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Variax JTV 89F Quiet String


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Afternoon all;

 

I have a fairly new JTV-89F that has a D string that is much quieter than the other strings.  All the strings ring out clearly via the magnetic pickups, but the D string is considerably quieter than the rest through the piezo.  The problem exists whether I'm connected via the Line 6 digital interface cable or via a regular 1/4 inch jack.  I have verified the issue is also present on two different rigs.  Firstly on an old Marshall VS65R amp with no pedals, and also on my new Line 6 DT50 with an HD500.

 

I have tried changing the strings and reseating them several times without any sucess.  I have also upgraded to all the latest revisions of the Line 6 Monkey and all of the other associated software/firmware/drivers.  I believe doing so does the equivalent of a factory reset on the guitar. I found a settings box in the workbench software that appears to show the individual string gain, and they were all set to 0 dB too.  I can't imagine how the settings would have been anything other than the defaults, since I really haven't had a lot of time to dink around with this gear since I got it.

 

Any ideas what I can try to get my D string to normal?

 

Thanks.

 

 

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Three suggestions, to be tried in order:

1) Carefully inspect the D string piezo; blow/brush it to clear off what may be a small piece of dirt in the saddle area.

2) Use Workbench to increase the volume of the D string so that it matches the rest of the strings.

3) Take the JTV in for servicing to inspect a possibly faulty piezo or associated wiring on the D string.

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Three suggestions, to be tried in order:

1) Carefully inspect the D string piezo; blow/brush it to clear off what may be a small piece of dirt in the saddle area.

2) Use Workbench to increase the volume of the D string so that it matches the rest of the strings.

3) Take the JTV in for servicing to inspect a possibly faulty piezo or associated wiring on the D string.

Thanks Silverhead.  I meant to remove the string again and blow it out last night but I got sidetracked.  Maybe tonight..

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Three suggestions, to be tried in order:

1) Carefully inspect the D string piezo; blow/brush it to clear off what may be a small piece of dirt in the saddle area.

2) Use Workbench to increase the volume of the D string so that it matches the rest of the strings.

3) Take the JTV in for servicing to inspect a possibly faulty piezo or associated wiring on the D string.

BTW I just dug up my receipt and checked the warranty.  It turns out that I picked this up just before last Christmas (2013) and the warranty is good for 12 months on these things.  The bad news is that if I need one, there is no service center in this city.  There are several in a few po-dunk towns over 100 miles away though.  I hope a piece of crud gets dislodged when I blow it out, and I don't have to make a road trip for this.  It's tempting, but I probably shouldn't start replacing piezos myself while its still under warranty.

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  • 6 years later...

Lol!  Just ran across this thread 7 years later.  Anyway, it turned out that the piezo for the D string was bad.  I drove to the po-dunk town 100 miles away and dropped the guitar off at the repair center.  I'd barely started on my lunch when the tech called me to tell me he had it fixed already.  Haven't had any issues with it since then.

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  • 3 weeks later...
3 hours ago, marcwormjim said:

Generally, a “bad piezo element” is replaced, rather than repaired. I imagine the service center had either a spare Graphtech element or ordered one.

 

I have done this and it fixed the problem. I think the Variax really amplifies the piezo output so it's super sensitive to the piezo's quality. I had contacted Graphtech about their bridge awhile ago and here's the info I got

 

 

1) Yes, the bridge on your JTV 89F is one of our PN-0080-B0 ghost bridges
2) Yes, the saddles on this bridge are of the PN-0080-B6 variety
3) You can purchase the entire saddle (the price would be pro-rated) or simply the inserts themselves. 
4) We don't have printed instructions for this process but I can spell them out very easily. 
 
If an order interests you, please provide a complete shipping address and I will generate a sales quote for your evaluation.

 

So you can buy just one. It's been awhile but I'm pretty sure I bought only the insert (I think that's the piezo) for the saddle from Graphtech. It's been at least a couple of years so don't rely on my memory. Anyway it would be worth it to contact them. It was easy although nerve wracking.

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On 3/11/2021 at 6:10 PM, Schuvwj said:

Did the Tech tell you what he did to fix this I issue?  My 89F is doing the exact same thing.  D string is dead when using modeling only.

Yes.  He just replaced the piezo on the D string.  I think I had to wait a couple of weeks to get in as they didn't have them in stock.

Edited by scouseree
Added more detail.
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