stevenrossbrown

Hello P Sarkissian (you've helped me with this before, and seem to know the most about it here, so hopefully you'll see this ... I posted it in a similar thread last week, but thought making a new one might help get it noticed. I'm sure you guys have a lot to deal with as the Line catalog of products continues to grow over the years. I have a Spider Valve 112 (Bogner) amp that’s always had that fun/classic “intermittent crackling/loud noise” problem. I’m lucky to live near a highly qualified repairman in Simi Valley, who’s worked on every amp there is over his 50-odd year career. Without the specs, since he isn’t a Line 6 guy, he carefully put the amp through his own very thorough testing & diagnostics, from the master pot through new (per your own specs I supplied to him) new 12AX7s, and more – but was unable to fix it. I think the place for me to start with Line 6, is now a dropoff at Instrumental Music in Thousand Oaks? Or maybe that’s changed. It’s a really wonderful amp, and I hate to part with it – but it’s way too loud for what I need (and very heavy), and my Catalyst CX60, while falling a little short of the true tube sound, does just fine. So I’d love to have the Valve amp be sellable with confidence (a clean bill of health directly from Line 6) – to someone who can really use and appreciate it. The dollars in play are the question. Physically it’s in near-new condition, and it looks like resale value might by $350 - $500. But if I need to spend close to that to fix it, of course that wouldn’t make sense. (and maybe this is a dumb idea, but I could pass along the results of my guy’s testing, that might help Line 6 to get to the root of it more quickly). If you could advise me re: what you feel is my best course of action at this point, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!!

Hello P Sarkissian Not sure if the is the right place to post/ask this, but figured you could point me in the right direction of not. I have a Spider Valve 112 (Bogner) amp that’s always had that fun/classic “intermittent crackling/loud noise” problem. I’m lucky to live near a highly qualified repairman in Simi Valley, who’s worked on every amp there is over his 50-odd year career. Without the specs, since he isn’t a Line 6 guy, he carefully put the amp through his own very thorough testing & diagnostics, from the master pot through new (per your own specs I supplied to him) new 12AX7s, and more – but was unable to fix it. I think the place for me to start with Line 6, is now a dropoff at Instrumental Music in Thousand Oaks? Or maybe that’s changed. It’s a really wonderful amp, and I hate to part with it – but it’s way too loud for what I need (and very heavy), and my Catalyst CX60, while falling a little short of the true tube sound, does just fine. So I’d love to have the Valve amp be sellable with confidence (a clean bill of health directly from Line 6) – to someone who can really use and appreciate it. The dollars in play are the question. Physically it’s in near-new condition, and it looks like resale value might by $350 - $500. But if I need to spend close to that to fix it, of course that wouldn’t make sense. (and maybe this is a dumb idea, but I could pass along the results of my guy’s testing, that might help Line 6 to get to the root of it more quickly). If you could advise me re: what you feel is my best course of action at this point, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!!

I get it, thanks ... found both the Hotone and a smaller version of the Boss Volume (FV 50H) better suited to my needs on eBay and they're on the way, whoopee now I'm all set to assemble the whole works as a basic board with a few effects of its own, that will also control the Cat ... and with that double input lightning adapter, even if a charger is too awkward, I can toss a battery on a the music stand next to the phone now if my right foot will just be coordinated enough to do the the 2-button bank change, and I can glance at my phone to see what preset is active, it'll be great!

quikquestion: I know you'd mentioned initial trouble with Bluetooth and the Hotone – as far as I can tell from specs, in case my iPhone lost the Bluetooth connection during a show, as long as I had the USB-lightning backup cable in place, that would take over right? (maybe with brief fiddling) ... anyway, ready to order! just doing all the measuring for my board build thanks, & Happy New Year!

