The_Doc_Rock

Oh yes - don't get me wrong. Of course different pickups sound different. That's one of the reasons I have a guitar collection (at least, that's what I tell my wife) B) And yes, the pickups certainly contributed to the sound of "Money For Nothing". But while it's hard to put proportions on it, I'd guess that 10-20% of the sound was due to the pickups, and 80-90% due to the fact it was MK playing it. I think my point may have been missed somewhat. The point was that I interpreted the initial post in this part of the thread as asking what the pickups were in "MFN" so that @arislaf could change the JTV pickups in order to sound like that track. And my interpretation was obviously not quite what he was getting at, for which I apologized. I've been guilty (many years ago, though) of thinking that I could sound like somebody else by changing guitars, amps, pickups, etc - but I've learned since then that most of anyone's sound is due to the player. Some are more recognizable than others. Anyway - back to the main point of this whole thread - the puzzle as to why some people's upgrade to v2.0 of the firmware sounds really bad, while others' sounds great. It would appear that I'm not the only one with the problem, going on some of the posts earlier in the thread, but my support ticket didn't manage to come up with a solution. So I'm happy to stay on v1.9 and wait for v2.1 before trying again.

Sorry if my reply came across as unhelpful. It was not intended that way. But your question sounded as though you wanted to sound like Knopfler, and to do it, that you thought you needed to change out the pickups on the JTV. The point I was trying to make - and obviously didn't make it very well - was that Knopfler sounds like he does because he is Knopfler. Hank Marvin will always sound like Hank Marvin - no matter what he plays, and no matter what pickups are on it. There are just some players who have such distinctive playing techniques that result in highly individual sounds. And I really doubt that the pickups make much difference, to be honest. If you don't like the sound or the response of the mag pickups on the Variax, then fine, change them for that reason, to something you prefer. But to change them in order to sound like a specific sound - eg Brothers In Arms - would be an expensive mistake I suspect. Again, apologies if my reply was less than helpful.

First, the mags on my JTV69US are great. Second, the sound Mark Knopfler gets is NOT mainly due to his pickups (although they would play a small part). The sound is due to the way he plays, and to his touch. He plays with his thumb, not a pick, and the position of that very long thumb, along with the feel he imparts in the way he strokes or plucks the strings is the reason for his sound. Give almost ANY guitar to Mark Knopfler, and he will sound like Knopfler. Changing the pickups on any of your guitars is not going to make you sound like him. Wanting to change pickups, or worse - guitars - to something that somebody else uses, in order to "sound like them" is one of the big mistakes so many people make. I can pick up George Benson's guitar and play it, but there is no way that I would sound like George Benson!

@Al-Vixan: I'm in Australia, and I bought mine from the USA - not from Thomann.de I think it was back in 2011 going by the date I registered the instrument on the Line 6 web site. I did open a ticket, and Line6Hugo was very helpful, but we still couldn't fix the problem - the final suggestion was that it may be faulty electronics (eg RAM chips or whatever) COMBINED with the v2.0 firmware, given that everything works fine with v1.9 I did point Hugo to this thread, which he read, as I had mentioned that there were a few others that reported exactly the same problems. So yours is yet one more with the same problems. I'd suggest you open a ticket, and maybe refer to my ticket and to Line6Hugo, so that the same person deals with it. If they get more than one ticket, then it's unlikely to be JUST a problem with the hardware, and perhaps they can track down the problem and fix it in v2.1.... :) My ticket ID is 216662 I've just updated my ticket to suggest that Hugo look at this thread again, and your post.

I have updated sequentially with every firmware update since I got the guitar, and yes, surprising though it may seem, I did follow the instructions every time - to the letter. If I missed something previously, it was purely by error, not because I ignored the instructions - but of course an error is always possible. Your guess may well be correct - you'd win a 6-week holiday on a Great Barrier Reef island resort (hastily add that I'm kidding!!!) ;) I would be very interested, if any of the others are still reading this thread, to hear if anyone still has the bad sounds after the update or if a re-flash has fixed the problem. Or if they've simply gone back to v1.9 and are staying there, like I am now. Once again, thanks for your thoughts and ideas :)

