cruisinon2

I've had my 59 since May 2011, it has a December 2010 mfr date per the S/N, it had the initial bad 3-way switch issue - returned for correction, has been solidly performing since then.

 

The guitar has been through all the available firmware updates since then, and I've never seen a change in the behaviour of the physical pickup selection.... The firmware updates mess with the models and some of the features and functions of the controls (volume and/or tone controls as HD500(X) parameter controls, etc.).

 

I do still periodically have to exercise the the switch for the physical pickups to get the neck PU to come back, but like I said, this happens on my regular guitars too, so I never saw it as anything but an occasional annoyance. The 5-way switches on my 69S (October 2012) and strat will do it, but never as often as a 3-way switch in the 59 and other guitars - typically LP or Tele styles.

 

I'm guessing you may have moved the switch enough to clear the oxidation away for now, and it may come back. One way to see if it is the electronics or just the phyiscal switch will be the next time it shows up, unplug the VDI or remove the battery so when you plug it in with a 1/4" cable the electronics are off, and see if the mag PU's still have the switching issue. Without power, the JTV is a passive guitar through the 1/4" like any other electric guitar. If you still have the switching issue, it'll likely be the dirty contacts on the mag PU side of the pickup selector switch...

 

Dave

 

Either I'm the luckiest guy in the world, or oxidation can't be that much of an issue...and I live in the NE, about 7 miles from the ocean...salt in the air, wretchedly humid summers, blah, blah.. .I've lost count of the number of guitars I've owned over the years. 3 way switches, 5 way switches, push/pull pots, etc, etc....and I can recall exactly one failed 5 way switch on a Strat, that was an every day player, and it probably took 15 years for that one to die. Some guitars would sit for quite a while without being played, and it never occured to me that the switches would need "exercise"...maybe it's me.

Bottom 2 strings (high e and b strings) are noticeably lower in volume on some models (the strat model being the worst). Love the new LP's and Tele's so stuck with v2.

Cheers,

jayson

Not disagreeing with you...I evened out the string volumes on all the Strat models too, because I found them very unbalanced. But, I don't think that really qualifies as a problem installing 2.0. Love it or hate it, thats just how those models are.

No offense and I preface this by sayng I have no idea how updates are created or how they work, but are you telling me that Line 6 computer programmers can't come up with a new Spider update or an a la carte version of downloading effects or some new way of downloading new effects in about a weeks time, or even a months time? 

Is it really a huge undertaking?

 

It's not that it can't be done..there's just no money in it. Projects that generate zero revenue are generally not given much priority.

Unless we all want to spend a whole lot of time being disappointed, we may as well get used to the idea of increasingly short product lifespans. Ever changing technology has made rapid obsolescence the new normal. One could debate all day long what companies "should" do with regard to older product platforms...but in the end it won't matter, as all decision making is ultimately driven by $$$. I just don't get too attatched to anything anymore...there's no point. Fight it if you like, but you're gonna lose.

.

 

I really don't get the "no-power-switch" thing. I worry every time I plug the power cord thinking of any sudden power surge to the unit. But I bet Line6 has its reasons.

 

 

 

Thank you. :)

You're not alone...makes no sense. How much of a cost savings could it possibly have been? I mean, it must have cost a lot more to spend all that time and energy figuring out how to make the EQs as completely unintiuitive as possible...

First line of defense against all weird problems: reflash the firmware...

Monkey is for firmware updates. You need the HD Edit software to load patches from customtone.

It's not a time-waste for me, as I'm in the of process deciding whether POD HD is right for my needs.

And you expect to be able to reach that conclusion like this? Waiting for sounds clips from someone else? You can't out-source a test drive.

Of those who think the emulation is spot on, 0% posted samples which sound spot on.

To you.

 

So i'll say it again...it a matter of opinion. You think you're right, as do those who like the model and think it sounds authentic. Neither side will ever convince the other of anything. There's nothing to be "proved" here other than that these threads are a colossal waste of time...opinions are thrown around with all the subtlety of projectile vomiting, then everybody argues over whose opinion is "right". It's hilarious.

And there ya go...50/50 with the responses, as is always the case when the question asked is totally a matter of opinion. We could have the same discussion about any of the other models, and the results will be the same...half will think the emulation is spot on, and the other half with declare it a travesty. Round and round we go....

