cruisinon2

Input 1 should be either "guitar", or "variax", depending on what you're playing. Input 2 should generally be set to anything other than "same"...otherwise, you are effectively doubling the input signal that gets fed to the amp...can create problems with certain models, make things sound kinda "fizzy". All my patches are set to one of two things: Input 1: Variax Input 2: Guitar, or vice versa... Because only Input 1 will feed the tuner, which is kind of annoying. If you want to be able to keep a JTV connected through VDI and a "normal" guitar into the 1/4" input, you can only tune the one that's assigned to Input 1. As a result, I keep separate patches for the JTV vs. my other guitars, and set the inputs accordingly...means more patch switching, but the alternative is not being able to tune 1 guitar. Not a gig-friendly scenario.

I don't even want to do that anymore, lol. 98% of the time it's a text. The vast majority of the incoming calls I get are robo-calls from exchanges that I have blocked anyway. I just get a notification that some 800 # tried to get through, and was hung up on. 3 or 4 a day on average, I'd say. Hardly anyone I know calls anymore, they all text...the minutes I pay for go essentially unused. Ridiculous waste of money...I keep swearing I won't renew the contract...yet here I am, still with this thing in my pocket. Stupid, really...

First line of defense for any switch problem is contact cleaner...every 5-way switch in the universe is prone to oxidation building up on the contacts. New or not, there's no telling how long that guitar sat in a warehouse or stockroom. Could be some other problem, but try the contact cleaner first...may or may not help, but it's not gonna make things any worse.

I'd love to know why it seems to be so hit or miss...seamless for some, no output at all for others, missing amp models. You'd think that the bugs would be nearly universal...stuff is all getting installed on the same unit...weird.

I sympathize with anybody who's dead in the water...this is why it pays to wait a while. Bugs are a given this early in the game.

Amen. Sometimes the missing ingredient is dumb luck. With this many knobs to twiddle, sometimes you step in good tone, lol. A "happy accident",if you will...anybody remember Bob Ross on PBS?

Even if you never use a dual amp path to produce one blended tone, try this: Set up two paths, one clean and one dirty. You can then transition between them seamlessly with the expression pedal (assign the channel volumes to the pedals min/max values accordingly). That alone is worth the price of admission. No more abrupt patch changes between really distinct tones. That is priceless for live use. Just recently discovered that myself, and I've had this thing for more than a year now.

Don't forget "free". Personally, I won't be satisfied until the impossible is also delivered free of charge...;)

I fear a charge of the Virtual Pitchfork Brigade if the models don't appear by midnight, lol. I mean after all, if magic hour comes and goes without new goodies, everyone's gear will...be exactly the same for at least another day. Oh the humanity!!!! :) Counting the minutes myself...and then waiting another day or 3 for the first edition of the Whine Report to roll in before I commit.

Yes...I stand humbled in the presence of greatness. We really should all be grateful that he took the time to share his wisdom with us, The Great Unwashed...after all, it did take valuable time away from cranking out the hits,lol. Moving on.

Actually, this is the lie... You may not like dual chains, or have difficulty getting them to sound good. But to declare that its universally impossible to make it work is ridiculous.

Good lord...do you actually think I was suggesting that there is some elaborate conspiracy to cheat purchasers of the new model packs? I want them too, and intend to get them as soon as they're available. No, my experience had nothing to do with Line 6, and I doubt his did either, that's the whole point. If you try to make a purchase with a credit card which is declined, and the accompanying explanation specifically mentions a fraud lock on the card, then yes, I'd be suspicious. It suggests that the card issuer had reason to believe there is a possibility of fraudulent activity. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the current transaction. It's far more likely that the refusal was triggered by other attempts that had already been made. Maybe there were 6 other attempts at online purchases that day with his card, who knows? All kinds of things set can set off red flags. Some legit, some false alarms. Purchases outside of one's usual spending habits, for instance...that's what happened to me. Somebody tried to buy airline tickets on my card. I hadn't bought any airline tickets in a decade or so, and fortunately for me they caught it. If I tried to buy something and got the response he did, I'd want to know why...wouldn't matter if I was trying to buy rosary beads from the Vatican gift shop. That response is odd, and worth investigating, imho. Could it just be some internal error? Sure, but that's not an assumption I'd be willing to make.

Well, I think I might be tempted to conclude that somebody got ahold of my credit card #. Just went through same thing for the 3rd time in last couple of years. Doesn't seem to be any way to prevent it anymore...every other day there's another data breach. If you shop online at all, it's pretty much a guarantee, sooner or later somebody's gonna steal from you.

I'd get the 500X, unless you can get your hands on a 500 for pennies...the X is the most recent model, and all of the firmware updates tend to be released for that first. Same for the new model packs that we're all currently salavating over...which incidentally, are gonna have a couple of the amps you mentioned. Also had more robust footswitches than the 500. I doubt the price difference you'll find is worth it...just get the new one.

