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5 Replies Last post: Nov 5, 2009 11:01 AM by Hanibal  
geebake  
geebake
11 posts since
Mar 12, 2007
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Sep 2, 2009 8:30 AM

Vetta II and FBV Shortboard mkII

Having a Vetta II and not one, but two dead FBVs I decided to check out one of the cool new shortboard mkIIs.

 

Before purchase things I liked:

MIDI! I've wanted a decent midi foot controller for ages for use with things like Amplitube, Guitar Rig and Sonar

Price $200 is in the sweet spot for me

Size. Though the FBV obviously has more buttons and therefore more functionality, it's really big and doesn't fit in my stuido/bedroom as well as I'd like

Updateability Can't argue with having a USB port that can be used with firmware upgrades.

Expandabilty I like having a second expression pedal.

 

Before purchase things I didn't like:

Quality Having two dead FBVs wasn't encouraging.

Size. Though I wanted something smaller, I would have liked the option to get a full sized mkII

 

So I got one last night. Here are my findings so far:

 

It works well. While there are plusses and minuses, overal I do really like it.

 

Things I like:

It immediatley worked with the Vetta -- no necessary setup or fooling around at all.

Expression Pedal. Excellent feel. Better than the FBV pedal and I can actually engage/disengage the wah while sitting.

Expression Pedal II. An extra expression pedal worked immediately with no setup or fooling around.

Programability Though I haven't explored this yet, I believe some of the buttons (Func 1 and 2 in particular) can be programmed to do different things.

MIDI. I was able to get it working with Amplitube and Guitar Rig pretty much immediately. I am somewhat of a midi expert though I so I can't speak to how easy or difficult this would be for someone who is not. You do need to at least understand the difference between control changes and other types of midi messages.

Size. It really does fit better in my playing area and the buttons are a bit more convenient for playing when sitting.

 

Things I don't like:

Missing Buttons. Though I can live without them, having buttons for all three stomps is annoying.

Bender. I can't for the life of me make the pitch bender in the Vetta work with either expression pedal. I may have just not figured this out yet though.

Midi not working with everything externally. While it works well with Amplitube and Guitar Rig, I can't get Sonar to work with it at all. Very disapointing.

 

I would give this thing a solid B+ at the very least. It has good feel and works pretty simply. I supsect that it would work REALLY well with the amps that it was truly designed for, in particular the new Spiders and anything else that Line6 might have coming.

 

The price in particular works well. I really couldn't justify spending more than $200 for something like this. Given that it works well with other midi pc based stuff really helps. I would love to see a version of this that had midi ins and outs. This would be killer to connect to a cyber twin or other midi controllable device.

 

Greg

Hanibal  
Hanibal
3 posts since
Jul 6, 2007
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1. Oct 5, 2009 10:04 AM in response to: geebake
Re: Vetta II and FBV Shortboard mkII

Great comment.

I have been struggling with my vetta ii and the longboard for years. Switching the volume and wha on has allways been a problem and forget about it live.

I have read that the switches may take time to behave properly when new. But it has been 2 years and it just isn't getting better. The CAT-5 theory is junk as well. Anyway so thats 400 dollars for turning off a couple of effects and switching patches... nevermind. Now the fbv shortboard mkii seems to have potential (ie. the expression pedal seems to work). Can you see the tuner with a vetta ii ? what do you mean you can't switch the 3 effects on and off?

Can I assign the switches with the software (ie for one patch boost for the next patch effect 2)? Is the FBV Shortboard Mkii a working form of the FBV longboard (bar one expression pedal (NB:which you could add externally)) or a minor replacement?

 

Thanks for the info

 

Han

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geebake  
geebake
11 posts since
Mar 12, 2007
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2. Oct 8, 2009 8:25 AM in response to: Hanibal
Re: Vetta II and FBV Shortboard mkII

The tuner works great with the mkII and the Vetta. I have no issues with that.

 

As far as turning on the three stomps, what I was reffering to was the 3 stomps that the Vetta makes available in front of the amp. Since the mkII has only 1 'stomp' switch, you can only controll one of those three.

