Spiderplayer7

Many thanks for your reply and for taking the trouble to walk me through the setup, much appreciated! I've got my new rig (HX Stomp, Mission Engineering pedal etc.) all organised, just need to get it ordered. Glad you love your Stomp!

Thanks for your reply. So I can assign the toe switch of the expression pedal to FS4 and use it to, say, add a boost or any other effect? Not just wah? Or assign it to bank up/down?

Hi there, Just wondering how to expand the number of buttons for HX Stomp. I can see the benefit of the Mission Engineering SP1-L6H with the toe switch. Most of the videos and websites mention that the toe switch is set up automatically to switch between wah and volume blocks. That's great, but I never use a wah pedal. Does anyone know if you can assign the toe switch to other functions in the Stomp, e.g. a boost pedal block, bank up (just like a normal switcher in FS5) etc. as opposed to toggling between wah and volume? For me, that would be killer! Thanks in advance for your replies.

Thanks very much for your replies, codamedia and sound, good to know that my sansamp in the effects loop could work. And good to know also that the reverbs are very lush, for some of the songs I do that's important. I get that you can't compare the Helix to older PODs in terms of modelling, the point about space is well made, too. Unfortunately my budget doesn't stretch to a 'full' Helix at the moment, in the meantime I'll get an HX Effects and try my workaround. Thanks again for your replies!

HI there, Here's hoping you can help with some advice. I'm considering getting an HX Effects unit, I've got some questions I'd be grateful for some help on: 1. I currently don't have a guitar amp, I'm using a Tech 21 FlyRig Cali with a FRFR powered speaker, I use a DI box to PA, the powered speaker as a monitor. It's a simple set up and works fine, but for many of my gigs I need more effects including modulation and some different flavours of drive. I'm planning on getting a guitar amp or combo soon but for a temporary fix i was wondering if I could combine an old analog pre-amp pedal (Tech 21 Tri-AC, it has cab sims built in) with the HX Effects, I'm thinking that the best way would be to run the Tri-AC in one of the effects loops of the HX Effects, is that right, would that work? Anyone have any experience of doing this with an amp-in-a-box pedal? 2. I often use an acoustic, currently I use a Boss VE-8 acoustic/vocal pedal. But if I loaded some acoustic IRs I could use the HX Effects for this, right (not the vocal bit, I get that)? 3. The only other pedal that I use is a Neunaber Wet Reverb, gives the most amazing lush tones. I know I could use this in a loop with the HX Effects but does the HX Effects have any reverbs/modulations or combinations that would approximate the Wet Reverb? BTW I know that a simple solution would be to get a full-blown Helix but I'm not looking for that as a solution, partly because of cost, partly because of the larger footprint and partly because I've owned lots PODs over the years and never got on with the amp sims... Thanks in advance for any help! Spiderplayer

Yes, you're right, it's a great guitar. I think in terms of build quality and playability it's a league apart from any JTV I've played, and that includes the one time I spent an hour with a JTV US. Now that was a disappointing guitar, had the same weird neck dimensions as the Korean JTVs, but I guess those dimensions do suit some people. Nice tuners, though.

I wouldn't worry so much about your JTV's electronics failing (although they might), I'd worry more about obsolescence. My Variax 700 is a fantastically well built and well playing guitar, but the electronics have now been overtaken by the JTV's, so the 700, while still working fine, is now out-of-date. And with no mag pickups, that's it! It's a shame as it's a great guitar...

I've got a Variax 700 in black which is just a great, great guitar (except that the trem arm is a bit loose and not easy to tighten). But it's light, it's got a fantastic neck, superb playability, it just feels great. I wanted to upgrade a couple of years ago to a JTV but I thought that the JTVs were poorly made with horrible necks, very cheap looking guitars - that was my opinion anyway. I've never seen a JTV yet that was anywhere near the build quality and playability of the Variax 700 (I can't speak for the quality etc. of the 300 and 500, never owned one). But now the electronics of my 700 are pretty well redundant as they've been overtaken by the upgraded sounds of the JTV. So I've got a fantastic guitar that plays brilliantly but is obsolete. Hence my decision to trade my HD500 for a pedal board with a Tech 21 FlyRig 5 at its heart, try to sell my 700 and go back to my old Strat and an all-analog FRFR rig. And that's the real issue with Variax guitars. They're really computers, and by defintion have a shelf life - I've had my Strat for over 20 years and can't see it becoming obsolete any time soon...

