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Jtv-69 Neck Issues - Fixed?


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When the JTVs were first released I had ordered a 69 but then read about all of the issues with the necks (srings dropping off the side with hammer ons and bends etc). This caused me to change my order to a JTV-59. What I have found though is that I just cannot get used to the 59 baseball bat neck so I was thinking of selling it and getting a JTV-69s. Have the neck issues been fixed (I would hope so by now)? I was also considering a JTV-89 but I'm not a shredder and Floyd Rose trems are a PITA for me.

 

TIA

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I bought a 69 2 years ago...neck had issues, traded it for a 59, enjoyed it, sold it, got a 69 again, neck feels right now...I think they fixed it up, besides, you can always swap the neck for a strat neck anytime, and you can't do that on a 59!

 

I'm very happy with my 69 now!!! GO for it

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I do believe they slightly altered the neck profile on the 69 and 69S from the original version. I'm not exactly sure what was altered, though. It does seem like the number of complaints regarding strings slipping off and the like have declined here in the last year or so.

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If you have issues with the 69 neck you can simply replace it with any aftermarket strat neck.  I tried hard to like the OEM neck on mine, but gave up after a couple of weeks of fighting with the overly-narrow string spacing and jumbo frets.  Since installing a MightyMite compound radius neck it's become my favorite instrument.

 

I'm realistic enough to know that no two players are going to feel the same way about a given neck setup.  I just prefer a traditional fret cross-section and my fingers are too large to play cleanly on closely spaced strings.

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  • 3 months later...

i am not getting any string slippage on my JTV-69, but i am finding it really tight to play (tension wise), i have set up my trem (model 1 bridge) so its almost blocked and tuning is fine.... is it just the jumbo frets making the guitar feel that way?

my peavey generation EXP custom is like butter, but i am really struggling with the variax :(

if that's the case, would a standard 22 fret 25.5" neck pretty much just drop in? 

(i am a bassist really, but i am playing in a friends band on guitar.... so i really want my guitar to play nice LOL)

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i cant stand 9's :(

i am using the same strings on my peavey as i am on the variax, David Gilmore boomers. i am used to playing 13's on my teles and i am used to bending them (i loved the wound G) so its not a case of too thick a string... maybe its just those strings..... ill see if a set of steel slinkies is any good next month (i am allergic to nickel, so can only use SS) 

i wish warmoth was an option though..... its cheaper buying a guitar to take the neck off than pay the import duty and shipping to the UK

i have seen a few nice necks up on ebay, and the feedback seems good, so i may just stump up for a nice maple on maple neck.

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yeah its really strange, i can bend like 4 steps on my peavey (Gilmore style) without a strain, but i really struggle on the variax :( guess i'll just have to learn to cope LOL may end up with a new neck later on (after summer) as i HATE rosewood boards! 

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i cant see what a 'pro' can do other than take my money that i have not already tried, fr0sty :)

after the neck has settled after the truss rod tweak it seems a bit better. i just don't get the tension issue..... same scale length, similarly adjusted necks, action matched to necks adjustments.... the only difference is the jtv has the trem.... which is tightened (at the claw) to non knife edge vintage style to match my slightly heavier gauge strings (10 tops 11 bottoms) (i did actually block it, but when i took the block out to check it was ok after adjusting, the action of the trem was ok, so i left it open)
 

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Like I was saying Charlie, I did the entire drill from a set up stand point, but it seems the neck had too much tension that and a combo of me being a hard tail user (I am a tele man over a stray any day), I think with the trem being so loose my fingers were just not used to it.

 

Sorry if I derailed the thread somewhat :)

But thankfully all seems well now, I still would love a maple on maple neck, and may do after summer... But for now I am a lot happier knowing that I am not going crazy bending physics with my variax LOL.

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like i said, id rather my variax have a maple board anyway.... so at most £150 isnt that bad, plus it allows me to use the variax neck on another project guitar LOL

i would love a one of those ball bearing roller nuts fenders and was it music mans used to have?
but i imagine those to be a PITA to both find and fit LOL

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Do that and all of the strings will detune when you bend.  The Trem springs must be adjusted to keep the trem plate level not to how you want the strings to feel.  String tension is based on gauge and scale length. (assuming standard tuning)  Heavier gauge strings will require higher tension to tune them to standard tuning.

