Hi again Ed –

There are a lot of places to control levels.

The iPad's volume controls (volume up/down buttons and the home screen volume slider) only control the final hardware output volume, not the input volume.  Most people seem to just leave it set somewhere between 80% and max volume, and get a good output level that way.  You can test what a good level would be by playing an iTunes track that you know well in the "Music" player (formerly "iPod") app with the output volume controls set like that.  Most music apps will get close to that level most of the time, including Mobile POD.  Also Mobile POD has an overall output level slider (transparent, on top of the output level meter) – where's that set?  Most people seem to keep that between 70% and 100% too.

The Mobile In input level, on the other hand, doesn't have any hardware level control, and that's on purpose.  This is the only way to make sure that the guitar signal hits the modeling processing at the right level every time, for reproduceability of your tones.  The level is optimized for electric guitar, and the unusually wide dynamic range (over 105 dB) makes it forgiving for differences in different guitars' output signal levels.  The tone presets in Mobile POD are designed to work with that kind of level.  If your JTV is hitting your apps at a radically low level even when you have the JTV output pot at or near full, and if there's cable issue, then maybe you do have a faulty Mobile In unit.  If it's only off a little then you should be able to turn up the Gain knobs on the amp models a little to compensate.

You're correct that Mobile POD processing can't be fed into GarageBand for multi-tracking... but then again, no other tone app can either.  Unfortunately this is a GarageBand and iOS thing that we can't do anything about.  Some folks work around this by tracking on a laptop, some run Mobile POD on one iOS device (like an iPhone or iPod touch) and track into an iPad running GB.  Some people try to make due with the limited multi-tracking built into the other tone apps, but nobody I've spoken with has been satisfied with that approach.  What everybody really wants is GB.

On the smart cover, can you say anything more?  People here in the office have been using it with Mobile In, usually with the cover folded into the triangle position which doesn't interfere with the 30-pin connector.  What's not working?

Also the built-in guitar clips are dry recordings of a JTV, and are processed live through the actual POD DSP.  Your JTV shouldn't be sounding worse.  Do other guitars sound OK for you in Mobile In + Mobile POD?

     – Chris