I've never played a guitar right out of the box that didn't need some degree of set-up work, especially the intonation..I'd check that first. Out of whack intonation can make the alt. tunings do a lot of strange things. Especially if one string is worse than the others, this could easily be the culprit. After that, try updating and/or reflashing the firmware. Sometimes that fixes weird issues...of which there can be many. And it might sound stupid, but make sure you're turned up loud enough that you're not hearing the guitar acoustically, as this will obviously clash with whatever tuning you've selected. Even with headphones its still possible if you're not cranked loud enough...it fooled me at first. All the JTVs seem to be quite resonant guitars. It might be ringing louder than you think.

 

And I know you said you don't like to tweak things...if you really hate doing that, this might not be the guitar for you. Workbench is a godsend for way too many reasons to get into here...read thru the forums and you'll get the idea. Without it, I'd say 90% of customers probably wouldn't have kept them. And you will need it too. Way too many variables with playing styles, the tones you're looking for. etc, for the stock settings to work universally. Hardly anybody leaves all the models on their default settings (especially individual string volumes). Don' get frustrated...it will take time to get used to this instrument...doesn't matter how good you are or how long have you've been at it...there's a learning curve with these things.

Believe it or not, the official word is...you might want to brace yourself...it just doesn't. Welcome to the mild to moderately irritated chorus of users who think this is ridiculous. Stay tuned for a firmware fix anytime between tomorrow morning and never...

I've heard the term 'ghost notes' before on these forums. I'm not really sure what it is though. And I recall someone saying they turn down the hum dep parameter on the amp to get rid of it. Could be what you describe.

 

Do you have a noise gate in your patch? If so, maybe it's that slowly kicking in, depending on the decay setting.

"Ghost notes" are a JTV specific pheomenon, and usually describes hearing more than one pitch while using any or all of the alt. tunings. Causes are largely a mystery, and some "official" explanations detailed on here are....well lets just say they tend to be a bit lacking.

 

I was the one who posted about the "hum" parameter. It was odd, and kinda hard to describe. I could hear other tones, "behind" the original note, but not "after the note dies" as the OP said. These were "harmonies" of a sort, occuring at the same time as the note being played, and were really only noticeable if you hung on a sustained note for a while and really listened, as the funky overtone was at a very low volume...but defintitely there. The interval bounced all over the place, but was always a lower tone than the note I was playing. Didn't seem to matter what guitar I was using, I could always elicit the tones...so that pretty much rules out JTV-induced strangeness. And why the hum parameter has anything at all to do with it is beyond me. I will happily confess that I don't even really know what the "hum" setting is supposed to control anyway, and I cannot discern any tonal difference no matter where it's set...but I turned 'em all to zero, and I can no longer replicate this Schoenberg-esqe "harmony for the tonedeaf", and thats just fine by me.

 

DSP seems like theoretical physics at times...things can get really weird.

they roll there eyes and start squirming like they are about to offend me...its kind of funny actually. If i had the extra money i'd buy stomps too and play around with both systems...but those guys would never do the same...its analog or nothing with them.

Who cares? The more they rant and rave about tubes and pedals, the worse they play. I've seen guys with 10 grand worth of gear who can't play a lick. My old man said it best...'Never educate a chump'.

I plan to use one to control the wife's volume level in the toe position and her nagging level at the heel and a second to turn the lights off and on in my house.

 

I know it's an old post, but LMAO... :lol:

 

Don't forget the thermostat...

I don't want it to cut off notes. But I DO want it to cut back on the uncontrolled feed back and pick up hum.

 

I imagine I'll have to sacrifice a little of each to find a happy medium. What is a decent setting to start with?

 

Unfortunatelty, there's almost no way to answer that, and it's unlikely that you'll find one global setting that will work for every patch you create. It depends on the guitar and how hot the pickups are (are they single coils or humbuckers?), the amp model and how much gain you're using, and how hard you hit the strings. Also depends to a great extent on the room you're playing in and what other electronic devices are running nearby. There can be a tremendous difference from one environment to another. If you're in a bar that has neon signs plugged in anywhere near your rig and you're playing anything with single coils, be prepared for some God-awful noise issues. Just gotta fiddle with it until it works for you...different patches will likely require different gate settings, and some might not need one at all.

You are not crazy, my friend.

 

 

 

Never met a guitar player who wasn't a little crazy... ;)

You can use your CryBaby in front of you HD500: guitar --> CryBaby --> HD500, just plug it into the Guitar In jack, not exp 2. This works great--I prefer my trusty/dusty old CryBaby too.

