You will NOT find more versatility anywhere...

Disclaimer: I am a Line6 endorsee... however, there is NO written agreement that I must talk nicely or talk at all about this product, so this review is my own opinion apart from that very casual "business" relationship. I have highly recommended Line 6's products for years, and this is the one I've been most happy with, at least initially. Also, for the way I do music ("two-voice guitar") this guitar ONLY works well for me with the POD HD 500, so I have only really used it in that context.

This guitar is not for everyone. If you are looking for an absolutely perfect rendering of all the guitars, played by themselves through a great amp, with every facet of the sound perfect... that's impossible. If you have the money, just go buy the dozens of guitars that are modeled in here. If you are looking for great sound in the mix with the band, and need to play a lot of different guitars, this is for you. So I'm weighting this review towards that second person, and giving it 5 full enthusiastic stars.

You can NOT find more versatility in an instrument than in this guitar. All of the different sounds are very convincing, the ability to fine-tune them with the Workbench software means that you can change them even beyond what is available (including some really "wacky" pickup combinations that you'd NEVER find or install in a regular guitar, but can try out with this one rather easily). Tele? yup. Acoustic? Oh, yeah (although there is a strange "mid-range hump" that you have to tame with eq... not much different than a piezo equipped guitar, and easily done with a combination of "virtual mike placement" in the Workbench software and EQ in whatever you are connecting to). The magnetic pickups sound great to my ears, too. Blending two sounds, either two different electric sounds (mags + modeling) or an electric and acoustic, with the HD 500 is a WHOLE lot of fun.

I like the Tele model a lot, the Gretsch model, and the Strat. The 12-string Rickenbacker is an insane amount of fun as are the acoustic 6- and 12-string models. Those and the built-in magnetic pickups are the ones I'm using the most, although I am OFTEN using the built-in magnetic pickups with an acoustic model, processed separately. One thing! The octaves up on the 12-string guitars (especially the G) have an occasional odd warbling issue that really doesn't affect how I play, except for 12fret harmonics (which are sometimes an issue). Line6 has hinted that this might be addressed in the imminent software update, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and edit this later if needed. (Even if they don't fix that, I'm still enthusiastic about my 5-star rating.)

There are very few "what is up with that" "blemishes" found in my sample, such as a tiny finish flaw on the back of the neck (that I didn't even notice for about a month and doesn't affect playability) and some weird grooves in the fingerboard right next to the frets, which you also have to look really hard to even find. These are the kinds of things I'd never expect to see in a top-quality US-made instrument. However, the instrument more than holds up with others in its price class, including US-made Fenders (my Variax is the Korean-made one, not the US-made one, which I have not even seen). The weight is a little less than a good Les Paul (there is a LOT of wood routed out for the electronics, so it's similar to a chambered Les Paul). The neck is pretty chunky, like a 50s Les Paul neck. Just the way I like it.

The guitar plays, handles and balances very very well. The action and setup were spot-on when it arrived. I only needed the tiniest neck adjustment after a few weeks (totally to be expected in a mahogany instrument that moves to a new climate), and I raised the action just a smidge (I like my action higher than many). The fretwork is outstanding, the neck is totally straight and level, and the quality of the hardware seems to be rock solid. There have been some reports of the knobs and switches giving problems on early units, but I waited a year after they came out, and my instrument has no issues with any of those things. (I will admit, however, that I think the knobs are butt-ugly up close, but look fine from normal distance.

The VDI cable is a minor pain to plug in (you really can't strap on and then plug in, the guitar gets in the way of itself and you have to open a "door" and then plug in the VDI cable), but once you have it plugged in, you're good to go. With the HD 500 this is a REVELATION in tweakability and sound variation. Running the Workbench software will probably be necessary for anybody, as I had to equal out the levels of the different models (to my taste) and raise them to match the volume of the magnetics (which I lowered a lot... because I like my pickups low off the strings.) Also, with the Workbench software, you can create any pickup combo you can imagine (as long as it's only two pickups, you can't do three or more). two humbuckers in the exact same spot? no problem. A lipstick pickup and a Filtertron at odd angles out of phase on a hollow-body Jazz box? No problem... I think this might be a cool guitar for somebody experimenting with odd sound combos to figure out if they want to buy a specific guitar. I think the sound combinations on this guitar might be nearly infinite, but most of us will go with the tried and true.

One small thing. I am a guy that likes the pole pieces on my neck pickup "out" a bit and the ones on my bridge pickup "in" a teeny bit. Somebody at Line6 must agree with me, because that's how my guitar arrived, which is nice, because the pole pieces on the pickups seem VERY stiff compared to other guitars, and I appreciate not having to adjust them.

