David, which acoustic do you have? The +++ Acoustic 700 +++ models many acoustic instruments as well as variable microphone positions. There was also the +++ Variax 300 acoustic +++ which was available in both steel and nylon string versions.

I have a +++ 2007 Variax 300 electric +++. So far the instrument has been trouble free. I use it strictly for recording and with the AC power supply.

Sound wise I've found that if you adjust the volume knob to about 70% the sound is much more natural and clean. Raise the volume level any higher and I start hearing harsh and brittle overtones.

Many of the first generation guitars had quality control and build issues as Line 6 used at least three Chinese circuit board manufacturers before finding a Taiwan board maker and switching from guitar builders located in China, Korea and Indonesia before settling on the Indonesian builder. By then the guitars had a bad reputation and were difficult to sell.

Line 6 surveyed first generation owners for two or three years prior to releasing the JTV series. The surveys helped identify quality issues as well as what changes customers wanted. The redesigned bridges and tuners are examples of quality changes while the three body styles and real pick-ups demonstrate customer desired features. It was not anticipated or expected that Line 6 would partner with a boutique guitar maker.

The USA made JTV custom series guitars are literally hand made, boutique guitars and are priced accordingly, more than $3,500. The about $1,200 priced JTVs are manufactured in Korea.

Line 6 was purchased by Yamaha a few years ago and the JTV Standard was quickly added to the product list. The JTV Standard is a redesign of the JTV 69, Stratocaster clone. The JTV Standard is assembled by the Yamaha guitar factory in Japan and sells for about $900.

The only way to adjust tunings in the first generation electric Variax guitars was to purchase the $99.00 US Workbench kit (that includes a custom CAT5 cable, USB to CAT5 conversion box and USB 2.0 type A to type B cable and software CD diskette) and use it to fill one of the existing model slots. It's not a problem fro me but did have a negative affect on some people.

Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1111) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD
Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home