Sumatra_Gold

Very helpful thread. I experimented with the OP's settings this morning and got promising results. So thank you! In the interest of adding more constructive info to this thread, I'll throw in some of my own insights. One of the biggest helps to the overall tone of the Variax and control of palm muting was given to me by Stevic Mackay. He suggested using a string wrap or mute above the nut (so between the nut and the tuning machines). Really helps quiet sympathetic vibration and tighten things up. Another big help comes by way of my own experimentation with the work bench. I found that both modeled body types and pickup types can have more or less of that wonky, over-compressed, plinky sound you hear primarily on pick attack. Of the models I sampled, the strat (Spank) model was by far the worst ofFENDER;) What to do? I ended up using a neutral body for that model. I also found that the Gibby (Lester) body and bridge humbucker sounded the most natural to me. Since the issues with over-compression of tone and plinky pick attack occurs independently (with either pups and/or body types), combining a body type and pickup type suffering from this malady creates a perfect storm. My suggestion is to experiment with different body types and pickups to find the most natural (or even neutral) sounding combination, given your specific needs. Good luck and thanks again to the OP for this thread! I've been looking for a Variax optimization guide for a while. This is a good start. I look forward to hearing more suggestions from other Variax users.

You asked for a luthier's opinion so...  Yes. A maple board can make a significant audible difference, especially compared to a rosewood board. There are at least a few people who I greatly respect that disagree with me on this. So take my advice with a grain of salt. Rosewood tends to sound darker with more sustain. Maple tends to sound brighter and snappier. Of note, neck stiffness = tone. Also it is true that the "heart" of the solid body is the neck/slab connection. If the neck and slab aren't properly coupled, (which means a wood to wood, friction press fit that is bolted securely) your overall tone and sustain will suffer. My JTV 69 sounded quite dark. The stock neck had a rosewood board. Was going to replace it anyway, so I installed one of my custom necks which is maple on both the shaft wood and the board. When I removed the stock neck, I discovered that the neck pocket on the slab was completely finished over. There was a thick layer of paint and clear over it, which had to be removed prior to installing my new neck. Removing all that crap from the pocket and installing the neck which is all maple construction really brightened it up, but not enough for me. I'll be putting in a new bridge pup to further enhance the high and high mid, while minimizing the lows on the guitar. Bottom line as it pertains to tone: Neck stiffness matters. Wood type matters. Hope that helps. Good luck to you.

Ok I have done some more troubleshooting based on other posts and it seems the high frequency (2.4Ghz) gets oddly leaked from the G10's Antenna to the Tip/Hot signals and this it is heard on the amp.

 

When I used a regular cable and in the other end a female-female 1/4inch adapter with the G10 transmitter connected to it, the noise is gone unless I move the transmitter close to the guitar. This clearly shows the transmitter's communications with the receiver is the source of the noise and gets coupled though the audio path on the guitar side.

 

I doubt there is a solution to this unless they release a G10 operating at 5Ghz, even then, not sure the signal would be heard.

 

This issue totally defeats the purpose of the G10.

You're probably right. But I'm not giving up yet. I'll just continue to wait for that email from support for the time being and use the noise gate as my "solution." Thanks for responding back with your test conclusions. I appreciate it.

I just came to the Forum looking for other reports of the same issue. I have noticed the same on my less than a week unit. The high frequency ringing happens even if I do not plug the transmitter to any guitar and I just press the on/off button. Of course it happens with all my guitars, Passive or Active, Adaptor plug or not.

 

I was about to open my own support ticket.

There are others in the forums who have had this issue. But I didn't see any fix applicable to my situation. You might be interested in knowing that I did find a work-around in lieu of getting a response from L6. I use the Helix LT for all my guitar and bass needs. It has a noise gate that works very well. I went ahead and dropped that in at the beginning of my signal chains and that seems to have nixed the noise for now. Good luck to you and please respond back if and when you get a resolution on this issue.

What guitar are you using? I believe some piezo equipped guitars did this, but was remedied by using the supplied 1/4" adapter. 