@johnnyayyy: Many thanks for your detailed reply - appreciated. Just for the record, I've done pretty well all of the above, several times (the JTV has now been flashed 5 times with v2.0). ALL the flashes have progressed through to completion with no problems, and I received the "All OK" thingy at the end. They were all done via the USB interface. I had the volume up, modeling turned off (i.e. was on the mag pups), jack in the output socket, etc etc. Said yes to all the right prompts and no to the others like the one about keeping presets. Basically, I have done everything that you outlined above. \ When I did EXACTLY the same to my mate's Korean JTV69, the sounds that resulted were great. Mine couldn't have been more different - honky, mid-range sounds that sounded like an old telephone line. Like the 1KHz EQ was notched right UP, with everything else almost off. And that was after EVERY time. When I did the comparison with my mate's JTV, I used the "Update from file" method in Monkey, and used the exact same file that I had downloaded (actually the third download just to make sure it wasn't corrupted). The fact that it worked perfectly on his guitar but sounded awful on mine is where the mystery lies. I am as certain as I can be that (1) the upgrade file was OK, (2) the upgrade itself proceeded without error and completed, and (3) having done it 5 times now, the results are specific to my individual guitar. BUT - a few others have posted earlier on this thread that they got exactly the same thing - so perhaps it is something that is specific to SOME guitars? I have outline everything to Line 6 in my ticket. I am back on v1.9 and happy with it, as I was before I tried all this updating malarkey ;) I'll be patient and await v2.1 and try again. Returning the guitar is NOT an easy option, as I'm in Australia (imported the guitar from the US before they became available here), and the local importer is in Sydney while I am up in Queensland, with Australia being a BIG place! :) Thanks for your help, and the list of suggestions - appreciated.

LOL :) I don't have a problem with the proper use of the Quote button, as you can see. It's just that to use it for a quick two-word reply to a post containing huge graphics, seems somewhat superfluous... I opened a ticket, but have not yet heard back. I was delayed until a couple of days ago before opening the ticket (was in hospital - OK now though). And in the ticket, I pointed to this thread, along with my posting nick, in addition to a full description of the problems and what I have done to try and solve them, including that experiment with my mate's Korean JTV69 that sounded great with v2.0. Once I hear back from Line6, I'll post any progress on here. Thanks for your interest and help, SH :) Appreciated.

Why do people insist on hitting the "Quote" button to put a two-word reply, such as "Nice, thanks", but which makes the entire previous post, full of slow-loading graphics, load all over again? Even more of a pain for those reading this on eg an iPad. Just saying.... ;) Better just to use the Quick Reply at the bottom of the page. And for those who have been following this thread, I still haven't got any answers as to WHY some people's guitars just don't like this v2.0 firmware update, and give awful sounds. Like mine, and a few others who have posted here.... Wonder when v2.1 will be out?

Chuckewheat: even though I have my own problems with v2.0, yours sounds more serious resulting in a bricked guitar. My guess - and of course it's only that - is that the USB interface, the little plastic box with the lights in it - may be the problem. But that's just me taking a punt! Will be very interested to hear how it goes and what they find.

Thanks for that. Now that IS interesting - it's not JUST my guitar it seems. So I wonder what it is, specifically, in those affected, that is responsible for this result?

Thanks Silverhead (great nick, by the way). Yes, that method is exactly what I have been doing, including making sure that the JTV is in mag pickup mode, the volume is not set to zero, and used the supplied USB interface box - the little one with the two lights in it - both green. I also made sure that the battery in the JTV was a freshly, fully charged battery (may be worth adding to those instructions, by the way) just in case battery drain during the update caused any corruption. Although given that I've now done it 5 times, and got the "All good" message each time it finished, I think it can be safely assumed that the update PROCEDURE all went OK. I'm at work here, and can't really search back through the threads, but I'm sure that there at least a couple of others who posted that they got results similar to mine. Would it be worth messaging them and getting them to re-flash if possible to confirm the problem? Thanks for your help and response - much appreciated. I KNEW it wasn't just my ears...! :D

Well, just for fun, I tried a little experiment last night. A friend who has a JTV69 Korean came over to my place, and I upgraded his guitar to v2.0. And the sounds were good. (Except the Spank positions 2 and 4 which we both disliked compared to v1.9, but workarounds have been given as above). I then re-updated my JTV69 (US-made) one more time (that's the 5th time now) using the exact same file (I used Monkey and "Update from file" for both his and mine) and mine sounded TERRIBLE - again. Absolutely nothing like his, and nothing like the sounds that have been posted here. He hated the new sounds on my JTV as much as I did - yet HIS JTV sounded fine - except for the level mis-matches which need to be sorted out. So, there we have it. There is a problem with the new firmware and my individual guitar (and perhaps others on here who have posted similar results). The puzzling thing for me is that some sounds - particularly the Lester models - are great. Love 'em. So it seems not to be a systemic problem with the update and the guitar - it's something in the way the models are rendered in my guitar. And it can't be the guitar hardware - as v1.9 sounds just fine (and sounds the same as my mate's Korean JTV with v1.9). So if there is a problem with the digital electronics in my JTV (and perhaps other peoples' as well) such as the RAM problem that has been one suggestion, then it needs to be addressed. Same firmware file, two different JTV69s, vastly different results and sounds. Can't get any more definite than that, of a problem existing. New sounds on mine are honky, thin, low level, and sound like they're coming down a telephone line. On his guitar, they're brighter, sparklier, and have more "air" than the v1.9 models - just as described by so many on here. (apart from the Spank positions 2 & 4 problems). So - is this just MY guitar? If so - what the heck could it be? Or is it something that apllies to certain guitars of which mine happens to be one? There have been a couple of people posted on here that they get sounds like I get with the update - what is the common factor between our guitars? Line6 - you there? Once again, I'm quite happily back on v1.9. I'm getting to be quite a dab hand at doing these firmware flashes almost blindfolded by now... ;)

