Want to pick up a JTV59 or Shuriken , but...

[RobsGuitar72]

..after reading here it seems like the have nothing but issues. Is it just because folks come here for help and no one posts they’re having a good time with theirs? Or are they really loaded with problems?

[silverhead]

17 minutes ago, RobsGuitar72 said:

...... Is it just because folks come here for help and no one posts they’re having a good time with theirs?

 

Mostly, yes.

[RobsGuitar72]

23 minutes ago, silverhead said:

 

Mostly, yes.

That’s good to hear, thanks. Think I’m gonna gona go with the JTV 59, But the metalhead part of me digs the Shuriken...

 

Thanks again for your response, silverhead

[jerseyboy]

I don’t care to gloat or make too big of deal about my Variax uses and experiences.  Mostly very positive experiences.  

 

Some people develop contentious relationship with this forum due to the constant preaching and admonishments about not touching anything.  Well, here’s one of my latest “touches” massaging Hipshot Bender to an old 500.  Had to drill a small hole (careful use of a long aircraft bit) and of course the B string is now routed differently and exerts different down pressure than the other strings.  Simple string volume level adjustment in WB sorted that out.  

 

Talk about a GOOD TIME and working surprisingly well.  The red plastic helps keep the bridge saddle from moving and adding funny grinding sounds.  Hangs sharp a little bit but even the best G&L installations do that to some degree.  Most of us using these pullers learn to give the string a little tug while playing to maintain tuning.  A little oil at the friction point also helps.  I’ll probably add small diameter nylon tubing under the bridge saddle to better help glide the string path…

 

I also steadily play/work JTV59’s and they’re great all around axes.  Shuriken could be fun but probably beyond my age group….
 

[RobsGuitar72]

2 hours ago, jerseyboy said:

I don’t care to gloat or make too big of deal about my Variax uses and experiences.  Mostly very positive experiences.  

 

Some people develop contentious relationship with this forum due to the constant preaching and admonishments about not touching anything.  Well, here’s one of my latest “touches” massaging Hipshot Bender to an old 500.  Had to drill a small hole (careful use of a long aircraft bit) and of course the B string is now routed differently and exerts different down pressure than the other strings.  Simple string volume level adjustment in WB sorted that out.  

 

Talk about a GOOD TIME and working surprisingly well.  The red plastic helps keep the bridge saddle from moving and adding funny grinding sounds.  Hangs sharp a little bit but even the best G&L installations do that to some degree.  Most of us using these pullers learn to give the string a little tug while playing to maintain tuning.  A little oil at the friction point also helps.  I’ll probably add small diameter nylon tubing under the bridge saddle to better help glide the string path…

 

I also steadily play/work JTV59’s and they’re great all around axes.  Shuriken could be fun but probably beyond my age group….
 

Wow! That’s really cool! Thank you for sharing!! I bet that’s a blast. I was just talking about b Bender’s with some folks.  Very cool indeed. 

 

 

[jerseyboy]

I had the tremendous good fortune of lessons with Will Ray during the 90’s in LA.  Highly recommend checking into his use of B bender.  

 

Clarence White is the original bender pioneer of course and many other Gnashville Cats over the years.  

 

B benders help drive sweet country licks but another useful trick is to shorten the interval between high E and B strings for slide parts which lend similar to open E tuned rig.  

 

Although the curved top might cause some mounting difficulties JTV59 bridge actually lends itself well to the Hipshot string routing.  I'm gonna try fitting one on a 59 someday.  

[Kilrahi]

A support forum is going to draw in all of the people with problems or concerns. Online reviews should at least give you some comfort as both guitars tend to be ranked pretty high.  Especially when you consider how picky and bitchy guitar players as a group can be, solid reviews for such a unique idea is a confidence builder. I understand your concern though, long ago when I was researching the JTV-59 I checked SOOOO many forums and reviews because one, the guitar as a concept sounds too good to be true, and two, it's a pricey sum to pay for something that you're already unsure of as a concept.

 

I finally leaped in. Here's the two things I can tell you:

 

1. My JTV-59 is my baby and my go to guitar in the vast majority of situations. I LOVE how many sounds I can get out of the thing, and the instant tuning changes (I play a lot of wacko tunings) work like a dream. 

 

2. IF you run into issues, Line 6's warranty support is iron clad awesome. They'll make sure you're happy in the end. 

[RobsGuitar72]

4 hours ago, Kilrahi said:

A support forum is going to draw in all of the people with problems or concerns. Online reviews should at least give you some comfort as both guitars tend to be ranked pretty high.  Especially when you consider how picky and bitchy guitar players as a group can be, solid reviews for such a unique idea is a confidence builder. I understand your concern though, long ago when I was researching the JTV-59 I checked SOOOO many forums and reviews because one, the guitar as a concept sounds too good to be true, and two, it's a pricey sum to pay for something that you're already unsure of as a concept.

 

I finally leaped in. Here's the two things I can tell you:

 

1. My JTV-59 is my baby and my go to guitar in the vast majority of situations. I LOVE how many sounds I can get out of the thing, and the instant tuning changes (I play a lot of wacko tunings) work like a dream. 

 

2. IF you run into issues, Line 6's warranty support is iron clad awesome. They'll make sure you're happy in the end. 

Awesome!! Thank you for that Kilrahi. I was looking on Youtube today regarding different Variax models. The Standard looks good too, actually. I like that it has the five way switch. Seems a lot of folks use them with the Helix, but man, that’s a lot of $$. I don’t think I need all that. The guitars seem to offer enough options on their own.

 

Thank you so much for the boost of confidence. I’ll probably pull the trigger on the 59 or the Standard. Not really caring for what I’ve seen regarding the Shuriken..even though at its heart, it’s probably the same as all these of the models...

[blekenbleu]

3 hours ago, RobsGuitar72 said:

 Seems a lot of folks use them with the Helix, but man, that’s a lot of $$. I don’t think I need all that. The guitars seem to offer enough options on their own.

Although less nice than Helix, an HD500 works well and sounds great (IMO) with a JTV and can be had for around US $200 used from eBay.

[RobsGuitar72]

23 minutes ago, blekenbleu said:

Although less nice than Helix, an HD500 works well and sounds great (IMO) with a JTV and can be had for around US $200 used from eBay.

Great to know!! Thank you my friend :)

 

Cheers

[Jugghaid]

I love my JTV59. I did have the problem with the artifacts when on high gain amps with the low E string, but after reading several threads here, that was fixed with string gauge.

 

It's a great versatile piece of gear.

[jam92189]

On 4/5/2019 at 3:41 PM, Jugghaid said:

I love my JTV59. I did have the problem with the artifacts when on high gain amps with the low E string, but after reading several threads here, that was fixed with string gauge.

 

It's a great versatile piece of gear.

 what string gage fixed this issue I am having this issue with my shuriken