 

Exp 2 is used for a standard expression pedal (like Mission Engineering, Line6 or even NosePedal.com) to control just about any parameter within a patch.

 

Only problem is the Crybaby sounds great when you're using it, but it's not true-bypass, so the second you turn it off it becomes the star of "Attack of the Tone Sucker". In my experience, it robs you of so much high end that it's almost unusable. Check out the Fulltone Clyde or Clyde Deluxe. They cost more...you'll spend neighborhood of $200 on them (little more for the Deluxe), but at least they won't rob you of all your highs.

 

Or can both signals ride the VDI?

 

Yes, mag output will go through the VDI...no need for 2 cables.

 

 But maybe I will need to get even more granular and have the presets change JTVs pickup setup as well.  Kind of a bummer, but could definitely start eating up some presets.

 

This is what happens anyway. If you're using the bridge of the Strat model, and you save the preset, the next time you come back to it, it'll be using the same model and pickup. The only way around that is to change the settings under Variax model to "Don't Force". Then whatever model is selected on the knob is what you'll get. This can lead to some very unpleasant sounding accidents though, lol...I like the Pod to control everything, then I don't have to think as much.

Yeah.  It's was a big disappointment, especially considering how many different models there are.  They're all way too nasal-sounding and too screechy at the top. I typically use a EHX Crying Tone and I really love it.  Do you loop yours or do you just run guitar>wah>input?

 

I'm reaching for the JTV more than anything else these days, running VDI into the 500x, so the only option is to use the fx loop. But I have run it in front of the Pod with other guitars. The fx loop is noisier than the pedal itself, so I have a couple of duplicate patches with the loop that I go to if I know I'm gonna want the wah.

Hi all.  I'm a new HD500X owner and so far I really like some things and don't like some others (some of the effects are basically un-usable for me, like the wah's and choruses), but the biggest issue I'm having is with the massive differences in headroom between amp models.  There are certain amps that it's basically impossible to dial in clean tone, like the AC30 or Fender Bassman, or even the fender lux and twins.  For example, I know a JCM800 has 70 more watts than the AC30, but there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to have clean sounds at any volume.  Am I missing something here?   Thanks!

 

I've yet to try any multi-fx unit that had a decent sounding wah, including the 500X.  They've all been terrible.  I had been using a Fulltone Clyde for years, and now the Clyde Deluxe. It's a great pedal...3 different settings depending on exactly how much "wah" you're looking for, and it's true-bypass so it doesn't mutilate your tone when it's off. A little pricey though...

companies rarely buy companies that are poorly run or have little to offer....

just saying... Yamaha likely saw something they liked.

 

True, but they do sometimes show up and make things worse. Ask anyone who had the misfortune of owning a Harley during the AMF years. They were lawnmowers with handle bars. No way to tell until the dust settles. Line 6 might still be "in charge" day-to-day, but he who holds the purse strings affects everything downwind. Time will tell.

I don't have own amp , use the studio amps . Mainly stacks and sometimes combo amps. I always make sure that I use the right setting, usually stack front .

 

 

 

Don't get stuck on "right" or "wrong" outputs, there's no such thing...you're handcuffing yourself if you don't try out different combinations. Those settings are the engineers' "best guess" at an EQ curve that will work for a given type of rig. But no two combo amps or head/cab combinations are gonna sound the same. There's no universalt fit. Nothing will catch fire if you choose a different output setting...try them all before you decide that the Pod isn't for you. Takes a LOT of messing around to get it to sound the way you want. Also, no modeling amp, or pre-amp/fx unit is gonna sound the same from one day to the next if the rest of the rig keeps changing. Consistency is gonna be really hard to achieve that way.

This was in standard tuning

 

I dunno then...seems odd.

Is it true that both outputs on the Spider 3 HD150 head have to be hooked up or the amp will fry? I have read this a few places on the web and I am looking to verify if this is true.

 

Well, I don't have one...but that certainly is not the case for any other amp I've ever seen. Many amps have more than one output in case you want to run two cabs in stereo, but many players (if not most) run mono rigs. What you probably wouldn't want to do is crank it with nothing connected to the outputs. Although how much of a difference this makes with a solid state amp as opposed to tubes, I'm not entirely sure...but all amplifiers are expecting to see some resistance at the back end, so if you if you crank it to 11 with no outputs connecting to anything at all, you might do some damage.