Community: Message List - Have we figured out what Volume pedals work with the HD 500 yet?

Re: Have we figured out what Volume pedals work with the HD 500 yet?

support@line6.com — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:27:11 GMT

I'm not sure your post "clears anything up." But rather muddies the waters again.

Mission did indeed start sending out "resistor kits" when these problems occurred a few years ago, and back then it was "resolved." But that was long ago, with a different pedal design that was in place before the POD HD500 came out.

If you ordered a brand new pedal from Mission Engineering, (at around the date of your post) it will have a resistance range from 0 to 10k, so if you want to utilize the full sweep of the pedal for any parameter (yes, any parameter, not just volume) you assign to it, be prepared for a trip to Radio Shack.

And by the way, the suggestion to utilize the on-board pedal for volume, and the Mission pedal for "other parameters" just doesn't work very well if the "other parameter" happens to be a wah-wah, since there is no button on the external pedal to engage/disengage it.

Until the "interface" problem has been resolved between Line 6 and Mission Engineering, the temporary "resistor mod" described makes the pedal work as intended, and it can be just as easily removed when the problem is resolved.

Re: Have we figured out what Volume pedals work with the HD 500 yet?

support@line6.com — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 02:45:08 GMT

OK, so I took some time tonight to do a little research into this, and, as it turns out, both of us are right, kind of...

So, first I took one of my EX-1s and plugged it into my HD500. I set up a simple patch with a volume pedal effect, and I set it up to be controlled by EXP2. I set the min to 0% and the max to 100%. Then when I rocked the pedal back and forth, I notice a similar thing as you're describing happen with the Mission Engineering pedal. I'd at about 80% or so through the sweep the volume pedal goes to 100%. So it does seem like the jack for EXP2 is set so that it needs to see something less than 10k ohms to go to max.

However, just because I was curious then, I hooked up the EX-1 to my M13. I set it up to control the volume pedal effect again with heel at 0% and toe at 100%. What I found surprised me. The pedal exhibited pretty much the same behavior. By the time I was at 80% or so, the volume was at 100%. I've been using the M13 for over 4 years now, and this is something I've never noticed! I think it's probably I do not really use the expression pedal to control volume, but rather different parameters.

One thing is that I think the actual construction of the EX-1 is such that by the time it's at 80%, the treadle itself is almost at horizontal, and when you're actually stepping on the pedal, you hardly notice that little bit of extra travel down to the toe stopping point. The only thing I can think is that perhaps Line 6 intentionally wants a little wiggle room at the top of the sweep because that part is the hardest to accurately control. I would venture to guess that the EX-1 works the same with all Line 6 products with the expression pedal input. Perhaps because the Mission Engineering pedal is using a pedal design where the toe-down position isn't really horizontal this extra travel is more noticeable.

Also, I should add, just to check, I did measure the resistance with a multimeter, and it was 10k ohms.

Re: Have we figured out what Volume pedals work with the HD 500 yet?

support@line6.com — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:56:10 GMT

Two 20k pots in parallel? That's interesting. I wonder if they are different tapers or something, Two pots seems like twice the opportunity for issues!

Re: Have we figured out what Volume pedals work with the HD 500 yet?

support@line6.com — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:49:52 GMT

I haven't hooked up a meter to the EX-1 (perhaps I could try tonight), but I have used the EX-1 to control different parameters with the EX-1. I just didn't notice it working any different than I'd expect. I honestly haven't tried it in awhile. I have to give it another shot tonight. I never really like controlling the volume with the EX-1 anyway, because of it's linear response.

The one physical difference with the Line 6 pedal is that it actually has two 20k pots wired in parallel to achieve the 10k, but that really shouldn't make any difference.