This is not a piezo equipped guitar. It's all magnetics and no preamps or other active type electronics. I shared my issue with the admin at the L6 facebook page, since I was unable to open a support ticket, he asked for my email and said he'd have support reach out to me. That was yesterday. Documentation says it can take up to 3 days to get a response via support. So I'll wait for now.

Hi guys,

Before getting into the problem I've encountered, I want to say that I love this little unit. I can't detect any tone coloration when the unit is active. It's super easy to use and portable enough I can fit it in my gig bag. 

However, last night I used it in rehearsal with live volume, of course, and  noticed a very annoying continuous high frequency ringing. You do not notice this during songs...or I haven't yet. But between songs it's very noticeable and like I said, just super annoying. 

I tried to open a support ticket, but got stuck in a closed loop on the website and couldn't figure out how to open one. Every time I try, it just takes me back to the create a support ticket page with the search function. So now I'm doubly annoyed lol.

I did go ahead and check the firmware. It is up-to-date. So I've pretty much hit a wall here.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Any splittable pu should do the trick. So think 4 wire pups here. Then you can utilize the switching array for magnetics in the same way L6 does with the stock P.U.s in your JTV. You'll want to research pups which not only allow you to split the coils, but sound good in that configuration. Not all split coil pups are created equal. Some sound terrible when split, either sounding to thin and/or sounding too shrill. So you'll want humbuckers with a good track record utilizing split coils. Good luck to you!

Does anyone know how I can find the OP's fix or another workaround? His original thread is now gone...replaced by L6 promo stuff on their site. So I'm dead in the water here. I would love to know how to optimize my JTV models for best tone. I have the JTV 89F. I used to have the 89 hardtail. Maybe it's my imagination, but I swear the models sounded better on it than on my 89F, which seems to have an overly compressed sound on pretty much every model. They do not sound punchy to me at all either. I am running the latest and greatest 2.0 + (2.22 I believe) on this guitar. If anyone has tips, tricks, whatever to make the most of the modeled sounds, please do share. In the meantime, I'll be experimenting with the HD Variax Workbench and turning over rocks on YouTube to see what I might come up with. Thanks in advance!

I did find the replacement from Full Compass. I do appreciate your responses. Thank you!!!

Hi guys,

I am looking for a set of JTV 89 pups. I thought since at least a few of you have swapped them out, maybe you've got a set laying in a shoe box collecting dust, that you'd like to be rid of. If you do, please gimme a yell. Thanks so much!

Hi all,

As my post title states, I'm trying to find out the pickup specs in the JTV 89 F, the reason being I have another guitar that truly love just as much as the JTV, but I hate the bridge pup on it. I'm looking to either buy an actual JTV bridge pup, or find a replacement that is a close match specwise. Specifically, I'd like to know what Alnico magnet type is used in that pup along with the DCR if anyone knows. Allegedly this pup is a high output PAF style pup, but a lot of different alnico magnet types have been used in the PAF family and I want to make sure I get an exact match if possible. In researching this I looked at the Seymour Duncan 59 and Little 59 for possible replacements, as this guitar is an SSS pu configuration. The regular 59 boasts an alnico 5, but the Little 59 is ceramic. This worries me as ceramic pickups tend to sound to brittle to my ear. And as for the Alnico 5, I have no idea if that is the magnet used in the JTV 89 pickup set. Any help is, of course, appreciated.  Thanks!

Thanks! Does drag and drop feature work for you? Is there some trick to that?

Hi Guys,

I'm having a number of issues with the latest reboot of Mobile Pod on my iPAD Air. I actually quit using it because of the pop and click issue. But when this update was announced, I thought what the hell. I'll give it another try.

By way of observation, while I don't hate the new look, I like the old look with real amps better.

Drag and drop doesn't work. I wish it did because that is a much needed improvement.

I can no longer toggle FX as before

The noise gate is gone. I looked high and low but couldn't find it, so if someone knows where it is, please do tell. If it really has been deprecated, then L6 needs to bring it back.

I can no longer find custom tone. Someone on another thread in this forum said it's gone as well. Is this true?

