Rewolf48

You want to see how little £230K buys over here!

The info about the new devices are all over the front page of the website (well the bottom) - linking to the dedicated page: http://line6.com/relay-g70-g75/ The teaser however is the picture at the top of that page which clearly says "VARIAX+" on the wireless receiver - unfortunately that is the only place where variax appears, so none of us think that it is the oft requested Wireless VDI.

IIRC when editing on the HD500 directly there are two click points for "0.0", the upper one of which is true zero and gives no effect, but the lower one gives the shimmery chorus effect of being micro detuned.

Yeah, what we really need is Global EQ.... ;) And for those of us who struggle with setting up EQ something that will give us the settings for Flat output. Perhaps something that will: a) Connect into the MP3 input of the HD b ) Issue Pink Noise and listen to the results via a Microphone c) Suggest the settings for the Global EQ OK, it won't be perfect - especially without a calibrated microphone, but if it allowed a iPhone/Tablet built in microphone to be "calibrated" to the Patch set-up environment (i.e. where you set-up the patches in the first place) then it is only looking to provide eq settings to normalize the performance environment and it doesn't need an absolute calibration, just relative. Just a thought

I was suggesting that an Idea was created - but it would require more than two interested people. Where a band is playing along with sequence of some sort (additional sounds, videos, lighting) then whatever is running the master sequence for the show can output MIDI Program Change to the HD, which will send Model Change to the JTV. This functionality is not needed. Where the player is not stuck in place with a Microphone in front of them then it isn't needed (at least for HD500 users) because they can just look down. Even if they do have a microphone in front of them they don't need it if they have an easy to hit trigger in front of them rather than worrying about hitting on small switch in a bank of 10. As well as using the volume or tone knobs as DI suggested an Expression pedal does the job just as well. One thing you could try is MIDI linking the HD to itself, and then programming the lower switches so that they all go to the same place. So assuming you only have two sounds - an acoustic and an electric, each using a different variax model then on the acoustic patch you program all the lower switches to do a program change to the electric patch, and on the electric patch you program all the switches to do a program change to the acoustic patch. No need to look down as long as you can roughly find the HD, just press whatever your foot hits to toggle between the sounds. The advanced guide gives details about how to assign MIDI events to the switches, and what message to send to change patch

Don't forget that Kemper is a GmbH - based in Germany which is Euro and subject to currency variations compared to the US (thanks to some Euro members not balancing their books). I am not saying the Kemper isn't just out to get as much money as they can make, just that it might be partially down to currently rates... I am seriously considering a L3t at the moment imported from a German dealer because their price undercuts everybody in the UK by hundreds of pounds and a large part of that is currency rates

You don't need batteries with a Variax and an HD500 because the HD will power the Variax over a VDI cable. You do need to factor in a VDI cable but if you are very careful in your home environment you can just use any old ethernet cable you have lying around because that is the same thing but without the protective ends designed to make sure it doesn't break when you run across the stage and forget how long your cable is! There are plenty of people using the older Variax models with HD500 including http://line6.com/support/user/13764-hurghanico/ who does a very good job of showcasing what they can do. The question is really about whether you can live with the guitar as a guitar, and that is something that is deeply personal - the 700 was the top of the range and was a very good guitar, so much so that some people were trying to sell them on ebay for more than the new JTVs cost! If you can give it a hands on try I would and then decide whether you a) like the variax concept, b) like that specific guitar or want to save up for a better one

In what way do you mean unusable? I think most people find it one of the easiest to use as a subtle and fairly transparent compressor that adds some tube warmth, and in most cases the default settings do this quite well. It is not for squeezing all dynamics out of the signal, use one of the others for that.

This is an interesting idea, not for everybody of course, but the HD is informed by the JTV whenever the switch is moved - I doubt that it is the switch being moved directly, but more likely to be the JTV publishing its version of Patch Change after the event. And there is no reason why the HD couldn't interpret this event as a Patch Change instruction other than a firmware enhancement that would allow the required mapping to take place. Even more interesting might be the HD still publishing the JTV Patch Change message (that is already there) - so the JTV becomes a remote for HD Patch Changes which acts as a Master for JTV Patch changes, so in this mode JTV Custom 1 P1 to P5 relates to HD A1 to B1 (5 != 4, I know it doesn't match), but A1 an acoustic patch maps the JTV to Acoustic 5, A2 with a Twin to JTV Spank 3 and A3 with a Marshall puts the JTV in Lester 1. Then you just need wireless VDI, and with the existing Volume and Tone Expression controllers you have close to full control over the whole system from a JTV! Might be worth an Ideascale idea?

