Here's where my info is going to satrt and I'll come back to update these findings.

After much fighting with the software, patches, and updates for all the gear...this is what  have a CONCRETE 100% accurate factual info about the JTV compatibility with the Vetta as of this set of patches and no updates for the Vetta yet.

 

The Vetta ONLY "REMEMBERS" just the two banks of CUSTOM patches.  It still does not recall any of the other banks like the previous model Vax guitars do.

 

Also - for any of this to work, The Model knob MUST BE turned ON, AND the Alt tuning knob MUST BE set to MODEL!!!  The Alt tuning knob overrides ANY saved alt tuning.  This also goes for programming the JTV using the the new Workbench software.  The MODEL portion of the Alt tuning knob MUST be set in that position or the program will not allow any tuning changes within the software until you change the alt tuning knob to MODEL.

 

I've chosen to think of that position like this...If I want the MODEL I built and saved to be recalled in a patch I want a specific guitar with a specific tuning, the Alt Tuning knob MUST BE SET TO MODEL in order to work.

 

I hope this helps with just a few bits of the situations I've come up against.

 

If it is completely fine to say that the JTV line of guitars will work with the XT or Vetta, then I think there should be a section that says in more detail exactly what will work and what does not at this point in time.

 

Next up - updates & patches...what it takes to get Monkey to work, getting the JTV to be recognized by the new Workbench, getting the new EDIT to recognize the HD500.

This is the beginning.  I've learned quite a bit through accidental discoveries and much frustration.  Persistence sometimes does pay off in the quest for knowledge.  I'll be back with my current status and what does factually do what and how it does it.

rchoueri wrote:

 

MerlinFL-

 

'Bout time somebody with some brains linked the three peices together. Now i won't feel like a total jagoff for posting the wrong thing in the wrong thread about the wrong piece of gear. I considered these three as a total system/unit/solution before I invested in all three. So now were finally here in a thread that makes sense and thank God. So let me get started, did you hear about the midget who accidentally walked into a gay bar with his pet alligator? Just kidding ... ~fuggedaboudit!~

 

I spent a half hour today writing some quick patches for some 80s music I'm scoring for somebody using the POD1 Farm and the PODII farm and you know what? There's a a patch I downloaded some time ago called 'Adrian Smith Solo'. It just a Rat into a Marshall Jumped Plexi into a flanger and a simple slap plate. How simple and elegant is that huh? Cab 412 G1275T, 67 Condenser, Bass 61,   Mid 74 , Treb 90, Pres 100,  Drive 95, Volume 75-100 percent

 

Switched a couple of amps around for variations of the same patch to wit: Soldano SLO100, Chemical X, Insane, Treadplate, Spinal Puppet with same exact amp settings and cab settings and just varied a phaser on each and a sine chorus on each. So I have 18 working patches created in 15 mins. Nothing fancy. Just basic meat n'ptates. Know what? Sounds great in the mixes doubling guitars using diffiernt mono amps on diff tracks. Nice and fat and juicy and rocky and stanky. Hooyaaa!

 

Just a word to all the toneseeking naysayer expert 'tone seekers' and never becoming 'tone finders' out there. The HD500 sound engine is far superior to these and these sound great in the mix as is. So what's your point ~skygod ya douche?~  Well its quite elemnatary lads and lassies ...

 

1. If you play live, the trio above aka the JTV/HD500/DT50 is going to make your crappy guitar playing even sound crappier, otherwise your excellent chops stupendous, and be a REAL backline controlled, tweaked, and refined to a precise military surigical strike DEFCON III scenario.

 

2. If you do a lot of studio work, the basic meat'n'ptates POD farms and assicated hardware still rock, have superlow overhead, and one can dial in stuff on the fly, and follow my basic first principle in life of 'KISS (keep it simple stupid). So don't just dump'em all in the trash just yet. They all still have utility.

 

3. If you do both live and studio work consistently you'll need both. Duh!

 

Just a few thoughts to get this forum going.  New is not always better, and old is never ever bad. In fact in my convoluted world older is gooder and naughty gilrs rule. Get that ya mullets? ~fuggedaboudit~

 

And as for you Mr Neal, aka Merlin the Magician you evil wizard .... keep up the good work bro. In fact as an old boss once told me many years ago 'You did a greaqt job this week son. Take Saturday and Sunday off w/o pay."

 

Well thats my unsolicited 2 centillas and as always, YMMV-

 

Later -

 

~skygod~

Oh yeah - WELL SAME TA YOU BUDDY!!!  I wrote something about ya on the "Expected Release Date" thread you might find amusing.

As far as this forum goes, I have been and will continue to test drive ALL of this gear as we were all toldlast year that the JTV guitars WILL WORK ...now pay attention....SEAMLESSLY....with the older VDI interfaced gear.  It simply is NOT TRUE.  I HAVE found what I wrote above about what it DOES do at this point in time.

