Shaamaan

Thanks a lot for all the replies! Lot's of good stuff here for a newbie like myself. Cheers! :D

After plugging in my new POD and playing with it for a while, I've got a few questions I haven't been able to find the answers to. I was hoping some friendly soul here might clarify these issues. Note, I've got my Variax connected via the digital interface. 1) Right after I plugged the POD in, I noticed it's got 1.01 firmware. As L6 Monkey told me the latest is 2.2 I went ahead and installed said firmware. The update... failed. I've then did some digging and enabled test mode on the POD by holding the right arrow whilst powering the device up. Attempting to flash the POD again succeeded - after 2 more attempts. Well, I'm happy that it's working now, but I'm a bit worried about those botched updates - what could cause them and what the effects could be? Also, the settings page shows FLASH FW 2.20 and USB FW 1.01... what IS the USB FW, and why does it show such an old version? 2) I don't own a typical guitar cab nor amp. Instead, I've got a old, classic NAD amplifier originally used for playing CDs and as output for my PC. It's got a pair of old but decent speakers connected to it, and I've plugged in the POD via the 1/4" L/R outputs. I can't shake the feeling I've heard / read that there's a setting on the POD somewhere which is designed to work in this instance (i.e. no guitar amp). Am I right? If so, where is this setting? 3) The POD is a bit... complicated, to say the least. I'm reading the manuals as I'm typing this, but there's a lot of them... yes, even the manuals! I'm initially looking to get some clean tones so I can fool around with the acoustic setting on the Variax. So far all the presets I've tried are way too distorted for this to work well... Any tips?

I almost forgot... Will a US-bought POD 500 work with European (220V) power sockets?

Well, I wouldn't be paying for shipping thanks to a friend who could bring it over. And this is why I asked if a digital device such as a POD HD can have problems similar to guitars where personally inspecting the instrument can be crucial. The thing is the price most certainly is better. A used POD HD 500 is for sale on Amazon.com for ~$350 (by someone who appears to be a trusted seller). In Poland, the cheapest used POD HD 500 is for ~$500 and I saw a new one for sale in an online store going for ~$520. What was completely mind-boggling was what I saw on Amazon.de. In Germany the POD HD 500 is for sale for 672 EURO (over $900!) while a POD HD 500X is for sale for 499 EURO (WHAT... THE...?!?)... But I think it's just the German Amazon site which has some screwed up prices. A quick Google search reveals that a new POD 500 is going for ~$520 as well. Of course, if possible, I'd rather pay $350 than $500. ;) But of course warranty could be an issue... :unsure:

Very true. However, to give a context as to why I asked that question... I'd never buy a guitar without actually grabbing it and trying it out (and this is exactly what I did before I bought my JTV - heck, I drove quite a distance given the quality of Polish roads to meet the seller ^_^ ). Given that there's no possible way for me to actually try out a used POD bought from the US (I can, at best, ask the seller for pictures to assess if the unit is physically damaged) I want to make sure that such a purchase is at all justifiable. ;) I apologise if I may seem a bit paranoid or something - as I stated, such a purchase isn't easy for me, thus I want to be as sure as I can before I commit to this.

Thanks everyone for the replies! I'll try to save up some money and get the HD 500 then. Sadly, the local prices for used HD 500s aren't (as someone mentioned) around $300... they're around $500. :( Thankfully, a friend from the US will come visit us, and after sending him the dimensions and weight of the HD 500 he said he could bring it over, so I might just buy if from the US. ^_^ Before I do, however... one last question: Given that this is a digital device, am I right to assume that a used HD 500 on sale should work like a brand new unit and any kind of wear and tear can only be physical? (Assuming it hasn't been smashed to pieces of course and the electronics are intact...)

One more quick question regarding that particular statement... I'm looking through the comparison between the different HD models (300, 400 and 500), and aside from things like a smaller looper or less space for user presets... what ARE the limitations you're talking about when comparing the 300 to the 500 model?

:o Well, I'm glad I got the deal I did for my JTV then. B) Anyway, thanks everyone for the great input! I guess I'll try to save up some money. Or perhaps I should pester my family a bit to get a little something-something for Christmas? ^_^ EDIT: No, it's not one of the older models (after all, I managed to register my guitar ;) ). I think it must have come from a sale. A quick Google search shows there was one earlier this year and these guitars were sold for ~$700, which is more or less what I paid for mine.

Thanks for poinitng out the difference between the 300 and 500! Whoa... aren't those the US models? My Variax was expensive (at least given my financial posibibilities) but not THAT expensive... :P

For the record - I never really considered the XT because it costs pretty much the same as the X3 on the local auction site - Allegro.pl (yes, I'm from Poland). I also find it extremely strange that the smaller HD models don't have the digital interface. It feels like it's a somewhat cheap move by Line6 to get everyone to buy the most expensive model. :angry: The HD300, whilst still more expensive than the X3/XT, is a bit more managable in price (if still a little bit steep for my current wallet contents).

