Do You Have The Same Problem With 6th String?

[artdib2]

As promised, here are links to 2 videos on YouTube demonstrating plink.  In one video I use a .052 Elixir Polyweb, which reduces plink substantially.  The other video is using a .046 Ernie Ball Slinky and demonstrates the intolerable increase in plink.

https://youtu.be/MjFzz8C6MXQ  (Using .052 Elixir Polyweb)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDGgW_QfHZ0  (Using E.B. .046)

[snhirsch]

Are you tuned down for those demos?  I agree the plink is extremely prominent using a 0.046 low-E.  I'm not hearing very much of it with the 0.052 Elixer.

[artdib2]

snhirsch:  Yes, I've dropped my E to a D for the demo.  That's the way my guitar is tuned for about 1/4 of the material I play.  You're right about the .052 Elixir.  Plink is diminished greatly with the coated 52.  Using the .052 coated string feels foreign to me though.  It also makes it more difficult to get wide-vibrato pinch harmonics on the low E.  I'm a big Zakk Wylde fan and "borrow" a lot of his technique and incorporate that into my playing.  The .052 makes this guitar wholly unsuitable for that stuff.  Really a drag.  Thankfully, the JTV59 is a way cool axe even without the modeling, so when I really want to play in that Zakk style, the .052 comes off and I don't even bother with the modeling.  I'm sure everyone will agree that there's not much point in having a modeling guitar if you rarely use the modeling though.  

[clay-man]

If anyone has a tube screamer or overdrive pedal that they can throw in front of a distorted amp, do it.

 

It'll show the plink the worst. 

[MiroslavKloud]

Yesterday I had an interesting visit. Mr. M. from Yamaha arrived to me and brought a new guitar JTV-59 for comparison. This guitar had the same problem as mine.

[artdib2]

MiroslavKloud:  That can not be the end of the story.  The suspense is killing me.  When Mr. M. from Yamaha realized that the guitar he brought to you had the same defect, what was his reaction?  Did you try the guitar with multiple amps or make any other changes in an attempt to rectify the problem?  Did he take both guitars back with him to have them repaired?  Did he offer any other remedy?  Details please.

[clay-man]

Yesterday I had an interesting visit. Mr. M. from Yamaha arrived to me and brought a new guitar JTV-59 for comparison. This guitar had the same problem as mine.

 

Rofl they're going to people with the defect to try to fix the problem? That's some devotion.

[cruisinon2]

Yesterday I had an interesting visit. Mr. M. from Yamaha arrived to me and brought a new guitar JTV-59 for comparison. This guitar had the same problem as mine.

How many busted strings do I have to put under my pillow to get the Variax Fairy to visit my house? ;)

[MiroslavKloud]

Inasmuch that flaw was the same, we were not able to make a comparison test to determine the cause (bridge, elektronics). So I showed him the details of the defects and the way I was doing all the measurements. One strangeness - I had earlier on a string A5 strong plink, was measurable at the input the electronics. Now completely disappeared.

 

Addition:
His reaction was not significant. He just heard and acknowledged that it is the same problem. We tested the guitars only with POD HD500 + RCF ART 310A. Plink was recognizable even without any editing of sound - no amp model, no effect - only amplification. He promised that will continue negotiations with several people. He is a helpful fellow.

 

I have also currently open support ticket and I can write that I am now slightly optimistic.

[yelldog]

I took the and decided to pick up a Helix over the AX8. Since I have 2 89Fs I had to gamble that this plunk issue will get resolved... or better. I still have my 500X. I play the 89F with the 500X and I have a very clear plunk, plink whatever. I play the same guitar, same strings, the same guitar part and the plunk is almost gone. All I did was swap my 5e cable from 500X to Helix. Plunk nearly gone. I have no idea if this is going to help solve this but I had to share.

[cruisinon2]

All I did was swap my 5e cable from 500X to Helix. Plunk nearly gone. I have no idea if this is going to help solve this but I had to share.

Well it does add another weird dimension to the problem...empirically, at least in your case, this would seem to indicate that the POD is the problem (or at least a contributing factor. Bizarre.

[yelldog]

Update, I tested both my 500X and Helix with both of my JTV 89F guitars. Both have the same strings and both were restrung at the same time 1 week ago. The setups are always done at the same time so these two guitars are about as close to twins as possible. My black one through the helix has much less pronounced plunk than my red one. Both guitars have very clear plink when I use 500X. I'm not trying to muddy waters or create confusion but this is just so frustrating. I hope we hear something soon.