Re: Have we figured out what Volume pedals work with the HD 500 yet?

support@line6.com — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:41:20 GMT

Phil, I don't have the EX-1 to test so I'll assume you are right in saying that it works with the HD500. One thing that I have gleened from all the posts is that some people are more sensitive to the pedal range issues than others, especially depending on the parameter they are tying it to. For me the test is to use Edit, assign it to a parameter that shows percentage, then move it slowly until it hits 100%. For me, the Mission pedal(10k pot) had about 25% left in the sweep. The 22k resistor brought that down to the magical 6.8k range. I have to believe that the HD500 is looking for that value since it tests the same with any pot I tried. 100% = ~6.8k ohm. period.

What's the resistance of the EX-1 across the jack at the toe down position?

Re: Have we figured out what Volume pedals work with the HD 500 yet?

support@line6.com — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:30:02 GMT

The thing that I don't understand about this issue is why the Line 6 EX-1 pedal works fine with the HD500 still. And it works fine with my M13, too. Theoretically, it has the same specs as the Mission Engineering pedal.

Re: Have we figured out what Volume pedals work with the HD 500 yet?

support@line6.com — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:51:53 GMT

I had the same response from Mission when I bought mine. I agree that the issue is with the HD500, but I still think it is being misrepresented.

It's not a "Volume" only issue. The issue is that the HD500 responds at 100% of whatever parameter it is controlling at about 3/4 of the pedal movement. The only way to currently correct that is to drop the resistance of the expression pedal when it is at the toe down position. This is easily done by soldering a 22k ohm resistor across the jack of the pedal. Which is something that we shouldn't have to do with an expensive expression pedal(or any other pedal).

That said - it IS Line6's issue. Since all of the other L6 products respond fine to the 10k pot in the Mission pedals, its rediculous that L6 doesn't fix this in their top of the line pedal. I have a very hard time beleiving that this would take them very much time to fix and test.

Re: Have we figured out what Volume pedals work with the HD 500 yet?

support@line6.com — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:53:22 GMT

Message From Mission Support Team:

We fully understand the frustration surrounding firmware issues with expression pedals (including our EP1-L6) in regards to 'volume' control on the POD HD series. Customers have described that they are not getting the full 'range' or 'sweep' with an external expression pedal. We had considered designing something to remedy this issue, but that would involve making a new expression pedal with the sole purpose of controlling only volume on the POD HD series. We felt this would not be in the best interests of our customers to produce a pedal with such limited capabilities. We have brought this to the attention of Line6, as this can be solved within their firmware. What is recommended is using the 'stock' expression pedal already built-in to the POD HD series for 'volume,' and the EP1-L6 for all other expression capabilities (wah, whammy, etc..).

Whilst the recommended work-around is not perfect for some, it will go some way to solving this

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Mission Support Team via info@mission-engineering.com

You Guys Rock,

Mission Support Team

Re: Have we figured out what Volume pedals work with the HD 500 yet?

support@line6.com — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 23:53:11 GMT

This should help clear things up. I decided to get it from the horses mouth: I am proceeding with ordering a Mission Engineering pedal

Hi,

Thanks for contacting Mission Support. Any pedal ordered direct from our webstore, or that of our certified Mission Reseller Family, is guaranteed to have the most updated EP1-L6 components. Ordering a pedal from other sources such as Craigslist or EBay deems the products compatibility unreliable. The upgrade was made over two years ago, so the issue has long since been resolved.

Here is a link to the EP1-L6 and the Reseller page:

http://missionengineering.com/shop/ep1-l6/

http://missionengineering.com/dealers/

Let us know if you have any more questions.

Thanks,

Mission Support Team

From: Kent Ferris
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2013 7:49 AM
To: info@mission-engineering.com
Subject: Hd 500
Importance: High

I have heard there are issues with the Mission EP1-L6 pedal working with the HD 500 as an additional expression pedal. Can you confirm? If they have been resolved how can I tell on the pedal I purchase it is one of the ones that has been fixed. I am planning to purchase a pedal today or tomorrow. A quick response would be appreciated.

thanks

Re: Have we figured out what Volume pedals work with the HD 500 yet?

support@line6.com — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:49:57 GMT

I heard a couple guys are having luck with the Boss FV-500H. CAn anyone confirm? I am also wanting to purchase one.