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Line 6 repair policies are not in line w/the complexity of the product and the number of field failures reported


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Please let me introduce myself as and owner past and present of a Spider IV 75W, Variaxe 300, ApliFi 30 and JTV 69.  I am not a Line 6 basher, the amplifiers performed above expectations.  The Variax 300 failed and by searching the internet found that this was a common problem that could be remedied by replacing the main board (coffin module).  I bought this part for $120 from Full Compass switched out the modules with no problem in a short amount of time and was rewarded with a fully functional 200 that I was completely pleased with.

 

Now I have a JTV 69 and it has failed (modeling sounds are garbled, switches tuning erratically and the volume control works intermittently).  I have working with Line 6 customer service, who have been as helpful as policy allows, for about three weeks regarding this problem and we cannot come to an agreeable solution.

 

My point is that based on the volume of posts I have seen on the internet the Line 6 Variaxe is a piece of equipment that is prone to failure.  Buying guitar equipment and consumer electronics the vast majority of products usually work until you are tired of them or something better comes out that you replace it with the new an improved.  This does not seem to be the case with the Variaxe.  If it was not an issue not only would you not find the large number of reported failures on various forums nor would you find a company like Full Compass carrying a broad range of replacement parts.  Does Fender or Gibson or Apple etc...have a high volume of complaints about their hardware failing or have companies carrying replacement components (not upgrades or mods but replacement parts for original parts that fail)?  From what I have seen the answer to this is no they don't.

 

I believe that the Variaxe has either design problems, manufacturing process problems or a bit of both.  The result is here I set with a $700 piece of fire wood.

 

In conclusion I think that Line 6 should stand fully behind the complex Variaxe guitars and offer to repair these guitars that fail for a minimal charge.

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Not what I really want to hear having only just bought one that's still in the packaging yet.

 

But yes I've heard of the failings, I don't how wide spread the failure rate is? as people only tend to complain on forums etc when they've had a problem.

 

Hoping I'll have a many good years with it. But yes it will be always in the back of my mind that it could fail at anytime.

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I don't recall a Variax 200. I had the lowest model of the Variax - the 300. The next in that line was the 500, then the 600, and the 700 that was originally just the Variax. Then they had the 2 models (I belive there were only 2 acoustic Variax). They also had at least 1 bass model, or possibly 2 with a 4 & 5 string version. They also had a couple of left-handed versions, all prior to the JTV line and the latest, the Standard. I am not aware of a huge amount of all out failures being experienced.

 

My 300 is still functional, bought in 2005. It, being the lowest model, was not as well constructed as the upper models, especially the 700, which still has loyal users, that have been fairly vocal on these forums trying to get the the Helix team to support it and other first gen Variaxes better in that device. Apparently not all of that generation Variaxes have failed.

 

The build quality of my 300 was mostly an entry level guitar, and when the JTV's were introduced I purchased the JTV-59. It had an issue with the toggle switch (different than the 5 position, strat style switches on the first gen and JTV 69's & 89's). It was a initial release issue, and they fixed mine in a very timely manner under warranty. I then had an issue with the piezo/bridge on the unit which they sent me a replacement bridge assembly that I installed myself after convincing them I had the technical ability to do so. I have had no issues with that guitar since the initial problems in 2011, that they learned from and corrected their materials and methods for subsequent runs of the the JTV's I believe.

 

In 2012, they released several variations of the 59, 69, and added the Floyd Rose trem to the 89. I bought the 69S in 2012, and have had zero issues in my 4 years with it. I gig about 30 - 40 jobs a year as a weekender, and use the 69S & 59 exclusively. I have some nice guitars besides my JTV's, but find the JTV's to be quite reliable and versatile, so I use the JTV's.

 

Now, I do know that numerous issues are reported with their guitars, but have not seen a large number of completely failed units. In the cases reported here on the forums, most that I have read about have been resolved to the owners' satisfaction. Another thing to keep in mind is that user forums are places where people bring their issues for help and advice, so problems seem more prominent than not, which would be normal. I have not found many other sources of information on the Variax line other than here in these forums. I can't say I've observed a systematic product breakdown.

 

I have also bought parts from Full Compass. I replaced the faceplate on my 69S with a pearloid one - nice, though kind of think that wouldn't be a high failure part that they need to keep on hand. The big reason they (thankfully) have replacement parts is that they are one of the regional authorized service centers for the Line 6 line of products, including the JTV's. Somebody's always going to drop their guitar on it's jackplate, break knobs, etc. I periodically scan through their available parts for things for the JTV's I have, and I have bought some parts to have on hand just in case....

