brue58ski

There is also a very tiny hex "set" screw on the side of the trem bar "holder". Your smallest hex wrench (1.5mm I believe) will tighten that. Then your bar won't swing all over and stay in place where you want it. If that's what you want as opposed to it freely swinging.

You may find this obvious and I'm not trying to be insulting but are set up to Studio Direct in the outputs.

Yes. I think he's comparing playng a live amp and what you hear (and feel) from the amp itself to the HD. Technically that's not what the HD is reproducing. It's reproducing a recorded amp or amp through a PA, not a live amp. In each case a mic is used. So essentially the HD reproduces a miced amp, not a straight amp. Two different things. That's why it comes so close to that youtube clip. He essentially used what the Line 6 gear was reproducing down to the same mic and mic position.

I agree. I was very surprised at how close the HD sounded to the youtube. Variax on Lester 1, Pulled up the amp on the HD and turned the drive up to 100 with no other adjustment to the amp and no effects. Slightly different yes but I didn't even try to match the tones. Just a quick comparison. It made me very happy about my choice of the HD. Lets also keep in mind the amps are from extremely different years and who knows what guitar the youtube poster used. By the way, I played them both through my near field monitors at the same time.

I've seen alot about strumming softly but I just came across this video where Mr. Rzeznick seems to strum prretty hard. It's abou 2:35 in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frZizRNmS90&list=UU3mJu814VC6W93BmiXFELDw

I think the JTV acoustics can sound several ways I've heard them recorded when using the HD500. The old Variax acoustics also sounded several ways like I've heard them recorded when going through one of the X3 mic preamps. However they are both very different. I lean towards the old Variax through the mic preamp. Just my opinion and I think that's what people are complaining about. I personally thing the JTV acoustics sound a little thinner, for lack of a better word. I only use my JTV and the HD500 so I haven't given up on them. I have a few tricks I still need to try but I also wish the HD500 offered a bigger selection of mic preamps. I liked what you did but I wish there were a way to come closer to what I had with the old Variax and X3.

This is from page 4-10 of the XT manual. Pod xt Live provides a built-in pedal (we’ll refer to this as Pedal 1), and the option to connect a Pedal 2 such as the Line 6 EX-1. PODxt & PODxt Pro give equivalent features when you add an optional FBV family foot controller. One of the features is effect tweak so yes you can control one parameter from the pedal. One only.

This is why they need to make a Variax whose top is one big smart phone screen so it can look like any guitar. Cool or what? And thanks for nothing Fishman. Here I thought I pretty much had everything I wanted and then you come up with Triple Play. I'm impressed and will be saving my pennies.

I'm a little suspicious of this thread. The guy only has two posts and he hasn't responded in anyway to the comments. I've seen this before from anti-Line6 guys. Create a member profile only to rank on a Line 6 product. Not to get and give information. You can never be sure but it does look a little suspicious.

I believe the best way to describe the difference between the two is the XT sounds more like a professionally recorded amp and the HD is more like the raw amp.

This is just off the top of my head but grab the twin deluxe or bassman fender and then slather on the reverb. I can't remember the name of the reverb but it's a sim of the fender amp reverb. I seem to remember the name was pretty obvious. Also stay on your stratocaster bridge pickup. Once you think you're close with one of the amps it often helps to experiment with different mics and different cabs.

I'm pretty sure you have to have "Variax Mag" (or something like that, I'm not in front of my pod) selected. The cool thing about this is you can have the Variax model going into one input and the mags going into another. For example, for an electric, acoustic mix.

So just so I'm clear, if I want to NOT have to worry about the 6dB loss I need the inputs to be the same?

This is a huge guess but I noticed that when running in bridge mode, you're supposed to connect to the two red output posts as opposed to a black and red one. I'm not sure what happens if you connect to the black and red posts in bridge mode but it looked like a mistake I would easily make. Hope it's as easy as this.

After listening to this video, to me just about everything in ver.2 sounds like it's not hitting the amp as hard as the 1.9 models i.e. volume. It really hit me listening to the acoustics whose modeling I don't believe was changed. I half believe we were given the update a little early. Hence the lack of using the Workbench through the HD500 and all the anomalies talked about (like the spank 2 position). I personally am glad they did it if that's the case since if they hadn't I'd still be waiting.

Sorry to hear about all those thumbs down. I don't think what you posted was inherently mean or abusive (what my protocol would be for the thumbs up/thumbs down system. I personally don't participate since I've seen how nasty and personal this kind of thing has gotten in the past). Musicians can be so emotional. But, we probably wouldn't be musicians if we weren't. There was a time when there was a Line 6 guy who monitored the posts (I can't remember his name, DOH!) when he could (he was an employee and this was not his main task) but I think to be more efficient, (plus he did get his share of abuse from time to time) they went to this system using "experts" and added the "suggestion box" More efficient than having to sift over every post all the time. And the Line 6 experts can tell them if anything really big is going on in the forums. Keeps the Line 6 guy working on products and gives them a bunch of people (for free) to monitor the posts. I think problems can actually get solved faster this way because, again, they don't have to sift through all the posts and can just cut through the bull and get to the problem or suggestion. Although, as I've said before, I'll bet they peek in every now and then. I don't think it's that big of a deal to click over to another web page and post your complaint/suggestion. Then you know it's going directly to a Line 6 person. And don't they directly respond to you? (It's been awhile since I've done it). At the very least I don't think it's going to change in the near future. I see your point and it would be nice but this system has it's merits too.

