cruisinon2 Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Anyone know why you can't buy a replacement piezo saddle for a JTV69? I see that they sell them in the online store for the older Variax models...are they gonna make us all buy an entire bridge if one pickup craps out? Mine's working fine, just curious... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jandrio Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Very good question indeed! Looking forward for a very reasonable answer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boblaw Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Parts availability is a deal breaker for my future purchases of line6 gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeugle Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 which store? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 which store? Scroll up...top right of menu selections , next to blog link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snhirsch Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Parts availability is a deal breaker for my future purchases of line6 gear. Then it's fortunate for both you and Line 6 that almost all parts are available from third-party distributors, e,g.: http://www.fullcompass.com/product/341982.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 That doesn't say if it is JTV or old model. Looks like old model to me. The JTV uses different piezos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snhirsch Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 That doesn't say if it is JTV or old model. Looks like old model to me. The JTV uses different piezos. Hmm. Good point. I guess I just assumed that because it was in a list with a bunch of parts that definitely were for the JTV Variax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edstar1960 Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Well - if your JTV piezo's ever need replacing - in the absence of individual piezo replacements perhaps that is the time to consider this option: http://www.graphtech.com/products/product-detail/pn-8593-c0-ghost-loaded-resomax-nw1-wraparound-bridge---chrome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arislaf Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Well - if your JTV piezo's ever need replacing - in the absence of individual piezo replacements perhaps that is the time to consider this option: http://www.graphtech.com/products/product-detail/pn-8593-c0-ghost-loaded-resomax-nw1-wraparound-bridge---chrome Won't do, this is for 59 , we are looking for the 69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edstar1960 Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Won't do, this is for 59 , we are looking for the 69 Ooops! Sorry my mistake. Is the 69 a standard tremolo type bridge or is it another Tyler custom part? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 Ooops! Sorry my mistake. Is the 69 a standard tremolo type bridge or is it another Tyler custom part? Pretty sure its a Tyler custom part...its got his name carved into it, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arislaf Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Although I have a 69s I am not sure...Seems like the Variax 700 tremolo system...But I don't know if the internals are the same, to fit the PN8000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 if you need to replace one, might as well replace all six... I hear these are better than the original... http://www.graphtech.com/products/brands/ghost/ghost-pickups---guitar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Those will not work for a JTV69. The bridge is custom and not like a Strat bridge. The Ghost pickups will not work here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edstar1960 Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Pretty sure its a Tyler custom part...its got his name carved into it, lol. LOL - yes of course - what I meant was, could it be replaced by a standard strat trem bridge or one of the many strat clone options or one of the graph tech alternatives for a strat? Or is it so different that you can only use the Tyler 69 bridge/trem ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 LOL - yes of course - what I meant was, could it be replaced by a standard strat trem bridge or one of the many strat clone options or one of the graph tech alternatives for a strat? Or is it so different that you can only use the Tyler 69 bridge/trem ? I suppose that is a possibility...I'll burn that bridge when I come to it, I guess. Just seemed odd that they continue to sell ones for discontinued guitars, but not the current ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edstar1960 Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 I suppose that is a possibility...I'll burn that bridge when I come to it, I guess. Just seemed odd that they continue to sell ones for discontinued guitars, but not the current ones. Did you raise a support ticket and ask Line 6 directly? They must be able to source single piezo replacements to fix any problem guitars that get returned. They would be able to tell you if they can do it for you and at what cost or where you can obtain your own replacement to do the repair yourself. But I agree, it is odd that they are not shown as options in the SHOP menu - the JTVs are a couple of years old now so it is possible some that have been heavily used may need new piezos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Those will not work for a JTV69. The bridge is custom and not like a Strat bridge. The Ghost pickups will not work here. I have not done this myself but I have read numerous others that have... and they report very good results... http://graphtech.com/products/brands/ghost/product-detail/ghost-strat-tele-style-pickups-import-spacing---6-string?id=ba7387b5-61c0-41b2-912b-8aabfaacbd6a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 I have not seen one post where anyone replaced the pickups on a JTV69 or 69S. The Ghost pickups will not work directly. The strings would