I LOVE POD Farm1 BUT for BASS ONLY and looking forward to POD 2.  I'll save that topic for another time.

I use my Vetta for ALL live and studio guitar amp sounds with or without the Vax 700 or JTV 59US I have.

Anyway - onto the gear to be discussed next time I post. I'll have my latest findings, etc., results, etc.

See ya,

Neal

johnnyayyy wrote:

 

MerlinFL wrote: The Vetta ONLY "REMEMBERS" just the two banks of CUSTOM patches.  It still does not recall any of the other banks like the previous model Vax guitars do

Assuming this is never improved upon in JTV patches or firmware updates, being able to save 10 different guitar models in the two custom banks to whichever Vetta patches I choose will be enough to get me throgh my live set.

 

Question: When you choose a factory preset that has a specific guitar model assigned, for instance Factory 8D  "Variax Sitar" which would normally call up the sitar model on the Variax, what does the JTV do? Does it ignore the Vetta model change command and do nothing? Or does the JTV change to some different model other than the what the Vetta factory patch is telling it to?

Any patch from any bank whether is is a factory installed set of bank/patches or ones that I've created for my Vax 700 and installed into the JTV using the new Workbench software - will make no difference to this answer as it stands right now.

If you choose any patch from any bank other than from the two Custom banks, the Vetta will STAY on whatever the last model on the guitar is.  If you were on a LP patch, and go to F8D, the Vetta will send the "signal" it has in it's memory through the VDI cable on whatever :channel" it uses (which as per my latest discovery SHOULD BE Channel 1 as written in the POD HD Advanced Users guide.

Apparently, the Vetta must transmit on a different channel as well as receive differently since when the JTV is connected to the Vetta, the Vetta "thinks" it's a Variax 700 ACOUSTIC guitar, not the electric 700 guitar which COULD explain the erratic behavior of working sometimes and/or working as this point with only the custom banks.  I do not know anything about the AC700 guitar and how it works, but if it's like the 705 bass, then I could begin to understand WHY, but sadly not HOW to resolve this communication problem.  If 10 patches works for you and your live performances, GREAT NEWS!!  It's not enough for mine and I've written out all the guitars I MUST HAVE to do the live shows I currently do, and I need more than 10 slots.

In the Advanced POD manual section 2.5 which is posted below directly from the manual and manual pages 2.10 thru 2.12 explains this in more detail on the POD HD and what travels along what signal path within the VDI cable.

"Note that the "Variax Ch1" and "Variax Ch2" options are provided for the James Tyler Variax (Ch1=Modeling, Ch2=Magnetic pickups). Please refer to your Tyler Variax documentation for details. If you own an original Variax instrument, you can use "Variax" or "Variax Ch1" as your input setting."

BUT - when the Vax EC700 is connected to the Vetta, it DOES read the Mag pups as well as the models when physically engaged from the guitar.  I MUST conclude based on this bit of info the Vetta is READING Channel 1 ONLY and the mag pups are the VDI digitized version mag pups,  Not the analog version you would get using Vax channel 2 the POD HD does recognize.  Or going with two output cables (VDI + 1/4") from the JTV into the Vetta if you must have analog mag pup input.

As I said in my opening posts - this is NOT plug & play.  Not even close to it.

I once again strongly recommend that the advanced manual be read by EVERYONE interested in the JTV, POD HD, or DT50 lines of gear...this advanced manual will give many "clues" on how the JTV works that is not found in any of the JTV manuals I've looked at so far as well as bits about the DT50, and all the other features not even demoed, discussed or seriously advertised that the POD HD is capable of doing.  Vocal processing w/INTELLIGENT harmony, Bass guitar processing, and it CAN do vocals+guitar or Vocals+analog Bass/guitar+Variax guitar - ALL AT THE SAME TIME AND SENT TO INDEPENDENT OUTPUTS.  Pretty intense stuff when you begin to read what this new POD HD series can offer if those interested will take the time to learn it all and even the glitches, quirks, bugs, etc. that hopefully will all get cured in the not to distant future with firmware updates/patches.

Personally - I don't need anything beyond guitar processing, but all this other stuff is in the unit and at least must be learned a bit to understand the POD HD properly.

Hope this begins the exchange of knowledge, learning from each others experiences, etc. on ALL the gear I wanted to bring to light within this forum.

Take care,

johnnyayyy wrote:

 

MerlinFL wrote: If 10 patches works for you and your live performances, GREAT NEWS!!

Seriously, great news!

 

Thanks for all the info and the quick answers.

 

I would bet they get it worked out so you can access whatever number of models you need for your live set by the time the product comes to market or soon after at the latest.

You're welcome for any info I provided that helps.

I'm also hoping that someone with some SERIOUS tech skills might be able to figure out how to "redesign" the VDI (CAT45) cable so that the JTV guitars can be recognized correctly by the Vetta just in case no patches or updates are provided.  Having the output channels coming from the JTV is a good place to start - I think.  And the other clues about the Vetta seeing an EC700 as an AC700 might give us outside of Line 6 some potential ideas or work-arounds to give us the results we are wanting and needing.

