psarkissian

#2 thru #6,... are saying this was done? Or are you asking if it was done? In the meantime, I will look into the service history further.

#6- The work order I saw said that some electronics were replaced don't know specifics beyond that.

For warbling, double check the pick-up height to the strings. If they're too close, they can pull on the strings, and in Model mode, it induces a warble effect that the piezos can pick up on. And yes, it is exaggerated when in an Alt Tune tuning.

I've found that the 3.5-Meg Ohm input is the noisier one. Tend to not use it. Some players like though. There was a lower Z-in setting I showed Robert Sarzo once,... he liked it. Not as much noise floor.

The FFT displays are nice, but nothing to show me how your test is set-up. As you have pointed out,... not 100% objective. The You Tube is a good start, but I can't see what or how you are doing what you are doing. The piezo FFT indicates transients the you have labeled. That would point to something with the piezo and/or something before the piezo. The only thing before the piezo is mechanical. Therefore, not DSP or output, or electronic,... therefore, not the Firmware. Firmware models the guitar it is meant to model. Modeling is a template, a mask thru which the signal passes thru. There is a ring in the You Tube audio. I sound like that when I flat-pick. Part of the reason I finger-pick (which is most of the time). As you pointed out, this occurs even when,... not connected. The mechanical is the source, the electronics are the processor/amplifier. Make use of an equaliser to band-reject the frequency set you find objectionable. It's about sculpting that sound.

Taking the signal from the piezo or the DSP is not indicative of the output. The output has gone thru the processing and amplfiers. The piezo has not. No label as to if it's the DSP output, or a chip at the input.

The electronics may amplify the problem, But, if this occurs even when the guitar is not plugged in, then the source is not electronic,... it's mechanical.

"... is audible even when the guitar is unconnected"--- If it's doing that when it's unconnected, then the comment earlier about it not being electronic or Firmware, means that it's mechanical in nature. The electronics only put out what is inputted into it.

A You Tube audio,... now there is something usable. A video watching you do it, would be even better. I'll mull this over. In the meantime, make use of the equalisers on the HD500 to trim out a frequency profile more in keeping with what you are looking for.

"If it were an issue with the firmware then every single Variax running the same firmware would have the same problem but it seems that most people don't have this problem but many do"--- that is correct. As far as Firmware goes,... "Spank", the Fender Strat sound,... sounds the way it does, because that's the way the guitar that was modeled sounds. Some of the test points shown that used for the FFT displays would not be good examples to use.

Good.

Looks like it's programmed correctly then. That's how the LED's should look and work. Ever so slight red-ish, blue-ish tinge to it?

Pseudo expert?

Slow road to a fry? Maybe,... if the internal switch isn't acting correctly. What color are the LED's on the knobs when modeling is engaged?

Feeding noise through a decoupling capacitor creates a filter with the surrounding components (that may act as resistive elements). This weighting filter will skew the noise results in a way that will emphasize some frequencies and de-emphasize others, in a way that will not be an accurate representation of the noise injected in the circuit. A filter will spread or "smear" the frequencies, giving erroneous peaks and troughs in the FFT results. Injecting noise into the DSP means nothing. DSP doesn't process noise, it processes digital bits. Tampering with the circuitry that way is not a good idea, and even worse without a schematic,... and may even void any warranties.

Use the equaliser on the HD500 to bring down the desired frequency. Select a different impedance on the HD500. Some impedances in the selections are noisier than others, some players like that, it gives grit to the sound that some like. Some impedances selected have a lower noise floor. If the string is vibrating radially and not transversely, then the pick-up is set to close to the strings. By the way, speaking of strings what is the string gauge set being used? "Spank" is modeled from a 1959 Fender Stratocaster. The low-E string has a characteristic bite to the sound that the Delta Blues and Gulf Coast Blues players value. Presets are a starting point,... sculpting a sound only starts there. There is not an error in the firmware because that's what the guitar sounds like, that the sound was modeled from. It's like bringing up a model of a Marshall tube amp and wanting it to have the tube sound of a Marshall, but without the noise floor and hum that goes with it. That defeats the whole purpose of the model,... that is, to sound like the item being modeled from. "Spank",.... It sounds the way it does, because that is what the guitar it's modeled from sounds like. That's what modeling is.

No super glue,... use white glue like Elmer's. It's what we use here. If you use super glue and it's not aligned right, you'll be screwed. stevekc is good enough to get away with using super glue,... he's one of four or five people in the Americas (besides myself and a couple others here at Line 6), that I trust to do a mod on a JTV without making a mistake. If you haven't done this before use Elmer's or as Steve said, a Luthier, ... or guitar tech. Those are supposed to be lightly glued in at the factory. Some how it didn't hold. Sorry about that. Oh,... and it's not graphite, it's some mix of something different, it is made by Graphtech.

Potential? No, at some point it will become a problem. It's an output load thing to the amp circuit on the JTV main board. Both JTV outputs are not designed to be used at the same time. As for the other thing, since you can engage either Model or mags,.. ... one or the other at a time, I'm not sure I see what the benefit is. When magnetics are turned-on the Models are turned-off, and vice versa. Not sure what you're trying to do there. Preset the levels maybe?

You might get away with it for a time, get a cool sound or spatial effect,... ... but not something you want to do on a regular basis.

500 and 700 are swap'able,... 500 and 600 aren't.

No mags to Model blend,... it would never work with the Alt Tune. Models would be Alt Tuned while the mags wouldn't be. That would sound really bad. Using VDI out and 1/4" out simultaneously would create problems of circuit loading and current draw issues (with or without battery). The circuit board wouldn't handle that kind of load. In case anyone was thinking about that one.

And if it causes more wear on frets, then it will do the same to the piezos on the bridge.

Models and magnetics won't run simultaneously,... it's one or the other.

No. Certain contact cleaners are bad on plastics, actually can chemically breakdown. It can look like the plastic melted. Carefully pull up the volume and tone control knobs and make sure the pot retainer nuts underneath are snug to the pick-guard so there is good contact between shield and pot casing. Snug, not too tight,... or threads might strip. If that doesn't do it, log a ticket in your Line 6 account, get a Return Authorization to take to an authorized Line 6 service repair.

Have a Variax 300 Electric and four JTV's,.... Love 'em, never had problem with any of them.