Is Line 6 Still Making the JTV-69 (HSS)

[Oyster38N]

Is Line 6 Still Making the JTV-69 (HSS).  I mainly see theJTV-69S (SSS).  How can a person fine the complete list of JTV and colors for each model?

[brue58ski]

Go here and scroll down

 

http://line6.com/products/

[dep825]

But to Oyster38N's point, there seems to be no comparative chart of ALL Line 6 modelling guitars with a complete feature list for each (neck profile, fret sizes/height, scale length, list of any modelling/tuning differences, ALL colors available in each model, differences (if any) between US/Korea made units, etc, etc)...It is a bewildering complexity of products and no where can I find  a comprehensive comparative listing.  Software manufacturers often provide a comparison  chart for various versions....Line 6 seems (as far as I can tell) to provide NOTHING of the sort. It is a disservice to potential buyers and likely discourages potential purchasers (like me) from buying. Is it that Line 6 doesn't want to sell that many guitars?...so they make the buying process enormously difficult by not providing a detailed comparison chart. The page link above is repetitive fluff for the various models and zero crucial details. This makes a potential purchaser dig thru all the tech specs...The website is no help as the models are sprayed all over the place with no single comparison chart...it seems on the website that you have to know what you want...to be able to select what you want...I find this circular thinking. Dealers are no help as most do not stock Line 6 guitars and the one I found, has no depth....further they were not on display...so they have to open up new boxes...which makes them risk having to sell the demo as an "open box"......so WHY does Line6 make the buying process so difficult????   I have had to read thru hundreds of postings on this message board trying to piece together the spec details of the various models...why is it so hard?  If there is a comparative chart, pls point me to it. Eventually, I may plow my way thru this complicated process......or I might just give up (eg Taylor T5) and go a different direction.  Thanks for any thoughts. 

[phil_m]

But to Oyster38N's point, there seems to be no comparative chart of ALL Line 6 modelling guitars with a complete feature list for each (neck profile, fret sizes/height, scale length, list of any modelling/tuning differences, ALL colors available in each model, differences (if any) between US/Korea made units, etc, etc)...It is a bewildering complexity of products and no where can I find  a comprehensive comparative listing.  Software manufacturers often provide a comparison  chart for various versions....Line 6 seems (as far as I can tell) to provide NOTHING of the sort. It is a disservice to potential buyers and likely discourages potential purchasers (like me) from buying. Is it that Line 6 doesn't want to sell that many guitars?...so they make the buying process enormously difficult by not providing a detailed comparison chart. The page link above is repetitive fluff for the various models and zero crucial details. This makes a potential purchaser dig thru all the tech specs...The website is no help as the models are sprayed all over the place with no single comparison chart...it seems on the website that you have to know what you want...to be able to select what you want...I find this circular thinking. Dealers are no help as most do not stock Line 6 guitars and the one I found, has no depth....further they were not on display...so they have to open up new boxes...which makes them risk having to sell the demo as an "open box"......so WHY does Line6 make the buying process so difficult????   I have had to read thru hundreds of postings on this message board trying to piece together the spec details of the various models...why is it so hard?  If there is a comparative chart, pls point me to it. Eventually, I may plow my way thru this complicated process......or I might just give up (eg Taylor T5) and go a different direction.  Thanks for any thoughts. 

 

The "Knowledge Base" portion of this site is full of useful info:

 

http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/guitars/james-tyler-variax-guitars/james-tyler-variax-variax-standard-variax-shu-r31

[cruisinon2]

I'll try and distill the "bewildering complexity" a bit...

 

JTV69: Strat clone, 25.5" scale, Louisville Slugger profile

 

Variax Standard: See JTV69.

 

JTV59: LP clone, 24.75" scale, chunky LP profile.

 

JTV89F: Ibanez clone, 25.5" scale, shredder-ific profile.

 

Shuriken: A 27.0" scale, "Jetsons"-looking, battleship grey Djent-mobile... slap on some high-tension telephone wire and tune down to frequencies only whales can hear. Strictly for playing in weird time signatures. It's got non-circumventable 4/4 kill-switch...if you try to play "Smoke On The Water, it just shuts off.

 

Colors? Meh...I'm colorblind, couldn't care less if they were all hot pink.😉

[dep825]

Thanks for the info....and guess what?...after 2 days of searching I FOUND a comparison chart....buried in resources... http://line6.com/variax-modeling-guitars/resources/ 

It leaves out certain models (eg the JTV 89 (which I THINK existed)) and mention of the US versions and when printed is very hard to read...but, nevertheless, it exists and kudos to Line 6 for creating it.......just seems to me it s/b easier to find to make the purchasing puzzle less daunting.....and thanks for the other references.... 

[cruisinon2]

Thanks for the info....and guess what?...after 2 days of searching I FOUND a comparison chart....buried in resources... http://line6.com/variax-modeling-guitars/resources/

It leaves out certain models (eg the JTV 89 (which I THINK existed)) and mention of the US versions and when printed is very hard to read...but, nevertheless, it exists and kudos to Line 6 for creating it.......just seems to me it s/b easier to find to make the purchasing puzzle less daunting.....and thanks for the other references....

Forget the US versions...you could pay the navy less money for a mothballed aircraft carrier. Nearly $4K for a guitar with identical specs, save a few extra color options, the vague promise of better cuts of wood (quarter-sawn necks, etc), and the exact same guts as the guitars that are $1K or less.

[psarkissian]

crusinon2,... ever play a US one? Hipshot tuners, nicely contoured hand worked body.

Had a US one on the bench for a minor thing just yesterday. Don't get many on my

bench, know the guy who does the US builds, good work. Good feel. Very nice guitars.