Lastly, some have reported an issue with "palm-muting" strings, and indeed, when you palm mute on this guitar (when using the modeling sounds) you have to adjust how you do it, because it responds differently than regular magnetic pickups, especially with very high-gain sounds. I don't use those high-gain sounds and can report that I have very little trouble with this issue on the electric sounds, but a little bit on the acoustic sounds, where I find I need to adjust more. Line 6 is apparently improving this for the next update, but even without that update, I am still satisfied with the way this works on my guitar. You should definitely check this guitar out in person if you can and see if this issue is one that does or doesn't affect you and your playing style.

I can't highly recommend this product enough!

Must have for any Studio.

WOW!!! This guitar is the future of guitars. It does exactly what it says and it does it well. I use this with my la610-mkii and man does this guitar sound great. Even without the modeling the guitar sounds and feels just amazing. Where else can you change the tuning a 12 string with a turn of a knob or run the sitar threw a wah pedal. Dont think, just get it! You will never pick up another guitar.

Finally Settled In - And Staying!

For the first 48 hours, I hated this guitar. I really regretted selling my 500, because it felt and sounded much better.......but that was because I stupidly expected to be able to simply plug the JTV-59 into my Pod X3 Live and use all the same patches....you know....the ones that I'd taken 6 months to perfect, and it didn't happen...... because it's not the same guitar!
What it is, is a beautifully crafted, resonant stunner of a guitar, far better sounding than previous the Variax models (I also have a 700).
A little reprogramming, and a firmware update from Line 6 Monkey, and my patches sound better than ever.
I've had to change from Ernie Ball Slinky up to 11-49's as the higher frets combined with my over strong fingers meant awful sounding notes near to the nut, but thats not a big deal. It plays very well, and the neck feels great.
To be honest, it could have done without the pick ups from a playability point of view, but it does look stunning with them!
I sit off stage, waiting to go on, and watch it shine under the stage lights. Drool.
Well worth waiting for, and a welcome addition to my life!

Variax voodoo inside a solid guitar! Worth 2X the price!

I've owned many Line 6 effects processors and one amp and I've read many reviews of the earlier versions of Variax guitars so I expected the electronics to function as advertised, but was very skeptical that the JTV-59 would be a guitar I would want to take to the stage. I'm a middle age guy who's played almost every guitar brand worth mentioning in the past 35 years. My middle age crisis drove me back to the stage in a band that covers rock from the last 20 years and I find myself playing four electric guitars and one acoustic with a total of five tunings. Unless you have a guitar tech off stage (and, I don't) It's a pain in the a*#, so I thought I would give this thing a shot. I couldn't be happier I did. This is a very good guitar without the Variax. It feels solid, looks great and sounds like you'd expect (hope) a neck through, mahogany/maple/rosewood, dual humbucker (les paul styled) guitar to sound. Then you activate the Variax and start running through the models...awesome, better than expected and everyone is usable. Then you experiment with the alternate tunings and capos.....VooDoo!!! It works, it actually works! The only reason I gave it a 4.5 is the ghost notes you hear when using alternate tunings at lower volumes. Turn it up and their gone. I'm headed to the stage with one guitar in hand. I highly recommend this guitar to anyone who doesn't want (and can't afford) 20 guitars in the studio or five on the stage.

Awsome axe!

I love this guitar,for my personal situation (cover band)it fits perfectly,the alt.tuning abililty is my favorite,many review this as a great recording guitar,but as for the variaty of sounds ,electric and acoustic,and the tunings,it works great in that aspect,I got this one from the "new" batch ,and I did have to send it back for switch replacement is the only reason I did not give it a five star rating,the acoustics are much better than previous variax models,is it dead on ,no but for the many possibilities it offers well worth ,the small differences,highly recommend it!!!!

JTV 59 downunder

What can I say? Looks great, feels great! I dont know who would bother using the mag pups, when you've got 25 of the finest guitars ever built in there as well!
Definitely benefits from a pro luthier setup, and for those not used to higher fret heights, it takes a little getting used to, particularly down near the nut. Latency is not an issue, unless you're dropping the tuning of all strings (a bit of processing there on the fly) but not a deal buster.
Good neck dimension selection too, as the Line 6 guys have clearly thought about the acoustic finger-pickers (yours truly included) in the specs.
Beautifully quiet electrics and well built.
Very glad I bought it!

Amazing!

I have been playing for 45 years and own over 20 guitars, many of them vintage. I was reluctant buying the Variax because there were no stores that carried them in my area and I would be buying it without hearing and feeling it. Just listening to youtube demonstrations was not enough. After months of hemming and hawing, I decided to order it online. When I opened the box, I was very impressed with the craftmenship but I would have to play and hear it for myself.The sounds were amazing. Very realistic renditions of all the guitars and I own many of the vintage guitars that are being reproduced. The feel of the neck and body is very similar to the Les Paul. I do have one problem with the guitar and that is it does not stay in tune.I will give the strings some time to stretch as they are new but it should have locking tuning pegs and the JTV-59 does not come with a tremelo bar which the guitar needs. The alternate tuning works well and the vitual capo also works well.The acoustics are great. I really don't have to carry 10 guitars every time I play anymore. I reccomend this guitar to everyone.