brue58ski

I started to create a document attempting to distill all the posts that had to do with possible causes and solutions of the plink/clang issue, from two threads. The “Do You Have The Same Problem With 6th String?†and the “Make Your Variax Sound 100% Better†I thought people that don’t want to plow through these threads might like this so I’m attaching it here. It ain't perfect but here it is. I decided late into it to put the post number in bold type before the posts but I couldn't find all of the posts I had already put in there. So some don't have number. The posts with only a number are from the Do You Have The Same Problem With 6th String thread. If it's from the Make Your Variax Sound 100% Better thread I put that title before the thread number. I do have some thoughts on the issue. So it seems like a lot of the problem has to do with physical issues. BUT not one in particular. It seems in order to work well the JTV’s require as pure a string vibration as it can get because the piezos are VERY sensitive and can pick up many extraneous sounds that the guitar can create. And the guitar can create many different extraneous sounds/artifacts. And each guitar can create them in MANY different ways. String vibration behind the bridge, trem spring vibration, the string vibrating against the channel in the bridge before the piezo, etc., etc. Even the string vibrating against a fret in a poorly setup guitar. This is why there is no universal solution. Each guitar creates different artifacts different ways. The piezos themselves seem to have widely varying degrees of sensitivity. So it appears that just because your guitar creates artifacts, it doesn’t mean you will have the issue. Your particular piezo may not be as sensitive to artifacts as others. And let’s not discount the software possibilities. Why, when the E and A string piezo connections get swapped, does the clang not get swapped? If the E string has the clang, when the connections are swapped, the A string suddenly has the clang. It has been stated that each string is processed differently. So can they reprogram the E string so it eliminates the clang like the A string does? But if that’s true, why doesn’t every JTV have the clang. Is it because it only produces the clang because the E string has a more powerful signal (it has the most mass) so if you have a highly sensitive piezo it can’t handle the clang but a less sensitive piezo can? But if that’s true………..On and on and on. There is a solution posted that involves changing all of the body styles to neutral. But doesn’t that defeat half of the reason we ponied up over $1000 for this thing? Kiss all my hollow bodies good bye. And this solution still doesn’t work for everyone. And now they aren’t putting any more resources toward it. I’m sorry, “deprioritizing†it “due to a variety of reasonsâ€. This is VERY disconcerting. All I can say is, if they bail on the JTV, especially if it’s for a new guitar modeler, I’ll not participate. They bailed on the Vetta amp with several issues that were never addressed but acknowledged (with a statement they were working on it. Sound familiar?) so this wouldn’t be the first time Line 6 left customers hanging. And let’s not forget the Variax bass. When it first came out, they advertised Workbench compatibility was coming. It’s even mentioned in the manual (which I have). Guess what. Bass wasn’t popular soooooooo…no Workbench. In many many ways Line 6 has been VERY good to me which is why I’ve stuck with them. This is the worst though. I can still use my Vetta and Variax bass to 95% of their advertised capabilites. But this pretty much bricks the Variax for those that do have the issue . They would need to have some kind of FAIR compensation for those that have the issue for me to stick with them and I don’t even have the clang issue (knock on wood).

RE: the muddy low end. Turn the Res Level in the Cab Parameters all the way down. Many people also recommend turning the Bass all the way down. At least start there. You can always turn them up.

It is a single battery and it does require soldering. And it is a pain.

That's all fine and the discussion on your points would require a long time. But it also has nothing to do with what I was referring to which is ACCEPTANCE of other peoples beliefs. I was referring to nothing else. You make a lot of prejudicial statements about the religious and people with beliefs. The truth of other peoples beliefs is a long discussion and the points for and against are always pretty much the same. I include every one of yours. PM me if you want to discuss those. And I sincerely mean discuss. Although it sounds like you're also absolutely "utterly certain" your beliefs are "the one and only truth and light". That's why I'm talking about acceptance and not trying to debate all of our beliefs. And I find it's interesting that you want to "get back to programming the Helix and playing the music we consider a gift." AFTER you've made you're clever statement about your views on religion. OK NOW let's get back to programming the Helix and playing the music we consider a gift. Now that I have the final word. ;) Just kidding. Do what you will.