 

Nothing is problem free -- Full Compass also has replacement parts for Fenders & Gibsons. I believe they are a general music company and carry and work on many brands.

 

Dave

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Thanks Dave for injecting some confidence back in this post for me.

 

I live in the UK and I'm not quite sure where the nearest line 6 service centre is, if it should break down.

 

 

Something I hope I'll not need to do.

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Where is your data?  How many failures have they had vs the number shipped?  I have three Variax guitars the oldest is over 10 years.  I have not had any failures of electronics.  I replaced the Piezos on my 500 but they still worked when I did so.  Line 6 has a reasonable warrantee on them that covers early failures which are common for electronic devices.  If it works a year, it will probably be reliable.  This forum will have very skewed statistics since most posters are trying to solve an issue with their guitar.

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...

 

My point is that based on the volume of posts I have seen on the internet the Line 6 Variaxe is a piece of equipment that is prone to failure.  ....

 

I think that is the statement that is highly suspect. Posts on the Internet, especially in a user support forum, don't represent the average user experience. The relatively few people/instruments that have problems get a lot of exposure here. What we don't see or hear of  here, or elsewhere on the iinternet, are the vast majority of users that have no problems.

 

Of course there is no data-based evidence of the actual failure rate. Only Line 6 could possibly know that and even then they only know about sales vs. reported problems. This excludes units that may have unreported problems. So it's literally impossible to back up either claim with comprehensive evidence: that it is 'prone to failure' or that it's not.

 

As internet readers we are left to come to our own conclusions. In my experience I have owned several Variax guitars. One (an early V300 model) had a problem and it was quickly and completely resolved by Line 6. I think the risk of being disappointed is very small.

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Does Fender or Gibson or Apple etc...have a high volume of complaints about their hardware failing or have companies carrying replacement components (not upgrades or mods but replacement parts for original parts that fail)?  From what I have seen the answer to this is no they don't.

 

Well, I'm sure Apple has plenty of hardware failures - their 3-year failure rate for laptops is 17.4% according to this paper. https://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf

 

Apple, historically, doesn't really sell replacement parts for anything, other than maybe they'll sell you a new power supply.

 

As far as Gibson and Fender, it's hard to say. I can't say Gibson has a stellar reputation on guitar forums. They're kind of the company everyone loves to hate. Fender, I think, has a reputation for being pretty robust, but if we're talking about their guitars, there's not really a ton that go wrong from an electronics perspective. They're using very simple circuits. A Variax probably has 20 times as many solder joints as a standard Strat.

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Well, I'm sure Apple has plenty of hardware failures - their 3-year failure rate for laptops is 17.4% according to this paper. https://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf

 

Apple, historically, doesn't really sell replacement parts for anything, other than maybe they'll sell you a new power supply.

 

As far as Gibson and Fender, it's hard to say. I can't say Gibson has a stellar reputation on guitar forums. They're kind of the company everyone loves to hate. Fender, I think, has a reputation for being pretty robust, but if we're talking about their guitars, there's not really a ton that go wrong from an electronics perspective. They're using very simple circuits. A Variax probably has 20 times as many solder joints as a standard Strat.

"Failure" isn't something that one generally worries about with a "regular" guitar. It's the overall build quality that's often at issue. Aside from a loose solder joint, which is the easiest fix in the world, there really isn't much that can go wrong. Pickups will last essentially forever, and volume and tone pots almost forever. I've got a Strat that's over 20 years old...pickups have been swapped out for something a little different several times, but the pots are all original and work just fine.

 

Biggest gripe I have about the "big name" guitars is the insane over-valuation. Guitars selling for multiple thousands of dollars that often leave much to be desired in terms of fit and finish. Fretwork especially, is often lackluster, and I won't even discuss the un-rivaled a$$hattery of deliberately mangled "relic-ed" instruments.

 

Strat guys can source necks, bodies, hardware, and pickups from any number of places...and end up with an instrument just as pretty, playable, and "Strat sounding" as anything Fender sells...and for considerably less money.

 

It's like buying a Harley....you're paying $10K for the bike, and another $10K for the HD logo on the tank.

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Thank you all for the excellent points.

