ricstudioc

Just a "for what it's worth"... While wrestling with the HD500x/"dream rig" stuff (I'm no technophobe, but there could be some simpler operating modes...) I've starting using just the DT25 combo on it's own in rehearsals. Effin' SWEET amp! Love what I'm getting just from it even without the POD. I've got a Mesa TransAtlantic 2x12 as well (another topology-switching amp), and the DT is easily the sonic equal to it, at half the price. (Yeah, the Mesa's got a little more power, but not enough to matter....). Lovin' me my Class A/Pentode mode, very responsive and subtle.... Nicely done L6/Bogner - very nicely done. May yet turn out that I'll run the 4 cable setup and just let the amp do it's own thing - time will tell. (It would be nice to have dual amp presets in the HD work over the Link - I'm missing that from previous rigs...) But it stands alone with no apologies to any other amp..... Ric

Most excellent, Oh Most Excellent one! I'll grab the customizer when I get home, assume it's fairly self explanatory (we'll see...) And yeah, that's what I meant by "permanent". Muchos Thanks! Ric

Hey there - From hanging 'round these parts since getting my DT25, I've gotten the impression that it may be possible to overwrite the models that come stock on the amp with models from the HD500x. If so, could someone take a moment to walk me thru this? And this overwrite is permanent, yes - survives power down/power up? As always - thanks!! Ric

Ordered 2 cables over the weekend, they came in yesterday (Weds). - VERY nice! I haven't had one of the L6 cables to compare to, but feel no need to, these are perfect for my uses. Thanks Dallas, nice work! Ric

Hey Hurghanico - Thanks for the empathy - I've noted you as being particularly helpful 'round these parts, and very concise and clear in your explanations. I'm sure it's appreciated by all. Yeah - one of the first things I did when acquiring the new setup was start checking out the links you cited, as well as getting over to the "bobbo" site - also a guy who's done some great work. Kudos to y'all... I'll get this 'gator wrassled to the ground eventually - but it sure does thrash around while you're trying to get a grip on it! I've had this stuff for a little less than a month, and I'm already on my third re-think about system configuration and application. Thank god for the abundance of program slots, cause it looks like I'll have to have two entirely different configs for the two different projects I'm currently involved in. Wait - make that three, I'll need a set for studio work, too. Ah well - that's what my signature quote means. Side note - in chasing down your posts and tips, I've come across your music postings. My compliments to you - great tone, wonderful execution, very clean technique. You have skills - congrats! (Yeah, I've been playing a long time - but "longevity" and "compentence" are not always the same thing....) Keep on doin' what you do, my friend... And again, thanks to all for the help! Ric

Thanks guys - always appreciated! Arrrrgh! My brain hurts already - thank god it's a weekend, I'll have time to start sussin' this out. Y'know - with all the discussion/confusion I've seen on this issue I'm surprised L6 hasn't put out an update to provide a "keep it simple" signal path option. Input levels auto-balanced, mono thru the amp (without having to place a box inline to force it), stereo out only if such effects are placed post. I mean, I've been playing guitar a long time (sigh.... LONG time) and the only "stereo" guitars I've played have been more novelty than anything else. The power and flexibility of the HD is impressive - and I'm certainly not saying I'll never use many of it's potentials - but to just "get on with it" an option to simplify the path would seem to be a no-brainer, I'm not (by miles) the only one hitting this conceptual wall. Not pissing & moaning here - it's a great device, and with my GNX serving me well for the past 10 years or so I'd expect to be using the HD for....... well, at my age I'll probably end up willing it to someone. Jes' sayin'..... Thanks again, guys!

