rchibnik

Just thought I'd recount my experience repairing my JTV89 which had an unreliable VDI connection pretty much since I got it. This guitar was an open box from Sweetwater so I saved a couple hundred bux on it. I was sure it wasn't the VDI cables since I also have a Standard and the cable works reliably with that guitar and the Helix. I figured the pins in the RJ45 jack in the guitar were bent - often I could get it to work by fiddling the VDI jack. Full Compass is a great source for parts for the JTV and line 6 stuff in general. I found a replacement input jack there - $52 seemed like a lot, but shipping was free. The 69 jack is slightly less expensive. Shipping was pretty quick and I had the new device in about a week. To replace the jack, I needed to open the back as well as remove the four screws securing the input jack. The Jack assembly has to connections, a six or so wire electronic PIN socket and a ground wire which screws to the guitars ground. No soldering is required. Disconnecting the PIN socket required a needle nose but came out pretty simply. The new one only goes in one way. I noticed that the old jack was not grounded- the green ground wire was not connected to the ground on the jack - it was loose connected to the guitar. This might explain the defect, but I'm not sure why it was intermittent. Rather than trying to re-attach the ground to the old input jack I went ahead with the replacement because I was unsure of any other issues, and i already had the replacement part. After the replacement, which took about 15 minutes, the guitar worked perfectly again. The component based design makes the JTV a very serviceable guitar. Of course, on a standard guitar, the wiring is far simpler and repair might be less expensive.

I've noiced a slight jumpiness but it never bothered me that much. I post only because I notice that using a 1/4" out of the Variax was less jumpy than the VDI which I usually use. I didnt check, but I'm probably set to Multi since I never changed it.

probably should have said "Replaced" as I already have it. I use it mostly for rehearsals with a drummer and would use it for an occasional gig. There's a couple of things I dont like about it - the EQ is ONLY available through the iPad bluetooth interface which is unreliable; Would have preferred to have bluetooth receiver making it a little more versatile. I can see what you're saying - for the budget, it suits me well, but if I was putting together a full gigging rig I'd probably go in another direction, as you point out.

I have a JTV-89 and recently got a Standard. I prefer to play the standard, probably because its lighter and I prefer the strat body style. While I like some things about the 89 neck, the E strings are close to the edge and tend to slip off if I play sloppily. I dont have that problem on the standard. I got the standard during the recent price reduction / 100 off sale from Sweetwater. I just missed a B-Stock model that was around $500. So, for that kinda money, I think you can't go wrong, even if you have to pay for / do a fret dress. I'm considering selling the 89 with my HD500; I use the standard with the Helix into an FRFR (Lunchbox or EON 610). Overall, this is my true dream rig - I sold my DT25 to help fund the other purchases.

SOLD my DT25 when I got the helix, replacing it with a EON610 Also had a Marshall JTM60 that I never used, so sold that to an aficionado Still have a Spider Jam, my first LIne6 purchase - its not a tube amp, but I still have it. Clearing out my collection of multi-effects pedals. Primarily I use the Helix with its built in looper or Trio+ through an FRFR - either the 610 for playing with a drummer, or a Lunch box for practice.

@deadlocked I followed this, downloaded and installed the patch and it worked for me, first time. Thanks for positing this - very clear and highly useful.

I make up my own device stencils and connect them using different colored lines and annotations. Please, Would you share your stencils? Thanks

Well, that's for sure. I created a patch with the JTV pitched down an octave, a compressor and a bass amp and it played MUCH better. Now I'm using two patches for my looper exercised (mostly I use this for practice, but sometimes for jams with other players.) So I guess I need two inputs, a Variax normal into a guitar amp and a variax down an octave into a bass amp and A/B those two. Havent had too much time to futz with the routing because this thing is so addictive to play through. I thought I'd have some buyers remorse because of its cost and the fact that I dont really NEED it, but I'm just so happy with it. I'm making up for the guilt by selling off all those other multi-efffects pedals I've collected in the past. Its really a sweet piece of kit.

Do you have any sample patches posted that I could look at - this sounds like a good approach. I agree that there are some remarkable things you can do with this unit - SOOO much easier than the HD500 (about 3x easier, by my estimate - maybe more, which makes it a bargain.)

Thanks for everyones suggestions - I haven't had a chance to implement them all, but the solution that seems to work is the A/B split path. Just to be clear - there's only one instrument - a Guitar - and I want to set up a rhythm layer (scratching/tapping the neck) and a bass line using a pitch shift, then a rhythm guitar accompaniment using a clean tone, then solo using an overdrive. The bass / rhythm will be on the B path, which I'll start with, then switch to the A path for standard guitar. Another possibility that I didnt consider at first was using the Variax pitch shift to create a bass model on the Variax - I havent been keeping up with JTV Variax firmware - is there a bass model available?

I want to use Helix to support playing solo with an external looper I’d like to have a patch with two paths, - one for guitar with Eq, FX and amp - another for Bass with pitch shift, bass amp and FXs. I’d like to use a bypass switch to toggle between the paths but can’t figure out how to assign bypass to the Y-Paths. Is this possible? Anyone built a patch like this that I can use as an example?