be shifted over too much. If you have seen such a post I would love to have a pointer to it. (Not that I plan to change the Piezo's on my 69S) I did change the pickups on my old Variax 500 to the ones you pointed to. They work great! If they were compatible with the JTV 69 bridge I would consider them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 I stand corrected... it appears you are right about those for the old Variax, I have not seen any specifically for the new JTV. I did find a couple of real interesting threads I had not seen before on dialing in the JTV trem system... http://line6.com/supportarchivenew/thread/73637 http://line6.com/supportarchivenew/thread/72577 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 Did you raise a support ticket and ask Line 6 directly? They must be able to source single piezo replacements to fix any problem guitars that get returned. They would be able to tell you if they can do it for you and at what cost or where you can obtain your own replacement to do the repair yourself. But I agree, it is odd that they are not shown as options in the SHOP menu - the JTVs are a couple of years old now so it is possible some that have been heavily used may need new piezos. No...there's nothing wrong with mine, I was just thinking out loud. I saw the older piezos for sale directly from Line 6, but no mention of anything for any of the JTVs. Seems odd now that the line is a couple years old, as you said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Not a trivial difference. I doubt that Graphtech would sell enough of them to make it worthwhile for them to design a part that would work in the JTV69 Trem bridge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arislaf Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Think I found em. http://www.graphtech.com/products/brands/ghost/product-detail/pn-8002-l0-ghost-strat-elite-style-pickups-lefty---6-strings?id=a502ed85-e860-4115-af57-bc85a8649df2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Think I found em. http://www.graphtech.com/products/brands/ghost/product-detail/pn-8002-l0-ghost-strat-elite-style-pickups-lefty---6-strings?id=a502ed85-e860-4115-af57-bc85a8649df2 Nice...good find. Looks like it would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Those do look like they would work! Great find! Nice to know they are there. I hope somebody here tries them and reports the results here. I do not intend to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Those do look like they would work! Great find! Nice to know they are there. I hope somebody here tries them and reports the results here. I do not intend to do so. yeah...I'll wait till there's a problem too, but at least theres something out there that appears like it would work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diggerbarnz Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Well - I'm havin enough problems w/mine so depending on what vendors gonna do to help...I may be in line for this in a couple months time Correction - took global strings to -5.0....seems better ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericgustin Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 http://www.fullcompass.com/product/445135.html there it is. very tricky to find all the jtv stuff on full compass site. your welcome. :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColonelForbin Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I copied this somewhere else in yonder forum, but I can't find it, so will re-paste here. I emailed Graphtech about the replacement options on a JTV59; and this was their response: ------------------------------------------------------------ Gray Bramwell : gray@graphtech.comCustomer & Product Support t: 1.800.388.7011 ext. 123t: 604.940.5353 ext. 123 f: 604.940.4961 Thank you for the email and interest in Graph Tech. I would be happy to help with your inquiry.We have had many customers replace their stock Variax saddles with the our piezo elements, here is some great info from the “support†section of our web-site.....Can I replace the saddles on my Line6 Variax with ghost saddles?You can replace the LR Baggs saddles on your Strat-style Variax bridge with Graph Tech ghost saddles (PN-8000-00). These are made of String Saver composite material, and house pickups similar to the ones that came with your Variax. Unfortunately, at the present time we do not offer saddles that are compatible with the wraparound design. Can I plug the pickup saddles from my Variax Line 6 into the ghost preamp?The Variax saddles are electrically compatible with the ghost preamp and MIDI interface but Variax saddles lack the plug-in style connectors on our modular system. To overcome this, order the BE-0511-00 extension wiring harness, and solder wires from your Variax saddles to the pins on the harness. You will then have Variax saddles that plug into the ghost system. Can I run both the Variax and the Hexpander off the same set of saddles?Some Graph Tech customers have tried this with a simple Y-connection and found that the two electronic circuits interfere with each other if they're both powered on. If either is shut off, the other one works fine, so yes, you can run one or the other, but not both at the same time. The difficulty with running two systems from two manufacturers off the same set of pickup saddles is that there may be loading, impedance mismatch, or other unpredictable interactions between the two electronic systems, when they share a common node at the connection to the pickup. There may be another way to do this, perhaps with some kind of buffer between the pickups and the circuits, but the solution remains undiscovered at this time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Question I am interested in researching possible compatibility of your piezo bridges as a replacement for a Line6 'James Tyler Variax', in particular, the JTV59,which is the version that most closely resembles a Les Paul style guitar. People on the Line6 discussion forum about the series of guitar have