JTV 59 korean electrical problems

[fudnoms]

I bought one of the first Korean JTV 59s that came out and it worked fine for maybe 3 months when the power to the variax part from the battery would just completely die for no reason even with fully charged new batteries. I took it back to the shop and they tried to fix it but couldn't find anything wrong. It continued to do the same thing (one time midway through a gig which completely ruined it). I took it back to the shop again and they sent it off again to be repaired. It came back supposedly fixed but continued to display the same problem. The selector switch then started giving problems and making the pickups cut out intermittently. The JTV 59 was now out of warranty leaving me with effectively a useless piece of expensive wood. 

 

The JTV 59 now just sits there not being used and I feel like Ive been ripped off. It was everything I wanted in a guitar and when it worked, it worked fantastically. But the reliability of it means I cant trust it not to die at a gig again even if I pay to get it repaired somewhere.

 

Has anyone else had this issue? Or is it just unique to my guitar? All the components appeared to be made as cheaply as possible like there was no quality control in the manufacturing process. So disappointed in Line 6.

[snhirsch]

Many others have reported problems with the JTV-59 pickup selector switch.  Good news is that it's field replaceable.  Full Compass Systems sells parts and any competent guitar tech should be able to replace it.

[roger_salvesen]

The loss of the "Variax" power may actually be due to the jack plate assembly board. The jack seems to have a relay that switches on the power when the lead is plugged in. Mine also was intermittent and if the lead was wiggled or touched the Variax internals would shut of and go back to the magnetics.  As above Full compass sell this part and the installation is fairly straightforward for a tech. On a JTV59 the cable from the Jack plate board travels through the body to the CPU chamber on the upper or low E side of the body. All 3 chambers will need to be opened and the battery chassis removed.

 

Replacing this part for me solved the issue completely. The cause seems to be due to a kink in the ribbon cable coming from the jack plate board. The kink is due to overcrowding in the jack plate cavity.

 

It should be said that while i was disappointed this critical part was so crowded the overall not to mention plastic. This overall delight of the schematic and guitar internals is quite clean and well thought out.

 

I hope this is of some help, I had to do quite a bit of digging around for the info. Personally I feel Line 6 should take a more active role in parts replacement for pro musicians. 

Roger

[solidtjb]

You're not alone. I bought a brand new JTV-59 in March of 2015 and have had problems every three or four months with it requiring me to send it to get repaired. I sent it out for repair at the beginning of June because everything quit working. The 1/4" jack quit working around the beginning of May so I just used the VDI cable. I didn't send it back at that time because I was really just sick and tired of shelling out $40 or so for shipping every few months. Then the whole thing went dead so I had to send it to Sweetwater for repair again. They replaced the entire jack assembly and I got the guitar back yesterday. I've had the guitar for 15 months and 3 months of that time it has been getting repaired. I played it for an hour or so yesterday then put it away and played one of my other guitars. It's a shame because it's a nice guitar cosmetically and I like the sound of it with or without the modeling, but I'm just tired of dealing with it. You shouldn't have to worry about your guitar "breaking" when you play it, especially a guitar in this price range. Oh well, live and learn I guess.

[clay-man]

You could clean the jack assembly with contact cleaner if the circuit to tell the guitar it's on is dirty.