cruisinon2

Yes, that's true. It's also true that the JTV's debuted years before Yamaha bought L6. After the acquisition, they tried continuing the Variax line with the Standards (which is really just a Pacifica with Variax guts, but I digress), but they didn't move enough of them. It's a different ballgame now...L6 isn't holding the purse strings anymore, and if Yamaha is not convinced that a product will sell in large enough numbers, they're not throwing money at a complete redesign. It costs a small fortune to bring a product like the Variax to market, and the projected return on investment has to be substantial, or it won't even be considered.

Well anything is possible, but don't hold your breath... because in all likelihood, it ain't happening. While the Variax still has an extremely devoted cult following, that's also it's problem. It's a niche product, which the masses never embraced in numbers big enough for Yamaha to care about. Much of the guitar playing world doesn't even know it exists, and that is why they ultimately killed it. Giant multinational corporations are only interested in moving large numbers of units, not satisfying a miniscule percentage of the guitar market.

Dogs barking can't fly without umbrella.

See above... no company on earth is ever going to provide lifetime support for anything that you buy. Might as well get used to it.

1) This is a user forum... nobody who could actually grant your request is ever gonna see this. 2) You're asking for an update to a platform that was mothballed years ago...it ain't happening.

Open a service ticket and see what they tell you.

You'll know when they say "Here it is"... L6 has been rolling that way since day one.

Beyond keeping different patches for each guitar, the only real solution would be using one or more EQ blocks within a patch that you toggle on or off depending on which guitar you're using.

Unfortunately you've already exhausted all the end-user "fix weird $hit" options there are... time for a support ticket.

Well If you've never used it and have no plans to, then you're contemplating elective surgery for a disease you don't have, lol... just leave it be.

You could attempt a factory reset, but that's about the only option you have. If that doesn't work and it's stuck like that, then it's FUBAR... open a service ticket and see what they tell you.

If you're dialing in your tones at living room volume, you will always have issues when you crank up those same patches to stage volume. It has to do with how we perceive loudness of different frequency ranges at any given volume. If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, Google the "Fletcher-Munson curve". Whether you choose to delve into the "why" or not, there is only one solution, and that is dialing in your tones at (or at least close to) the volume at which you intend to use them.... otherwise you will find yourself in a constant state of EQing your patches back and forth every time you change listening environments and volume. Keep two set lists... one for lower volume home use, and another for gigs... it'll make your life a whole lot easier. This is true of any modeler... there's nothing unique about the PODGo in that respect.

You could probably get an old school MIDI controller to work... haven't used used one since my rack-mount days, but I assume they still exist. As for the spacing between the buttons, I imagine that will vary from unit to unit. Don't know if that's something they'd put on the spec sheet... might have to try and find one in person. Either that or invest in smaller feet, ;).

Unfortunately copying settings verbatim from the POD just won't work... the modeling engines are completely different. You can start with all the same (or at least similar) models in the signal chain, but just inserting the same values for each parameter will get you nowhere. Since you are already familiar with the process of building a patch, your learning curve will be easier than most, but you still have to start from scratch and figure out how to coax the tones you hear in your head from the Helix. Fiddle with the mic choice and position...I find that can often fix a "tinny" sound quite easily, often without touching anything else.

110 Main Street Squashed Possum, WV ;)