That doesn't solve the irritating problem of having to disconnect everything when I stop playing. Otherwise the battery will be drained. To my knowledge this problem doesn't exist when using the VDI cable, as it's also used to provide power to the guitar. I wonder if your cable is the same as my cable... mine is 3m I think, which seems to be plenty. As for the shell and robustness - again, I indent to use it at home, not run around on stage with it. ^_^

OK, out of curiosity... won't that power only one speaker? I realize that the signal coming out from the guitar is a mono signal, but it'd be nice to have both speakers throw some sound at me. ;) On the other hand, I know that a simple splitter will drastically reduce quality... Also... HOW fragile are those cables? The one I got for the software updates does indeed have a fragile-looking connector on one end, but I intend to use this whole thing at home, so unless the thing has a tendency to crumble to dust by itself, I think I should be good. ^_^ As far as purchasing the JTV for starting with - it was a suggestion by someone far more guitar-savvy than me. "If you're seriously thinking about learning to play then get a decent guitar and stay away from the cheap stuff, as that'll just cause trouble." So I saved up for a while and did just that. I didn't feel too financially happy right after the purchase tho. :wacko:

My aplifier doesn't have a line input, so there goes that idea. Which is why I'm using the ToneDirect GX to do spruce up the signal before I send it to the speakers - which is sitll pretty quiet however. Note, that for learning I prefer to use clean tones. That said, it's a ton of fun to add some effects every once in a while. :D It's a guilty pleasure and I don't intend to stop. Regarding the VDI - I've got the cable that came in with the guitar itself (along with the USB interface to make use of the Workbench), so that isn't a problem. My only issue with the HD series is that only the 500 model has the VDI interface and it's bloody expensive. :(

Hi everyone! I'm a newbie guitarist, still learning. As such, I didn't really spend a whole deal on an elaborate setup (I've made as much use of hardware I've already owned) and I'm currently using my JTV89 (which I'm really happy with) with a TonePort GX connected to my PC, which in turn is connected to an old (but good!) NAD amplifier and through that a pair of speakers. Note, that I don't need to record yet - as stated, I'm still learning - and all I need is to monitor the sound and have low latency. As such, the signal is routed via the jack output from the TonePort (so I'm NOT using the USB) to the LineIn in my PC which in turn (using kX drivers for old Creative cards) routes this to the amplifier (the computer needs to be turned on for the TonePort to work anyway, so I might as well get some control out of it). The end result is satisfactory, but leaves a lot to be desired. For one, I need to constatnly fumble around with the cables and if I leave the guitar plugged in then the batter gets drained. Another, quite obvious thing, is that I need to have the PC turned on and applications running. Finally, the sound quality is... well, it's not terrible, but it could definitely be better. With all that said, I think I'd love to make use of the digital interface on the Variax. From what I can tell, only a handful of devices offer this functionality. Amongst them are the POD X3 Live and the POD HD 500 - the former is definitely cheaper, but I can only get a used unit (there are some for sale on the local auction sites), while the latter is far more expensive (even the used models are priced at almost twice that of the X3). From what I could gather the HD 500 is really well built - something I don't really need if I'm going to be using this at home, but (supposedly?) also offers better sound quality. Which of these devices would be a good purchase for me? Or perhaps... is there an entirely different device you could recommend?

Thanks for the answer. I did unplug the guitar when I wasn't using it, but I guess I did play for those 10 or so hours the battery should hold. :) The downside is that it's not so easy to take the battery out and I need to apply a bit of force - I'm always afraid I'll break it. >_<

Since getting my Variax recently I spent far more time playing around with its setup (i.e. how to connect it to my other hardware), and while I did play around with the cool features of the guitar itself, I've mostly left them alone. Yesterday I wanted to play a few notes using the awesome acoustic sounds after finishing my setup and found, to my slight surprise, that the battery was depleted. So, OK, it was a week since I charged it, and I was using the Variax during the week but, as stated, I didn't really use the effects all that much. So, a rather simple question: Am I right to suspect that the Variax drains the battery even when the effects aren't turned on? Does its sleep mode (i.e. cables unplugged) also drain the battery?

I know the POD HD500 is awesome - it's the device I tested the Variax on! There's one problem with it however: it's bloody expensive! :unsure: It'd be great if there was a cheaper solution available for the amateur guitarists. Right now I've settled for getting a POD Studio GX, but it'd be nice if Line 6 had a similarly priced device designed to make use of the Variax's digital output.

Yeah, I figured that out. It's a bit of a shame, I think. You have a digital signal already coming out of the guitar - why not let us computer junkies use it? :P Oh well, I'll get a Studio GX. :)

Oh... I can certainly do that. I was under the impression that outputting the analogue signal and sending it back to the PC would be... kind of pointless and weird. If all it takes is reconnecting the whole thing with an extra cable, then I'm game! :) But I'm curious - what are the ASIO settings inside the POD Farm software for? I've been playing with ASIO in general for the past hour or so - first, I had issues getting any sound at all (I'm using a nifty ASIO test sound generator I quickly found via Google). Fiddling in kX drivers I managed to hear said application. But, subsequently, the POD software doesn't seem to remember that I want to use the ASIO in the settings. Again, if all it takes is an analogue cable to connect the POD to the line-in on my sound card, that's fine - I'm just curious at this point. EDIT: Is there any difference between using the analogue out and the headphone output on the POD Studio? EDIT 2: Actually, that probably doesn't matter. What I have is borrowed - I'll likely buy the Studio GX, and that only has a single output. :)

