clay-man Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Money is becoming less and less of an issue, but I'm still waiting for the right opportunity to get my ultimate dream guitar. I got a 600 at the end of 2012 to compensate not being able to have a JTV, and I've been very happy, but the gap between the JTV and the old Variaxes has grown bigger since then. So basically I want feedback and suggestions of how I should purchase said model: JTV 69s, black, maple fretboard. I just can't go back to rosewood or anything besides maple, I feel like it helps playability. My questions: -Should I avoid buying used? -What online store should I buy it from? Sweetwater? Musician's Friend? Anything else? -How much is the upgrade really worth? As many of might of heard me say, I'd really like to have the ability to alternate tune on the fly. Even just the alt tuning knob itself is a huge upgrade for me. I still struggle to this day keeping a balance between alternate tunings and alternate models. How much better is the 2.0 and above HD update? Let's disregard the Strat complaint for now. How much more accurate and nice is the LP sound? One of the things I don't like about the LP is that I think it's a a bit unusable in standard tuning. Anything lower sounds great, but in E standard, palm muting sounds way too plunky and chunky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Money is becoming less and less of an issue, but I'm still waiting for the right opportunity to get my ultimate dream guitar. I got a 600 at the end of 2012 to compensate not being able to have a JTV, and I've been very happy, but the gap between the JTV and the old Variaxes has grown bigger since then. So basically I want feedback and suggestions of how I should purchase said model: JTV 69s, black, maple fretboard. I just can't go back to rosewood or anything besides maple, I feel like it helps playability. My questions: -Should I avoid buying used? -What online store should I buy it from? Sweetwater? Musician's Friend? Anything else? -How much is the upgrade really worth? As many of might of heard me say, I'd really like to have the ability to alternate tune on the fly. Even just the alt tuning knob itself is a huge upgrade for me. I still struggle to this day keeping a balance between alternate tunings and alternate models. How much better is the 2.0 and above HD update? Let's disregard the Strat complaint for now. How much more accurate and nice is the LP sound? One of the things I don't like about the LP is that I think it's a a bit unusable in standard tuning. Anything lower sounds great, but in E standard, palm muting sounds way too plunky and chunky. Buying ANYTHING used is a gamble. Always was, always will be. Don't care if its a guitar, trampoline, or a yacht... Sweetwater rocks. Everything else is largely subjective. You'll never get a universal concensus on which models are "better", or "more realistic" than others. Way too many variables in play. Every single firmware update comes with equal parts praise and criticism. Welcome to the "arts"... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I would stay away from used Variax guitars. You want a full warranty for something with all of the electronics that a JTV has. Sweetwater is a safe bet with a very good return policy and extra warranty. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 with current prices and rebates definitely go with online vs used. Sweetwater has always been good to me and you get a 2 yr warranty. Something to think about if you just HAVE to have maple fretboard, buy the black one you want at the best price and add compound radius maple neck from Warmoth or another third party. There are threads on here about it and those guys rave about it... The current $150 Line 6 rebate will cover the cost! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColonelForbin Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 -What online store should I buy it from? Sweetwater? Musician's Friend? Anything else? I would also give a vote to Sweetwater; the two year coverage is a major bonus that none of the other companies offer, for free at least. If money is an option, as it was for me - also, the price has dropped, so most places have comparable prices - but I bought my JTV59 from Zzounds back in the start of this year. I couldn't afford it all up front, and Zzounds does an 8 payment option; Sweetwater does a 3 payment option. At the time, the JTV59 in Tobacco sunburst was $1500 everywhere, but Zzounds agreed to price match an online sale that Musicians Friend had going. Looks like they are now $1,000 at most places, most models, and subtract $150; so $850 total, no tax if you buy online. Single Coil, JTV69s, maple neck (Sweetwater) For anyone else no needing maple or single coil, the black HSS is on sale at Musicians Friend, and you could probably Zzounds to price match that, but Sweetwater probably won't price match.. Worth asking I guess! When I bought my JTV59, Zzounds price matched to around $1000, and did the 8 payments, so I basically paid $125/month for 8 months. Musicians Friend has a sale going on the JTV69 HSS in black for $799 ($650 after rebate) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Get it while you can! http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JTV69SBKM/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Get it while you can! http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JTV69SBKM/ Sweetwater always has a bunch of stuff on eBay too. Don't know if they are all the exact same items as their website. May give folks a few more options to choose from... