guitars as is and have what works for me as I need the strat a lot for the 80s band. As to the poll I would like the capability but I do not think the JTV is worthless without it.

Well this might sound redundant and not to say you haven't tried this but is the battery charged and the Variax modeling light on? Are you using the quarter inch output or the VDI? Are you getting any sound at all from the mag pickups? I find this to be strange since the mags should work no matter what. This sounds like it could be something wrong with the quarter inch out or if you are using the vdi something internal with the power.

I own a VAX 700, VAC 700, Jtv 59 and a JTV89f. And while like others I definitely have a soft spot for my 700s the playability of the JTVs IMO is better especially the JTV89F. I am not sure I understand why some people hate the 700 as I also think it has a striking and unique look because of the absence of pickups and the pick guard. The headstock on the JTV89F is an improvement over the JTV 89 but I am not teribbly thrilled with it.

I know this has been addressed in the forums before but after searching a couple different wordings I was not able to fnd anything. Anyways the problem I am having is a I am getting a noise spike when I engage a specific patch that has a very heavy chorus and delays. This spike not only appears when switching to this patch but when I reengage the patch also. If anyone could point me to the original threads or give me some insight on how get rid of the spike I would appreciate any insight.

Thanks guys, I didn't think about a physical block. PLus 1s all around!

I tried searching the current forum for this topic so if this is discussed somewhere I would appreciate someone pointitng me to it. However I would like to disable the looper completely or somehow assign the switch so I do not accidently trigger it during live performances which has hapenned to me on more than few occasions. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

I have both the 59 (I'll rate it a 5) and the JTV89F (Which I will rate a 6, the 5 blade switch is just more versatile with the MAG pickups)

Just an update, problem reversed, 1/4 inch sounds good, VDI clipped on A and G with new set of strings. However after the strings worked in it stopped. So possibly old G was getting corroded near the piezo. But thank you all for the input.

Only in the modeling, other strings do not do it. If I play lightly it isn't an issue. Also it happens all over the neck so it isn't fret buzz.

I have an odd problem with the output of the variax modeling. When I use my Samson Wireless system the output from the modeling side of the guitar is to hot for the unit and ends up clipping and sending the input signal meter into the red (especially noticeable in the acoustics) however the magnetic pickups themselves output at a level the input signal meter likes. There is a 15db pad on the unit but this just drops the signal to low. Now when I use the VDI I have no problems but I have an 80s cover band and an original prog band. I use the wireless for the 80s and the VDI for the Prog. I would lower the string volume on the Variax modeling but I am afraid of how this will affect the VDI output. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

I am having some quacking issues on my jtv89f. Quacking may not be the right word but if a dig into my G string I get a distorted bark for lack of a better word, I will try a reflash to see if this helps but any other ideas would be welcome.

I own both the 59 and the 89F and have been quite happy with both instruments. I play the 89F quite a lot probably due to the new guitar effect (I have had the 89F only 3 months, the 59 I have had over a year.) They are two different instruments. I agree the look of the 59 is more striking visually and also agree if you can afford it to keep it. The playability of the 89F is excellent. The magnetic pickups are definitely different and I really like the sound of the 89F pickups. My bands swear the 89F sounds better (in Variax Mode) however when I have recorded the two in blind tests they can't tell the difference. There is a subtle differences between the modeling sounds however I chalk this up to physical differences in the guitars vs. LR piezosvs Graphtech piezos. The differences could be the different piezo makers but its impossible to separate from the physical differences. Weight difference is neglible in my opinion but both guitars are lighter than my other instruments.

Yes and very happy with jtv89f. I also have jtv59 and while some people feel the graphtech piezos sound better than the lr piezos I personally cant separate the sound differences since both guitars play physically different. My band swears the jtv89 acoustics sound better but when I do a recording of both guitars they couldnt tell the difference. I really like the magnetic pickups in the 89f.

I use my HD 500 for an 80s cover band and for an Original Prog band and run direct to the PA. I primarily use the Patch volume to equalize out my patches and use the FX Loop to give myself a 3db boost for lead work. I will in the Prog band flip between up to 4 different patches with different guitars for each since I run a Variax with the VDI cable. Try going from a Les Paul Neck, to a Fender Out of Phase, to a Sitar and then an Acoustic on top of amp/effect combinations to really challenge your level volume. But if I can do it with those combinations you should have no problem it will just take a little time.

My recently received JTV 89F fell from its stand and slammed in to my HD500. Very lucky that the only damage was a small dent in the 15th fret between the B and High E string. However doing bends on the high E in this area hangs up on this dent. Could somebody suggest a good way to try and smooth this or will I need to bring to a luthier? It really is more of a dent than say a divot.