barnsleyboy Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Hi all, I have the opportunity to buy a used JTV59, But it is literally the guitar and battery. If I were to buy a digital interface lead could I use my Helix as the interface to connect to workbench? It's a really risky buy as the guy selling it can't tell me if the Variax side of things works. He thinks it just needs to be reset and calibrated through Workbench. I'd also need to get a 3rd party charger for the battery, but I'm assuming that connecting to Helix will power the guitar - am I correct? Any help would be much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Yes, a VDI cable (Variax Digital Interface) connecting the JTV-59 to your Helix (Floor, Rack, LT) will both power the guitar and allow you to use Workbench HD. Short term, for testing, a standard RJ-45 cable will do. Longer term you will want the protective housing on the end of a VDI cable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnsleyboy Posted May 14 Author Share Posted May 14 That's awesome mate thank-you. That's given me a bit more confidence. I've heard horror stories about using 3rd party batteries in the Variax - something to do with mis-matched power management. Do you have a view on that? If the battery the guitar comes with is beyond saving I may need to look to e-bay or amazon for a replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 On 5/14/2026 at 7:54 AM, barnsleyboy said: … I've heard horror stories about using 3rd party batteries in the Variax - something to do with mis-matched power management. Do you have a view on that?….. Yes. My view is that you should use official Line 6 battery and charger and avoid any power mismatch problems. If you do use a battery make sure you use either the battery or the VDI connection at any given time, not both simultaneously. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnsleyboy Posted May 14 Author Share Posted May 14 On 5/14/2026 at 1:02 PM, silverhead said: If you do use a battery make sure you use either the battery or the VDI connection at any given time, not both simultaneously. Oooh I didn't know that. Is that just a best practice thing? or a definite no-no? I can't see many people removing the battery every time they plug their Variax into the Helix! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Best practice. -Battery won't drain as fast. -Less chance of having 1/4" TRS and VDI audio plugged in at the same time,... which is a no-no that pulls current that can damage jack and sometimes other circuits. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnsleyboy Posted Thursday at 06:07 PM Author Share Posted Thursday at 06:07 PM Now then..... Finally got my JTV59. If anyone has the urge to send anything using Evri - don't they are the worst courier in the world. They've had the guitar for over a month. So I connected to Helix with the VDI cable. Launched Workbench then it started transfering data. All good I thought, then looking at the result on the Workbench screen There are a lot of questions. In fact, a lot of question marks! Any idea what this is telling me? I was hoping to be able to download the factory presets but according to Google they are bound into the firmware update. I have downloaded LIne 6 central, authorised my computer and it's showing that the JTV59 is due an update. When I click on the icon I get a small ok window which closes when I click ok. Is this because I don't have the interface? If that is the case I'm a bit stuffed - firstly no interface, secondly a flat battery that i can't charge as i don't have a battery charger!!! Any assistance greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted Thursday at 06:11 PM Share Posted Thursday at 06:11 PM Your Helix device should act as an interface for update purposes. Sounds like your equipment is OK. I would open a support ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnsleyboy Posted 11 hours ago Author Share Posted 11 hours ago On 6/18/2026 at 7:11 PM, silverhead said: Your Helix device should act as an interface for update purposes. Sounds like your equipment is OK. I would open a support ticket. Message back from support: Hi, -you cannot update the firmware via a Helix ! Even if Line6 Central shows the version (it will end with an error message) -Helix can only connect to Workbench HD but this app cannot install/update the firmware -you'd need the Variax USB interface (unless you have a PODH500X which can also work, but using old PODs is not recommended,hardware support can change over the years with Windows updates, new hardware etc) -so we recommend using the Workbench USB interface -you can order it as spare part via a Yamaha reseller or service-center : QN174886 GVRXVDIUSBIF *ASSY UNIT COMPLETE VARIAX https://line6.com/find/service_center/ https://uk.yamaha.com/en/dealers/ there are still some in stock Best regards Line 6 /Ampeg Support Europe I think it is unlikely that the interfaces are still available given the length of time Variax has been discontinued. It also presents me with a problem as I don't have a battery charger so even if I connect it up via interface I can't power the guitar up independently. Grrrrr! UPDATE: I have managed to get rid of the question marks and have found the v2.2 presets here: https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=21427.0 If there is minimal difference between my current firmware 2.1 and the latest 2.23, I might just forget about the interface. After all, I can access Workbench through Helix which is the most important bit. Probably more important to get hold of a charger though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted 10 hours ago Share Posted 10 hours ago JTV Firmware versions beyond v2.1 apply to the Standard and Shuriken models and will have no impact on the 59. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnsleyboy Posted 9 hours ago Author Share Posted 9 hours ago Ah, that puts a different slant on things! So basically as long as the 59 is functioning correctly, no real need to update. I'm assuming the actual Firmware jump from 2.1 to 2.2 to 2.23 doesn't affect the quality of the modelling? I don't really want to fork out for the interface when I've got a perfectly good Helix to access Workbench with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted 8 hours ago Share Posted 8 hours ago Correct. No modeling changes. And there won’t likely be any further updates so you should be fine without the interface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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