I'm a dummy and bought a used JTV-59

[TurbineTester]

.....and didn't know enough to read the fine print about VDI/USB Interface Cable not being part of the listing.  And i'm just now figuring out that that silly little dongle is $100.00  So now in order to check out the guitar and make sure it works i've got to buy a $100 ethernet to USB adapter because line6 uses a proprietary protocol.  Cool.  Just wondering if anyone has an extra adapter they might be willing to part with and sell so i don't have to pony up $100 and wait for it to ship from Sweetwater.  Thanks in advance.

 

Dummy in Middle Georgia

[silverhead]

The guitar works without the cable so you should be able to test it out. There are actually two different cables involved in using a Variax JTV to its full potential:

 

1) The USB Hardware Interface kit includes a cable and a small hardware device/dongle. This is the one that comes with the guitar in its original packaging, and this is the one you are missing. It is used to connect your guitar to your computer for firmware updates and to use the Workbench HD product.

 

2) A VDI (Variax Digital Interface) cable. This cable has no associated dongle and is not included with the original purchase of the guitar. It has protective housing at both ends and is used to connect your Variax to a compatible Line 6 Multi-FX device such as some Helix products. This allows your device to communicate with your Variax and supports Variax command and control features to be stored in device presets. You are able, for instance, to store Variax model selection and alternate tunings information in a Helix preset. This information is sent as commands to the Variax guitar when the preset is loaded.

 

Of course this information doesn’t help with the fact that you are missing the USB Hardware Interface kit. They sometimes come up on places like eBay but they are indeed rare and costly.

[brue58ski]

Do you have a Line 6 Helix or HD500? You can connect to the Workbench HD edit program through them. I'm not so sure about updating but you can certainly check out if it's on the correct firmware version. Maybe you know someone that has one. It would save you $100.