[MiroslavKloud]

I think that the difference between HD500X and Helix is similar as the difference between two presets in HD500X. Did you also the comparing without modeling (no amp or effect)?

[Rocco_Crocco]

L6 staff? I was wondering, are there any new developments with this issue?

[cruisinon2]

L6 staff? I was wondering, are there any new developments with this issue?

The Magic 8 Ball and Ouija board have not yet spoken...;)

[artdib2]

Crickets chirping here... Very interested in finding out if MiroslavKloud had any further communication from Line6 as to why the replacement JTV59 they brought to him had the Plink problem similar to the one he shipped to them for service.  Also what's the latest on finding a solution?  Buehler? ...Buehler?  Anyone home?

[MiroslavKloud]

They are working with an owner of an 89F in the US.
The latest information from the April 5:
"We will continue testing and we hope to have a solution soon."

[clay-man]

Dude as long as they're doing this much work, I'm happy. Going to people to address the problem is pretty significant. It's a lot better than spouting rhetoric through the ticket system.

[sosmusic]

Greetings everyone, here is my experience with the plink issue.

 

I own a Variax 300, JTV 89, & JTV 59

 

JTV 89, is flawless, updated to the latest firmware, never had plink issues or any other for that matter.

 

JTV 59, MASSIVE PLINK, to the point I consider the guitar unusable with the modelling engaged no matter which firmware its updated to. I have tried rolling back to 1.9 and its still there. Took me a while to notice this unfortunately as initially i was using the 59 cleaner sounds and mostly alternate tunings, plus the sitar and acoustic sounds. Once i got more into the higher gain stuff, it became VERY APPARENT. 

 

( FYI after rolling back to the old models in 1.9 it becomes very apparent just how much better the models became in 2.0 and up, so BRAVO Line6  )   

 

Variax 300, Great guitar and used it for years relatively flawless. Back in 2008 i recorded a full length album in a very high quality studio I used the Variax 300 to recorded 5 songs and it sounded GREAT !!!! The studio owner / engineer who is a total vintage gear snob was super impressed with it. On the play back on one heavy distorted section of a song we all noticed a slight pinging noise on my guitar track. It was subtle but there, the engineer EQ'd out the  plinking noise out with relative ease and we just moved on. In the back of my mind i just thought, Hmmm must just be the piezo. Never heard the sound again playing through my amp in rehearsal or live and I used it regularly for another 3 years. Still have it, GREAT guitar.

 

So, in conclusion. My 2 cents for what it's worth. I don't feel the problem is the firmware or modelling itself. I'm convinced the problem is something to do the the piezo, what ever that might be. That being said i don't see a solution anytime soon on this. If Line 6 was able to get to the root of the problem, a MASSIVE recall would most likely be in order (YIKES) !!!!!!!!!   

 

In the mean time I'm considering trading my JTV 59 which is way past warranty at the store where i bought it towards a Helix. Am I a jerk for trading it in like this ?

 

I hope this helps the guys at Line 6 in addressing this, best of luck gents. :) 

 

Cheers, Eddie

[cruisinon2]

In the mean time I'm considering trading my JTV 59 which is way past warranty at the store where i bought it towards a Helix. Am I a jerk for trading it in like this ?

 

If it isn't usable because of the plink, why keep it?

[clay-man]

If it isn't usable because of the plink, why keep it?

 

I think he's talking about the morality of passing a broken guitar off to someone to disappoint them with it as well.

 

I mean, if I was trying to get a used Variax off Ebay and got one with this problem, I'd be pretty pissed off.

[sosmusic]

 That is what i meant. Yeah it's frustrating, stuck with fairly expensive guitar. That is for the most part right now unfixable. It is a large chain I'd be trading it in at. Otherwise just leave it in the corner of my house in its gig bag. :(    GRRRRRRRRRRRR

[JTSC777]

Seems that Line 6 purchased a huge amount of crappy quality peizos and installed them on a lot of guitars at the factory and the guitars got past quality control.I am starting to think that this is what this whole thing is about.It happens with large manufacturing these days.

Look up Fenders Mustang amp fizz debacle lol!

 

I used my little Variax 500 in the studio a couple of weeks ago for some killer dobro sounds and a couple other things.No plink/ plank or kerplunk.