Howdy hey - So, as I settle in with all the new stuff (500x/JTV/DT) I'm starting to think that I'll probably end up with the JTV VDI'd into the HD, and keep my Relay into the Gtr Input for my other axes. (Was originally gonna wireless the JTV, but the new update makes things interesting....) I'm still learning about this rig, and keep noting the complexities around the input selection ("same"/"none"/Variax" and so on...) and the dual stereo signal paths (I'll be running into a single DT, so mono....) So with an input to the 1/4" AND a Variax in the VDI..... what to expect? - Will BOTH inputs be available on any patch, or must the desired active choice be programmed? - The whole "input levels" thing - till now I set the second for "same", seems to have been working well. Will I see a signal drop with the two set separately? - Will I have to keep an active mono effect in the Pre position so as not to have to muck around with the dual stereo thing? (Running out in mono, remember...) Any insights would be helpful - and btw, a lot of these questions get asked from my desk here at work, I'll obviously be trial-and-erroring when I'm with the stuff. My bosses are pretty indulgent, but might draw the line at my setting up the gear here and wailing away. Thanks!! Ric

I use the EX-1, no experience with the ME - I've found the EX is pretty iffy as regards throw, you really have to tweak the Min and Max values in the HD to get a decent experience, and personally I can't seem to get a good Zero level with a smooth throw. Always have just a bit bleeding through at minimum. Wish L6 had put a trim pot on that thing, like the Rolands - but what the hey, work with what ya got....

Definately watching this thread!! Although the single-coils on my new 69 are absolutely gorgeous, I find the stock HB to be a bit harsh and have pondered swapping it out. Nice to know that it's feasible, and others have done so. I'll be checking out those wiring schematics.......

Yup, absolutely - doesn't' quite get it where (I find) it needs to be. VERY useful in a "direct" application, less so it the scenario I noted. And Brazzy, thanks for the link! I'll toss it out there, see if I'm alone here....

Title kinda says it - I've not noted a specific place 'round these parts for F/R's, do ya just throw stuff out here and hope it gets noted? If the latter - the one thing I'd like to see implemented/added would be an EQ - even just a single parametric band - that could be applied to a model. Specifically I'm finding that the acoustic models can be kinda woofy at times, particularly running thru a "multiuse" preset on the 500x. (ie, clean amp, various OD's and such - but in this instance we're just running the clean amp, no gadgets). I'm aware that I can set up different presets on the HD, but in the live context I don't want to have to tap dance too much, there's a reason for the "multiuse" setups - one program to cover a lot of bases in a single song. I find that my "real" acoustic - a Yamaha APX - sounds great through the above presets, of course I can tweak the onboard eq a tad to dial it in. So - some manner of simple EQ (accessed thru the Workbench, of course) would really be the icing on the cake for the acoustic models. FWIW....

...and that would be... a "fuzz" tone?

Just chippin' in here - personally I'll always rate my speakers at or above the amp rating, BUT - if there's a serious difference (with the amp rated lower) than if you push the amp into square wave clipping you can easily blow your speakers. In this case it's not a question of wattage, it's the signal being put out - conventional speakers don't take kindly to being hit with right angles..... So - make sure the amp is strong enough to get you where you need to be at, say 60% of rating, and size you speakers accordingly. Like I say, I always rate my speakers at 50% or so more than the amp. I dunno, works for me.....

- i have a couple MIDI in/outs on my system, coincidentally an UNO is one of them, so good to go. - Since on my tentative POD setups the "B" amp is for lead work anyway, I may just take it as it is and set the "B" on the DT for that - leave the "A" for the candy stuff. Good point on topology, tho... - MUCH thanks for the info on the transformer issue, sets me more at ease. I'm buying into a new tech here, and I DO gig - reliabillty reports on the DT actually seem pretty good, just a few random problems. But good to know, thanks!! Oh, I'd imagine a good chunk o' my life is about to go bye-bye. But I've got to concentrate on gig-usable stuff in the short run - in a lull right now, but at full tilt this band does 10-12 gigs a month. Thanks all! Ric

I will walk the rice paper and leave no trace, Master Po.