I'm a pro user, meaning I paid for this app. The last thing I want is to loose features and with this supposed update, it looks like I'm losing a few and there are some which simply don't work, like the drag and drop.

BTW, the new buffer feature is also a much needed improvement. So far the app isn't popping or clicking.  Thank you for that.

Any assistance is appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi all,

I purchased the Mobile POD software to run with my Focusrite iTrack Dock. It is displaying some annoying audio pops and clicks and problems saving my custom tones. When you go to save it will turn certain effects off. In my case, I added a noise gate to the effects chain. Every time I tried to save, it would turn the effect off. Exiting the user tone and then going back to it doesn't resolve the issue. Sometimes rebooting the app will correct this, but the darned thing is so flaky, I never know what it's going to do.

The pops and clicks issue is a big problem as well. Sometimes killing the app and restarting will resolve this. Often it doesn't.

I sure would like to get some help on this, as apparently, there's no way to contact support about this issue. I'm concerned that Line 6 isn't even developing this app any more in which case, I paid for a broken app and I want my freaking money back.

Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi.

Can you use a microphone with Sonic Port. I read on another thread that you could, indeed, plug a mic into either the quarter inch jack or the 3.5mm input and it would work. Is this accurate?

Thanks.

Hi guys. Just wanted to thank you all for trying to help me with this. I tried the suggestions my unit would allow, meaning several of the resources and threads were for 500 users not 300. The 300 is so limited. One of the biggest limitations seems to be that you need to combine an eq, a tube driver or some other type of distortion or overdrive effect with the amp model to get that focused tone without all the attendant fizz lollipoptying up your sound. The 300 will not allow you to do that. It's either an overdrive/distortion effect or eq, not both. And I'm sorry but I've been through these models so many times now and unless you're running clean, you stuck with that cursed fizz on the 300...apparently. It's driving me effing batty. I do have a great vintage tone that I use it for, but other than that, it's pretty much useless to me right now and, of course, now I'm ranting. So I'll shut my piehole for now. Again, thank you for your replies, your patience and your willingness to help, but other than the one vintage patch I use, I hate this thing right now. Time to turn it off and go grab a beer.

HI all,

I am beyond frustrated today. I've had my POD HD300 for a while now and I can't seem to get rid of the fizz in the amp models. It's so annoying and I don't know what to do. I found one thread (about 50 pages long) with many, many users complaining of the same thing, but no real fixes for this. Some have said it's a clipping issue from higher output pups. OThers, that it's a matter of  EQ. I have several guitars and they all do it. Even my JTV 89 does it. Pulling the treble out of the eq helps a lot, but then kills the tone. I've also tried experimenting with cab and mic models. I dunno....I'm fresh out of ideas and can't seem to figure this out. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

For some reason I missed everyone's responses. But thanks for your input. First, I thought this was a forgone conclusion, but maybe not. I'll go ahead and state the obvious. Not all pickups are created equal. This is especially evident with pickups that are active and those that are passive. While the specs say that the stock JTV 89 pups are high output, they are not active and they are alnico ta boot, which is a far cry from a high output ceramic or even a hybrid ceramic and ferrous pup. So, yeah, I'd love to see name brand pups modeled just like the amps that line 6 models, in this case, the aggressive, modern rock and progressive metal types of pups. Also, putting a set of Bare Knuckle Juggernauts in my JTV isn't going to help me when I have to play in drop C, Drop D, and Drop B flat. That can only occur as a matter of practicality if they are modeled. Then it's just a couple of clicks and I'm not only drop tuned, but drop tuned with the same type of pup set up as my prog metal heroes, et al. Anyway, thanks for chiming in. It's too bad more people haven't weighed in on this. I guess it's not something that variax users, in general,  find useful. Too bad, because this is the next big thing and Line 6 could be on the cutting edge of that. But then if nobody gives a flip, maybe not:)

I'm wondering if Line 6 will consider doing pickup models for some of the more modern name brand pups. For example, EMG, Seymour Duncan, Dimarzio and Bareknuckles. They've done it with Everything else, so why not? I sure would love to throw a set of virtual Bareknuckle Juggernauts or EMG 81 & 85s into the Lester, et al on my JTV 89. That would be crazy awesome. How about it Line 6?

