Music Stores that carrie JTV Guitars

[crossstudio]

I have searched over the DFW area and have found no stores including Sam Ash and Guitar Center that carrie the JVT guitars.  I talked to 3 Guitar Centers and all where not willing stock them.  Is This a sign of a problem, price, or just a technology with them I am not sure. But with something this different I am not willing to order online.  Are there any dealers in the DFW area that stock the JTV guitars?

[cruisinon2]

I have searched over the DFW area and have found no stores including Sam Ash and Guitar Center that carrie the JVT guitars. I talked to 3 Guitar Centers and all where not willing stock them. Is This a sign of a problem, price, or just a technology with them I am not sure. But with something this different I am not willing to order online. Are there any dealers in the DFW area that stock the JTV guitars?

Never seen one in a store in my neck of the woods either, and I'm within a 10 mile radius of 3 "Big Box" music retailers. These guitars are niche items, like it or not. The masses mostly aren't interested, hence the indifference from the big retailers. If they can't sell 2000 of them between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, they don't care how good an item is.

[mdmayfield]

That's been my experience too. A couple years ago, out of the 4-5 Guitar Centers in the Twin Cities, MN area, there was only one (the one in the ritziest area) that even had a single JTV physically at the store. I don't think it's there anymore.

[TheRealZap]

I corrected the title, from JVT guitars to JTV (James Tyler Variax)

I did not edit the original post.

[radatats]

if that is the only thing holding you back, get over it.  There are a number of outstanding online retailers, my preference is Sweetwater.  They give great prices, 2 year warranties, free shipping, free setup on your guitar and have amazing customer service.  I love my JTV69 and have no regrets on the decision to buy...

[ice9mike]

I have seen two JTV's at Guitar Center here in Portland. They told me people never play them and they know very little about them. I would also recommend Sweetwater for all the reasons listed above. I also understand the desire to play one before you buy. Good luck on your decision. 

[davidb7170]

The Guitar Center here (Davenport, IA) has had 69's and 59's, but usually only one at a time. this has just been in the past couple of years. I got both my 58 TSB and 69S - Shoreline Gold at Sweetwater. The 59 in May 2011 (ordered in Oct 2010), and then the 69S when it first came out in Oct 2012, they had it in stock -- ordered it on a Saturday, had it on the following Tuesday. I felt well treated by Sweetwater.

 

I got my first Variax, a 300 red solid body in 2005 from a little shop in Galesburg, IL about 45 minutes away. GC & Musician's Friend (related) had the JTV's in their catalogs long before they showed up in the GC store here, or any GC's that I went to when I was in the area (Minneapolis, Kansas City, etc.). You see them now, but not in the quantities or variations you see of the Fenders & Gibsons, etc. Most salespeople you have in GC's don't know them enough to sell them, so I'd guess most who've bought them have done a lot of research, reading on the internet in forums like this, like you're doing. I also wanted to try one before I bought it, but swallowed hard and took a chance...

 

On the forums like this, you tend to hear mostly the problems that crop up, and only a few -- "holy cow this is cool!!" type of posts, so don't get thrown too much by that. My 59 had the 2nd 3 way switch issue, that was a replacement of the initial 3-way switch, but they had so many to do, that they had soldering problems. I sent mine back in and they corrected it. You don't like to have that happen, but in a start-up of a new product, you do run into glitches, and this was a wide-spread one, like some of the neck issues on the 69 models. My 69S has had none of those issues, but it was when they hit their stride in manufacturing the JTV's.

 

I think the issue with GC's not carrying very many may be partly that they've been reading about all the problems, and also that this is a specialty or "niche" kind of guitar that won't sell to tons and tons of people. You have the beginners that are looking for their first guitar, and just want to get something that looks cool and maybe they'll learn how to play. Then there are those are more advanced and want a certain style or brand of guitar -- their holy grail. GC's make their money by selling volume at decent pricing, so they keep a lot of guitars on hand that they sell a lot of, and a few "niche" types. A lot of Strats, and Teles, and LP's, etc of various levels (US, Squires, Gibsons & Epi's, and other imports), but lot more mid-range than the very expensive units, because they wouldn't sell tons of those, either.

 

I look at the JTV's as the "Swiss Army knife" of guitars. I have my Strat & Tele Deluxe, and an Epi LP (very good guitar, btw), and also have a '66 Gretsch Country Gent, but I gig with my JTV's. I'm a weekender, so don't have the luxury of a guitar tech to hand me my guitar for the next song.... ;o) I do about 30 to 50 weekend gigs a year, and the JTV's have been great for that.

 

It's handy as hell in gigging live. I honestly like the tones of the mag pickups on both my 59 & 69S so much that I use those probably 85 - 90% of the time, but love that I can use a very good acoustic 6 or 12 string guitar or banjo sound, and do drop D, or drop Db, or down a full step tuning by the combo of the HD500 or 500X presets - hit a foot switch and I'm there. I have multiple songs where I switch back and forth between acoustic & mag pickups in the midst of the song several times. Don't have to switch guitars or take time to retune for a song in an odd tuning. I bought the 69S when I realized if I broke a string on my 59, and had to use my standard spare guitar, there were quite a few songs we'd have to skip in the set, or wait on me to change the string...

 

My 2 cents...

Dave

[Charlie_Watt]

GC would be the last place I would go for a guitar purchase.  Strings maybe.

[phil_m]

That's been my experience too. A couple years ago, out of the 4-5 Guitar Centers in the Twin Cities, MN area, there was only one (the one in the ritziest area) that even had a single JTV physically at the store. I don't think it's there anymore.

 The GC in Edina had about a half dozen JTVs at one point. They actually had a whole display set up once when I went in. Now, I think they're down to one or two. The one I tried to play didn't have a battery installed, and they didn't know where to get one. That kind of makes having one on display almost a moot point. I've not me very many employees at guitar stores who are all that good at showing customers how the more technically advanced products work, unfortunately.

[Charlie_Watt]

If the store staff are not trained and experienced, then the Variax will not show well to uninformed customers. 

[cruisinon2]

I've not me very many employees at guitar stores who are all that good at showing customers how the more technically advanced products work, unfortunately.

Welcome to the new normal. I have only set foot in a big box music retailer once or twice in the last decade or so. I threw in the towel years ago when, in need of a new MIDI foot controller for whatever rack unit I was running at the time, I ventured forth to Silly Huge Music to procure said item. The aggressively pierced and tattooed cretin behind the counter literally scoffed at me, and proceeded to tell me: "Uh...that doesn't exist, bro". After pointing out the item that was just behind the counter about 6 feet away, I walked out and didn't return for years. A sad state of affairs...