 

Sell that guitar with bad peizo saddles and disclose it to the purchaser or replace them yourself and add it to your selling price.

Don't keep it. It will just bring you down.

[clay-man]

That's why I suggest buying from a place like Sweetwater where you virtually can keep swapping the guitar for a replacement until you get a proper one.

It's why I didn't get it used off Ebay because I was afraid of getting a problem guitar.

[cruisinon2]

Sell that guitar with bad peizo saddles and disclose it to the purchaser or replace them yourself and add it to your selling price.

Don't keep it. It will just bring you down.

If the fix were that simple, somebody would have tried it by now. Given that this thread is at least 2 years old and still going, I would think that if anyone had been successful going that route, they'd have been ecstatic, and screaming it from the rooftops.

[JTSC777]

read the giant threads about players replacing these saddles on this and other forums.It has solved a lot of their problems.Peizos have inherent crappy plinky tone.I have played Roland synth guitars and pickups for over 25 years.Peizo pickups are unusable with guitar synth.That means they are not so great for what Line 6 tries to do with them either.Better ones help quite a bit or many of these players here and elsewhere are lying about. They may not be shouting from the rooftops but they are awfully damn happy about it. Keep any guitar gear around you want that does not work for you.That is a personal choice.If something does not do what I need it to do I get rid of it ASAP. These things are tools for my business.I dont have time to be obsessive/ compulsive about "blank" that does not work properly.

If you are not a working pro player you will look at these things differently.

[cruisinon2]

Keep any guitar gear around you want that does not work for you.That is a personal choice.If something does not do what I need it to do I get rid of it ASAP. These things are tools for my business.I dont have time to be obsessive/ compulsive about "blank" that does not work properly.

If you are not a working pro player you will look at these things differently.

 

 

Huh? When and where did I advise anyone to keep an utterly useless instrument? Whether one makes their living at music or not, doing so would be a colossal waste of time. And while I'll happily admit that the bulk of my income does not come from guitar playing, that doesn't make my time any less valuable than yours.

 

I'm the one who said "why keep it?" if it doesn't work. Plus, this was never a discussion about guitar synths, or preferring a "better" piezo for a particular application. It's about a glaring malfunction...functional vs. not remotely usable. If all anyone has to do to make it usable is replace a piezo, then it seems to me that this conversation would have died a long time ago. Simple, workable solutions generally don't stay a secret for very long.

 

And if I'm wrong, so be it. In fact, I'd actually prefer that to be the case...because lots of folks who spent significant money on a what is basically a 6-string paperweight, would have their issue solved overnight.

 

So everyone with the plink, take notes: Salvation lies in the post above, and all you guys at L6 can stop burning calories on a solution. We've got one.

[therightclique]

I also have this problem with my JTV-59p. 

I actually had assumed it was just the nature of modeled guitars. Still, it makes me not want to pick it up very often. I only looked the issue up because I was bored and thought maybe somebody else had seen and dealt with it.  I haven't even plugged my 59 into my Helix, because why bother, right? 

 

The p90s don't have the plink, but are noisy (no surprise there). 

 

I've just read this entire thread. That first Line 6 guy that kept deflecting should be ashamed of himself. Similarly, the members of Iron Butterfly should be ashamed to be associated with him. Wait, was that guy spending too much time around butterflies? Is that why he was suggesting adjusting the pickup by 1/10th of a millimeter? Has anyone considered that he may be a really tiny guy? Perhaps, to him 0.10mm is a massive difference. Could he be this Ant-Man I've heard so much about? 

 

I've ordered some Polyweb strings and will swap in the 52 for the stock E string and see what happens. Might file the saddle like somebody else suggested. I'm not super handy with mods like that, so I may not do it. 

 

I'd love to breathe some new life into this guitar. 

 

Mostly just adding my name to the list. 

[clay-man]

The plink is strictly modeling related. I'm 99% sure it's related to the piezos and having defective piezos.

 

My 600 honestly has the problem and I never really noticed it until I use the Les Paul in standard. 

There have been times when I swapped the E piezo and the problem went away, so yes, it is related to the piezos.

 

The main question here is, why can't Line 6 simply do quality control over the production of the piezos? What's so hard about plugging in one of these guitars, playing to hear if it has the problem, then replacing piezos on ones with the problem?