 

You are correct (typo) it was a 300.  This is the main board I had to buy to repair it (http://www.fullcompass.com/prod/210098-Line-6-50-04-0020)

 

I am not relying completely on the internet reports of failures.  I have had two Variaxes, the 300 and the JTV69 and both failed.  Maybe I'm just unlucky.  However, I am using the many reports of failures of Variaxes on the internet to support the fact that perhaps I am not just unlucky but there is a higher than acceptable failure rate on Variaxes.

 

I did scroll through Full Compass parts for Gibson and Fender.  For Gibson I found no replacements for failed parts.  For Fender there were many parts but again nothing equivalent to a Variaxe main board such as a replacement modeling circuit for a Mustang II.

 

Repeating myself because I think it important:

For guitar equipment and consumer electronics (from reputable brands) the typical experience is the product lasts longer and without failure than we use it.  I believe, from my personal experience and what I have read that this is not the case with the Variaxe;

In this regards I think Line 6 should offer special dispensation in regards to Variaxe failures and repair failed units for a minimal charge.

 

(with my JTV69 customer service will not give me a quote or a ballpark figure for repair.  They offer $90/hour bench rate to evaluate and repair and when asked specifically regarding replacement of the main board they said $180 for the part (Full Compass sells for $128). It would appear that Line 6 is intending to profit on my misfortune/their substandard product.  Based on this scenario I could pay more than the guitar is worth to have it repaired.

 

In conclusion, the Line 6 customer support team is excellent however, Line 6 policies regarding what they charge for repair on a product that does not meet the standards of consumer electronics in general is unreasonable. 

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Well, I'm sure Apple has plenty of hardware failures - their 3-year failure rate for laptops is 17.4% according to this paper. https://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf

 

Apple, historically, doesn't really sell replacement parts for anything, other than maybe they'll sell you a new power supply.

 

As far as Gibson and Fender, it's hard to say. I can't say Gibson has a stellar reputation on guitar forums. They're kind of the company everyone loves to hate. Fender, I think, has a reputation for being pretty robust, but if we're talking about their guitars, there's not really a ton that go wrong from an electronics perspective. They're using very simple circuits. A Variax probably has 20 times as many solder joints as a standard Strat.

I thought that it more appropriate to deal with this issue separately.  You reported the failure rate but didn't address the second and more important issue.  How well did Apple support the consumer who had a notebook that failed?  Did they tell the consumer to ship the notebook back and they would charge them $90/hour to evaluate and repair in addition to the charging them a significantly marked up price for parts that needed to be replaced?  

I don't the know the answer regarding Apple but I do know that is exactly how Line 6 is dealing with me and my JTV69 Variaxe failure. 

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I thought that it more appropriate to deal with this issue separately.  You reported the failure rate but didn't address the second and more important issue.  How well did Apple support the consumer who had a notebook that failed?  Did they tell the consumer to ship the notebook back and they would charge them $90/hour to evaluate and repair in addition to the charging them a significantly marked up price for parts that needed to be replaced?  

I don't the know the answer regarding Apple but I do know that is exactly how Line 6 is dealing with me and my JTV69 Variaxe failure. 

 

If your Apple laptop isn't under warranty, and you don't have an AppleCare policy, Apple will charge you an arm and a leg to repair a laptop. My wife had an issue where her MacBook Air's screen stopped working, and it would have cost over $600 to have Apple repair it... We just bought a new laptop instead.

 

This is, sadly, I guess kind of par for the course when it comes to electronics repairs. Unless it's a very minor repair, it's often cheaper to just replace the item outright rather than fix it. Labor is always the thing that is most expensive.

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If your Apple laptop isn't under warranty, and you don't have an AppleCare policy, Apple will charge you an arm and a leg to repair a laptop. My wife had an issue where her MacBook Air's screen stopped working, and it would have cost over $600 to have Apple repair it... We just bought a new laptop instead.

 

This is, sadly, I guess kind of par for the course when it comes to electronics repairs. Unless it's a very minor repair, it's often cheaper to just replace the item outright rather than fix it. Labor is always the thing that is most expensive.

Yes, I feel the same about Line 6. I will never buy or recommend a Line 6 product again and intend to unload the AmpliFi 30. So I am stuck with a $700 broken guitar. My plan for now is maybe she'll out $128 and replace the main board with a Full Compass part. If that fails I will trash the Line 6 electronics and replace with conventional wiring and pickups. At least then I will have a functioning guitar. And most I will not let Line 6 Rip me off for charging exhorbanet price for repair of a problem product they released.

