psarkissian

:)

In topology IV,... sounds about right. It is one of the more loud, higher gain topologies. Check the manuals for info on gain topologies.

Luck.

EQ darker to the point where there's a good chance it will sound a bit muddy. It's on that borderline region.

Starts to get darker in tone above 8k, much darker at 12k, so 13k is a tick or two more.

Are you using the interface device that came with the Variax? Does the 89F come up on Workbench HD? Can you upload a screenshot so I can see what is being displayed on your Workbench HD screen?

Not a good idea to use it until it gets serviced and repaired, further damage might occur. This will require servicing at a Line 6 authorized service center,... have them contact me thru the authorized tech channels here before work starts on it.

Ooooh, Swap Ash, very popular. Down under in NZ. Stevic McKay (Twelve Foot Nija) is across the water in South East Australia. There's a Shuriken FB page he's part of, and the Shuriken is his design. Might want to get on FB and pick his brain about it. What's the four numbers after "W" in the serial number? Wood filler??? It's used, so there will be some wear. Looks like wear from a player who's done some gigging around. I see this all the time when I service these guitars. I'd like to see that after the fret-board has been gone over and properly oil treated. Then compare before and after photos.

Make certain the latest Flash version is in the HD500, as the early version didn't allow HD500 to be a Variax interface. Later HD500 and the HD500X have interface capability.

What is your computer OS? There may be a compatibility issue. Do you have any USB hubs connected? If you do, unplug it while using Workbench.

700 Electric. There is a note somewhere in the old owners manual or Forum about taking out the batteries when using the VDI cable, as it can stress the circuit. Also needs a TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) plug guitar cable when using the XPS power wedge. This will require servicing at a Line 6 authorized service center,... have them contact me thru the tech channels before work is done on it.

Well, yes, in some ways.

Class-A can be single ended, but not necessarily. I tend to do single end Class-A in some of my own circuit designs. When I want good dynamics and good linearity, I go to a double end mode, and have circuit that nulls any DC offsets. It's more work, but the results are worth it for something beyond guitar amps that require top notch SNR and dynamic range. Can't really say how we're doing it here. Between modeling and the analog amp sections, it will be a hybrid model. I talk about it here somewhere, about how often tubes should be replaced, and that's dependent on play hours and how hard one plays.

" As far as I know, the modelling doesn’t revolve around a specific pitch " --- Not a specific pitch, but a range of pitch. Processing is designed for the string range of a guitar, the Alt Tune pitch shifts from that. But there are limits. " I don’t think the Variax finds your playing an E on the low E string and then plays a sample of a strat playing that same low E modelled after the tone the piezo catches. " --- Piezo transfers the string energies, the program processes it with the model that is selected. Afraid that's as deep as I'm allowed to go into that. There are eleven (or twelve) different math equation forms used in modeling, so trying to guess how it's done would be fruitless, some people who do modeling use more than on math form within the same model, depending on the need. The sky is no limit. There is also limits on the memory space as well. After that, Workbench HD app comes in to go further, for custom patches.

Physically tuning down more than a whole step and a half, you are skirting the edge of pitch tracking capabilities, after that frequency artifacts start to occur. Also the string tension get too low for good piezoelectric transfer.

What phil_m said. Going above 12 gauge on Hi-E and above 56 gauge on Lo-E will result in a number of problems regarding mechanical stresses. Neck pocket would have to be strengthened for that tension. It simply wasn't designed to handle that level of string tension. A 12 to 58 was as high as I've seen using Cobalts on a Variax for a guy here at Line 6, and it was it wasn't easy doing the set-up on that one, but I pulled it off. Ironically, three years later, I bought it for myself. Went back to the stock D'Addario XL-110 set. Still plays great. String hole mounts in the bridge are way too small to fit and the piezos would wear too quickly. The signal processing can't process those those tones from that gauge set of strings. Pitch tracking would be problem. Line 6 does not support modifications that alter the function of the instrument. Swapping brands of locking tuners or using a favorite pick-up set (within the 6k-8k Ohm DCR spec) is fine. Massive mod like that,... if something were to go wrong and it end up on my bench, I'd have to send it back untouched as it would be an unsupported mod. Though I would know how to deal with it and what to do with,... they would let me or pay me to, for something that modified because of it being an unsupported mod. Nice idea while it lasted though.

Using L6 Link is like guitar cable signal path, only it's digital. FX sends and returns using 1/4" guitar cables are analog, so the FX sends and returns aren't used. Whatever FX come out of the 500X goes to the amp. And whatever tone and reverb is in the DT50 will also be part of that sound. Also, check my post on tubes, it will come in handy when it's time for its periodical tube replacements. Rock and roll!

Depends on where you plug into the amp.