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Do that and all of the strings will detune when you bend.  The Trem springs must be adjusted to keep the trem plate level not to how you want the strings to feel.  String tension is based on gauge and scale length. (assuming standard tuning)  Heavier gauge strings will require higher tension to tune them to standard tuning.

I have successfully removed or added springs to trem guitars to get lighter or firmer tension for trem action and string bending. Sure less springs mean less tension which means easier to bend but also easier to put other strings out of tune as you pointed out, however, it is possible to adjust to a suitable tension that suits playing style to minimise that effect. More springs mean more stable tuning but harder bending. Certainly has felt that way in my experience.

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"Have the neck issues been fixed (I would hope so by now)?"----

Yes! That issue has long since been resolved.

 

It involved earlier units and had to do with the way the frets were dressed.

Newer units don't have that issue. Though I do get the random one in for

servicing that need a little extra TLC from me regarding fret dressing.

 

Enjoy playing the 69's,... I do.

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diggerbarnz--- If you're getting slippage, it may be the way the frets were dressed.

Taking it in to an Line 6 authorized service center to have the nut shifted or a new nut

installed could solve that. A neck swap would be another solution. If it becomes a

problem, take it in while it's still under warranty.

 

I have an earlier 69, and the only time I get slippage is when my technique is sloppy.

But then, I don't do too many of those blues string pulls either.

 

Most of the people I hear from about this are those who do the bluesy "string pulls"

or "chicken scratch" pulls on the earlier 69 necks.

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well i went and blocked the trem with a block of hard cork :) making sure it was no where near the wiring. 
having already tightened my springs up a tad to take away the knife edge (not my taste), it was just a matter of easing it back (its the block i used for setting up the bridge anyway) 

i am not a trem user anyway, so hopefully its just a matter of learning the neck and getting used to it, as it looks like my plans for spare cash may be getting flushed down the loo :) 

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  • 3 months later...

When i got my JTV 69,  6 months ago I ordered it with .009s and set up. When  I got it it felt like it had .010s on it. so I changed the strings to a new set of .009s and it still felt like it had to much tension or like it had .010s on it. so after some internet research on trem bar set up I saw a mention to the fact that if you use .010s or .011s you should use 3 springs in the rear block area and 2 springs if you're .009s or .008s. and the springs should be parallel  not pinched  together at the screw plate. Well i took out the center spring, This made the back of the  trem lift up on the top body of the guitar due to less tension from the springs ( strings were pulling harder now) by adjusting the screws inside the back cavity toward the neck (tighten) you can pull the trem back down to it original position (check this distance off the body before you begin) and balance the tension and make the guitar stay in tune . Now the guitar plays like it has .009s on it and I'm totally stoked.  :D It plays like all my other guitars that have .009s on them. if you are dealing with this issue give this a try.  As someone said earlier you can't mess with physics but this boils down to "give and take" or "push and pull" or really or the sum of the spring pull against the string pull which make, total sense .

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Taking out a spring will make the bridge move more during bends. It will feel more spongy. You will of course de-tune other strings when you bend so double stops will be more difficult.

 

Another thing I noticed with my JTV-69 is that it was set up with zero pull up. The bridge was tilted all the way back. I adjusted the screws to allow the baseplate to be flat and parallel to the body. It feels much better this way. To me at least.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 3 years later...

 

On 2/1/2014 at 8:24 AM, snhirsch said:

If you have issues with the 69 neck you can simply replace it with any aftermarket strat neck.  I tried hard to like the OEM neck on mine, but gave up after a couple of weeks of fighting with the overly-narrow string spacing and jumbo frets.  Since installing a MightyMite compound radius neck it's become my favorite instrument.

 

I'm realistic enough to know that no two players are going to feel the same way about a given neck setup.  I just prefer a traditional fret cross-section and my fingers are too large to play cleanly on closely spaced strings.

 

Quite an old post but I wanted to ask you 'SNHIRSCH', as your posts have come up a number of times on swapping necks, what is your preferred neck spec for a Strat neck?  Type of radius?  Profile? Nut width? Fret size?

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