Yes I've seen that, and a policy like that was in place when I made those suggestions. And it may be enforced more strictly than it was back then........but I bet they still take a peek every now and then. :D And let me say, it's still better and more efficient to go through the official channels........bit I STILL bet they take a peek every now and then. :D

By the way, check out this poll. I think it more accurately shows how people feel about the update which is overwhelmingly this update is fine. http://line6.com/support/topic/2271-jtv-20-poll/

I agree with you in regard to the models. I first listened to them through my HD500 with nothing at all in the path and was a little underwhelmed. Mainly liked the Rickenbacker 12 string improvements. Then I started listening to them through the amps and was REALLY impressed. Seemed to react better and more organically. And I like hearing from people who actually compare the models to the real thing. For the most part those comparisons have been very positive. Part of this is I think people just get used to one thing and if something else different comes along it's not what I'm used to so it's bad. Not in a conscious "I'm pigheaded and refuse to hear anything objectively" way. I just think it's human nature to do that. I did at first with the HD500 and with this new JTV upgrade. But the further away I get from the old sounds, I find when I go back to them, I like the new sounds I've come up with better. Also discontent people tend to post more than content ones on these threads. Since I'm content, I have nothing to post. It's just the nature of these things.

I keep hearing more and more about dead Vetta mainboards and that scares me. I have many mainboard type things that are still working that are older that the Vetta. Does anyone know how common this is? Is it inevitable?

I'm guessing there has to be one update coming soon since they still need implement the ability to allow a JTV Variax with the new firmware upgrade to access Workbench through the HD500. Whether that will include any other goodies who knows but I'm not sure I'd get too excited about a new update since the JTV thing may be the only thing it includes. Not that I know ANYTHING but I'm just sayin'.

Well they say history has a way of repeating itself and this thread is more proof. EVERY time Line 6 has upgraded firmware or come out with the next generation of products, "please make the old models available" is ALWAYS a request from someone. Line 6 has never fulfilled that request with one exception that I can recall. It was the Pod 2.0 version of the Treadplate. They made their XT and Vetta model of that model available due to all the requests for it. It didn't seem to help. As I recall people didn't like the XT model of the 2.0 model. I think that maybe a Marshall 800 model was treated that way as well in one of the XT firmware updates but again, it didn't seem to make anyone happy. So, the bottom line is this historical request will continue to be made and historically, Line 6 has not fulfilled it. That's the best answer to this request we have now. But don't give up either. I think having both versions available would be very cool. I always wondered why they couldn't make all kinds of different models available and you could fill the memory slots with whatever models you liked. Be it pickups, bodies, capacitors, etc. So, of course, you wouldn't be able to store all of the models on your Varaix but they would be available to you to customize your Variax even more than you can now. I don't know what the Variax memory hierarchy is so this may be impossible to implement. I am very happy with the whole Variax thing as it is right now. I have an SG in which I rewired it with 3 6 pole-6 throw switches so I could come up with every pickup wiring possibility two humbuckers can give. Each pickup's coils could be In series-in phase, in series out of phase, each coil alone parallel-in phase, parallel-out of phase. Then each pickup had the same wiring options relative to each other. All to try and simulate other guitar sounds. I was just getting ready to put in a piezo bridge for an acoustic simulation when I got my first Variax. I haven't touched my SG since. So I really appreciate where we are now compared to where we were. I guess I've blathered enough. Sorry about that. But I'm posting it anyway so there. :P :D

Back in the Pod XT days I had (still do) a Vetta. The Vetta's FX loop was post amp and there were two input options but only one could be used at a time (Variax or Guitar). I submitted a suggestion on the boards at the time, that the FX loop be put before the amps and give the Vetta the ability to use both the Variax and Guitar inputs at the same time with the ability to route either one to either amp path (Vetta had dual amp ability). Since it had the dual amp/stereo output ability, you could essentially have two separate mono rigs going using the Variax and the Guitar inputs at the same time. And you could even use your own stompboxes in the FX loop and ,utilizing the dual amp option, actually have two different stomp box paths for each Guitar using the FX loop. Well the next thing out was the X3 with both of my suggestions (upgraded a bit) in it. Was it from me and my suggestions or did they come up with it themselves? My ego likes to think so. Anyway, it's just to show that I don't think suggestions on this forum go unnoticed

Don't be so hard on old Zap. I'll admit the "wtf were you thinking turning up at a gig with an untested update? of course you'd have to tweak etc... you brought that one on yourself though." was a bit insulting but Zap's generally a good guy and may have just gotten a little overzealous. In regard to his comments on what Line 6 will do, I haven't seen anything he said that wasn't true. I've been a Line 6 boy for awhile too so his comments are just based on what they've done in the past. One big point is they aren't going to radically change the models anytime soon. They'll fix the bugs (the spank 2-4 position problem for example and has been acknowledged)but, based on the past, if you were able to properly download the update (I know there have been a few issues, most not the fault of the JTV owner) these are the models we're stuck with for awhile. So if you don't like them better than 1.9 then, you'll have to go back. Personally, overall, I am pleased.

The inability to map a HD Patch change to any patch change is what originally was brought up. The controversy is whether "FULLY assignable" is an accurate description. I don't believe it is since without this ability the word FULLY is inaccurate. It is only "partially" or more accurately "ALMOST fully" assignable. Given the description, the original poster wanted to make sure that he wasn't missing something since the way he read (and the way I read) the "fully assignable" would be there are no limits and clearly there is one. No big deal. No egos hurt. Not upset in anyway. Mostly a disagreement with the accuracy of the terms.