25" which in combination with it having 10s on, while my JTV 69 that I have used for the last 2 years has 11s and a longer scale and a floating bridge, which makes bending on the Eggle ridiculously easy. 24 frets too which it turns out I have missed as well now that I am playing a bit of lead again. I don't think there is a single perfect guitar, just guitars better adapted for specific styles... If you want my complaint about the Eggle it is that I would prefer a 5 position strat style switch over the 5 position rotary, but that is quite minor. Shame that the Wilkinson Locking part of the Trem got squashed by Patent stuff in the US and is not available anywhere any more

The 6 screw Trem bothers me quite a lot - ok for a tiny bit of a wobble, but no chance of a dive... in fact I will never get a guitar with a 6 screw system as it doesn't have the range that I prefer. I've just this last week gone back to my old Patrick Eggle LA, and the Wilkinson Locking Trem system on that is brilliant - really light action but when you release the arm it locks into a back plate and turns into a fixed bridge that you can lean on without going out of tune. None of the OTT stuff involved in a Floyd system and complete stability. It is one of these, but with a natural body http://www.patrickeggleguitars.org/htm/lastd.htm (notice Left Handed was No Extra Charge!) Just for the moment I don't need to the JTV flexibility, but I do need a decent Trem, so the JTV 69 is taking a back seat to the Eggle. Now if they could build a Variax with a neck like the Eggle and with a Trem like the Wilkinson Locking one then it would be great.

Yes that's it exactly - so it has to be the Edit screen then; just having the effect selected and seeing a single parameter is not enough, you have to be able to see all of the parameters (or be on one of the screens in the case of an Amp)

Mysterious Wei = patch for U2 "Mysterious Ways"

It is on Idealscale: http://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/POD-HD-Model-Packs-Add-ons/650100-23508 The main reason why it was suggested was because it looked as though Line 6 were done with the HD series because nothing of any consequence had happened for a long time, and I presume that the idea of getting additional revenue was going to get something happening. Which it did... I didn't vote one way or the other on this, and will probably wait until after a few reviews before considering it.

Then two hours later I was creating a new patch... and it worked again! Specifically on a brand new patch immediately after assigning the controller for the first time. Specifically I added a Tube Comp post amp and linked Exp2 to the Level so that I could control a bit of boost on the final output. Wasn't sure what to set Max to to get the right amount of boost, but I was able to change the Min and Max values by moving Exp 2 from heel down to toe down and changing the value using No 4 knob while not in the Controller Assignment page. I was too busy trying to get the patch sounding good to try and work out exactly what combination of things enabled and disabled it from working.

And then yesterday it didn't work. I know that I didn't imagine it, so there must be some sort of mode where it works and I just didn't work out how to get into that mode. Anybody else managed to to get an HD500 working like this? And perhaps anybody know how to repeatedly get it into this mode?

For years I have been mainly editing the HD500 directly on the unit, and for years I have been using Expression 1 to go between a couple of States - typically a cleaner to more distorted sound with effects and tone/eq being changed. And every time I did this I would keep going back into the Assign Controllers view to tweak the Min and Max values for every setting (and there were often quite a few of these, so I had to write them down). Then accidentally last night I discovered that I had been wasting a lot of time, because it really is a LOT simpler than that... You do need to go into the Assign Controllers page to associate a Parameter with a Controller (e.g. Exp 1), but once that is done the HD500 will automatically update the Min and Max values based on where the Controller is and you editing the parameter value. For example set Amp Gain to Exp 1 - leave Min and Max at 50%. Rock Exp 1 to heal down and turn the Gain knob to say 9am, rock Exp to toe down and turn the Gain knob to 4pm. Now rock Exp 1 back and forth and watch the value of Gain.. I now varies between the 9am and 4pm range! This works for all of the assignable parameters, not just the main Amp knobs. Well done Line 6 for providing a really intuitive method for editing, wish I had discovered it years ago