"... what these additional tests and checks would be beside biasing - can you shine a little more light on this? " --- There are multiple topologies (I, II, III, IV), as well as amp class (A, A/B) and whether running in triode or pentode modes. These all have to be checked, and when done, the bias has to be checked again after warm-up and tests. It's an all around performance check thing. Second question about tests,... no. That's as deep as I 'm allowed to say about that. Service centers,... wish there were more. It's not just the distance, out of warranty units means a repair cost. Those who get the sound they are going for tend to find it worth it to them to get it repaired right by the right people to do the job. " Having to do this once a year to get the tubes changed is not customer-friendly at all, and, honestly, if I had known this before, would have prevented me from buying this amp. " --- I get that. Some can stretch it out to between 18-24 months, depending on how much and how hard they use it. It's the nature of tube amps in general. Like tape recorders back in the day, they all need their periodical maintenance and calibrations to run well (serviced thousands of those over the last five decades). Something like the Spider Valve (112, 212 and HD-100) don't require the same post bias tests because there's no topology or amp class to test for. Bias, check functions and gains, then let it sit for an hour with signal going thru it. With those, the same tube replacement intervals still apply,... it's a tube amp. Going through the bias and test procedures on a DT amp is to also insure good performance, and that the tubes don't wear too soon. " Why does line6 not open up this book of secrets to let more technical experts get the ability to do this job like other companies do? " --- Too much proprietary and intellectual property (IP) in this stuff. I know, all those other tube amp companies of old have the schematics out there, but then, their patents have probably already run their course and are now considered public domain. " If pure safety issues are line6's concerns - it is clear and understood that only experts w/ electrical background may do the job " --- There's that too. Tubes amps are a big shock hazard. I still get zapped every now and then if I slip and touch the wrong thing, even after five decades. " but this is true for many repair and service jobs and a safety hint in the manual is enough to put you on the safe side. " --- Unfortunately not enough. And there are a number of people out there who tell me what techs or engineers they are (which we have no way to vouch for), who get in too deep, then their gear ends up on my bench two weeks later,... sometimes worse off than it was originally. So between the IP issues and safety issues, we always recommend using authorized service centers. In the end it ends up being worth it. You wouldn't have a janitor with no medical experience do brain surgery on you, you get someone trained and with lots of surgeries and experience behind them. Same here. Besides,... getting zapped by a tube amp hurts.

JamieCrain,... thanks, hoped that would be the case when I saw your location. Cheers.

Don't do mess with it, leave it to an authorized repair center.

fflbrgst,... yes, not usually field serviceable. But sometimes they can be. I specified the fatal failures and the maybe's. Yes, typically not cost effective to repair. Easier to just replace it. Especially these days, as parts are scarce, if at all. It's already a ten year old product.

" Not quite sure whether I do understand the part of the 'nice talk between the analog and the digital section' and the 'bad things that can happen'. " --- There is a digital processor board for effects and aspects of the "Topology" settings along with digital circuits on the amp board. The digital half has expectations from the analog half, and the analog half expects certain things from the digital half. Anything outside of that, and it can go too nonlinear, too soon and easily. That distorts, and distortion of that kind is bad. There's good distortions and bad distortions in tube amps, so one has to be careful. Also, they have to be matched pairs, and should be biased by a Line 6 authorized service center, as this amp series has not just a bias, but also tests and checks to be done to check bias and gain transfer functions. Spider Valves don't require all that, but the DT Series does. And if a service center needs to consult me, they can through normal service center channels.

"... when I plug in my Shuriken to Workbench, it recognises it as a JTV59" --- If it comes up like that in Workbench HD, then it's because the "Shuriken Bundle" is not loaded in the Shuriken. First, connect to the Line6 Monkey and update the Flash to v2.23 program. That will take care of the Workbench HD display issue. It must be downloaded onto your computer,... ... click on the link for the zip file inside this posting. Then open Workbench HD and open the bundle from there. "Load All" to the Shuriken. It should show up in Workbench HD as a Shuriken with all the right Model selections displayed. Thought as much when I saw the serial number of your Shuriken. An early bunch were not pre-loaded with the Bundle, just normal JTV presets, and an Flash version, so it displayed incorrectly in Workbench HD, even though it functions just fine as far as the patches go. Just not Stevic's Artist Patch selections. If you see Stevic before I do, give him my regards.

"... Line 6 markets the Shuriken as able to model 6, 7 and 8 string guitars. " --- Some of the Alt Tunes have double string sounding tones. Stevic McKay had some interesting ways of taking Shuriken to some interesting places when it comes to custom patches. Might want to check out some of his videos, and his Shuriken FB page. Stevic does a few things with Variax custom patching that even I didn't know it could do. I take it you have the Shuriken Bundle loaded and Flash version v2.23 program in it.