JamieCrain

You say rebuilding the tone fixes it?

I wonder if it is tones that were built on the old firmware that are affected.

No, like you I rebuilt all tones after the update. The latest incident occurred last week after creating a brand new tone from scratch. It's got me puzzled.

Yes I'm on 1.20. That update fixed the latency issues (mostly) but hasn't fixed this problem which rears up from time to time. Cheers, Jamie

For a few of my tones, if I change patches using the pedal, before the new tone loads, a very loud "explosive" sound is emitted. It's like a massive electrical crack which lasts just a split second but it is much much louder than the tone itself.

A couple of things I have noticed:

1) it only happens on specific combinations, I.e. Switching from Bank 1/C to Bank 2/D, but not from 1/C to any other patch. But it not a Bank or patch issue it is related to the tone.

2) it appears to be caused by the tone I am switching *from*, not the target tone.

3) rebuilding the tone from scratch and saving over the old version seems to fix the problem.

4) it happens on different amps

But does anyone know what causes this? And is there a permanent fix?

Thanks, Jamie

I think this is correct. The App will load the new tone from your library onto the FH, but the original FH bank remains in the background. This is because your library tones do not have banks assigned on the app. When you store a tone on the FH, it does only that, it doesn't assign the app version of the tone with the bank you've chosen.

Hi,

For questions 1 & 2, see thread "Saving Tones".

For question 3, Amplifi is a different product. You would have to speak with the Product Strategy Manager at Line6 to know why some features are available and others not, but almost certainly it has something to do with market segmentation and profit maximisation. ;)

Why are you resetting the FH?

I've had my FH for months and not once had to do a factory reset and reload of patches.

... you can unofficially get a patch that has 4 Flex blocks from an earlier firmware release, the edit and saves it yourself...The tone/patch is called "BJ Clean 1" under the Firehawk remote when you search the cloud for tones.

 

David

Legend!

I concur with Silverhead, a good summary. I would also add these, having owned both.

HD pros

Tones sound more natural. High gain growls more, FX seems a little "buzzy"

Compact form factor

More complex programming, e.g. You can set up a Shortboard switch to simultaneously switch on one or more effects, AND switch off others. This means you have more flexibility within one patch.

Dual paths, but with so many amps available with add on packs, I rarely used this

HD Cons

PC Edit software is clunky, interface is too small on a Mac and takes some learning

Small screen

You need a shortboard to control with feet, so add $$

Deep edits hard to navigate (lots of scrolling, clicking, easy to get lost)

FH pros

All in one, just need an iPad.

More amps included as standard.

LED lighting conventions easy to understand

iPad app easy to navigate and program (mostly)

ToneCloud is far more convenient for finding tones than Customtone. You enter the song/artist on your iPad and instantly you can hear the tones. With HD, you need to download the tones first and then send them to the Pod to try.

More I/O options

FH cons

Programming combinations is more limited, which is more problematic for a stereo tone setup, eg using ping pong delays.

Some amp sounds aren't the same as on POD. Eg, if I program FH with same amp (line 6 Elektric) and settings as on POD, they sound different, so it may take some time to replicate tones.

Some features on the app don't work quite as expected, e.g save vs save as

Some effects missing, eg Dimension chorus, pitch glide

Overall I think the sound of the Pod is better, but the usability of the FH is better for me. I can jump on the FH and within 30 seconds sound like anyone I want thanks to ToneCloud. Sure there are limitations, but I've learned to work around them.

The warbling gets worse the smaller the interval between concurrent notes. Makes it unusable IMO.

I got around this problem by getting a EHX Pitch Fork off Amazon for a bit over $100. I run my mag pups through that and into the FH, and my piezo line through the FH FX return.

I use 2x 12 inch Behringer FRFR speakers with my FH and Pod HD prior to that. Awesome sound, loud, clear and heavy. I set the treble at 5, the bass at 4, and go from there. The best bit though, is taking advantage of stereo sound!

As above comment " pitch-shift FX to tune your whole guitar down a full step " pls. let me know how to setting .Thanks

See my comment above re Bender (Firehawk FX) and EHX Pitch Fork as options for this.

With a list like that, maybe take it back?

The documentation is limited but that's intentional because the product is meant to be intuitive and easy to operate. If the unit is now not working at all, then you should return it.

My only other advice if you get it working again is to persist with experimenting, try not to overthink or complicate the set up, and hopefully you'll find the FH does 95% of what you need, in a fairly easy manner. Good luck.

Build quality is absolutely fine, it won't be a problem. My only complaint is that the foot switches are too close together for me. Have to wear pointy shoes!

Do you have other devices in the vicinity that also connect via Bluetooth to your tablet, e.g home theater system? If so, try forgetting those from your tablet and see if the connection with the FH improves.

The effect you need is called Bender, but as silverhead says, it affects all strings. It's also not that great, the sound "warbles" a lot, especially as you increase the shift. I use a EHX Pitch Fork and it's ok. A bit of latency, but almost no warbling.

Can you elaborate what you are trying to do? There is a panning effect under Mods.

Have you tried connecting with a USB?

Is there a question? Not sure what your issue is.

Correct.

And yes, the manuals are a bit lacking sometimes.

I don't know of a way to turn off the pedals but I think you could drop the whole pedal board by turning off the fx loop

This is correct, and the loop can programmed on/off or volume up/down for each patch.

Not sure what you mean, this can already be done. See attached. Just drag the volume right, and the effects left.

I have guitars with piezo pups and generally they sound great through the acoustic/piezo amp on the FH. You can definitely get good acoustic sounds. You'd be hard pressed to tell they weren't actual acoustic guitars.

I usually try to just save on my iPad with "Save to My Tones". But sometimes it create a new tone (with the same name), and sometimes it updates the existing tone. I can't figure out how to consistently get it to update -- it seems totally random.

Anyone have any hints on how to get it to only update when Saving to My Tones?

It seems random but it isn't. See here...http://line6.com/support/topic/21360-saving-tones/

Hi Paul,

 

There is an easy workaround : you just define a second patch beside the first one, with exactly the same setup except for the reverb. It produces exactly the result you are looking for (if I clearly understood your question... :ph34r: )

 

Bernard

I agree with this approach. I rarely need more than 2 patches per song, so I do what Bernard does. Not ideal, but in practice it's good enough.

I agree with silverhead about buying for the features at a point in time, but here are my thoughts on the FH.

The iOS interface iPad or iPhone initially looks pretty slick however after a period of use, I feel that they didn't think through the usability adequately. Saving edited patches is just one example, but there are others such as the Music section which clearly is still buggy when it loads one of my patches mid-song without me telling it to.

However, all in all, it's a great product for the money. I'm still amazed at the number of guitarists I know who won't embrace this technology (amp modelling), instead thinking a single amp plus a myriad of clunky pedals is the way to go. With the FH, I can sound like whoever I want with a tap of a switch. In stereo. It's the definition of true versatility.