String Action on JTV59 Feels To Be A Bit High

[guitarplaya2000]

Hey everyone! I've been playing my JTV59 for awhile and I'm loving it. However, I can't really make it feel as if it's "a part of me" when I play it. When I play my Catvin Bolt, it's like I'm home, the action is perfect, and I feel so comfortable playing it. As long as I've been playing my JTV, I should feel at 100%, not 90% comfortable with it. The JTV's feels that the string action is a little too high for my taste

 

Hopefully, someone in this forum who lives in the Tidewater or Richmond Virginia area could recommend a good, person or shop who does high quality setup on Line6 guitars? Also, the shops that are listed on Line6 authorized Repair facilities- can they be trusted to properly setup my guitar to my liking or will they stick with the default Line6 setups specs?

 

Thanks!!

[JimPhillip]

Hi - I've got the same feeling. I have a trusted tech/ luthier and I'm going to ask him for a view. Not only is the action high, but the .strings feel rather over - tense, more so than my other guitars, all of which are longer scale. I'm in Manchester (England) so not much use to you. May I ask if this is one of the recent models? Best wishes

[psarkissian]

"Also, the shops that are listed on Line6 authorized Repair facilities- can they be trusted to properly setup my guitar to my liking or will they stick with the default Line6 setups specs"----

 

I Know what you mean about the action, I have two 59's and the action reminds me of the

vintage Les Paul. A smidge higher than say my Ricki 12, which is a low as can be had. That's

my point of reference and comparison.

 

When you do the search, there's a sub-heading for those in your area that do our guitars.

 

They will probably do it to spec. But they can always dial it in (within limits, up to a point).

Here, I start with spec and dial it in on request of an end user, and still remain within limits.

 

There's some play in that, that can be done within reason. It's a pieces of wood, so

it's organic,... so there will be some slight and minute variation from guitar to guitar.

 

Line 6 authorized tech experienced with guitars will know how to deal with that. And he can

always consult me, as I am the JTV repair guy here at Line 6.

[Charlie_Watt]

Most guitars come set up with the action on the high side.  Anyone that knows how to set up a guitar can adjust the action on your 59.  Important thing is that there can be no fret buzz.  I actually had to adjust my A string up a tad at the bridge on my 69S when I got it to eliminate some fret buzz.  I spent some time years ago to learn how to do setups.  I do my own.

[cruisinon2]

Hey everyone! I've been playing my JTV59 for awhile and I'm loving it. However, I can't really make it feel as if it's "a part of me" when I play it. When I play my Catvin Bolt, it's like I'm home, the action is perfect, and I feel so comfortable playing it. As long as I've been playing my JTV, I should feel at 100%, not 90% comfortable with it. The JTV's feels that the string action is a little too high for my taste

 

Hopefully, someone in this forum who lives in the Tidewater or Richmond Virginia area could recommend a good, person or shop who does high quality setup on Line6 guitars? Also, the shops that are listed on Line6 authorized Repair facilities- can they be trusted to properly setup my guitar to my liking or will they stick with the default Line6 setups specs?

 

Thanks!!

You don't need official "specs" or an "authorized service center" for a set-up. Half of those places are really electronics/amp repair joints, and wouldn't know a guitar from a toaster. If you're not comfortable with how it plays, "specs" aren't necessarily gonna help you anyway.

 

Fancy electronics notwithstanding, it's still a guitar, in need of exactly the same periodic adjustments as every other solid body electric guitar in the known universe. If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, then I'll assume that you've had your other guitars set up by someone you trust...take it to that guy. Have him set it up how you like it. Nothing horrible is gonna happen.

[guitarplaya2000]

Hi - I've got the same feeling. I have a trusted tech/ luthier and I'm going to ask him for a view. Not only is the action high, but the .strings feel rather over - tense, more so than my other guitars, all of which are longer scale. I'm in Manchester (England) so not much use to you. May I ask if this is one of the recent models? Best wishes

 

HI Jim, I agree also that the strings feel over-tense to me too. I love the guitar, but I can't get comfortable with it...if you know what I mean. My JTV59 is the recent model. If you don't mind, keep me updated and let me know how your guitar feels after the adjustment. Peace!

[guitarplaya2000]

"Also, the shops that are listed on Line6 authorized Repair facilities- can they be trusted to properly setup my guitar to my liking or will they stick with the default Line6 setups specs"----

 

I Know what you mean about the action, I have two 59's and the action reminds me of the

vintage Les Paul. A smidge higher than say my Ricki 12, which is a low as can be had. That's

my point of reference and comparison.

 

When you do the search, there's a sub-heading for those in your area that do our guitars.

 

They will probably do it to spec. But they can always dial it in (within limits, up to a point).

Here, I start with spec and dial it in on request of an end user, and still remain within limits.

 

There's some play in that, that can be done within reason. It's a pieces of wood, so

it's organic,... so there will be some slight and minute variation from guitar to guitar.

 

Line 6 authorized tech experienced with guitars will know how to deal with that. And he can

always consult me, as I am the JTV repair guy here at Line 6.

 

Thanks, psarkissian for your reply! That is also is making me nervous / apprehensive on having a tech adjust the action, as soon as the season change, it will affect the guitar and I will suddenly experience fret buzz. However, I do feel bit rest assured that the tech can consult you. I'm very particular on who tinker with my "JaniBelle". I will think about this further before I call my local Line6 repair shop again. Again, thanks for the tip!

[guitarplaya2000]

Most guitars come set up with the action on the high side.  Anyone that knows how to set up a guitar can adjust the action on your 59.  Important thing is that there can be no fret buzz.  I actually had to adjust my A string up a tad at the bridge on my 69S when I got it to eliminate some fret buzz.  I spent some time years ago to learn how to do setups.  I do my own.