Good results, yes...quick? Probably not. The 500X is a beast. Incredibly versatile, but not always intuitive. Tends to be a long learning curve, but once you get used to the signal routing and really explore everything it is capable of, I think you'll find that it is easily the best bang for the buck or there as a recording tool for guitar. Forget the 300 and 400...they're dated, and a bit limited compared to the 500X.

I tend to use fx very sparingly...a little delay, sometimes with a modulation effect, sometimes not for leads, and just a little reverb. Chorus on the clean tones. Compressors in front of any distortion fx works best for me...opinions vary. Not a big fan of drowning the tone in tremolos, phasers, or flange....unless we're doing "Ain't Talking Bout Love", so I'm probably the wrong guy to ask about those particular fx. If you Google "guitar effects chain",or something similar, you can easily spend the next 6 months reading one article after another, all claiming to have profound wisdom on the subject. Some will boil down to personal preference, and/or the pieces of gear in question. I have a long history of using rack mount gear, usually with a separate pre-amp-->multi fx unit-->power amp-->cab. The only thing that ever went in front was a tuner, wah, compressor, and one or more distortion boxes. Now obviously there are plenty of amps that have no fx loop, so sometimes your only option is putting everything in front. Personally I've found it all but impossible to get a good sound when you are mucking around with the signal 8 different ways before you even have your raw tone. It also introduces a lot of noise, which drives me nuts. But there are lots of guys who do it...just takes work.

Just in case Tuesday comes and goes with no firmware, I'll be selling "Help, it's April and I can't find my tone" & "Where's the EQ?!?!" t-shirts for $18.95... www.quityourwhining.com :)

I've been using the longer cable since day 1 without any issues like those you have described. For the lengths we're taking about, there really shouldn't be any difference at all, as the signal leaving the guitar through the VDI is entirely digital...it's all 1's and 0's. The signal will either reach the POD or it won't. Signal degradation shouldn't come into play much, if at all, between a 6' vs 25' cable, as it might with analog. Crackling, or intermittent sound must have some other cause...either the jack on the guitar or the POD could be the culprit. The latency is another question. If you're actually hearing 1 full second of latency, that is an absolute ETERNITY, and would be impossible to work with. Much above 20 ms, latency becomes very noticeable, and will handicap most players. The good news (sort of, lol) is, it sounds like you've done all the troubleshooting you need to do. The fact that both the guitar and various cables work fine into a different amp, strongly suggests that whatever the problem is, lies with the 500X. You've already ruled out everything else.

But will we be compensated for all the lost time spent tweaking amps we end up not liking? If they care about their costumers at all...and where are they all ready?!?!?!?! Lmao, hard to keep that up... Let the whining begin...3,2,1...SNIVEL!

+1...you REALLY don't want to use that cable bouncing around on stage. It's way too fragile. Almost guaranteed to destroy something.

99.97% of the time it's the springs that are doing the squeaking, and they're not easy to silence. I've seen guys shove all kinds of things inside the springs themselves...cotton balls, thin rubber tubing, etc. Some work better than others, ymmv. My 69 came with thin strips of what appeared to be 3M padded tape, or something similar inside each spring. (there was adhesive on on side, still with the paper on it...weird). Don't know if it was L6 or Sweetwater that put them there, it was a new guitar. Anyway, lubing the threads isn't likely to do anything. If the bar itself is wobbly after you've screwed it in, then the tiny set screw where the bar fits into the bridge needs to be tightened with the little angel hair-sized Allen key that came with the guitar. As an aside, for anyone who wants to block the trem, I just installed a Tremol-No in my 69, as I rarely use the bar at all. Thing works great...and you can you quickly toggle between stop-tail, dive only, or full floating bridge with a quick turn of 1 or 2 thumb screws.

Just read an article the other day...the industry is changing the day when everything drops from Tuesday to Friday. Don't remember when it's supposed to officially start. I have no idea if the whole Tuesday thing applied to software releases anyway...albums, DVDs, video games, yes. Tuesday never made any sense to me anyway. If you want people's money, hit them on payday.

"We have enough youth...how about a fountain of smart?" -author unknown

Running all your FX straight into the front of an amp will almost always be a mess. With the exception of distortion boxes, or a wah, most other FX (delay, reverb, chorus, etc) work best after the pre-amp. Too much manipulation before you get your basic tone never works out well in my experience. If you want to be able to place some fx before the preamp, and others after, then the 4 cable method is your only option. Watch the video...set up isn't a big deal. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RmIbByDizyM

To be immediately followed by b1tch...b1tch...b1tch if Tuesday comes and goes without firmware, lol. Everyone lube up your cranky gear just in case!!!!