Hi,

I was originally going to contact support about this, but thought that experienced users may have some advice for me with regard to purchase of the Sonic Port VX. Here's my problem. I purchased a Sonic Port last year. The thing worked intermittently for about 4 mos or so. Then it died. After a lot of logistical crap with troubleshooting and dialoging with Line 6, I finally returned the product. It took a long time, but Line 6 was good enough to send me a brand new, factory sealed Sonic Port. However, during that time the VX model was released. Now I'm seriously considering purchasing one of these units. Here's the rub. I never opened the new Sonic Port Line 6 sent me. It is still factory sealed and in the box. I'm wondering if Line 6 would take it on trade for a Sonic Port VX, and if so, how much credit would I get on the unit toward the Sonic Port VX? Also, if I decided to sell it, would Line 6 honor the warranty on the unit for the buyer? If anyone has suggestions, info, etc on this, I'd be much obliged. Thank you.

Hi all,

My JTV 89 has started acting screwy with alt tunings. Didn't find anything that matched in my forum search, so I thought I'd go ahead and post. Plugged into my jtv 89 tonight, switched to an alt tuning and the tuning was off, as in not correct. For example, switching to drop C gave me a tuning of DGCFAD. I noticed most, but not all of my alt tunings were incorrect. I kept screwing with it and noticed that sometimes switching from one alt tuning to another didn't affect any change in tuning at all. At other times, switching to a different tuning would yield an oscillation, as though the computer couldn't decide which tuning it should be in. I've had this guitar for well over a year now and have never seen this kind of behavior. What do you guys (and gals) suggest? Thanks.

"I don't know if it's because it's an older iPhone, but SonicPort works with Garage Band on the various i5 devices. You just need the Audio Buss app."

I wish you were correct on that, Gear Head. But the fact is that while Apple is advertising the Sonic Port as the centerpiece of the GarageBand app for iPhone 4, et al, the reality is that the older chip set on iPhone 4 doesn't allow you to use both GarageBand and Mobile POD in conjunction with one another using AudioBuss. You can pair them if you have an iPhone 4S, but not an iPhone 4. Looks like false advertising on the part of Apple and L6, but there it is. If anyone knows of a way to pair the 2 apps on an iPhone 4, I'd love to see that solution. Take it from me; It ain't happenin'...unless something has changed in the last 5 mos.

But that is not my reason for posting here. My issue is that I simply can't get the Sonic Port to work with Mobile POD anymore. I have discovered that I can make it work for about 5 secs if I unplug the connector from the SP itself and then plug it back in again. After a few seconds of play, my guitar signal is replaced by a loud, steady and extremely annoying humbuzz which sounds a lot like a male output jack on an instrument cable left unplugged and ungrounded. I have gone ahead and opened a support ticket with Line 6. I will report back here once this is resolved. In the meantime, I welcome any comments which might help me resolve this on my own.

Hi all,

In early January I purchased a Sonic Port for my iPhone 4 to use with Mobile POD and GarageBand. Aside from the annoyance of not being able to pair it with GarageBand, I loved the software and the unit. Then, it suddenly stopped working. I don't know how else to describe it. The unit simply isn't functioning...at all. Mobile POD acts like the unit isn't even plugged in. There's no signal and no output. After perusing the forum looking for answers, I see a ton of folks on here who are (or were) in the same boat with Sonic Port and their iOS device. I pray I will fair better. I'm pretty frustrated right now and would love any advice on this from other users before, I take my case to Line 6. FYI: I am using the latest version of iOS for my iPhone 4 = 7.1.1

Thanks so much!

Hey guys.

I followed your advice and am happy to report that the knob for that switch came off with no problems whatsoever. Thanks so much for your help on this. I really appreciate it. I'll go ahead and mark this thread solved. Have a great day!

Thanks for your replies. I'll give it a shot and holler back at you guys tomorrow with the results. Thanks again.