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Yes, I feel the same about Line 6. I will never buy or recommend a Line 6 product again and intend to unload the AmpliFi 30. So I am stuck with a $700 broken guitar. My plan for now is maybe she'll out $128 and replace the main board with a Full Compass part. If that fails I will trash the Line 6 electronics and replace with conventional wiring and pickups. At least then I will have a functioning guitar. And most I will not let Line 6 Rip me off for charging exhorbanet price for repair of a problem product they released.

 

Personally, Line 6 has always been very fair with me, and when I've had a few issue over the years, they've taken care of them. But given the sheer number of Line 6 products, I've owned, the number of problems I've had has been small... That's just my personal experience.

 

Backing up a bit, though, how did you come to the conclusion that your 69 needs a new main board? Is that your self-diagnosis, or is it something that Line 6 told you over the phone? Have you tried kind the of standard operating procedure thing of re-flashing the guitar and all that? Beyond that, have you looked into a local service center looking at the guitar?

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Gkf9,... try this link, http://line6.com/find/service_center/

 

There's E & M Electronics in Milton Keyes, and Mark Wright Music in Northampton.

Mark Wright used to be a repair tech at Line 6 in Rugby, back when we had a location

there. He knows most all the gear pretty well, including and especially the guitars.

 

In the mid 1990's, the average repair cost was $55-60 USD per hour plus parts.

Considering that, that was 20-years ago,... $90/hr being the going rate isn't that

bad for an out-of-warranty repair.

 

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Personally, Line 6 has always been very fair with me, and when I've had a few issue over the years, they've taken care of them. But given the sheer number of Line 6 products, I've owned, the number of problems I've had has been small... That's just my personal experience.

 

Backing up a bit, though, how did you come to the conclusion that your 69 needs a new main board? Is that your self-diagnosis, or is it something that Line 6 told you over the phone? Have you tried kind the of standard operating procedure thing of re-flashing the guitar and all that? Beyond that, have you looked into a local service center looking at the guitar?

When I had the problem with the 300 all the places on the internet, and there are many, that I found that failure of the main board was quite common and was pointed to Full Compass as a source for a relacement. My JTV69's symptoms are very similar to what I experienced with the 300 so I am guessing it's a main board problem.

Line 6 customer service will not provide a recommended fix even with the recording I sent the so they could listen to the horrible sounds the 69 is now making. Customer service discourages users from making repairs and in this I think they are correct as a user unfamiliar with some of the more delicate a and complicated aspects of the device could add more serious problems without fixing anything.

Yes, I did a refresh and checked the cable.

I have tried to contact the nearest service center, that is far from local, and have not received a response from emails and phone messages.

Thank you for your advice and dialog something may eventually come out of this.

 

I have also considered looking into the possibility of taking it back to a 300 configuration which is much simpler.

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Reading through the replys, thank you all again for providing a sounding board, I see personal testimonials about experience with their own Variaxe guitars. What I don't see is anyone denying the fact that Variaxe guitars overall have a higher failure rate than should be expected of a consumer electronics product.

 

I think that any intelligent person viewing the large number of Variaxe failures reported would have to agree that the Variaxe is more subject to failure than most consumer electronic devices. This in itself is understandable based on the complexity of the guitar. (Apologies in advance for the repetition)

What I cannot understand is Line 6 using these failures a source of profit(as I eluded to ealier. They should charge their actual unburned cost to make the repairs.

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Higher fail rate? Compared to,...?

Guitars with passive electronics?.... would be comparing apples with oranges. 

My apologies for lack of clarity.  I never intended to make or imply a comparison between a Variaxe and a conventional guitar, you are correct that is apples and oranges.

 

My comparison was intended to be to consumer electronics.  I have had guitar amplifiers that have lasted for years with no problem except the occasional tube change which is expected.  I have had used active pickups without failure.  A yamaha electric piano and QY100 have performed flawlessly for years. Computers, cell phones, stereo receivers, surround sound units, electric razors...the list goes on an on regarding consumer electronics that I have had and they have performed without fail for years.  Typically I am tired of the product or find something new and better when I have replaced something, not because it failed.

 

So my experience in dealing with customer service regarding the failure of a product is limited to the Variaxe guitars - two which I have owned and both have failed.  I am not alone as you can see with a browse of the internet.  Failure of the Variaxe is a problem reported by many.

 

I hope I have answered your assertion and I know I have repeated myself again but it seemed necessary to answer properly.

 

I will conclude with my request again that Line 6 change their policy and provide significantly discounted charges for repair of failed Variaxe guitars. 