All right, once more into the breach. Mainly because of the "I still see you might not be understanding it fully." I am going public one more time. I'm not sure what you think I don't understand fully. It sounds like it is you that does not understand fully what my point is. Nothing you have said negates it. I knew when you subtly brought religion into this where you stood in regard to religion or any kind of faith. And let's not continue to dance around what faith you are mostly referring to anymore. It's Christianity. This statement says it all..."And for thousands of years they have been forcing it down everyone's throat. This is not the exception with religion, its all but a rule." I cannot deny that things have been forced down peoples throats. But that's true with just about every point of view developed by humans. For thousands of years, thousands of point's of views have been shoved down peoples throats. The Romans killed Christians for sport for awhile because the Romans were forcing there beliefs down everyone's throat. The Nazis, theirs. In public schools today, there is a certain morality being "forced down everyone's throats" that doesn't match the morality of many other people. Which is right? No comment. Not trying to make a statement one way or another. My point is not to debate the morality of public schools but that it ain't just religions that have been and are forcing their own points of view down other peoples throats. Indoctrinating people into their way of thinking that many people don't believe. But none of this actually has anything to do with my point. Other than you kind of make it sound like you would like to force your belief in NLBRE down everyone's throat since it is so "obviously" the right thing Regarding whether your statements are narrow minded. The statement of "This is not the exception with religion, its all but a rule" leaves no wiggle room as far as I can tell. Which makes it a very narrow minded statement. This also applies to your the stupid, and the dedicated make it all but improbable statement. That's a broad statement? And as a rule, I know of no law that forces people to attend any kind of religious ceremony or service these days. I live in what is one of the most extremely liberal parts of this country. And am surrounded by people that do not believe what I believe. I am the minority. Sounds like you are in the same situation only the opposite. I can assure you that everything you have been accusing Christian faith and religion of, I have experienced in the opposite direction here. Including having other beliefs forced down my throat. You stated "they can disregard any facts that contradict their faith.". The same can be said about the people around me in regard to facts that support a faith. And WOW! Bringing up the Catholic church with Nazis! Where did that come from. You sure are loaded for bear. Let's start with this. What the Catholics did or didn't do then has nothing to do with what I'm trying to say. It is your attitude that scares me. It is the same as the Nazis. No matter who did or didn't supported them. relates in NO way to what I am talking about. You seem to be completely missing my point. No matter who did what with the Nazis, the I'm right and you're wrong attitude had everything to do with what happened there. And is the same attitude that you seem to have. This Catholic/Nazi subject itself would require at least a night and a couple of beers. Your "the majority of his officers and soldiers were Catholic." is really out there. I do feel the need to address this but again, it has nothing to do with my point. Many of the officers and soldiers may have been raised Catholic/Christian but I can assure you that when the Nazi's were in full swing, not a lot of them attended church. Here is one reference from a study on Hitler himself. In Hitler's eyes, Christianity was a religion fit only for slaves; he detested its ethics in particular. Its teaching, he declared, was a rebellion against the natural law of selection by struggle and the survival of the fittest. —?Extract from Hitler: a Study in Tyranny, by Alan Bullock Some Hitler quotes. “Christianity is a rebellion against natural law, a protest against nature. Taken to its logical extreme, Christianity would mean the systematic cultivation of the human failure.†“So it’s not opportune to hurl ourselves now into a struggle with the Churches. The best thing is to let Christianity die a natural death. A slow death has something comforting about it. The dogma of Christianity gets worn away before the advances of science. Religion will have to make more and more concessions. Gradually the myths crumble. All that’s left is to prove that in nature there is no frontier between the organic and the inorganic.†Not quite a hearty endorsement. And I'm guessing you probably agree with his "The dogma of Christianity gets worn away before the advances of science." statement. Here's something in regard to your "the majority of his officers and soldiers were catholic." statement that Hitler said. "I have six divisions of SS composed of men absolutely indifferent in matters of religion. It doesn’t prevent them from going to their deaths with serenity in their souls.†There's more if you care to look into it. But again, it all has NOTHING to do with my point. But I thought your implications were a bit outrageous and wanted to slightly address them. And remember, he used a lot of what the theory of evolution is about to justify much of what he did. I'm going to guess you don't think that, then, negates that theory. And in regard to faith, couldn't we describe what you think about NLBRE as faith? Isn't that also faith? Isn't it a faith in NLBRE that it's a great thing/idea. You state "Without the faith of the followers... Hitler, or Stalin would have never had the power they did." Wouldn't that also be true about the idea/topic/thing of NLBRE. Doesn't NLBRE require people to have faith in it before it can be operated or implemented? It seems what you are really saying is that those that have faith in anything you don't have faith in" are wrong. I have tried to cultivate a mentality of acceptance my whole life. Not approval, but the right for everyone to think the way they want to. I am old enough that after thinking about things for a long time I am pretty darn sure in what I believe. I am still open to any other points of view and, believe me, I am often presented with them. If I hear a compelling point of view I will research it and come to my own conclusion. I am surrounded by people that do not think the way I do but they are, mostly (there's always a few) nice, intelligent, caring human beings with their hearts in the right place. I do not for one second think any less of them nor feel I have any right to judge their intelligence because of their lack of belief in what I believe. You don't seem to give people the same respect. So if you don't understand me fully after this then I give up. Again, my fear is not in your belief or faith in what you believe. It is the non acceptance and in fact disdain for those that don't have the same belief and/or faith in NLBRE that you do. And your bold statement that it must be because of stupidity and ignorance of which you say is mostly based on blind faith. It couldn't possibly be because they are intelligent and came to their own conclusions i.e. disagree, could it? The sureness you have about how right you are and how wrong "they" are is disconcerting. And scary. And just to be clear, I still don't know what NLBRE is and have no comment one way or another on it. Although your bringing up of faith and religion leads me to guess that it has some sort of religious or anti religious dogma in it. I promise I will research it when I have time. This was interesting but I'm gonna stop now. I'm guessing there are many that will be pleased to hear that.