I'm going to try a PC to PC "reversed" cable just to see what happens between the two units.  I will certainly post my results - whatever they might be when I get around to trying that.

Take care,

Neal

For doing your homework, you get an authentic Dunlop Tortex pick in your choice of colors from red, orange, yellow, green, blue, or purple that have my name on them.  These are a true collectible since no one has ever heard of me....yet.  LOL

Glad you did take al ook at that advanced guide as it truly shows off what is possible with the POD HD500 unit.  Personally I wish they would have left all that extra non-guitar stuff of, and put in some of the very useful effects patches they have for the Vetta that I've been using successfully for years.  I'm hoping I might be able to use the VOCODER function since I can't sing worth a darn at all.  Maybe it might help.

The biggest users of resources I've found so far are the "Smart" Harmonizer and the Tri-Chorus.  Does anyone really use those synth patches for anything?  Other than making people laugh, I've not found a musical opportunity in over 7 years.  The voice box effect doesn't sound like a voice at all to my ears, anyone else feel the same or have better results??  I miss the auto-wah - why did they have to remove the auto-wah??  The B3 imitation patch is kinda cool and if blended properly with the right type of EQing, I think you could pull off some organ riffs on the guitar within the POD HD500.  I've got a good one for copying Jon Lord's "Smoke On The Water" overdriven B3 sound that is fairly convincing.

Getting to some of my findings...

No surprise that the JTV interfaces with the POD HD500 perfectly.  It DOES take QUITE a bit of learning and getting used the inner workings of the POD HD500, but it does work if handled properly.  At this point, I can only presume that the JTV guitar Alt tuning knob is a overriding separate computer entity.  It can not be saved to any patch that I've found SO FAR.  It overrides any patch the moment you take it out of the MODEL position and the guitar is no longer properly controlled with anything other than itself.  It will do very weird things if the patch has a specific bank slot # and it's not in the MODEL position.  It'll switch to that patch for a moment, thenthe guitar overrides it and changes to whatever the guitar is set at with whatever tuning it's set at and will stay there until manually changed or alt tuning knob switched backto MODEL.  The Banks of Patches Knob can be anywhere just like on the previous Vax guitars and the patch changes will occur as thay have previously on the older gear on this new POD HD500.

That's a small bit I was able to come up with today.  I've been spending lots of time just going through all the patches, amps, effects, etc.  And there's quite a bit of stuff to deal with. No new software updates for any of the new gear this past week.

Later,

Neal

ghoffman wrote:

 

Neal,

 

 

I have been enjoying your informative posts while waiting for my JTV-59CSB to arrive.  I am just a weekend warrior playing classic rock and blues in a neighborhood band.  I have 2 Variax 300s, a Pod XTLive and an Atomic Reactor 112-18.  I purchased all of this gear from reading the Line 6 forums over the last couple of years.  I have a 57 reissue US Strat, a Les Paul Custom, a PRS Custom 24 and a Rick 12 string but really like the ease of using one guitar to accomplish all those others as well as using the XTLive to switch guitars, amps and effects for each song.  But enough about me.

 

I am getting concerned from some of your posts that the new JTV will not work as seemlessly with the XTLive as my current 300.  Are the problems you are having applicable only to the HD500 or do they also apply to the XTLive?

 

Since you are a beta tester and actually have a JTV and are planning to do some comparison videos, I have a request for you.  There always seems to be discussions about how well the Variax models compare to the real guitars being modelled.  I was thinking it might be interesting to see if you can create a model which replicates the "real" pickups on the JTV.  That should give you the ability to compare how the modeled JTV sounds compared to the "real" JTV.  Does that make sense and would you be willing to give it a try?  Thanks again for all your hard work, comments and reviews.

Hi - thanks for reading and I hope whatever is posted here by myself or other users of this collection of gear will help.

I can answer this question very easily, I already had a patch that from the intiial Vax guitars I used that sounded nearly exactly like the pups on one of my LPs with the typical uncovered humbucker configuration.

So in answer to your question...YES, I have easily created a model that sounds almost exactly like the mag pups that are on the JTV model 59.  The sound comparison is nearly indistinguishable from the modeled pup to the real mag pups.  I've switched the modeling on and off while in this LP Bridge pup model mode into the real mag pups on the guitar and no one can tell the difference.

And for the record - I was not one of those who wanted or need mag pups on the new Variax guitar.  I wanted models of pups I do not have like a Sustainiac, which was top of my list and a few others from Dimarzio, Duncan, etc.,  I was also one of those people who DID want MIDI capabilities since I think it would be terrific to connect the guitar to any of the keyboards I currently have for more sound options.  But what Line 6 chose to create is what we have to work with until the next version.  :-)

Take care,

Neal