$20 + 0.87 / ft - a 10' cable was 28.70 or so - $20 + (8.70 for 10 feet)

Any interest in trading a "like new" DT25 for a working L2T? I think the L2T would better fit my needs. I'm in the NJ area and would prefer a local trade (NY/NJ/CT/PA) PM me or reply if any interest. Thanks

I think the guide pre-dates some of the newer amp models that were added in a (fairly) recent firmware update.

DT50 for $1000 is a very good deal. The DT50 is LOUD. I have a DT25 combo and HD500 that I am very happy with - together they make a very flexible rig. If you like the tone, I say go for it. $1500 for HD500 and DT50 is a very good deal, IMHO

MosesGraphite.com makes a neck that will work with the 89; Dont know if they have a model with the locking nut. CS-27/V8 : for Variax JTV-89 24 fret Unfortunately, its 1) Not Maple, and 2) not cheap, and 3) might not fit the 89F. I was looking into replacing the neck on my 89 without the trem but its close to $500 and I didnt hate the neck THAT much.

I run the latest version of the firmware and am happy with the tone. There is a ton of comments on here about it. I would try it and downgrade only if it doesn't satisfy your ears. The latest version of the firmware is compatible with the HD Edit program that allows editing of Variax models using the HD500 as an interface, without requiring a special cable. I suspect that you'll be happy with the latest version. The biggest complaint was with the Strat models.I dont have a problem with them.

FW==Firmware You're buying a guitar with a computer in it. Have fun with it - you're sure to like it. As a stand alone guitar, the JTV is a great instrument. With the models and alt tunings they are over the top. I have a Korean JTV 89 that I'm delighted with.

I think the issue is the lack of audio drivers for Linux / Android. On Apple, it is their "Audio BUS" that everyone programs to. I think with an equivalent driver set the hardware differences would be effectively hidden. I have both iPad Mini, which is a great device with lots of cool music software, as well as a Nexus 7. Even though I like my company supplied iPhone and ipad Mini, I find myself using the Nexus 80% of the time. Do hope they implement the Android app. I'm a multi-effects collector, so will probably get the FX100 when it is released. I like the idea of the Amplifi amp and considered it as a replacement for my Spider Jam, but I enjoy the looper too much.

I have the iLoud - I like it because its battery powered. The guitar interface leaves something to be desired. It works in the "old" way, through the i-devices microphone/headphone jack. I prefer the IOS interfaces that work through the lightning/30 pin connector as they tend to be cleaner (Line6 did this right with their interface.) Initially I thought that everything went over bluetooth, but the iLoud has to be tethered to both the guitar and iDevice. The bluetooth latency probably wouldnt work for the guitar signal. Its a bit pricey as a streaming speaker system, but the sound quality is good and it does have good volume. I dislike the Amplitube pricing model - I calculated that it would cost $71 in software for the amp models (I added the fender models) Multi-track recording and tuner. Probably not an unreasonable price for a portable DAW, but expensive compared to what you get from Line6. So far I'm just playing with Amplitube free and looking at options. I also have the blueboard, which is a bluetooth midi controller but I'm finding it to be lacking in tones.

And it includes *GASP* a power switch! Yay! I'm a sucker for multi effects pedals. Looks like fun.

Certainly move this thread to the Spider forum. What you ask for is certainly possible. I usually use drums only to get a tempo; You need to get used to the interface. You can do it without the drums, but then the timing is all on you - with the drums, the loop seems to restart on the beat so the loop sounds better. To use the Express for start/stop you need to set the mode - each time you power cycle the amp. The amp forgets this setting when you power off. To change the tone, record your first layer, stop recording (loop can continue to play) change the tone using the controls or foot switch, then record your next layer, repeat as desired. Spider Jam is an excellent amp with a lot of great tones and easy to use features. Takes a little getting used to but overall, a great piece of equipment. One word of caution: I bought the Spider Jam several years ago. Since then I've purchased a ton of Line6 products including a dream rig. I still use the spider jam on a regular basis in my home rehearsal studio.

Wish they would release a software development kit so we could build our own.

I thought I was getting a good deal at $50 so your $40 purchase trumps my deal. Initially, these are a cool, and its nice that they are giving out almost all the software for free (but given the price, it looks like they are abandoning it.) I thought it was nice that they sent me all the stickers for all the pedals at no charge. I'm a sucker for digital effects (though I probably play 80% unplugged) I actually prefer my Zoom MS-G50 as a grab and go single pedal - I can create one or more pedal chains with or without amp sims, rather than being stuck with just a single effect and having to plug it into an iDevice in order to change patches. The new MS-G100BT is like the iStomp in that you can update it with new patches via bluetooth beyond what is installed at hte factory. But, for $40, it can't hurt to have a couple of these in the pedal bag as a fill in.

On the Mavica battery, Placing the Red (positive) probe of the meter on the negative battery pole and the black probe on the third pole it measures -8.63 with the multi meter set to OMH 20K Reversing the two probes (red on third pole, black on negative) shows 0. Measuring across the positive and third pole yeilds nothing. My line6 battery shows +11.1 so there appears to be a significant difference in how the third pole is wired to the negative pole.