I'm gonna beat everyone to it. Try Custom Tone first. Just keep in mind Custom Tone is very much hit and miss. Mostly miss. Heres where the HD500X Run Like Hell patch is. http://line6.com/customtone/search/?submitted=1&family=podhd500x&search_term=run+like+hell Here's the HD500 which I included because the HD500X site has only one patch. Change the .h5e extension to .5xe then it will load into your HD500X. When you do load it, save it from your HD500X's panel and not the HD Edit program. http://line6.com/customtone/search/?submitted=1&family=podhd500&search_term=run+like+hell

There is an amusing story regarding the avatar. It is a bit long. In regard to NLBRE I also feel the need to address this post. Your statement does not apply for the following reason. There is no disagreement. I don't know what NLBRE is. I was talking about the attitude you portray and not the subject. "...the stupid, and the dedicated make it all but improbable...The "dedicated" to being ignorant, or not understanding is found largely with people that put their faith before evidence....things like faith, and beliefs which are proven to be universally unreliable." These blanket generalizations scare me. It implies that anyone that disagrees with you, did so not by using thought or reason but is stupid and ignorant AND of the ignorant, most of them are ignorant because they "put their faith before evidence". So now you're subtly bringing religion into it. Implying that if you have any faith, you are ignorant. Statements like these allow no wiggle room. Which can lead to the attitude that since those that disagree with you are stupid and ignorant, anything they say should just be ignored. After all their stupidity and ignorance impedes any advances all of the "intelligent enlightened" people come up with. The extreme would then be to eliminate them. As Stalin and Hitler did. They are extreme examples to be sure. I often use extremes to make my points clear. Unfortunately by doing that i guess it looks like I'm likening them to you. I apologize for that. That is not my intention. I bring them up because that is where such a generalized narrow attitude can and has led to. I think it's a slippery slope that we have to be careful to not go down. In regard to the "stupidity" video. I find that people often confuse stupidity with ignorance. What I saw was ignorance. Not knowing something i.e. being ignorant, is not the same as a lack of intelligence. I have no idea how stupid those people are. After all, they made it into an institution of higher learning. Perhaps they were raised in one of the failing public school systems that seems to ber prevalent in this country. Oh well, I guess I'm done hijacking as well. PMing is a good idea. I will start by telling you the avatar story. It is a bit long but I think you will be amused by it. Cheers and peace.

