JTSC777 Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I have just purchased a used minty fresh JTV. After reading all the negative posts here about how crap the Spank HD models are I had to laugh! They are as rich and beautiful as all the other modelled tones in this guitar.I am an old strat player for many many years. Line 6 got this critical model right on. Through FRFR speakers or my friends Mesa they kill. They do exactly what a vintage Stratocaster pickup does which is not much lol! Players of more modern Super Strat designs wont like this model but I love it. It is faithful to the old Strats I grew up playing.Kind of thin and anemic.A good Strat player plays the amp too and that is a big part of it. He/She also knows how to work the string against the fret and make other subtle adjustments too. Really enjoying this marvelous very well concieved instruments.All my older grizzled jaded geetar player buddies absolutely love it! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshimkoski Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I can't say that I love the Spank model but it does do a pretty good job of capturing the sound of a Strat. All the models are pretty good. I wouldn't call any of them mind blowing but they give you the flavor you're looking for without much fuss. The only downside is the inability to dig in while palm muting. There's just too much "plink" as a result of the piezo pickups, in my opinion. For me, my JTV 59 is my favorite guitar all around. It sounds and feels great without even touching the modeling capability, its integration with the Helix is just fantastic (lack of Workbench HD integration is the only miss), the models give you a nice flavor of the guitars they are emulating, and the ability to quickly change tunings is a beautiful thing (if you don't mind the "wobble" sound that can occur on single notes that ring out. In a live situation I don't think its that much of an issue). Its a solid guitar even with its two quirks. I really hope Line 6 doesn't abandon the JTV line. I'm hoping for version 2 JTVs with the "plink" and "wobble" issues fixed and improved modeling. I won't hold my breath on that but if they do materialize, I'll be the first in line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTSC777 Posted December 8, 2016 Author Share Posted December 8, 2016 Mine does not have noticable plink.I put a piece of velcro behind the nut to dampen those overtones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jshimkoski Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Mine does not have noticable plink.I put a piece of velcro behind the nut to dampen those overtones. I have the velcro on mine as well. The plink comes from the piezos not from the headstock's overtones (that was a separate issue). I've found that most of the plink can be alleviated if I palm mute a bit further back on the bridge than I typically would. Its not perfect but its better. My guess is either you haven't recorded with it yet or you palm mute a bit further back on the bridge than I do when you play. Either way, its a rad guitar and I love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTSC777 Posted December 8, 2016 Author Share Posted December 8, 2016 I have only recorded my Variax 500 a little bit.Dont see myself recording much if at all with this one.I look at these Variaxes/ PODs as great live gigging tools.I am assuming that many here are heavy metalish palm muting kind of players. Thus all the problems with the plink palm mutitis disease. Having the individual string levels lower rather than the default 100% helps with this too.First thing I did is lower all of them a bit.I dont really do any heavy palm muting and even when playing Crazy Train type stuff mute using the fingers of my fretting hand as well as lightly palm muting.Not a bridge mashing player no lol! And yes it is a radical instrument and a hell of a lot of fun which as long as I have played is what I am looking for FUN! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kemperman Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 I have just purchased a used minty fresh JTV. After reading all the negative posts here about how crap the Spank HD models are I had to laugh! They are as rich and beautiful as all the other modelled tones in this guitar.I am an old strat player for many many years. Line 6 got this critical model right on. Through FRFR speakers or my friends Mesa they kill. They do exactly what a vintage Stratocaster pickup does which is not much lol! Players of more modern Super Strat designs wont like this model but I love it. It is faithful to the old Strats I grew up playing.Kind of thin and anemic.A good Strat player plays the amp too and that is a big part of it. He/She also knows how to work the string against the fret and make other subtle adjustments too. Really enjoying this marvelous very well concieved instruments.All my older grizzled jaded geetar player buddies absolutely love it! I just picked up a used 69 model after selling a 3 single coil model two years back as I find I need one for a band job in Spain, it was upgraded to hd by the previous user and sounded so bad I have had to factory re-set it but still the strat patches are weak and awful compared to my last one,they seem to vary a lot as for a bit I used a 600 that was great =, this one will need a lot of tweaks to be acceptible . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTSC777 Posted February 27, 2017 Author Share Posted February 27, 2017 The patch level setting of each modelled guitar is your friend.I have them all balanced out and have no problems with any of them being weak.Make a Strat body with P90s and see how that works. I have a Variax 500 that has a spank model that sounds the same to me as my JTV. Like a Stratocaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTSC777 Posted February 27, 2017 Author Share Posted February 27, 2017 Also Kemperman I play through tube amps mostly with some HD500/ Boss ME70 etc...for effects.Most of what I am after comes from using a real amp.The Kemper is amazing but it is not an amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle_Os Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 YES! Thank you, JTSC! My strat sounds incredible. And so too do the Strat sounds in my JTV. They sound great. Different, but great. I use'em all the time. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocco_Crocco Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 The Spank model on my 89 is awesome. The Spank on my 59.... not so much. Not very Stratty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashcraaft Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 The Spank model on my 89 is awesome. The Spank on my 59.... not so much. Not very Stratty. I am unsure if you "hear" the tone through the feeling of a more vibrating neck or in the body which could be less solid and thick than the neck/body of a 59? Model tones should be very similar otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricstudioc Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 .All my older grizzled jaded geetar player buddies absolutely love it! I'm sorry - have we met....? Memory's not what it used to be... I'm sorta in jshim's camp - default strat models are servicable if not inspiring, but then the whole guitar - to me - is about flavors, and there's plenty to be had. My use until recently was completely live, and having that many tonal options in one axe has been a godsend. Not sure if I care about the Tyler line per se, but I'm hoping they haven't bailed on the HD innards just yet - tho the lack of any updates for quite a while now doesn't bode well. Here's hoping... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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