mentioned your bridge product as an upgrade option, and no one really knows for sure if it would be even remotely feasible. I realize this question's answer in all likelyhood lies somewhere between the two companies, but, I figured can't hurt to ask! For what it's worth, here is the link to the guitar I am referring to: http://line6.com/jtv-59/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 http://www.fullcompass.com/product/445135.html there it is. very tricky to find all the jtv stuff on full compass site. your welcome. :) http://www.fullcompass.com/product/445135.html there it is. very tricky to find all the jtv stuff on full compass site. your welcome. :) wow...nice job. you just made a bunch of friends!! well there ya go folks...anyone having insurrmountable issues with piezo wackiness, might be worth the $72 to try a different set of pickup elements...who knows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snhirsch Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 The fact that the GraphTech saddles fit mechanically on a JTV-69 is only about half the battle. Removing the original pickups will require popping the pins from the mini 8-pin header at the PCB end, cutting apart the joined shields in each group of three and slicing the gray plastic jacket on each group along its length to separate the wires. After installing the new saddles, all six GraphTech leads must be terminated on the 8-pin header. Pins are probably available from a good electronics supplier (Mouser or DigiKey), but I can tell you from experience that insertion pins of this size are not a lot of fun to install without the proper tool and crimp die. Such tools are invariably proprietary and tend to be shockingly expensive. (Yes, you can probably solder the pins on but it requires a needle-tip, temperature controlled iron, a very steady hand and more than a bit of luck. Any overflow down the body of the pin and it will either not insert into the body or will fail to retain properly). None of this is rocket science, but it takes good bench skills, good eyesight and a lot of patience. It's not a given that a guitar tech - even a very good one - will be able to pull this off. I have been corresponding with Mr. Bramwell at GraphTech in the hopes that I can convince them to offer some sort of dedicated kit having the pickup leads pre-cut and pins mounted ready to poke into the connector body. All I received on the first round was the same canned response posted above, so I'm not terribly hopeful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 I have been corresponding with Mr. Bramwell at GraphTech in the hopes that I can convince them to offer some sort of dedicated kit having the pickup leads pre-cut and pins mounted ready to poke into the connector body. All I received on the first round was the same canned response posted above, so I'm not terribly hopeful. I doubt Line 6 would allow this. I'd think that some sort of licensing would be at issue. Nothing quite like having a stranglehold on the market and a captive audience. Companies love having proprietary everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I can't think that it's any more difficult than the replacement I did on my Variax 500. It does require good soldering and cable prep skills and the right tools to do it but if they fit mechanically they will work. I am not sure that there is enough volume for JTV's to convince GraphTech to make a special kit to do this. My results were good on my 500 but one slip and you are going to have to buy another piezo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 My results were good on my 500 but one slip and you are going to have to buy another piezo. "Doh!"....$12.00 "Doh!"....$12.00 :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Yup. A 12 pack for every slip. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyayyy Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Removing the original pickups will require popping the pins from the mini 8-pin header at the PCB end, cutting apart the joined shields in each group of three Couldn't I just bypass that small PCB at the bridge, cut and strip the wires that connect the bridge PCB to the motherboard, cut and strip the GraphTech piezo leads, join solder and shrink wrap? This would void the warranty, but changing the piezos will void the warranty anyway. Depending on where the connection was made you might gain some advantage on the JTV69 - the GraphTech piezo leads are very soft and flexible, and the wiring coming from the JTV bridge board looks pretty thick heavy and inflexible... as I recall some people here were having troubles with that wiring causing their trem to fail to return to position putting the guitar out of tune when the trem was used. The added flexibility of the GraphTech leads might solve this problem for some users. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I do not agree that the Graphtech leads are "very soft and flexible". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyayyy Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I do not agree that the Graphtech leads are "very soft and flexible". Mkay... but... "soft and flexible" compared to...? I am comparing them to the wires I see coming from the PC board on the JTV... the leads on my GraphTechs are the softest, most flexible wires I have ever worked with... like angel hair... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 The ones I used on my 500 were two wires per piezo and the insulation was pretty thick given how small the wires were. It was a tight fit to get the two wires through the hole where the original single wire went. I had to slightly enlarge the hole in the flex circuit that went to the fixed bridge on that puppy. There was no place to connect the ground wires so I had to scrape the insulation layer off to get to the copper. The result was great but I was not all that sure while I was cutting and working with those wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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