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 As much as the mail rebate would be nice, I'm trying to watch my money. I'm trying to make a budget during a time span for an event I have coming up, which is why the topic says I'll probably buy it next year instead of now. I'm glad the price is a bit lower now though, 1.4k was just wayyy too much. Even 1k would be nicer, but it's still pushing it a little bit. I with the mail rebate lasted longer but the guitar is lower on my priority list, and in that time span I think 150 dollars isn't going to hurt much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 As much as the mail rebate would be nice, I'm trying to watch my money. I'm trying to make a budget during a time span for an event I have coming up, which is why the topic says I'll probably buy it next year instead of now. I'm glad the price is a bit lower now though, 1.4k was just wayyy too much. Even 1k would be nicer, but it's still pushing it a little bit. I with the mail rebate lasted longer but the guitar is lower on my priority list, and in that time span I think 150 dollars isn't going to hurt much. Well here's how I see it...the money is eventually gonna get spent, right? That being the case, $650 now is better than $800 later (or maybe more once the holiday sales dry up). Strike while the iron is hot, or you might be kicking yourself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 Well here's how I see it...the money is eventually gonna get spent, right? That being the case, $650 now is better than $800 later (or maybe more once the holiday sales dry up). Strike while the iron is hot, or you might be kicking yourself Pretty sure it's still 800, without the rebate is 900-1k if it was 600, trust me, I'd get that right now. The problem is that I'm trying to save up for a trip, and if I get that now it might clip into my budget for that trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColonelForbin Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Pretty sure it's still 800, without the rebate is 900-1k if it was 600, trust me, I'd get that right now. The problem is that I'm trying to save up for a trip, and if I get that now it might clip into my budget for that trip. The black JTV69 is on sale at Musicians Friend for $800 before the rebate, so it would be $650 after rebate. But it's just that black body color with the HSS pickup configuration, with rosewood fingerboard. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/line-6-jtv-69-variax-electric-guitar?rNtt=jtv69&index=1 All the other models are at $1000 before the rebate. Sweetwater is doing a deceptive thing, where they are advertising the 'after rebate' price, but they are still charging you the full $1000, so that's kinda weird the way they did that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 The black JTV69 is on sale at Musicians Friend for $800 before the rebate, so it would be $650 after rebate. But it's just that black body color with the HSS pickup configuration, with rosewood fingerboard. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitars/line-6-jtv-69-variax-electric-guitar?rNtt=jtv69&index=1 All the other models are at $1000 before the rebate. Sweetwater is doing a deceptive thing, where they are advertising the 'after rebate' price, but they are still charging you the full $1000, so that's kinda weird the way they did that. Yeah I'm aiming for the full maple fretboard model. I'm doing an all or nothing thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 Just ordered a JTV 69s today. With the price drop from 1.4k to 1k, I think it's a good time to buy. I love my 600 but I think it's time to get a proper new Variax. I ordered from Sweetwater, so hopefully if anything goes wrong I can just swap for a proper working unit. I might do some demos later on too. Can't wait to try the HD modeling. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jandrio Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 excellent decision.69s black maple i suppose... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slockrem Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Just ordered a JTV 69s today. With the price drop from 1.4k to 1k, I think it's a good time to buy. I love my 600 but I think it's time to get a proper new Variax. I ordered from Sweetwater, so hopefully if anything goes wrong I can just swap for a proper working unit. I might do some demos later on too. Can't wait to try the HD modeling. Nice! Although I haven't had any first hand experience returning, I have heard nothing but good reviews on Sweetwater making things right. They were great to deal with. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 excellent decision. 