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Gkf9,... try this link, http://line6.com/find/service_center/

 

 

There's E & M Electronics in Milton Keyes, and Mark Wright Music in Northampton.

 

 

Mark Wright used to be a repair tech at Line 6 in Rugby, back when we had a location

there. He knows most all the gear pretty well, including and especially the guitars.

 

In the mid 1990's, the average repair cost was $55-60 USD per hour plus parts.

Considering that, that was 20-years ago,... $90/hr being the going rate isn't that

bad for an out-of-warranty repair.

Great thankyou.

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... What I don't see is anyone denying the fact that Variaxe guitars overall have a higher failure rate than should be expected of a consumer electronics product.

I think that any intelligent person viewing the large number of Variaxe failures reported would have to agree that the Variaxe is more subject to failure than most consumer electronic devices. .......

I guess I didn't express myself clearly enough earlier. I am denying that your opinion about this is fact, and I don't agree that this makes me an unintelligent person. You simply don't have the facts to support your claim. Nor do I to support the counter claim. But you are fully entitled to your opinion, as am I.
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My experience has been that any electric equipment may fail or have intermittent faults but actual failures of something like a motherboard are pretty rare.

 

My JTV-69  (2011) is working perfectly although I have managed to break off the VDI flap. 

 

My HD500 (2010) has required a little tweaking of the springs under the switches as they went intermittent as they got compressed over time but is performing perfectly.

 

My M20d needed the connectors on the motherboard reseating as they appear to have been dislodged in transport and it working perfectly

 

My L2t speakers are working perfectly although my first was a B Stock that cut out within seconds and got sent back as unfit for purpose.

 

On the other hand...

 

My really cheap Westone Spectrum with PRS replacement Pickups and Pots has noisy switches 

 

My Patrick Eggle Los Angeles has scratchy pots that I need to get cleaned and a noisy jack socket that needs tightening and resoldering

 

My Yamaha APX had a complete failure of the pre-amp with no replacement part available and is now piezo and body mic directly connected to the socket in order to get any sound out.

 

My Korg N364 Keyboard had some keys go dead (good cleaning fixed that) and the backlight fail completely (had to replace myself) - works perfectly.

 

My Yamaha Motif XF6 however appears to have corrosion on the key bed circuit board that has caused a break meaning that I have 5 completely dead keys and no warranty (my most expensive musical purchase)

 

 

So:

 

All my Line 6 gear is working perfectly but has occasionally needed a little care

 

My Korg stuff has needed repear

 

My Yamaha kit is all broken

 

 

The only way that a Variax motherboard can break - and the reason for it being on sale is because some people like replacing their strap buttons with locking ones and screw the large replacement screw through the circuit board.

 

You might want to check and clean the connectors because they might get dislodged but actual failure of the circuit on a PCB is pretty rare (the APX was down to cheap capacitors ageing badly)

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"You might want to check and clean the connectors because they might get dislodged but actual failure of the circuit on a PCB is pretty rare (the APX was down to cheap capacitors ageing badly)"

 

Thank you! I will give that a try.

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The 300/500/600 all have the "coffin" box that shields the electtonics and unitized the construction so that all electronics were connected to the face plate. A reported issue with those models was a internal signal or conterol wire would contact the grounded coffin case. When they moved or insulated those wires from the coffin, the guitar would work again. As fas as I recall, it did not kill their guitar. The 700 did not have this issue as the construction put the volume/tone/model selector/ and 5 position selector on the body, with the PC Boards in body compartments. The JTV's use the same construction technique. The 69 has the controls and pickups on the face plate, but not in a "coffin" as the 300/500/600 did.

 

I changed my 69S's pickups to DiMarzio noiseless single coils and was inside the guitar to do it, I thought the construction and wiring was quite well done when looking around. The original single coils were good sounding, but were subject to the same hum that my Strat is, and I'm going to swap out my Strat's pickups with the same set I put in my 69S. My 59's HB's are fine as they are.

 

Grounding issues with the 300/500/600 also caused a spurious issue with the models switching randomly on their own reported by some on the L6 forums. My 300 has never had this issue in the 11 years of owning it. Seems like a similar issue has been mentioned a couple of times on the L6 forums on the JTV's. Can't recall which model(s), seems like it might have been the 69(S). Again, once they corrected their contact issue, their guitars were reported to function properly again.