"An NLRBE requires its people to be intelligent, much like a true democracy, which the world has yet to see. While this is already technically possible, the stupid, and the dedicated make it all but improbable." I don't even know what NLRBE is but it scares me when people make these kind of statements. So if I look into it and disagree, I am not intelligent, stupid and dedicated (whatever is meant by that). I believe Stalin felt the same way. So did Hitler. In fact that's how most people feel about their own beliefs. Not a comment on NLBRE. But a comment on blanket closed minded statements like that.

It has been "officially" stated that over time, using a Variax that way will damage the circuitry.

If you take that old acoustic and weave some notebook paper between the strings, you can almost get that djent sound! :) It has to be the right weight of notebook paper though.

For those interested.....I've tried some things and done some research. I've changed the strings and tried spraying contact cleaner around the string piezos. No change. There are two fortunate things, I'm still under warranty and the Graphtech Piezos are available for purchase if I wasn't. I'm assuming the piezo went bad. A little disconcerting considering I've had it less than a year. I've opened a support ticket and hopefully the local Line 6 service dude can fix it. I think I may purchase an extra piezo or two from Graphtech as back up for if/when another one goes out. If that's whats wrong here. A comment: I have had excellent luck with Line 6 products, making many purchases including 4 Variaxes with no issues. The JTV89F is Variax number 5. When I picked up and played a JTV89F for the first time, it was the guitar I didn't know I've been looking for my whole life. It just felt right. REALLY right. Plus it's a Variax!! Double win!!! And it looks great and is the same color as my first electric guitar (an SG). Triple win. But, of course, it's the JTV89F that I have had one issue after another with, ending with Line 6 replacing the one I had originally ordered. And now this. I am curious, have I just been really unlucky? Or has the JTV89F been having a history of issues in the past year or so? Not sure if anyone can even officially answer that but it does seem weird and worrisome.

I'm not sure if everyone knows about this but one thing I do using HD edit is first you select a mic. Then using the up down arrows on your keyboard you can quickly go through all of the mics. This applies to everything by the way. I use the same method to check out all of the cabinets. You can go through them very quickly and get a good idea of what the differences are. A lot faster than using the drop down menu each time to select something. Can be used for levels as well.

I have just started to have an issue with my B & E strings losing alot of volume. With my JTV 69, the piezo's grounding was the issue and I fixed it with some contact cleaner. Does anyone know if the JTV89F's piezo are connected to ground the same way the JTV69 is. This would be no soldering or hard permanent connection but just the piezo's metal cover contacting the bridge saddle as it sits in it. It's hard to describe but you may know what I'm talking about. I am mainly hoping that a spritz of contact cleaner will fix the problem as it did with my JTV69 everytime I changed the strings.

I had just looked yesterday to see what the payment would be for 24 months. It was over $50 which was my limit. Now I see this. Guess I'm getting a Helix.

I always wanted to create a template for a sticker you could type in whatever you wanted the dial to say and then stick it to the dial. Something that wrapped completely around the knob. Although I did figure lining up said sticker perfectly could possibly be probalmatic. Don't know. haven't tried yet.

I've also found that with the Variax's, it depends alot on where up or down a string you do them. I remember on my old Varaix 500, If I pinched over where the edge of the pickguard was, I was a lot more successful. So experiment with different positions up and down the string,

Sorry, this is way off topic but I saw this and just had to tell this story. I had an FBV shortboard for my POD XT bean. Got a Vetta and was thinking about getting an FBV longboard. My friend was looking for a shortboard for his XT bean and was having a hard time. He was finding lots of longboards. I told him if he found a longboard, we could do some kind of trade. He found one. He went to the guy's house and after seeing the beaded doorways, lava lamps and black light posters (you get the idea) my friend inquired about the guys occupation. Turns out he had fairly recently gotten done doing a world tour with, can you guess, Iron Butterfly as their guitar player. The FBV longboard he was selling was the one he had used for the tour. So the FBV longboard that I use for my Vetta has been around the world with Iron Butterfly.

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. You actually answered every question I would have. Thanks again. And time to hook up my bass to the HD!

