JTV59 Setup Info to lower string action and proper pickup height Can't find any

[stomp58]

I would like to lower the action on my JTV59. Looked high and lo for any specs on recommended pickup height to no avail. Any suggestions?

[wilson69978]

My action was a but high on my new variax. I did read somewhere on the line 6 site it is set up for 10's on the high E As far as string gauge goes. if you change string gauge you will need a set up for sure. I set up mine same as my strat as far as neck relief goes.

The intonation seemed fine. Well for what it's worth, it is a fully functional electric guitar as well as a modelling guitar, so why not set it up the way you do any electric guitar. Just as a thought, regarding pick up height. James Tyler does have a web site with a lot of info on it.

You may find something of note there.

[silverhead]

A JTV can be set up to a player's preference like any other guitar. The only thing you need to pay more than usual attention to is fret buzz. You want to avoid that because it negatively affects the piezos much more than normal mag pickups. Even a little bit of fret buzz can introduce artifacts, harshness, and warbling into the sound - especially noticeable on the acoustic models. That's partly why the acoustics tend to sound much better when played with a light touch. And note that this is not affected by the height of the mag pickups. The piezos are in the saddle.

 

Perhaps that's why you find the factory-set action high in the first place. Maybe you prefer lower action in general, and the factory setting avoids fret buzz. Try lowering it a bit at a time. You may find a better lower setting but it may not get as low as you'd like before the sound is affected by the buzzing.

[Charlie_Watt]

You set neck relief and string height at the bridge just like any normal guitar.  Also make sure that the string height at the nut is proper.  My JTV69S came with the action set a bit too low on the LowE and A strings but very nice on the nut.  I just raised the saddles for E and A a bit.  Intonation was not set that well so I adjusted that also.  Now it's set up as well as any of my guitars and it's very nice to play.

[wilson69978]

Point taken Silverhead, I have definitely had to adjust my style a bit to get the best out of the variax.

 

A lighter picking style works wonders on many models. I actually play without a pick for a lot of the acoustic models,

I use some weird method of my own combining thumb,index,middle and ring fingers for picking arpeggio type stuff...

Then use my index finger nail as a guitar pick for single note lines and strumming.

 

It took a little getting used to but it works good for me.

The tone is softer or rounder sounding without a guitar pick.

 

For rock and blues, it is the pick all the way! With a dash of index and middle finger here and there.

[stevesilk1951]

Check the nut on your 59. Mine was way too high so I took off 1/16" from the bottom of it and it plays far better. May even take a slight bit more off sometime.

 

Be careful if doing it yourself, I've done a lot on my guitars over the years so feel confident.  

 

Also check neck adjustment, I prefer VERY little neck relief, literally two sheets of paper and I measure at the 9th fret with the Low E held down at fret one and the last fret.

[Charlie_Watt]

I like the nut height set as low as possible without buzzing.  It should not be much different than having a capo on the first fret.  Most guitars come with the nut set higher than necessary.  It's a tricky adjustment because you have to not remove too much material.  I set the string height at the bridge with a capo on the first fret first.  Then I work on the nut height.  (All this assumes that you have the neck relief set first!)

[surroundguy]

Does anyone know the actual spec numbers? I’d like to get it to the way it came from the factory:

 

Relief Measurement:

String Height Measurement:

Pickup Height Measurement:

 

This is VERY hard information to find. I contacted Tyler Guitars and all they could do was refer me to Line 6. Not very impressed with that!

 

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

[psarkissian]

Tyler is not involved in the set-up specs. His guitar set-ups would be slightly different as they don't use piezos

in conjunction with magnetic pick-ups.

 

We don't publish it because too many people keep messing it up.

 

Check the Knowledge Base section of the Forum.

 

[cruisinon2]

On 6/1/2024 at 3:35 PM, surroundguy said:

Does anyone know the actual spec numbers? I’d like to get it to the way it came from the factory:

 

Relief Measurement:

String Height Measurement:

Pickup Height Measurement:

 

This is VERY hard information to find. I contacted Tyler Guitars and all they could do was refer me to Line 6. Not very impressed with that!

 

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

 

Setup is about personal preference and the way you like the instrument to feel. We don't all like the same string guage, height, or amount of relief. What you play and how you play it dictate what will feel comfortable in your hands. Do you have a light touch, or do you beat the daylights out of the strings? The blues guy bending every other note will want a different setup than the jazz cat who's never bent a string in his life and considers it sacrilege...

 

Defaulting to factory specs won't help you if it happens to give you action that's too high/low for your comfort zone. Every time you pick it up it won't feel right, and it'll end up back in the case 5 minutes later. Despite the fancy electronics, it's still a guitar. Set it up however you like it and don't obsess over whether or not the strings or pickups are fractions of a millimeter higher or lower than L6 says they should be... it simply isn't that critical. If factory tolerances had such a narrow range of "acceptability" for the instrument to function, there would be legions of Variax users who hate the way their instrument plays because they wouldn't be able to set it up like the rest of their guitars.