 

And again, these were not guitar killers. I honestly have not seen the high failure rate you seem to be seeing. My 59 switch issue, I saw as a initial release problem, but not a total failure. L6 paid for shipping both ways, and got it back to me in less than a business week after they received it. It was experienced when I received the 59, and so of course it was corrected under warranty all on their dime. All of my Variaxes are out of warranty now (11, 5, and 4 years old). Not saying Variaxes are perfect, but 2 out of my 3 have had no issues whatsoever. The issues I had were not total failures, and as of now, all are perfectly functional. My models are fine to use, and I had had compliments from sound men on my acoustic 6 and 12 patches via my Helix. I find these guitars extremely versatile, for alternate tunings, of which I use the models most.

 

Dave

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Agreed.  Cover the electronics under extended terms.  Alternatively, Line6 might consider reclassifying out of warranty repairs as customer service and marketing tools rather than a profit center.  If the failure rate is really as low as some would like you believe then this shouldn't be a stretch.

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In general principle, guitars with added computerized hardware should have at least a 5 year warranty for those systems

That would be delightful, but I suspect we'll all be ducking out of the way of airborn giraffes first. It would beat out the standard new car warranty, and that's for a product a whole lot more complicated, and with a price tag orders of magnitude beyond that of a Variax.

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That would be delightful, but I suspect we'll all be ducking out of the way of airborn giraffes first. It would beat out the standard new car warranty, and that's for a product a whole lot more complicated, and with a price tag orders of magnitude beyond that of a Variax.

 

Holy smokes. Some long necked spotty animal just flew over my head. I had to duck to get out of it's way!!!!!!!! Could it mean?............Nah.

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In general principle, guitars with added computerized hardware should have at least a 5 year warranty for those systems

 

I totally agree. If Boss can have 5 year warranties on their pedals, even though it's pointless on a product like that, why can't Line 6 have a 5 year warranty on electronics on the Variax? I mean, we gave 1k to them, and I think putting that much into something deserves a little reservation for correcting issues. No one wants to spend 1k on something and have to spend 100s more on repairs because the company doesn't want to have better quality control.

 

Basically it's an ultimatum that says "we're one of the only people that will do this, so either you want it enough to get it and suffer through stupid crap, or just move along"

 

Eventually people WILL move along. The guitarist that inspired me to buy a Variax was dealing with this and sold his. What does that honestly say about the product?

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I totally agree. If Boss can have 5 year warranties on their pedals, even though it's pointless on a product like that, why can't Line 6 have a 5 year warranty on electronics on the Variax?

You answered your own question. A company has absolutely nothing to lose extending a 5 year warranty on a bulletproof product that will probably last 25 years or more, because hardly anyone will ever cash it in...but on stuff that's less robust and prone to long-term issues, having anything more than a minimal warranty period is a good way to go out of business. Does that suck? Sure. Is it fair? Not particularly. But it's also par for the course...

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Since warranties is the tropic here,...

I get the impression your guitar is out of warranty?

If so, is it because time has run out, or are you not the original owner? 

 

If the latter, warranties are not transferable whether Apple, Boss, JBL

or most anyone else that I'm aware of. 

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You answered your own question. A company has absolutely nothing to lose extending a 5 year warranty on a bulletproof product that will probably last 25 years or more, because hardly anyone will ever cash it in...but on stuff that's less robust and prone to long-term issues, having anything more than a minimal warranty period is a good way to go out of business. Does that suck? Sure. Is it fair? Not particularly. But it's also par for the course...

 

I think if they can't provide products that have quality that can last that long, then it's their own fault if it bites them in the lollipop. We should get what we paid for, and I think something that's 1k isn't just buying a roll of paper towels you dispose of after one use, it's a moderate investment. That is something that SHOULD last  at least 5 years. Let's be honest, it should last 10, but ultimately, in terms of needing components replaced, it should be covered for at least 5 years.

 

If this is like a car, where you need to take it in to get fixed every once in a while, I could kind of live with it, but a lot of times, these problems are illusive, and support for these products only go so far.

 

It's infuriating how the Variax is basically an indefinite product, and I honestly, don't think the fact that it's a computer system is a good excuse. Obviously electronics/computer systems can last for decades if taken care of, so we at least want these guitars to last a good amount of time. It should ideally last for at least a few decades.

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Be sure to tell the appliance manufacturers. My $2k fridge had a 6 - 12 month warranty. This is not the old days when you could expect 5 years coverage.

 

Now if you want to enroll in a paid extended warranty program then that is different. But to make ''I feel'' statements is  ridiculous, no-one wants their gear to break but it happens and every mfg has issues. 

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