 

The on my bench was an 89F though. Still, pretty good.

 

[cruisinon2]

crusinon2,... ever play a US one? Hipshot tuners, nicely contoured hand worked body.

Had a US one on the bench for a minor thing just yesterday. Don't get many on my

bench, know the guy who does the US builds, good work. Good feel. Very nice guitars.

 

The on my bench was an 89F though. Still, pretty good.

Only played one...Admittedly, it was a short test drive (did a gig a few months back, guy in one of the other bands that night had one) but I can't say I noticed anything different about the "contours" compared to my Korean JTV69, and frankly "hand worked" can mean just about anything you want it to mean.

 

Regardless, while there was nothing "wrong" with it per se, I maintain that the asking price is ludicrous, especially for a bolt-on. It certainly wasn't a piece of crap, but I'm sorry, it's just not 4 thousand dollar guitar either.

[psarkissian]

"... frankly "hand worked" can mean just about anything you want it to mean"--- yes.

But it's my understanding that it starts out machined, then finishing work by hand (I'll have to ask him about more details

on that, been a while since our last chat). I notice it more on the 59 and 89/89F than I do with the 69, mostly slight difference

in contour in the heel and in the waist and bevel on the lower bout. Very subtle and nice, not too over done.

 

Nice that you got to play one. The US build guy (one of Tyler's people) and his people do nice work. he and I trade notes

from time to time, keeping up on stuff.

 

If I made a wage as a player, I might spring for the $4K for something like that feels good and plays well, so that would be worth

it to me. If I were a busker and fancy instrument wasn't an issue, I'd cheap-out for something functional only. Wouldn't be worth

it to me, having a $4K guitar under those circumstances.  Hmmm,... there's the crux of it, is it worth it to me, for what I'm doing

with it? Something to ask ourselves.

 

[cruisinon2]

"... frankly "hand worked" can mean just about anything you want it to mean"--- yes.

But it's my understanding that it starts out machined, then finishing work by hand (I'll have to ask him about more details

on that, been a while since our last chat). I notice it more on the 59 and 89/89F than I do with the 69, mostly slight difference

in contour in the heel and in the waist and bevel on the lower bout. Very subtle and nice, not too over done.

 

Nice that you got to play one. The US build guy (one of Tyler's people) and his people do nice work. he and I trade notes

from time to time, keeping up on stuff.

 

If I made a wage as a player, I might spring for the $4K for something like that feels good and plays well, so that would be worth

it to me. If I were a busker and fancy instrument wasn't an issue, I'd cheap-out for something functional only. Wouldn't be worth

it to me, having a $4K guitar under those circumstances. Hmmm,... there's the crux of it, is it worth it to me, for what I'm doing

with it? Something to ask ourselves.

I have no problem dropping money on a quality instrument. But if I'm gonna do that, I want input...and it needs to be more than just writing a check and saying "I'll take a blue one". I've owned one of these for nearly 20 years:

 

https://www.phiferguitars.com/models

 

There's nothing on the instrument that he doesn't machine himself, except the tuners and the jack. Everything else is wood, even the knobs, bridge, and covers for the truss rod and electronics. Hell you choose your top from all the wood he's got on hand. When he's ready to shape the neck, you go to the shop...it's a baseball bat initially, but you tell him what you want (or bring a guitar with a neck you're comfortable on that he'll match) and you stand there watching while he does it. Material comes off incrementally until you're happy. THAT'S "hand worked"...so maybe I'm spoiled. "Custom" is usually nothing more than a marketing ploy...and rarely does the price tag justify what you're actually getting.

[psarkissian]

Nice guitars.

 

""Custom" is usually nothing more than a marketing ploy...and rarely does the price tag justify what you're actually getting"---

Maybe you should hang out with some of the few custom guitar people I've come to know. for them, custom is an art, and well worth it.

"Anything worth doing, is worth doing right", as the saying goes.

 

[cruisinon2]

Nice guitars.

 

""Custom" is usually nothing more than a marketing ploy...and rarely does the price tag justify what you're actually getting"---

Maybe you should hang out with some of the few custom guitar people I've come to know. for them, custom is an art, and well worth it.

"Anything worth doing, is worth doing right", as the saying goes.

Huh?... was that not what I was rattling on about? That quote was referring to production line stuff masquerading as "custom". Believe me, I have no trouble telling the difference.

[psarkissian]

And I agree.

 

However the US builds are not entirely production, as they are more of a build-on-demand.

So they are not going to have a lot of stock on hand for the US builds, like they do for the Korean

builds. It's almost semi-custom in that way.

[cruisinon2]

And I agree.

 

However the US builds are not entirely production, as they are more of a build-on-demand.

So they are not going to have a lot of stock on hand for the US builds, like they do for the Korean

builds. It's almost semi-custom in that way.

Lol..."semi-custom". I like it... that's up there with "a little bit pregnant", and "handi-capable".

[psarkissian]

Exaggeration is hardly a comparison. Besides, I don't know what else to call it. Semi-custom is the closest I could come up with. Having done both, those are the

terms my colleagues and I have come up over the last few eons, short of creating a new terminology out of whole cloth. i get your point, just wish there was better

terminology.

 

It's not like the US builds are full-on production line produced, like the Koren ones, and yet not custom-custom like Singleton or Romero guitars. Somewhere in between.

The US builds are a different version of the product, and made on-demand in smaller quantities by Tyler's people, as needed, just like Tyler's other guitars here in LA.

[Dunkin_Dal]

Don't know if you ever found the Black 69 you were looking for but I have one I'll sell you if still interested. Mint only issue is the door were the VDI cable plugs in is missing.