 

Hi Charlie

 

Thank you for replying. Did dropping your strings a bit affected your intonation at all?  I've learned to adjust  the action on my old Strat many years ago myself and I've even considered to the drop the strings a little at a time on my JTV59 (aka "JaniBelle"). .I'm pretty good with Strat style bridges and saddles, but the JTV59 is something I haven't touched before.

[Charlie_Watt]

Small action adjustments don't affect intonation much but I would check the intonation as part of any setup or string change anyway.  My intonation was off a bit when I got my JTV.  That too is an easy adjustment and one it's good to learn how to do.

[Bertokia]

You may need to adjust the trussrod if there is too much relief in the neck...

 

[psarkissian]

"You may need to adjust the trussrod if there is too much relief in the neck..."---

 

Best to have someone well trained at it. Too many turn it too far one way, then

too far back,... back and forth, then end up with a warped neck.

 

Truss rod adjustments aren't immediate like action or intonation, you make the

adjustment, then you let it sit and settle-in. It's done incrementally.

 

Relief, action, intonation, pick-up height and spring tension on floating bridges,...

it's all about balancing out the tensions so that the strings ride and fret correctly

for the optimum performance and feel of the instrument.

[guitarplaya2000]

You may need to adjust the trussrod if there is too much relief in the neck...

 

Thank, but no thanks Bertokia. :)  I appreciate your reply.

 

I tried that long time ago, when I tried to save some cash. I bowed the neck so far that you can actually use it to shoot arrows! I'd rather pay someone to do detailed setup when a neck adjustment is required. 

[guitarplaya2000]

"Best to have someone well trained at it." 

 

I definitely agree to that, psarkissian. I've learned my lesson on that one!

[cruisinon2]

Thank, but no thanks Bertokia. :) I appreciate your reply.

 

I tried that long time ago, when I tried to save some cash. I bowed the neck so far that you can actually use it to shoot arrows! I'd rather pay someone to do detailed setup when a neck adjustment is required.

Do whatever you like, but given that most guitars will require adjustments a couple of times a year as the seasons change, eventually you'll have spent the price of the guitar in set-up costs. It's a silly expense.

 

And yes, if you have at the truss rod like a chimpanzee trying to crank open a window, you'll destroy things...but since you've learned the hard way what NOT to do, adjusting it properly will be stunningly simple. Righty-tighty, lefty-loosey (as you're looking down the length of the neck from the headstock) 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn at a time, and nothing horrible is gonna happen. It's not magic.

[Matt_Brown]

One thing to remember about the 59 is the frets are pretty high. I had mine set up 'as low as it would go' and it still 'looked' high as the eyes reference point is the 'board. Plays great though.

 

Another thought is that no two guitars (even the same make/model) will play exactly the same. It's part of the fun!

[psarkissian]

And all JTV's use the same fret wire.

The string nuts are different for each though.

[dspellman]

And all JTV's use the same fret wire.

The string nuts are different for each though.

 

No, they don't. My JTV-89Fs are jumbo frets; the rest are medium or medium-jumbo. 

 

Any good tech can adjust the string height and other parameters for you, just as they would a normal guitar. I anticipated having to run my 89's through Gary Brawer's PLEK, but when they arrived, the string action was low enough and the frets were level. I have a feeling that Line 6 may have spec'd the various guitars to be close to their non-Variax counterparts in initial setup. Traditionally, Gibsons have arrived with (for my playing) too-high nut slots and if you lower the bridge, you'll get fret buzz above the 12th-15th frets. On those guitars I've almost always had to have the nut slots redone. And a lot of Gibsons come with the Gibson Hump, so I've often just had them PLEK'd. 

 

Since the 89 seems to be aimed at the shredder/metal crowd, perhaps the action was configured lower than you'd expect on the 59 and 69 variants. In any case, I was a very happy camper, because it's right where I would have put it. 

[psarkissian]

I'm the guy that at Line 6 that works on JTV's. I have all the drawings 

and specs. All JTV frets are the same, that's the spec.

 

The strings nuts are different, so there would be a different feel.

Also the neck radius might contribute to the overall feel of it as well.

 

The spec is that they all have the same frets. Early Variax frets are different

from JTV frets.

 

Gibson string nuts,... yes, a bit high for some. Erik Braunn of Iron Butterfly

had a vintage 50's Les Paul back when I crewed for them, a rather high string

nut. But owning a Gibson myself, I was used to that, so I didn't mind.

 

I agree about the 89, good feel, the neck width and radius reminds me

of some of the classical guitars I play.

[dspellman]

Huh.

Matter of fact, I think I've met you -- you may be the one who swapped the Alternate Tuning and Modeling knobs on one of my 89Fs when they arrived transposed and thank you again. I believe you when you say it...but:

 

The OneSheet Line 6 publishes on the JTV59P states "22 medium-jumbo frets." 

The OneSheet Line 6 publishes on the JTV89F states "24 jumbo frets." 

 

Better whip those marketing folks into shape. 

 

 

I'm the guy that at Line 6 that works on JTV's. I have all the drawings 

and specs. All JTV frets are the same, that's the spec.

 

The spec is that they all have the same frets. Early Variax frets are different

from JTV frets.

[psarkissian]

The OneSheet Line 6 publishes on the JTV59P states "22 medium-jumbo frets." 

The OneSheet Line 6 publishes on the JTV89F states "24 jumbo frets." 

 

=====================================

 

Thanks for the heads up on that. I'll bug someone about those one sheets.

 

The fret wire charts I come across have our JTV frets listed in the medium

category.

 

Knobs,... yes. Two of the same knob was it? That was me, that was a while ago.