I will say this, I wish I had had the same problem of too many amp options (let alone everything else) about 40 years ago. Aside from the modelling, I now have an essentially unlimited track recording studio that I can, almost totally, record to virtually (no need for a studio) with all the bells and whistles that would have taken a good size double garage with a good size bank account to have. All on my laptop I can take anywhere. Having all these options is an issue but I don't feel sorry for anyone.

I don't think there will be any more "equipment" model additions. Possibly an FX pack but I think they've done all the amps they're gonna. I'm hoping for a firmware or driver update to give us (for example) the ability to record a dry signal while hearing the guitar with the modeling and related to this, the ability to reamp. Also, since I'm here, the EQ's are in percentages which sucks BUT I don't think it would be that difficult to at least make a change in HD Edit to reflect Hz and dB. REALLY hopin' that happens. But I kind of think this is as far as the HD500 will go as far as improvements. I don't think they will stop making them. It's still the best sounding modeler at this price range. Or should I say one of the best. I think it is the best but who the hell am I. For me this may all be moot. Just plugged into a Helix for about 10 minutes a few days ago. I'm saving my pennies. I'm pretty sure it will be the last modeler I will purchase. I can hear you rolling your eyes but I'm serious. I've never said this before but the Helix impressed me that much.

Skybone, can you describe how they are better in the HD? I'm not trying to be argumentative, I really want to know. I don't play bass and am interested in what your thoughts, as a bass player, are. I thought, at least for recording, the XT/X3 models sounded great but I can't speak to the live aspect. To be honest I haven't really gone into the HD bass models that much at all. Did you ever get a chance to try the Bass POD XT Live and if so, what were your thoughts on the options that you could only find on the Bass XT Live like two outputs that you could assign to certain frequencies for bi-amping. Sorry for all the questions and if you don't have time, understood. But I truly do want to know your thoughts.

The base of the pocket that the piezo sits in is how the piezo element contacts ground. So you want to clean underneath it. Just put the red straw that all these sprays come with as close to under the piezo as you can get (but be gentle. Watch out for the piezo's wire.) and spray. Keep a paper towel with you to wipe off the residue and then wait about two minutes for the rest of it to dry. Here's a picture. Notice when you take the strings off, the piezo is kind of loose in the pocket it's in. I spray in the two places indicated by the arrow in the picture. The arrow pointing up is where I can get a little under the piezo with the spray to clean it out.

I've had the same issue. Get some electronic cleaner and every time you change the strings, spray it so that it gets under the piezo where it contacts the bridge. Haven't had an issue since I started to do this when I change my strings. Just make sure it completely dries before you put the strings back on. About 2 minutes. Here's a link to the best stuff around. https://www.amazon.com/CAIG-D5S-6-Contact-Cleaner-Rejuvenator/dp/B0064BHJTE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1472052705&sr=8-3&keywords=caig+deoxit+d5s-6

I would have to agree in regard to putting it on a plane. but, like you said, for tossing in the back of the car for a gig...perfect. Thank-you by the way for finding it. It was your post that convinced me to get it. Although I did bring my guitar into Guitar Center where it was delivered, to make absolutely sure it fit the way i wanted it to before I took it home.

I just got an SKB-66. The one Rocco talked about. It is a "generic" case but does fit the JTV89F very snugly. Here are three pictures. In what I hope will be picture 1, there are three arrows. The two to the left are where the case fits VERY snugly so it is well protected from side to side movement and up down movement at that position. The third arrow on the right is where it fits very well and also prevents the guitar from sliding up and down. You can see gaps but those aren't a concern because of how snugly and well the body fits in those three places. Then with the case closed, the pressure on the neck prevents that part of the guitar from slipping all over the place. I've looked and priced cases for awhile and if you want a custom fit, you'll need to spend at least $100 more. This is not a perfect fit, but absolutely a very good fit that will protect your JTV89F. Good fit for a relatively good price. You can find cheaper but I haven't found any cheaper that fit as well and appear to be as well protected. I have a JTV69 and when i get home, I'll see how it fits that and report back. Obviously I just got this case so I can't speak to its durability, but I'll report after about a year unless it fails before then.