THAT seems to be the key issue, as far as I can tell. I don't think it's a corrupted download problem, given that I've downloaded v2.0 now on four separate occasions, and done the update 4 times in total, 3 using Monkey, and one using "Update from file". And the updates go through just fine - message at the end telling me all went OK, the works. But something - with my individual guitar - is very different from what others are getting and hearing. So my point is that while many - probably most - are getting an improvement in the models with v2.0, there are some who are getting bad results. I can't figure out what it is, but it is real. It's not my imagination. Comparing @guitar4u's sound clip of the 335 model with what my individual guitar sounds like using that exact same model is like listening to a real 335 (his clip) then listening to a cheap toy guitar down a telephone line! So yes - it seems to be something individual. Now if it's JUST mine, then I have an issue that I need to take up with Line6. But if some of the others who have posted that they are hearing similar to what I had, then the problem may be something that Line6 need to track down in the firmware. OK - off to work here, so will be "off the air" all day, and I have a gig tonight - will be the JTV69 via an M13 into my MusicMan HD130. And v1.9 firmware on the JTV... ;)

I agree completely. That's what I've been trying to say, basically. That there are issues, and not just opinions. SOMETHING is not compatible between v2.0 and my JTV-69US. I have no idea what that could be. Yet the v1.9 sounds are just fine (as were the earlier ones). Apart from the RAM suggestion somebody posted a few pages back, I'm not techie enough to think of what else the problem could be. And I doubt that it's mechanical (eg the piezos in the bridge) as it all works fine with v1.9. But something just ain't right - yes, there are issues. Those issues are specific to v2.0 firmware and my JTV-69 (along with a couple of others posting here, I think). But I have absolutely no idea what the issues are. One of the cover bands I gig with is predominantly a Shadows band (Hank Marvin, etc) - and requires a very specific type of Strat sound. I can get it from the JTV mag pickups. I can get it from the v1.9 Spank models. And of course I can get it from my '62 Strat. But there is no way I can get even close to it using v2.0 - on MY guitar. I'm not trying to suggest that the problem is the same for everyone - it very obviously isn't. But in my case, it IS a problem, and a real one.

Well, at the risk of sounding grumpy - I'd disagree that it is ONLY a matter of opinion. Of course opinion comes in to it. For those who have a proper set of sounds after moving up to v2.0, they either prefer the new sounds, or the old sounds, or a mixture. But what I'm talking about in my situation is NOT just a difference of opinion on the new sounds - it is that the new sounds are faulty. They are wrong. They are WAY out of whack - as I've already posted, they sound like somebody pushed the 1KHz EQ up full, and rolled off the top and bottom. The levels are significantly down compared to the mag pups, and too many of the new sounds do NOT sound anywhere NEAR the sounds of the real things. And that is NOT just a matter of opinion - it is a matter of fact. There is a problem here. It is a real problem, a fault. My ears may not be as golden as they once were, but I can tell the difference between a real Strat and the new models, or a real 335 and the ones in v2.0 which do not sound anything like a 335. And a couple of others have also posted that the new models are thin, honky, and low level, which could be that they have the same problem I had. But as you point out, v1.9 is still available - thank you Line6 - and I've reverted to it and all sounds fine again. One of the key points is that in the couple of videos posted above, comparing v1.9 with v2.0 sounds, the differences are there, but they are not dramatic - they are refinements, differences in clarity and top end, etc. But in my situation, the differences are VERY dramatic - and not for the better in v2.0 The new version - in MY guitar - does not sound anything like the ones being played in those videos. There IS a problem, Houston - it is not JUST a matter of opinion. PS: I tried last night to do what was suggested earlier - I went back to v1.7, then straight to v2.0, but it was no better. v2.0 still sounded awful. So I've gone back to v1.9, and will be sticking with it.