psarkissian

Running Workbench (and Monkey) on a Mac 10.6.8 Snow Leopard, with my 300 and 700 electrics,... sounds about right.

:)

There is the ball end hex which is useful for this, and one comes with the hex kit for the JTV-59. I use that type for just this sort of thing when I intonate JTV-59's.

"Force" means that whatever set up in a preset for the Variax in the 500X, the 500X will 'Force' the Variax to bring up that Variax Model as part of the Preset. That would be something you would set-up in the 500X edit page. In the manual the force function is the Enable/Disable in the500X Set Up page in the online manual page-16. https://l6c-acdn2.line6.net/data/6/0a06434cb30151dddd9ae9314/application/pdf/POD HD500X Pilot's Guide ( Rev C ).pdf?_ga=2.156462331.1369400886.1669655039-1854743224.1659634079

"... are the dimensions of the Line 6 key shafts themselves non-standard? " --- Not that I'm aware of. Pretty standard hardware, so I would think the same for the tools that adjust it.

It will show in the Downloads page what OS is compatible. HD500,... not an HD500X?

Three foot switch LED's always on?

https://line6.com/software/index.html In the Downloads page.

Best to have an authorized service center do it. If the grounding isn't re-connected just right when it's re-assembled, it could become an even bigger problem. See this all too often. Be aware of that.

Minor differences. It's up to -0009 now. -0003 is fine, I have not had any problems with them. It is an actual Line 6 battery. Third party knock-offs that claim to be replacements are the ones that I've had nothing but problems with.

idprime,... For a UX1 and other interfaces, the Computer Based Recording section would be the place for such questions. For future question this is a section for guitar questions. Still, someone here would be able to answer this. And when getting Drivers to run an interface, check the Downloads page to be certain of computer operating system is a match. https://line6.com/software/index.html Looks like M1 is compatible. Also make certain the device is registered in your account.

Check the Forum Knowledge Base, there is a list of hex sizes for each kit for each guitar. Some are metric, as we sell product internationally.

In model mode, if the pick-up height isn't set right, the sound can warble. Set-ups on these can't be treated like a passive electronic guitar. Model mode being an active mode, a number of artifacts can occur with what might seem a normal set-up. Something to be aware of.

Should loosen up with usage. Yours is still a rather recent purchase. Should be snug for a good connection.

Sounds like it's fretting out. That saddle height may need slight adjusting. Have the set-up checked by an authorized service center for a proper set-up check. Factory strings are D'Addario XL-110's. Heavier gauge may require slight fine adjustments to the set-up.

See my response in other Variax category.

Intermittent connector or intermittent chassis ground to the encoder casing. Transplants are a touchy thing, done a number of them myself.

Sounds like the encoder is not positioned correctly, or a connector is not in correctly.

Something is loading down the volts and allowing a capacitor to discharge. It will need to be serviced by an authorized service center that knows the insides of these amps. "... tubes are good and tested,... ", are they the specified tubes? See my post on this subject on the main tube category page here.

"... to flip the ribbon cable that connects the flex board to the "hard Board" in the guitar's cavity ? " --- not a good idea with a flex PCBA as it puts stress on the traces within over time. "... potential issue with this may be if the two wider traces on the cable are distinct circuits rather than a common ( Ground ? ) connection." --- Yes, ground and +volts. Have to have correct polarity or nothing works,... worse, it could fail. "cross over cable",... more solder points and impedance issues. Need to keep it straight forward.

"... could make the needed changes by de-soldering the leads from the piezos and after extending them, re-solder them in the reverse order." --- There is a reason piezo leads are short, and it has to do with impedance. "... whether having soldered on extensions on most of the wires would cause issues with interference or signal loss, " --- Yes, the impedance aspects of longer leads. Have to use the same gauge wire as the piezo leads. One of the reasons it's so touchy a process. Purchasing piezos,... yes, through Full Compass. With longer leads,... no, it's that impedance thing, that's why they are short to begin with. As always,... modifications to Line 6 products that alter functions, is considered an unsupported modification. So if errors are made, and the product was sent to me for repair, there is a good chance I would have to send it back untouched. 1) One may like someone else's sound, but in the end, it's about finding your own sound. 2) You may be able to achieve the goal making use of the Variax Workbench application in the Line 6 site Downloads page. You would need a computer running earlier OS for that. And would not require physical alterations to the instrument.

With the Shuriken, it comes from the factory with half artist Models and Alternate Tuning by Stevic McKay and the other half standard JTV type models. But one can go factory JTV models by re-Flashing the Firmware to bring back the JTV factory defaults,... if one chooses to.

"... but as I understand it, I would also need to reposition the piezos in inverted order as well. " --- Invert? Are you trying to go left handed with it? Messing with the piezo re-wiring on a 500 bridge is extremely touchy, I've done it. One slip and it's over, as there are no more 500 replacement bridges. There are 500 left hand guitars out there on sites like eBay and Reverb from time to time.

Using matched pair EH tube mediums at 35mV bias is the way to go. Do not go outside the bias range, that would be an unsupported alteration. Authorised service center has access to the bias and burn-in procedure document for that product. If for some reason they don't, they can get it from me through tech channels. Also check my post here on the subject of tube replacement for DT series amps.

Need a Windows 8 or Mac running Monterey.