JTV Variax vs JTV US Custom Variax

[samsgs]

I do not own a JTV but am seriously considering investing in a JTV 69, HD 500X, and multiple HD amps or combination HD amps and stage source speakers.  Looking for big sound, not necessarily volume.  Like the variax flexibility and alt tuning capabilities. 

 

Really wanting to know the difference in the US custom series variax and if it is worth the extra $3k or so.    

 

Looking for opinions please.

[cruisinon2]

I do not own a JTV but am seriously considering investing in a JTV 69, HD 500X, and multiple HD amps or combination HD amps and stage source speakers. Looking for big sound, not necessarily volume. Like the variax flexibility and alt tuning capabilities.

 

Really wanting to know the difference in the US custom series variax and if it is worth the extra $3k or so.

 

Looking for opinions please.

IMHO, there really nothing "custom" about most custom guitars. 99.97% of the time they are little more than production models with a few aesthetic bells and whistles to justify what is usually a comical price tag.

 

That said, I love my Korean JTV, and never played the US custom...but for nearly $4k, I'd be buying a scratch 'n' dent Korean JTV from Sweetwater for $800, take the other $3K or so and find someone who builds genuine custom axes, where you can get exactly what you want, and cannibalize the other JTV for the electronics.

[gtrman100]

IMHO, there really nothing "custom" about most custom guitars. 99.97% of the time they are little more than production models with a few aesthetic bells and whistles to justify what is usually a comical price tag.

 

That said, I love my Korean JTV, and never played the US custom...but for nearly $4k, I'd be buying a scratch 'n' dent Korean JTV from Sweetwater for $800, take the other $3K or so and find someone who builds genuine custom axes, where you can get exactly what you want, and cannibalize the other JTV for the electronics.

I think you're making a generalization that usually isn't true. For a guitar to be custom, you go to a luthier like Tyler and pick out the neck profile, frets, fingerboard material, pickups, tuners, body finish, neck finish, color, other hardware etc. Maybe if you order from the Fender "custom" shop it's more true, but even there you can specify many of the options you'd like for your instrument.

[cruisinon2]

I think you're making a generalization that usually isn't true. For a guitar to be custom, you go to a luthier like Tyler and pick out the neck profile, frets, fingerboard material, pickups, tuners, body finish, neck finish, color, other hardware etc. Maybe if you order from the Fender "custom" shop it's more true, but even there you can specify many of the options you'd like for your instrument.

You just proved my point for me. Nowhere amidst the description of the "custom" JTV's does it say that you get to choose any of the things that you list above, except for the color. The specs are what they are, and I have not been able to find anything that says you get to pick the neck profile, size of fret wire, hardware, pickups, or anything else that would enable you to call it a "custom" or "one of a kind" instrument. So I stand by my statement...most guitars I've seen that claim "custom" status, are really just expensive production guitars, with an extra bell or whistle, and few more colors to choose from. Now that doesn't mean its a bad instrument, but it does make the "custom" designation largely a marketing ploy. That said, I love my $1K JTV, but just offering more colors and the promise of more attenion to fine detail doesn't make a guitar (or anything else for that matter) "custom".

[Charlie_Watt]

No way would I spend the extra $$ for a US model of the JTV.  The neck makes a guitar so if you don't like the stock one, you should get a custom neck from Warmouth and  make your $900 guitar custom.