 

I was not particularly happy with the original FBV either. Especially given the fact that I have 2 dead ones in the closet.

 

I have to disagree aboout the Cat 5 cable though. I actually think that was very smart. I'm not sure what other kind of cable you might think would be better. I like the cat 5 cable because it connects securely and I can very easily replace it. I can get one of those at walmart or staples instead of waiting till I can get to guitar center for a midi cable. I have no complaints there.

 

The expression pedal is way better than the original FBV. Like I said, I can actually turn it on and off while sitting. VERY important to me. It still takes more work than it should, but I'm much happier.

 

As far as re-assigning switches - in theory, it should be able to do this. I would like to re-assign the function switches, but I honestly haven't had the time to try it out. I'd love for L6 to chime in on this. The manual that comes with the board is not very useful. Nowhere near the comprehensive guide that L6 gear used to come wtih.

mkII.

I'm really happy with this thing. As important as the Vetta control is, I love using this thing with Amplitube, Guitar Rig 4 and other midi aware stuff. While I wouldn't say it's a no brainer to setup, once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad. And of course, you're limited to what the software designers made midi aware. There are loads of things that can't be controlled by the mkII but it's invariably a function of the software not working, not the mkII.

 

I will try the reasign thing and report back.

 

Greg

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Hanibal  
Hanibal
3 posts since
Jul 6, 2007
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3. Oct 8, 2009 8:56 AM in response to: geebake
Re: Vetta II and FBV Shortboard mkII

'Hi,

What I meant about the CAT5 theory is that in the forums as soon as someone complains about not being able to switch the volume or wha pedals

on or off, you get the same answer ie. try to change the CAT5 cable. The use of this type of cable is perfectly ok its just that in the digital world (Rj45 ethernetbased communication) most of the time it either works ie you can switch on the switches or it really doesnt work at all there is no in between really.

So if only your volume/wha doesn't go on without a lot of weight its impossibly the cable's fault, its the mechanism. I sent my fbv to the local service

and they said it was as ok ie. like Line 6 ment it to be. I asked if they could customise it in a way ie. use another switch type for the pedals and they said it was impossible. Don't get me wrong I love my vetta and without the fbv it would be able to shine as it does i but the wha and volume pedals

are just risky to use live and sometimes I feel I might break the thing by mistake eventhough its built like a tank.

 

Here is an example of leading people astray

http://line6.com/community/thread/10553

 

Han

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geebake  
geebake
11 posts since
Mar 12, 2007
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4. Oct 9, 2009 11:41 AM in response to: Hanibal
Re: Vetta II and FBV Shortboard mkII

I see. I misunderstood your point entirely. I agree with this completely.

 

Greg

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Hanibal  
Hanibal
3 posts since
Jul 6, 2007
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5. Nov 5, 2009 11:01 AM in response to: geebake
Re: Vetta II and FBV Shortboard mkII

I fixed my FBV problem, maybe you can fix your broken ones. I had sent it to the official line 6 tech center but they couldn´t find anything. It did'nt work any better or any worse. Then it totally failed so I had to open it up. The on off button mechanisms are like a multitude spring plates held by tape (like those klicking frogs you had as a child) once they are pressed down some circuit is closed or something. In order for the main board to notice this, the distance bolts that statitcally hold the on-off switch circuitboards are used to send the current to the mainboard. These bolts are screewed onto a pad so the current can flow. I found that the back of the mainboard had scratches near the pads... too near to the pads. The current probably sometimes decided to take that road instead. I taped the scratched areas (really small scratches actually) with isolating tape to make sure the current only decides to go where the pad is and voila it works again.

 

I once had an X3 and similar mechanical loading kills electronic functions-thingy happened. And I bet a software guy had to solve that bad design. Ok line 6 if you have to design a pedal, try to seperate mechanical functions from electrical. Wiring the on-off circuit with some cables would have done the trick in the fbv. But on the other hand it might not even have been a line 6 decision, chinese production managers are great at cutting corners.

 

See ya

gotta play wha guitar now

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