69s black maple i suppose... I wanted a fender-esque guitar, and maple fretboard is a must. I fell in love with the fretboard on my 600 and prefer it over rosewood now. Nice! Although I haven't had any first hand experience returning, I have heard nothing but good reviews on Sweetwater making things right. They were great to deal with. Enjoy! I just got a call this morning by them about it. They're great people. I ordered my portable amp from them as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I found their service to be excellent when I got my JTV69S. They updated the FW for me before shipping it. I ordered some strings and they even asked me if I wanted them put on. (I did not.) I did not have any problems with my guitar so I do not know how easy it is to return stuff with them but they also increase the warrantee over the normal one. My next large music purchase will be with Sweetwater. Don't know what that will be yet. :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 It came in a few hours ago, and I'm kinda in shock that I have this guitar, haha. I'm loving it so far, but I'm still getting use to it. Good low action and no buzzing, and frankly I don't think the neck is too skinny at all. HD modeling does kind of surprise you a bit after playing in the old modeling for so long, but it sounds nice and clear compared to the old modeling. I do think I have to tweak some of my presets on my HD though, as some of the high end is a bit much in presets I dialed in a lot of presence and treble into. I think the 335 actually sounds better. I had some gripe about how I couldn't really get a tone of someone using a 335 because of how muddy it sounded in the old modeling, but this one nails it. As for the Strat sound, I don't think it's bad. It's different, but it's not bad at all, and if I want that additional quack I can always use workbench. The magnetic pickups are nice. I really like having magnetics on a Variax. It's comforting. I actually love the acoustic sounds. It sounds much more realistic. It might be a bit lacking in high end compared to the old models, but you can always dial that in, and if it's muddy, you can EQ it. The only gripe I have with this guitar so far is that the E string broke instantly. Basically what happened is that when I got it, it was tuned way down. I tuned it up, it was ok for a while, then it slid a little flat. I pulled it to see if it needed stretching, and it fell extremely flat a few whole steps, next thing I know, it broke out of the tuning peg. I hope it was just a one time thing, or that tuning peg might be too sharp. The alternate tuning knob is amazing. It's one of the best features on the guitar. No more wasting bank spaces for multiple les pauls and strats. I already filled up the spaces but I noticed that I can actually temporarily change the tuning by going into capo mode, playing in a tuning, and then go into preview mode. Once I'm done using that tuning, I just switch the alt tuning knob back and forth and hit the model knob and it's back to the assigned tuning in the knob. This guitar is genius! Miles ahead of the old Variaxes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 If the string broke at the tuning peg, it's probably just a bad string or it wasn't strung properly. With the locking tuners, you don't have to wind it around the peg much but I still like having at least a turn or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arislaf Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Clay-Man, nice thing that you enjoy your new variax!! Rock on and welcome to the club! Don't forget to check our shared models, and I really hope to see your JTV at your profil pic :) Take care! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 When you guys talk about the string popping off, do you mean the thin E string? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jandrio Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 ...This guitar is genius! Miles ahead of the old Variaxes.... T R U E ! ! ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted February 24, 2015 Author Share Posted February 24, 2015 T R U E ! ! ! Well. I've ran into problems after a few hours of playing. E string slippage, and late that night, some alarming crackling noise. It would happen on and off randomly. I tried to record it but when I did, it wouldn't happen again. It happened when I had simulated capoing the 7th fret (7 semitones above E standard), and it was on the 12 string dreadnaught setting. I can't tell if it's a firmware issue, but either way, I've contacted Sweetwater to swap the guitar. Here's to hoping I get a better one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jandrio Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 i'm sure u will solve this issue one way or nother. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 On the bright side of things, a lot of custom guitars that I've made before translate pretty much perfectly from old firmware to HD firmware. Bass model sounds spot on and actually better and more clear. Jaguar and Jazzmaster model sound pretty good but I probably need to do more fine tuning. SG model is pretty nice, but also probably need to do more fine tuning. I was afraid I might lose some of these custom tones when upgrading to HD but it looks like I'm in the clear. I don't have to waste any banks at all and assigned all of those to the custom slots, which is great because I always wanted to be able to use stuff like the gretch and resonators, but they were ultimately low priority when actually playing songs so I took them off the roster. It's one of the biggest reasons I wanted the JTV so I didn't have to make so much compromises with the preset spaces for both tunings and models. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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