Upgraded from Variax Standard to JVT-69S

[amsdenj]

I've been using a Variax Standard for about the last 8 months or so. After a good setup it played reasonably well, and the magnetic pickups sounded pretty good. But the models didn't really work out very well. In fact, I preferred the sound of my old Variax 300. The piezo pickups were very out of balance with the higher strings being quite a bit weaker than the low strings. And the plain stings had a kind of resonance or banjo tone that was unplesant and had a strange damping effect on the sustain and tone. I used Workbench to balance the strings and by using the Masonic Plank body model, the models improved quite a bit. But that odd resonance was still there.

 

Oddly as I put more hours into the guitar, with quite a few outside gigs last sommer, its tone and string balance actually improved. I think the piezo pickups weren't seated well in the bridge pieces, and that may have accounted for the lost volume and odd resonance. As the guitar got used, maybe the bridge pieces settled in and the tone improved.

 

I play in a club band that tries to keep the dancers on the floor. So there's not much time between songs, really not enough to switch guitars too often. And I like to use a lot of different styles and tones, including acoustic models to match the songs better and provide a wider range of sounds to the audience. So a Variax with my Helix is a very nice option. I found my really nice Strat and Les Paul set on the stand and didn't get used mostly because the Variax Standard was just more convenient (and lighter).

 

So I though if I'm going to play a Variax, why not get a good one. You buy that justification don't you? So I got a JVT-69S and have to say I'm pretty pleased with the instrument. Its a nice, well designed, well constructed and good playing instrument. The magnetic pickups sound great. And the issues I had with the Variax Standard models is not there with the JVT-69S. The models sound great without making any changes in Workbench. The piezos are well balanced, the ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) sounds natural, and there's no odd resonance. It needed a setup, but what guitar doesn't? I also polished the frets - I like them to be pretty slick and friction free. I played it exclusively at last night gig, and really liked everything about the guitar.

 

Here's a few things I noticed that are different or improvements over the Variax Standard in case anyone is trying to decide which one to get.

 

The quality of the design, components and construction is significantly better. The JVT feels like a quality instrument in your hands. Not so much the Standard, its ok, but not great.

 

I like the JVT-69S neck and jumbo frets. A fatter neck feels better in my hands and is more stable. The jumbo frets make bending easier and more accurate.

 

The fretboard is natural wood and takes neck oil well. To me, a little neck oil makes a new guitar play nicer, almost like its broken in. Wood and oil is a good combination. The Standard seems to have some coating on the fretboard so the oil doesn't penetrate the wood well.

 

The 5-position pickup switch is a little further away from the pickups, has a more precise feel, and takes a little more force to switch. This is great because it reduces the chance of unintentionally changing the pickup with a picking strum, something that seems to happen a lot on the Standard.

 

There's no play in the tremolo bar. I had to use pipe thread seal tape on the Standard to eliminate play in the tremolo bar. The thread bar slot goes all the way through the bridge block, so you can't add a tremolo bar spring to eliminate the play. The tape has to be changed pretty often.

[cruisinon2]

I've been using a Variax Standard for about the last 8 months or so. After a good setup it played reasonably well, and the magnetic pickups sounded pretty good. But the models didn't really work out very well. In fact, I preferred the sound of my old Variax 300. The piezo pickups were very out of balance with the higher strings being quite a bit weaker than the low strings. And the plain stings had a kind of resonance or banjo tone that was unplesant and had a strange damping effect on the sustain and tone. I used Workbench to balance the strings and by using the Masonic Plank body model, the models improved quite a bit. But that odd resonance was still there.

 

Oddly as I put more hours into the guitar, with quite a few outside gigs last sommer, its tone and string balance actually improved. I think the piezo pickups weren't seated well in the bridge pieces, and that may have accounted for the lost volume and odd resonance. As the guitar got used, maybe the bridge pieces settled in and the tone improved.

 

I play in a club band that tries to keep the dancers on the floor. So there's not much time between songs, really not enough to switch guitars too often. And I like to use a lot of different styles and tones, including acoustic models to match the songs better and provide a wider range of sounds to the audience. So a Variax with my Helix is a very nice option. I found my really nice Strat and Les Paul set on the stand and didn't get used mostly because the Variax Standard was just more convenient (and lighter).

 

So I though if I'm going to play a Variax, why not get a good one. You buy that justification don't you? So I got a JVT-69S and have to say I'm pretty pleased with the instrument. Its a nice, well designed, well constructed and good playing instrument. The magnetic pickups sound great. And the issues I had with the Variax Standard models is not there with the JVT-69S. The models sound great without making any changes in Workbench. The piezos are well balanced, the ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) sounds natural, and there's no odd resonance. It needed a setup, but what guitar doesn't? I also polished the frets - I like them to be pretty slick and friction free. I played it exclusively at last night gig, and really liked everything about the guitar.

 

Here's a few things I noticed that are different or improvements over the Variax Standard in case anyone is trying to decide which one to get.

 

The quality of the design, components and construction is significantly better. The JVT feels like a quality instrument in your hands. Not so much the Standard, its ok, but not great.

 

I like the JVT-69S neck and jumbo frets. A fatter neck feels better in my hands and is more stable. The jumbo frets make bending easier and more accurate.

 

The fretboard is natural wood and takes neck oil well. To me, a little neck oil makes a new guitar play nicer, almost like its broken in. Wood and oil is a good combination. The Standard seems to have some coating on the fretboard so the oil doesn't penetrate the wood well.

 

The 5-position pickup switch is a little further away from the pickups, has a more precise feel, and takes a little more force to switch. This is great because it reduces the chance of unintentionally changing the pickup with a picking strum, something that seems to happen a lot on the Standard.

 

There's no play in the tremolo bar. I had to use pipe thread seal tape on the Standard to eliminate play in the tremolo bar. The thread bar slot goes all the way through the bridge block, so you can't add a tremolo bar spring to eliminate the play. The tape has to be changed pretty often.

None of this is a surprise....well, except for the neck. I loathed the stock neck on the 69, and it was gone less than a month after I got the guitar. But the rest of your experience all makes perfect sense. The Standard is a Pacifica stuffed with Variax guts. And a Pacifica is....well, its a Pacifica. Nuff said.

[datacommando]

Good to hear that you made the jump from the standard to the more well appointed model. As "crusinon2", above notes, the basic Variax is a reworked Pacifica with bells and whistles.

 

Hope you did the Line 6, (Line 5 😂), owners survey and let them know how it can be improved.

http://pages.line6.com/index.php/email/emailWebview?ftf=true&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTlRVellXVTJNREV4TlRRNCIsInQiOiJoTlAwaXBUUkw1QlFqNEs0RFlnbVhsVjZVbjB5SkJZV0dxRGpKUmpzRmRVSEFyNDZSWXltS3pnRllWWVZKNGxcL0g0dDVUMXNMY3hvY1wvVHVub3FEdmZ4TEVUZExFWXNkYnRkK0VqQ2RQSVJ2MFhJME9tUWpqcUtBdW5PY2FVMGtzIn0%3D