c00lkatz Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I just picked up a Flextone III XL and a new FBV Shortboard MKII (great combo btw, I love it). It looks like everything is laid out all the same as the standard FBV Shortboard, except it would seem Function 1 now controls the FX loop on/off, and Stomp controls the Compressor. What does Function 2 do? I've read an old post that says it does nothing, but there are Line 6 default presets that light up Function 2 when I switch to them and other presets that turn the light off when I switch to them. Only a few of the presets I have tweaked on the Flextone itself, and none of them were tweaked while the shortboard was connected as I just got it last night. So it would seem it does SOMETHING, but I can't find any info on it. Just to cover all my bases, the Shortboard MKII had the latest firmware out of the box, and the "new to me" Flextone III was re-flashed with the latest 1.10 firmware along with an A+D factory reset before I started playing with it to make sure it was as "factory fresh" as possible. Thanks for any help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c00lkatz Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share Posted February 21, 2015 Well it seems I figured it out. I plugged into my audio interface via MIDI (Presonus Audiobox USB in Mac OS X Yosemite for anyone wondering) and fired up Line 6 Edit. It would appear the Function 2 button controls Amp Enable/Disable as verified with the Line 6 Edit software. If the Function 2 light is on, then the amp (modeling?) is disabled. When the light is off, it is enabled. Now here's where it gets weird. I have a Matchless Chief custom tone in 1A, the stock Purple Fuzz tone in 1B, the stock XTC tone in 1C, and a custom tone I made in 1D. When I first fire up the amp and switch to 1B (Purple Fuzz, unmodified) the Function 2 light is lit, BUT in Line 6 Edit the amp modeling is still enabled. If I press Function 2, it does nothing except switch the light off, amp modeling is still enabled. But if I press it again, then the amp modeling icon on Line 6 Edit goes dim, and the button functions as normal turning the amp modeling on and off (again, light on = modeling off, light off = modeling on...confusing I know). However, when I switch to 1C or 1D, then back to 1B, the light stays off. If I switch to 1A then back to 1B, the light will come back on and function as aforementioned. This is the only tone in the first bank doing this, with my limited testing. All other tones still operate as normal with the Function 2 light off (as it should be) then pressing the button will turn the light on and disable amp modeling. So it would seem it's a bit glitchy, but yes, the Function 2 button does something, and that is enable/disable amp modeling. Now obviously I don't see this as being a very useful function for which this board was intended, but it is at least nice to know what it does. Just putting this out there for anyone who may be searching in the future. Also, as a side note, I DID use the latest Monkey utility to update the firmware on this amp, contrary to what other posts from 5 years ago tell you (they say not to use Monkey because it is glitchy and can cause problems, there is another flasher that is specific to the Flextone available). There have been a couple updates since these old posts were made regarding Monkey, and for me at least, using OS X Yosemite (the current latest version of OS X, released almost 5 years since the discontinuation of this amp), and the aforementioned audio interface, everything is working just fine with the latest Monkey and Edit utilities. Firmware flashes have gone smoothly, the utilities have worked as intended, there have been no connection issues, and all is well. Thank you Line 6 for the continued software support on your discontinued products! It is much appreciated! Another side note, if you're buying this amp current day, you've most likely bought used at 1/3 the price it went for new, and saved a lot of money over current comparable offerings. Invest in a decent audio interface rather than a cheap MIDI to USB cable. The cost is not that much more (my Audiobox was $69 on sale at Guitar Center), and you get so much more than just a basic MIDI interface. The cheap $10 or even $30 interfaces just aren't worth it. Do yourself a favor and get a decent (doesn't have to be expensive) interface, and save yourself the hassle and read up on all the extra features you get doing so. Ok, I'm off my soapbox now. Thanks again for reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilwalsh Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Thanks for the update. I was just searching for an answer to this very question. On my version however Function 2 does nothing. I wonder if this is a software version related thing... I'm interested to understand, if you disable amp modelling, does this also include speaker modelling? What's the overall effect on the sound? Do the gain/eq controls still work? Is the amp now a "pure" non-modelling amp at this point? Cheers Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealZap Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 no... perfectly normal.... the MKII came much later than the flextone....and the FBV is just a controller.... meaning that there were no updates after the release of the MKII pedal that added any functionality to the flextones. therefore the amp does not know what to do when the button is pushed. (and won't ever.... since the flextone is no longer being updated) On my version however Function 2 does nothing. I wonder if this is a software version related thing... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c00lkatz Posted May 8, 2015 Author Share Posted May 8, 2015 Thanks for the update. I was just searching for an answer to this very question. On my version however Function 2 does nothing. I wonder if this is a software version related thing... I'm interested to understand, if you disable amp modelling, does this also include speaker modelling? What's the overall effect on the sound? Do the gain/eq controls still work? Is the amp now a "pure" non-modelling amp at this point? Cheers Neil Sorry, I no longer have the MKII to test with. I found a killer deal on a very good condition, used Shortboard MKI at my local Guitar Center about a week later, and swapped it out for that at less than half the price of the MKII, since I didn't need the USB functionality or the extra button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.