New JTV-59 Sort of

[dlettau]

Hello all. I am about to take delivery on a Cherry Sunburst JTV-59. The only problem I have is that this guitar was manufacturered in 2012. Is this something I should be troubled by? I talked to a tech support guy at line 6 and he says they haven't made any changes to the guitar. I just don't know how I feel about paying $1000 for something hat is 4 years old. Maybe I shoudln't worry. I would welcome any advice. The serial number is W12010526.

[MartinDorr]

Just check everything out and make sure you really like what you see and hear before any free return period is over.

There are plenty 4 year old JTVs out there that work just fine. On the other hand it could be instrument that was returned to the dealer due to some flaw more than once.

I discovered on my JTV-69 that a piezo was not working 100% and it only became obvious for a fairly narrow range of distortion sounds.

[cruisinon2]

One of two things will happen:

 

1) Everything will be marvelous.

 

or

 

2) Something will be amiss.

 

The good news is, I seriously doubt the risk is any greater than if it had left the factory yesterday. Some of these guitars have issues, some don't...and you won't know till it gets there.

 

And fwiw, a whole bunch of those pretty guitars on the wall down at MegaloMusic have been hanging there for EONS, sans anything that resembles suitable maintenance...and they'll still charge you full price.

[dlettau]

This guitar is new from Sweetwater. They just got these from Line 6.

[cruisinon2]

This guitar is new from Sweetwater. They just got these from Line 6.

Same rules apply. It'll either be fine, or it won't. New is nice, but if it was in fact made in 2012, and Sweetwater "just got them", then obviously the guitar has been spending it's summers elsewhere for the last several years. Probably sitting in a warehouse...though it does seem odd that L6 would sit on inventory for that long. Anything is possible, however...and you'll never figure it out anyway. You can guess until you turn blue and pass out, and you still won't know a blessed thing until you open the box.

[dlettau]

I guess I'll give it a chance. I am not so concerned about the mechanics of the guitar. I don't know if the piezo has changed over the years. I guess the modeling end is all firmware up-gradable. The pictures of the guitar all look fantastic. Plus Sweetwater inspects the instruments thoroughly before they ship them. I guess nothing ventured nothing gained. 

[Charlie_Watt]

There are lots of JTV's for sale out there that are that old.  Not sure why Sweetwater just got some that are 2012 builds since I'm pretty sure they get them directly from Line6.

[mcbeddall]

I bought one just before Christmas from Andertons in the uk and that was 2012 also , if the theory on the serial numbers is correct, I know I read somewhere that it's not always that easy to decipher.

 

To be honest I was a little bit miffed that it was so old but that soon passed when I plugged the sucker in, it plays superb and sounds absolutely stellar , best guitar purchase I've ever made.

[mcbeddall]

Interestingly although mine was a 2012 serial number it came with the latest firmware installed which I thought was odd, but I'm not sure of firmware release dates , maybe the latest one is a few years old? Also the guitar was out of stock prior to me buying it ( I was actually waiting for a black one to show up on the website ) So maybe the serial numbers are wrong and it actually got made after 2012?

[Charlie_Watt]

Nope.  It was made in 2012.  It may have been returned and reshipped with latest FW.  When I got my 69S from Sweetwater I asked them to install the latest FW and they did.  I saw some Serial numbers yesterday in Sweetwater pix that were 2011!

[cruisinon2]

I love retail shenanigans...

[Charlie_Watt]

With Low volume products like these, the manufacturer only makes them when the supply is depleted.

[dlettau]

I did speak to Line 6 today and last night. They assured me that the guitars that ship to the retailer's are all new, never refurbished or previously owned.

[cruisinon2]

I did speak to Line 6 today and last night. They assured me that the guitars that ship to the retailer's are all new, never refurbished or previously owned.

That's all well and good...but after an item ships to a retailer, L6 is out of the loop, and has no control over what ends up on your doorstep. The world is full of shady retailers, especially online. Stuff gets bought and returned, then repackaged and passed off as new all the time. It's a little harder to pull off in face-to-face sale, but it happens that way too. There's no way to know if the guitar you pull off the wall at Giganto Gear Emporium was bought and returned or not. Unless there's cosmetic damage, it's impossible to tell.