Howdy - So just went whole hog and sprung for the DT25 112, seemed the right thing to do after getting the JTV69 and HD500x in the last week. Haven't even powered it up yet, I'll be setting aside time to dive into it shortly. (Yeah, I'm a patient guy...) From perusing the boards, 2 questions come to mind - - What is the physical methodology for checking/updating the software? I've noted mention of a usb-midi cable, should I have received one with the amp? (it was a floor model, no box...) Lacking that... what? Does the HD500x serve as a go-between? - I've noted comments about a tech bulletin (59) related to transformer issues on the DT50 - does this pertain to the 25 as well? Any other issues I should be aware of? OK - another question while I'm here - - If I'm reading the manual correctly, in a HD500x/single DT setup, only the "A" amp ever gets sent to the DT, switching to "B" puts the DT on it's own front panel settings. Does that sound right? My preliminary setups on the HD500 are "amp switchers", if I need to rethink that now's the time. Looking forward to juicing this puppy up!! Ric

Thanks again - good info to have handy. For the moment I've settled on putting the panner at the end, no controllers, and setting it hard right. At least this way I know that what the house is getting is the same as what I'm hearing. I prefer to run stereo - love to hear those ping-pongs bouncing around - but current FOH configurations make it impractical for now. And yeah - I'm startin' to feel the love for this thing - certainly a few quibbles here and there, but overall a very impressive bit o'work....

BIngo!! THAT'S what was missing - for anyone searching for this later, he means the "BYP VOL" knob that takes the place of the CH VOL knob and is only visible when the channel is bypassed. Alright - I'm one step closer to keeping this thing, thanks so much bro! Getting this set up is my starting point.... Let me ask a followup (tho I'll mark this problem "solved") inasmuch as I'm gonna be running mono, what's my best bet for that? Pan hard @ the mixer, put the Pan module in at the end (can it be set to one side w/no controller assigned?) - or is the summing at the 1/4" fairly phase coherent? Bear in mind - perfect world I'd like to send an XLR line to the house and it's my understanding that they are ALWAYS stereo - so it seems panning somehow is my best bet. Waddaya think? Thanks again, Duncann - lemme know where to send the doughnut......

Howdy all - Ok - picked up the HD500X a few days back, due to some heavy gigging I'm only just now getting a chance to really sit down with it and decide if it's right for me. (Hell no, I didn't take new, unmastered tech to a gig. I may be slow - but I ain't stupid...) Been scanning these boards in my few minutes of off time - lotsa good insights here, thanks to everyone who contributes! So - I'm coming to the HD from (most of the time, I've got way too much stuff) a GNX3. One of the things I like about the GNX was the ability to have 2 separate amps set up in a patch, and just hit a switch to change between them. Generally I had a Tube Screamer in front, so I'd have A) clean amp, B) clean w/Screamer (slightly crunchy), C) dirty amp (crunchier) and D) dirty amp w/Screamer (chaos...) On the HD I set up a similar path - dual amp, one clean and one dirty. Figured out how to assign both amps to the same footswitch, so I'm effectively "switching" between them (another question later about getting the switch LEDs "polartiy" to be where I want it). Started testing and something kept bothering me, finally realized that when I "turn off" one of the amps, a clean-but-unprocessed signal is still coming down that side of the dual path. i.e. - I'd have the dirty amp humming along, but I'm still hearing a clean component from the "turned off" side. So - is there any way to truly MUTE the unused path in a dual amp setup? FWIW for the moment I'm (unfortunately) going to be running in mono, if that makes any difference. Oh - and certainly I COULD set up two different programs, but I'm trying to avoid that. Establishing this configuration in a single patch is the starting point for all of my patches regardless of the device in question - having these options in a single patch is where it all begins for me..... Like I said, I've got a window where I can return the unit if I decide it's just not right for me. No questions about the unit per se - I like Line6 stuff - but if it's architecture can't meet my needs... Any insights appreciated!! Ric