thanks! you’re second paragraph is pretty much what I’m focusing on and already sketching out for sizing and fitting - and eliminating the cat two button switch from the mix Totally agree with what you say about AI, especially Google’s… I’ve been in the AI mix through images and Adobe for quite a while, and understand, training, context, etc. For a volume pedal I think I’ve settled on the boss FV 500 H – I want one that geared, passive, and high impedance … I have high output, quiet DiMario‘s on my Strat and less, Paul, and really like the responsiveness to adjusting my playing touch and volume knobs with the dynamic amp model in the catalyst, it responds really well. Hoping to use some different volume pedal positions to play with the dynamic response further Really appreciate you getting back to me. I know this is time-consuming stuff, but I don’t know anybody else who knows as much about it as you do! Would have replied sooner, but I’ve been in a hospital this morning with my wife’s sister having a hip operation since she fell last night – – – all going well though, and right now, plenty of time to sit with the old cell phones in hand!

Thanks, was just looking at essentially the same stuff – don't know WHERE I got the idea of a 20+ lb diff between the 60 and the 100 – was probably the difference between the 60 and my Line 6 Bogner Valve (real tubes and heavy transformers). If I'd know what I know know, the CX 100 would have been the choice, oh well. re: the Ampero – am I too worried about it having only 4 switches, and I'd just use two for bank up/down, and the other two for A/B within each bank as foot control to select each of the 60's 12 presets? Also, looks like I could get a used POD GO for about 300, and according to Google AI, it would talk to the CX 60 just fine with MIDI over USB, no host, and I could select any of the 12 presets that way, use the volume pedal, and just add my Crybaby wah up front ... https://musicgoround.com/locations/duluth-mn/product/S000109556/Line-6-POD-GO?sku=40081-S000109556&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cse&srsltid=AfmBOop_4tlMiC2Fg1cWWu9fuu7cMHjWL9pCAAOtSQmVYHO-PTdbe2TU7U8

I guess something like this ($575 eBay) is really the only answer to what I'd like, as far as "the simplest path/fewest connections, to foot control of lots of presets" – just won't to be the least dollars ... which leads back to the Catalyst 100 and an FCB1010 ... but my lower back and I LOVE the 60. Oh well ...

ah, thanks for the quick reply ... I actually do know the presets are only 12, the 24 figure was just foggily floating around in my head while I was typing too fast, as the number of Catalyst's resident Helix FX... before I plunk down add'l analog $ I'll follow up on current (used) pricing for the Hotone+Ampero-iPhone-Catalyst vs a used Helix FX-iPhone-Catalyst USB MIDI... plus as you'd mentioned it needs the camera kit to keep the phone powered while using, and I'd still only have 4 "immediate access to presets" with the Ampero footswitches... anyway, thanks again for all your help, I'll keep picking away at it... just want the simplest path/fewest connections, to foot control of lots of presets – and of course, for the least dollars. Reminds me of equations & solving for x and or y – in physics I could solve almost anything with vectors, but forget it if it was equations – that's why I went into art and not marine research, too much math, too few visuals :(

Hi rd2, me again. Have been busily working away on an oldskool analog pedalboard to use in conjunction with the CX60, since comprehensive MIDI foot control of all the internal effects isn't going to happen. But ( with all of this relating to live performance with a band, while zipping right along through setlists ) – for the bank changes that would let me at least pretty quickly get to as many as 24 different presets – using the iPhone and Edit app with iPhone on a music stand, or even bending over quickly to hit a manual bank change, and then using the LFS2 switch to toggle those two presets by A/B channel, with an amp/boost/effects preset in each – would really give me most of a lot I'm looking for from the Catalyst effects (and boost) without MIDI foot control... But the one big drawback there, is that (as you know) - the footswitch settings in Edit are GLOBAL. Whatever I set there applies to each one of the 24 available presets. (unless I'm missing something here). If the footswitch settings could just be saved separately per each of the 24 presets, it would really rock (be fantastic). Not sure if you have any inside track on ongoing develop[ment plans, but do you think there might be a chance of that in the works? thanks!