There is rather a long discussion about how it was done here http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=907216 Definitely Q Filter, Compressor, Chorus and Delay, but distortion at least on the early albums may have been more Amp than pedal Found within that thread is this video where some bloke called Barry Goudreau briefly mentions that the first effect he ever got was a Wah pedal which if placed in a fixed position was used by both him and the other guitarist (Tom somebody) to create "their" sound. :)

No, it is always active, but the Mix (relative level) is too low for it to be heard. When the pedal is fully back (heel down) the Mix of the WAH is 21% and the position is 0 which is cutting the higher frequencies a bit When the pedal is fully forward the Mix of the Wah is 62% the position is 100 Mix of 50% is equal amounts of Effect and Unaffected signal; as you go lower the Effect level is cut, as you go higher the Unaffected signal is cut

DXR?

I use the FX Loop to add my keyboard in as a stereo pair of 1/4 lines (as revans does) except that I place the FX block last or nearly last in the FX chain. Gives a bit of control over the levels, and the option of moving it wherever I want. Started doing this when I had an old '90s keyboard, because it would allow me add Amplifier effects or Rotary, Compression etc if I wanted using the HD. Now I have a Motif with all of that built in and more I am only placing it last in the chain to avoid bringing a mixer with me because my PA speaker is single channel.

The official price doesn't appear anywhere in that thread, but there are a lot of guesses ranging from $1000 to $2000. There was also discussion about what "aggressively priced" really meant. The use of the lower spec DSP lead some people to believe that this might be closer to $1000, and when it was pointed out that it will cut into AxeFX sales, Cliff did say that losing 10% AxeFx sales isn't a problem with more sales of a cheaper unit. Lots of AxeFx users said they would get one just for Rehearsals or Fly Gigs where it was too much effort to take the full rack, so there are reasonable number who will buy both. Got to say that I can't justify £900 at the moment, but realistically I need a better amplification solution before a new Amp + Fx unit.

Only part way through the rather large thread, but Cliff says:

MIDI Program Change messages are the values 0 through to 255. A Device will have it's own identification of a "Patch", in the case of the HD it has Banks and Presets, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 2A, 2B... 16D. In translation to MIDI numbers 0 = 1A, 1 = 1B up to 64 = 16D. The H9 Presets appear to be numbered from 1 (which is very common as only programmers start with 0 as the first number), so on the H9 MIDI 0 = Preset 1, 1 = 2, etc (this H9 Preset to MIDI message to select that preset is "n-1") So selecting HD 1D will send MIDI PC 3 which will select H9 Preset 4. The MIDI instruction doing this is the HD automatically transmitting Program Change messages... on the Base MIDI Channel each MIDI cable can carry 16 independent communication Channels numbered 0 to 15. Each piece of equipment will typically listen to one of these channels (or all of them in omni mode). All equipment defaults to Base Channel 0, so connect any two items then they will talk. But in this case you don't want the H9 to receive the HD default Program Change messages, so you have to set one or other of the devices (H9 for example) to use a different Base Channel, and then when you program the HD switch you need to set the message to be sent on the Channel that the H9 is listenting to. Oh and you only need one MIDI cable for most uses: HD sends to H9. If H9 needed to send back to HD as well then a second cable would be needed.

You are getting confused between setting a footswitch to trigger a MIDI message and the default MIDI Program Change that happens when you change patch on an HD500. If you stick with a single H9 Patch per HD500 then you don't need to program the HD switches. Go to Bank 1 Patch A and the HD500 sends PC=00, go to Bank 2 Patch A and HD500 sends PC=04. On the H9 you define what the H9 does when it receives PC=00 or PC=04, which might well be to go to Patch 16 for both of them - that is the MIDI Program Change Receive Map on the H9. You should set the H9 Program Change Receive Map for every Patch you use on the HD so that the correct H9 patch is active when you go into the HD Patch. However if you want to change H9 Patches while staying in the HD patch you will need to program the switches to send additional Program Change messages - these however will be specific to that HD patch and can be combined with normal switch functionality on the HD