I'm really glad that you made the JTV guitars work for you, I really wanted them to work for me but it just didn't happen. And I guess, having decided that they didn't work for me as guitars, subsequent serious quality issues (necks, switches etc.) as reported especially on this forum, put me off trying again. I do feel strangely attracted to the new Standards - knowing and having used Yamaha guitars, amps and keyboards a lot over the years I would imagine the quality is bang on for the price point.

Yes, I've got a Tri-AC (had it for years) which I'm trying out at home for the moment as an overdrive pedal with the FlyRig - it works surprisingly well but I've yet to play out with it. You can still find them on eBay for good prices - I'm not sure why they stopped making them as they sound great and are really flexible

Yeah, as I said, I really wanted to buy that JTV, but the neck was the killer for me. But yes, the Tech 21 FlyRig 5 is worth looking in to. It's got a Fender-type SansAmp section (includes amp, mic and speaker emulation) with EQ and reverb, a separate adjustable boost section, Marshall-type overdrive and a delay section with tap tempo and a 'drift' knob that can sound a bit like a chorus pedal. This is all in a unit that fits in to a guitar case. I actually sold my HD500 because the FlyRig was so easy to use and sounded so great. The HD500 beats it in terms of connectivity (I need XLR outs for the gigs I play) and has a built-in tuner, and way more effects, of course, but I don't regret getting rid of it - just too complicated and too easy to get a bad sound - if you tried hard you'd struggle to get a bad sound from the FlyRig. Just my 2 cents...

I don't have a JTV but I've played a Variax 700 electric in black for years now, bought it new when it first came out. That's a great guitar, really nice neck, good weight, fantastic action, stays in tune. My only issue is that the trem arm is a bit loose. I played that for many years through an X3 Live and then an HD500. Worked great, but the acoustic sounds were always a bit meh, I mean they worked, but nowhere near a real electro-acoustic or even the acoustic sounds I got from my Parker Fly Classic (until it was stolen). So when I heard that Line 6 were going to release a JTV version of the Variax I was really excited, looking forward to better electric and acoustic sounds, alternate tunings on the guitar etc. Living in the UK we don't see many Variax guitars, so when my local music store got a JTV69 I rushed down, fully expecting to buy it then and there. And I can't tell you how disappointed I was. I know this won't make me popular on this forum, but I actually hated that guitar. It looked cheap with its too-bright chrome hardware, the body shape was odd, the trem only ok, but the real problem was the horrible, horrible neck. By far the nastiest neck I've felt on a guitar for years (I've played over 30 years now and owned Strats, Teles, PRSs, Gibsons etc. But the JTV69 neck was a horrible combination of narrow fretboard, flat fingerboard radius and tall frets. I left the store very disappointed. And then the JTV59 came out, and a music store in Newcastle had a Korean AND a US version in. So I had a go at both. Again, weird, weird necks, ok hardware, but far too heavy. And the US one was such a disappointment for the price. AND it had a deep crack right through the lacquer on the neck joint - WTF? Even the sales guy in the store said he thought the US model was totally overpriced. I've got a PRS Custom 22, nothing fancy really (10 top and birds) but in terms of quality of build etc. it blows away that US JTV. I know that some people love the JTV range but for me, just a big NO. Strangely, though, the new Standard looks pretty good - too bad I've traded my HD500 for a Tech 21 FlyRig 5 (great nearly-all-in-one solution, BTW). Maybe the Standard and the Firehawk could tempt me back to digital, who knows...