thanks

oh yeah - and that Nektar would also need a HOST?

yeah, that much I know, just qualifying which one I have but really doesn't matter in this thread... and you confirmed my suspicions – that the HOST element of the USB/MIDI chain for the 60 is always required, isn't resident in the amp, and apparently is never included in the various potential foot controllers, except maybe the more expensive (and Line 6?) versions also, this is why my current and increasingly looking like permanent solution for my footswitching things as much as possible when playing live is the LFS2 for A/B and Boost/FX, 1 bank for the Strat, a second for the Les Paul; and then the iPhone on a music stand running Cat Edit and quickly switching the banks as needed with my finger! Wah and Chorus up front; Delay and Reverb in the Cat, switched with the LFS2 ... and if the finger method proves quick enough, may even add a couple "specialty Banks" with Octave Divider, Oblivion/Badonk, massive Delay, etc – anyway, it's coming along ... rehearsal last night, great tone blended with our other guitarist (an old Princeton and crazy-big pedalboard) – and me with no lower back trouble!!!

can this Programming it was a breeze, and it works great over USB - Hotone>iPad>AUM>Cat USB. be this? Programming it was a breeze, and it works great over USB - Hotone>Cat USB.

Wow. Very cool. I'm definitely learning a lot as I move from the analog world I was so familiar with in the 70s and early 80s into the incredibly fast-advancing and rapidly changing digital world of music. I did it with art as a career in 1984 after 13 years analog, starting with the Atari ST because the Mac wasn't color until 1987's Mac II. Thanks for your help with that! Wasn't going to send you more "mystery foot control hardware" questions, but what the heck – any thoughts on this one maybe playing nicely (and, uh - fairly easily) with the Catalyst (CX) - 60? The specs down at the bottom of the Amazon page seem favorable to the Catalyst's USB, but what do I know! https://www.amazon.com/Nektar-Pacer-MIDI-Foot-Controller/dp/B07CXMPLXM/ref=asc_df_B07CXMPLXM?mcid=450aab1620323032ac35d4207000e607&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693366139088&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18062600383398314803&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013668&hvtargid=pla-571840873838&psc=1

thanks! (heck, I even appreciate that you follow through and do what you say you will... I know this all takes time & effort) right there with you on BT – even with the way my iPhone talks to my car (and glitches) - too many modes, protocols, dropouts, etc, sheesh ... not to mention the ol' inherent latency for live play monitoring (like with the Catalyst /headphones) ... speaking of which, since I have to stick with headphones at home, just came across another thread here: "Your experience with Catalyst and headphones" – totally agreed with the reply/advice posted mentioning AKG K240s - then saw it was you! I love mine, and they're 45 years old ... anyway, will continue to keep an eye on the CX60 foot controller thing, the AIRSTEP is the right direction, but I'll want more... LOVING the Catalyt's Dynamic amp model - it's opened up a whole new approach to picking, and controlling an amazing range of tone and gain with just the pick and pinky on volume knob... for now, I have a CLEAN and DYNAMIC setting for both the Strat and Les Paul, Strat assigned to A and B, in Bank 1; Les Paul A and B in Bank 2... LFS2's FS1 toggles A+B; FS2 handles Boost, Delay and Reverb ... so that's a total of 8 distinctly different sounds with the LFS2's buttons and one bank change ... and with hot but quiet DiMarzios on both guitars, DYNAMIC gives me a whole additional range of sounds just with attack & pinky control ... the Crybaby into a BOSS CE5 chorus up front, so for now at least I've got it covered, without the additional 20 lbs of the 100 (and maybe better speaker?) and as you'd mentioned, I'll be using the iOS Edit app on my phone, clipped to a music stand for easier bank changes than leaning down for two hands on the amp. I guess the ultimate would be a HELIX for foot controlled effects, and two pedals for wah and volume ... but so much more money it's really not worth it YET...