[edstar1960]

MiroslavKloud reported that his JTV59 was with Line6 tech support for months and if I remember correctly, they did replace many parts, however, not sure if they actually replaced the piezo's or complete bridge or not.   Would be interesting to hear from MiroslavKloud whether his guitar did get new piezo's or not as that would provide evidence one way or another.

 

If the fix is as simple as just replacing the piezo's wouldn't Line6 have done that for him? Especially as they had it for months and apparently tried many other things?    And all the other reports of guitars that went in under warranty to have this problem fixed and all came back modified and supposedly "fixed" BUT still have the problem - surely Line6 would have just been replacing the piezo's if that fixed the issue?  Wouldn't they?  Or perhaps the piezo's have been getting replaced and the problem persists because either the replacement piezo's are also faulty OR the fault lies in a combination of other factors that will manifest the problem even with perfectly functioning piezo's??

[cruisinon2]

If the fix is as simple as just replacing the piezo's wouldn't Line6 have done that for him? Especially as they had it for months and apparently tried many other things? And all the other reports of guitars that went in under warranty to have this problem fixed and all came back modified and supposedly "fixed" BUT still have the problem - surely Line6 would have just been replacing the piezo's if that fixed the issue? Wouldn't they? Or perhaps the piezo's have been getting replaced and the problem persists because either the replacement piezo's are also faulty OR the fault lies in a combination of other factors that will manifest the problem even with perfectly functioning piezo's??

Thank you. My sentiments exactly.

[clay-man]

True. Why not just do a part by part take down of the guitar then?

[ivanh3]

Was just referred to this topic from gearpage. I just received and 89F, and it has a very prounounced "plink" (I originally called it a "tink"). Very present on the low E string using cruch amount of distortion or higher. I am just glad to know I am not crazy. I love my Line 6 gear, but this is going back.

[MiroslavKloud]

MiroslavKloud reported that his JTV59 was with Line6 tech support for months and if I remember correctly, they did replace many parts, however, not sure if they actually replaced the piezo's or complete bridge or not.   Would be interesting to hear from MiroslavKloud whether his guitar did get new piezo's or not as that would provide evidence one way or another.

1. Replacement of piezo - repair shop of the dealer.

2. Replacement the whole bridge - but from other guitar, which also had plink - useless.

3. 11 weeks in the Netherlands - supposedly exchanged the electronics.

4. I had to replace the piezo again - torn off wire

[edstar1960]

Thanks MiroslavKloud for the extra information.  So, in your case, you did get a new replacement piezo but it did not resolve the issue.    :(

[cruisinon2]

Thanks MiroslavKloud for the extra information. So, in your case, you did get a new replacement piezo but it did not resolve the issue. :(

Not a surprise....

[clay-man]

Ok how about: Get 2 JTVs. One with the problem, one without the problem.

 

Exchange hardware from working Variax to problem Variax until problem resolves to diagnose the issue.

 

The problem is definitely hardware. It can't be software related or EVERYONE would have the problem (it could be defunct hardware causing defunct software, but not software alone)

 

It has to either be the electronics or how something vital was set up, and I'm not talking about the action or whatever the hell they said, I mean like serious hardware setup issue.

[cruisinon2]

It has to either be the electronics or how something vital was set up, and I'm not talking about the action or whatever the hell they said, I mean like serious hardware setup issue.

Yup. You can literally relocate the plink to any string you want by swapping piezo wires...that ain't mechanical.

[clay-man]

Yup. You can literally relocate the plink to any string you want by swapping piezo wires...that ain't mechanical.

 

What do you mean by swapping the piezo wire? If you swapped a piezo to a different location and the problem traveled with it, that would indicate it's the piezo's fault.

 

Can you refresh me on what happened with that again?

[cruisinon2]

What do you mean by swapping the piezo wire? If you swapped a piezo to a different location and the problem traveled with it, that would indicate it's the piezo's fault.

 

Can you refresh me on what happened with that again?

Several guys have reported swapping the low E and A string piezo leads that connect to the circuit board mounted to the sustain block, and suddenly the plink is on the A string, and the E sounds fine. If a given string is plinking one minute and fine the next (and vice versa), it's tough to blame the piezo elements themselves. It would seem to indicate that the problem lives somewhere else in the electronics. I'm no engineer, but a malfunction so stable that it can be routed at will, is odd to say the least.