In my case, I ditched my HD500 (last week) and bought a Tech 21 FlyRig 5. I used my HD500 for about 3 years, playing out with it about every week on local gigs, using a Yamaha FRFR powered wedge for monitoring with XLR out to PA, usually with my trusty Variax 700 electric (great guitar). But, in the end, the HD500 had to go. I spent literally weeks looking up threads on this forum (really, thanks everyone for taking the time to post) and tweaking and tweaking to try to get a good sound. But I never really made it and got very frustrated. And I'm not a novice to guitar playing or general guitar gear (playing for over 30 years now, some of them semi-pro). I love that the HD500 is a one-unit solution with amp models, effects, tuner, XLR outs etc. But I hate the fact that it's just too complicated, there are too many variables and there are too many ways to get a bad sound. So in desperation I got a FlyRig 5, turned it on, got my old Strat out, set all controls to 12 o'clock, plugged it in to my Yamaha monitor and instantly got a fantastic Tweed-style sound from the SansAmp section. The Plexi section and DLA needed a bit of tweaking (I'm talking under 5 mins) but I got some great sounds there as well, fat better than the HD500 with minimum effort. Off to rehearsal with it, where's the Pod? my bandmates said and WTF is that thing (it's tiny)?, but that changed to wow, great sound! I realise now that I don't need dozens of amps and effects, cabinet sims, mic sims, difficult EQs etc. Things I need to add (here's where the HD500 scores), for me anyway, are a tuner, maybe a chorus pedal. For many of you on this forum I understand that you need more sounds, but I don't really. I put multiple hours in to the HD500, maybe not all wasted as I used it for years (and it never broke down, never failed) but I really don't miss it at all. I certainly don't miss that digital fizz or background 'zizz' sound (hard to describe but also impossible to get rid of) - for me anyway it's analog now all the way. Not sure what to do now with my Variax as VDI cable into the Pod worked so well. And it's a great guitar. Oh well...

Thanks, everyone. I tried the /13 and liked it a lot and then went back to the Deluxe and liked that a lot as well. I can't seem to make the Vox models work for me at the moment but maybe I'm missing something. I'm going to keep putting the time in and see what I can come up with. This epitomises my love/hate relationship with the HD500 - so many great tones and flexibility, so much time needed (at least by me) to get it sounding the way I want it to. I never had this with my (over the years many) pedalboards. But none of them had amp modelling, DI and line outs, cab emulation, mic emulation, infinitely adjustable effects, built in power supply etc. etc. etc. all in one unit. Curse you, Line 6!

Thanks for your reply. I thought that the model selector would be a problem - not sure I really want to mess with it just for aesthetic reasons! Do you know if the top (knurled) bit of the model selector knob unscrews? It looks like it might but if anyone's actually done it it would be good to know... I think I'll take the vol and tone knobs off and see what diameter the shaft is.

Hi there. I'm just using my black 700 electric for the first time in a while and I'm really liking using it - it sounds great and plays really well. But one thing I've never liked is that there's too much chrome hardware on it for my liking - I like nickel hardware, to my eyes chrome looks too brash and, well, cheap, I'm afraid. So I'm on a mission to make some changes. I've just replaced the tuner buttons with camel bone (ivory coloured) and I would now like to change the knobs as well. Has anyone changed their vol or tone knobs and would know the shaft diameter of the pots - I'm going to replace them with amber speed knobs. And any thoughts on replacing the model selector knob? I know that one's going to be a bit harder, but anyone have any ideas?? Thanks in advance!

Ok, I'm going to try the Divided by 13 model as a starter, then have a go at the Soldano and Vox ones. Thanks everyone for your helpful replies - I agree that's a nice Marshall tone... I'm also going to try varying the Input Z setting. I'll let you know how I get on...

It works fine for me...

Thanks everyone for your replies - some really useful tips here. I guess my real difficulty is using my HD500 as effects only with real amps gives me a really great sound, it's using the amp models that seems to cause tone problems live. But I plan to persevere and make it work as I know others have...

