cruisinon2

I'd guess it's the POD too, being as complicated a unit as it is, but there's a million other things to troubleshoot. You didn't mention the rest of your rig, so it's hard to guess, but could be: 1) A cable on its way to crapping out 2) Has it always happened with the same guitar? If so, a loose solder joint on 1/4" jack, or a dirty toggle switch with an intermittent connection issue maybe?

There's definitely an "old guitar" smell...not a bad thing, just like when a case hasn't been opened in a while. My mom has been playing classical guitar since 7 or 8 yrs old, still at it at 70+. Nylon strings aren't my thing, but she has a beautiful old Kohno with an ultra-plush interior hardshell case...I remember sitting and listening to her play as a little kid, and the smell of that case. Don't know if it was the polish she used or what, but very distinctive. Hadn't thought about that in a long time...funny what sticks with you from being a kid.

This is what Bob Ross used to call a "happy accident"...;)

Oh, I know...just goofin'.

Definitely odd. You've tried different cables, and the guitar is fine without the A/B box, so it would seem that the box itself is the culprit...though why, I have no idea. I'd be more suspicious if it were happening with the modeling as opposed to the mags, but without the modeling engaged, the JTV is a plain old "dumb" guitar like anything else...the tone-suck would seem to be happening in the A/B box. Weird...

No, not so much. That's Ideascale. Here is where everybody comes to whine about stuff that doesn't work, lament a lack of features that don't exist because we're not living in episode of Star Trek, and announce to everyone (none of whom care, not even a little) that they're out $1500 because Helix sucks, and they're off to buy an AxeFx...;)

Afaik, the only time the Workbench software ever contained any updates for the guitars themselves was when they made available models of the hotter mag pickups on the JTV89 for use in the other JTV guitars. The preset bundles are really just the raw, unedited guitar models. Updates for those come via new versions of the Variax firmware. Workbench is universal, and has no idea which Variax you've got until you plug it in. That's why it downloads whatever is on the guitar as a first step. Until it knows what it's dealing with, there's nothing to edit. Variax firmware updates do sometimes contain entirely new guitar models, but there hasn't been a "big" update like that in quite a while.

Near as I can tell, they make most of their money convincing people that is in their best interest to buy the extended warranty for an extra $1700, the $279 leather/upholstery protection package (seriously? I have no exposed, double-edged blades in my wardrobe. Beyond stupid...), $400 for tire and rim protection, and all the other "peace of mind" crap they've invented. I'm at point now, when they start that s***, I say "Look, I know you have to try and upsell me on all this junk, so I'll give one blanket "no", right now. If you insist on going through the whole menu, you're gonna loose this sale". Usually shuts them up. Here endeth the rant. ;)

Part of it, I think, is having too many options at too many different price points creates confusion. The last thing companies want are paralyzed customers. "Do I spend the extra $250, or not?" might have people waffling for weeks. Having the line drawn at over or under $1000 makes more sense to me. How much different will the $500 modeler be from the $750 one? And the $750 from the $1000 one? And so on...

Monopolies are fun...

+1 for MeAmBobbo, it's a great resource. Customtone, imho is a dead end, but as always ymmv.

Fair enough. I'm tall, so it never occurred to me to try the handle. 30° would just deafen my knees. ;)

Just as an FYI, the L2T has 2 retractable "legs" for use as a floor monitor. No need to prop it up with the handle...it's probably not as stable that way. Agreed. I abandoned the L6 Link for that reason. If you're running mono with just one L2T, there's no real "need" for it anyway. Just use the 1/4", set the speaker mode manually if you don't want "floor monitor mode", then you've got the global EQ if you need it.

Many of the difficulties you've been posting about are basic functionality topics that are all covered in the manual. I know the POD isn't the most intuitive device in the world, and manuals are not exactly a "fun read", but you'll save yourself a lot of time by going through it, rather than waiting around for someone to answer you every time you get stumped.

In addition to the above, the guitar(s) may have intonation issues as well. Worth checking into if they haven't been set-up recently.