Well, that's why I asked if a POD Studio GX specifically wouldn't be sufficient. My guitar teacher, being the awesome person that he is, let me borrow his POD Studio UX2. So I finally got to hear my guitar at home (of course I played it during the lesson - no shortage of amps there ;) ). Here's where things get weird, but I feel I might need to ask around on the kX forums. The POD works great... assuming I plug in a pair of headphones directly into it. This is... not ideal. I want to route the sound through the PC and out via the NAD amplifier. I can set up Windows 7 to "Listen to this device" in the sound options of the UX2 recording device, but there's a notable delay there - not a problem for recording as such, but not suitable for playing. If I go to Tone Direct setting and set the lowest latency, the sound drops completely (I have no idea why this is - I tried this on my laptop and it worked fine, but my laptop is older and weaker than my PC). I can also select a kX ASIO device in the POD Farm preferences, but I'm unsure how to use use that yet. :(

Hi everyone. I have a preety good PC with a decent sound card (running kX drivers) connected to an old but good NAD amplifier and that is connected to a pair of nice columns. Note, that none of this is equipement deisgned to work with electric guitars. My goal is to use the computer as a guitar amp and play through that - sending the signal to the columns. Recording would, at this point, also be possible, but at my skill level it's really not important. :P I've purchased a JTV-89 with the hope that it's USB interface would let me do that - that is, send the signal to the computer so I could listen to the guitar live (if not add amp effects, but I can sort of do that with the kX drivers). Alas, I didn't read the fine print, and the Variax has no such functionality. :( Thankfully, I can still return it. Still, the guitar, with it's wide range of instruments, is quite awesome so if possible I'd rather try to get this to work in the way I want, rather than give up and send everything back. The product page for the POD Studio GX mentions recording the most - something I don't need all that much. Again, what I want is just getting the sound to my computer so I can use my existing sound setup and play the guitar (so I'm guessing low latency is a requirement). Would a POD Studio GX allow me to do that? If not a POD Studio GX, then what else would I need to get things going?

Oh dear... yes, this appears to have been the problem. Lucky thing I had a 1/4 jack adapter lying around to plug it in. :) Thanks! EDIT: If I may take this opportunity to ask a followup quesion. Was I wrong in my assumption that with a Variax connected to my computer as it is I would be able to play the lovely thing? It seems that all I can do with it now is use the Workbench to edit presets on the guitar, and not actually get a digital signal into the computer. :(

Hello everyone. I've purchased a new JTV-89 yesterday and now that I got it at home, I'm having some issues getting things to actually play. Perhaps a small bit of backstory - I'm a newbie guitarist and have only played on a cheap classical guitar up to this point, however, getting an electric was always my goal (of course mastering said electric is my next goal ;) ). As such, I don't have a lot of audio equipement related to electric guitars. I do, however, have a pretty darn good computer (with an old, but good Audigy 2 sound card running kX audio drivers with custom DSP settings), and a nice amplifier and a pair of columns connected to that computer. As such, the JTV-89 seemed like a superb idea, because wouldn't have to buy extra equipement and could put more money into getting a good guitar rather than other set pieces for getting said guitar to play (amps, cables, whatnots). Before purchasing this JTV-89 guitar I had a chance to listen to it - it was then connected to a POD 500 and a laptop. As such, the USB interface, the battery - all those things were still sealed in their origial packages - I feel this is important information, as it suggests the guitar itself should be fine and the trouble I'm about to describe might be with one of the connecting elements, unless something had happened during transport, but the guitar was safely tucked in it's bag and the ride was smooth. Now at home I've unpacked the whole thing, charged the battery (after pluggin it into the guitar the little "battery meter" on the back of the Variax showed a full charge), and plugged everything to my computer (after installing the latest version of Workbench). However, the app said I still need to do some installations, because it couldn't detect the Variax (and suggested I run Monkey). I did so - I downloaded Monkey, installed it, and it said I have everything up to date (it DID detect the USB interface, but not the guitar itself). At this point I noticed red light on the USB Interface - flashing on the guitar side. Now, I've tried to connect things using a standard Ethernet cable (rather than the one that came with the guitar) - no luck there. Here are some other things I noticed: - The guitar port on the USB interface seems awfully loose, at least compared to similar ports on my computer or router. - The two knobs on the guitar (for changing the model and tunings) don't light up - I was under the impression that all you need to do is tap on them, but that doesn't seem to do anything. I may be a complete idiot (given that this is my first electric guitar ever, that's highly possible) and am simply doing something wrong. In fact, I'd prefer this to be the case, because then I'm sure anyone here will be able to easily point out my mistake and all will be fine with the world (if not my pride :P ). Otherwise, this might mean I've got a more serious problem on my hands, and since I'm in Poland, getting things fixed might not be easy. PS. My computer is running Windows 7 x64.