Hi there, If anyone could help out on this one I'd be grateful... I've had my HD500 for a couple of years but not used it that much for a number of reasons I won't bore you with. But recently I've been using it with a Trademark 60 combo, sometimes using the 4CM, sometimes not. The reason for using the Trademark 60 combo is that I've never to my ears had much success using the POD's amp models - maybe that was down to my lack of familiarity with the unit, not sure, but I'd get a great sound at home (at volume) through my FRFR powered wedge-mini-PA unit, but when playing live with a band, the tone seemed to get sucked away and lost in the mix. I won't waste anyone's time by listing all the remedies I tried (but I searched these forums and tried a lot of things), but I ended up frustrated and wound up using the POD as an effects-only unit. Now I'd like to try amp models again. I play in a worship band and my church has just invested in a new PA and sound system with great powered floor monitors, so if I could get the amp models right I could take one XLR out from the HD500 into the powered monitor for stage sounds and the other XLR straight to the desk for FOH suff. This means I wouldn't need to lug my amp along - guitar over one shoulder, HD500 (in nice Line 6 case) over other, how easy would that be? So here's the thing. I don't really use a lot of different sounds, so I only need one (great) amp sound that I can stick some effects on - usually some compression, overdrive (usually 2 of these), chorus, a bit of delay, reverb, that's it. So what suggestions do you have as a starting point for finding that one amp model? I've previously tried the Fender amp models and could again, but I'm open to other ideas. I'm looking for a good, clean-on-the-edge-of-very-mild-breakup sort of sound. I don't want anything too thin-sounding, it needs to be fairly rich but with good clarity, something that could hold its own without heavy effects. I know some on this forum have suggested the Soldano model - any takers for that as an idea? I play a strat with Bare Knuckle Mother's Milk pickups if that helps... Thanks in advance!

I had a similar problem a few weeks ago and asked for help on this forum. I had tried everything (new cables, connection options etc.) to no avail. It was suggested I do a global reset and pedal recalibration - and it worked! It seems this could be a problem that other users have experienced as well. So maybe try the global reset and pedal recalibration... Good luck with it.

A few days ago I had a hum/noise problem with my HD500 which I hadn't hear before, and nothing I tried (cables. output modes etc. etc.) worked. It was suggested on this forum that I try a global reset of the HD500 and recalibration of the pedal. I did that and it worked brilliantly. It's worth a try!

Hi there, here's an update. I tried everything that Radatats suggested, ground loop switch, both 1/4" outs, ground loop etc. but nothing worked until I tried your suggestion of a system reset and pedal recalibration. It worked! All hum, noise etc. gone completely - thanks so much for your suggestion as I'm sure I wouldn't have thought of it. I also updated the firmware and re-calibrated the pedal, just for the hell of it. So thanks again!

Hi everyone. I'm hoping someone can help me. I got my HD500 out after not using it for a few weeks and set it up to run effects only (no amp model) through my Trademark 60 as I want to use the amp’s sound. But I've got a very loud background hum/hiss/crackle which I've never had before, even going straight into the amp’s effects loop. I'm running 1/4†out in to amp, guitar in as normal. I've tried studio out, combi out etc., tested all the cables and used different cables as well, tried the line and amp out switch etc. The noise reduces when I reduce the drive on the amp, but that defeats the purpose of using the amp sounds. If I disconnect the pod there’s no noise from the amp at all, even with drive maxed, so it’s not an amp issue. The noise is there with no guitar connected, or guitar connected but with volume off. I've got a gig in a few days and need to get this sorted… Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

I've got a Variax 700 electric which I really like and I've owned a PRS (Custom 22). When the JTV Variax guitars came out in the UK I really wanted one as I love my HD500 and they are clearly made for each other. But when I saw and tried the JTVs I was really disappointed in them. The JTV-69 in particular I thought wasn't that well made, had a strange, narrow neck width and cheap-looking chrome hardware. I then tried a JTV-59 which I also didn't think was that that great in terms of playability, feel etc. It was also very heavy. So, I went back to my old Variax 700 (which, in my view, although it looks a bit strange, is a great playing guitar) and my HD500. I've played a couple of PRS Mira S2 guitars recently and really liked them – good price, light weight, great sounds, coil taps, nice neck etc. So nice, in fact, that I'm about to order one. So, for me the PRS is the better guitar, even the S2s, but if you need the flexibility of the different sounds and tunings, go for the JTV (and you can certainly do some cool linking to your HD500, especially for live use). Ultimately you should get the guitar that inspires you to play, the one you can't put down. I've been playing now for over 30 years and there’s only one guitar that I own that makes me want to pick it up every time I see it and it’s an old (but not vintage) Strat that I've had for years….