Well you've got 3 problems here. You've tried: 1)patches created by someone else, with different guitars, rig, etc, which are NEVER going to sound exactly as they do in the demo video or sound clip you heard, no matter what they're designed to be played through. They just won't...it amazes me that anyone pays for these "custom patches". For proof I refer you to ANYTHING on Customtone...try a few. Or a few dozen, and tell me how close you think the author got to the stated goal for that tone. Most of the time, it's so far off, its comical. And it's not because the guy who made the patch is deaf, stupid, or crazy. It's because he has his guitars, amp, and fingers, and you've got yours. Expecting the same tone to come out on both ends, with a million variables, and only one common denominator (Helix), is nuts. It simply ain't happening. With this or any other modeler 2)Factory presets, which are a crap shoot for the same reason as #1. 3) You're own patches that you dialed in through a traditional guitar amp. You can't explore FRFR this way, unless you're looking for an easy way to hate it, and go back to your amp(s)...which you might end up doing anyway, and that's OK. But these 3 "tests" are virtually guaranteed to be disappointing, and turn you off from the whole concept. Creating your own patches, with your own guitars, through whatever FRFR speaker you end up trying....and LOTS AND LOTS of TIME....is the only way you'll know of it will work for you. Yes, it's tedious. Yes, you'll get annoyed...eventually you'll figure out if it's for you or not. But there are no short cuts.

It's all rather stupid, isn't it? ;)

Or do what we've all been doing forever...find the best spot to make the switch where it'll be the least noticeable. Camouflage it with a well-timed string/pick slide, or muted "chug". Roll off the volume quick and smooth before the patch change. It can all lessen the "abruptness" of the switch. Better yet, remind yourself that absolutely no one in the audience is going to notice anyway, because they're all either tone-deaf or drunk. Except of course for the guitar player in the back, with his arms folded, who's been judging everything you played for the last half hour...and do you really care what he thinks anyway? If he was any good, he'd be at his own gig. ;)

Gone are the days of keeping things running forever with duct tape and WD40. Wouldn't surprise me if all of our "smart" devices have a self-destruct feature embedded somewhere. Had it too long? POOF...fizzle. Off to the store. Spend, spend, spend. And don't forget to breed the next generation of taxpayers along the way...

Unfortunately, facts have no place in a discussion about feelings. Today's customer, merely by the act of spending money is entitled to every worldly desire, you see? To not deliver (no matter how impossible the demand) is an unpardonable offense, and damaged psyches hang in the balance. Feel their pain...my God, man! Semi-drunken renditions of "Sweet Home Alabama" down at Walt's Trout Hut are at stake here!!!!! Plus, he's paying your salary. If you don't hurry up and produce, next time he'll run out and buy something else, and you'll be living in a van down by the river. ;)

Lol. Well done, Doctor...;)

This is a relatively new phenomenon, though. "Built to last" used to be a badge of honor, it was regarded as a good thing, and companies and the economy endured. When something broke, you fixed it, or you paid someone with the appropriate skill set to fix it for you. Then we discovered cheap overseas labor, and started digging more landfills for all of our disposable crap...we collectively chose to do it this way. Technology just makes it easier for two of humanity's most charming traits....greed and laziness...to blossom.

Absolutely. But planned obsolescence is a business model...has little or nothing to do with the technology, or products themselves. Keep 'em spending...we're feeding an addiction. It's how we've chosen to keep our toilet-paper economy going.

Extinction is the price of "progress". Steam engines still work too, but they're grossly inefficient, so they went away. No use lamenting it...

It is a peculiar time we're living in. A tech-obsessed culture that wants bigger/better/newer/faster everything, all delivered last Tuesday (free of charge), with guaranteed free updates and support until 3 years after the world ends, and a personal guarantee that the product will satiate every current and future desire. And then when something (inevitably) fails to deliver any or all of this, it's taken as a personal assault. They did this to ME!!!!! If even 10% of the populace spent half as much time doing instead of whining, we'd already have the Starship Enterprise...