cruisinon2

Every guitar player I've ever met (inlcuding myself) is a crybaby about the action...we like what we like and that's it. The 11s is a good idea too...then again, I think that's a good idea for all the world's guitars, but that's just me...

I can't say the same for mine...I find the neck and middle pickups to sound a little thin and "tinny"...even for single coils. I do like the sound of the humbucker though.

Don't get me wrong...I love technology. I love what Line6 has been able to produce. However, there's more than one kind of progress. And to the CEOs and bean counters of the world, the only kind of progress that matters is the kind that makes them more money. This is easily achieved by convincing (and it doesn't take much) our "keeping up with the Jone's" culture that only the latest and greatest will suffice. Like it or not, this is what keep our economy going. I'm not saying it's good, bad, or indifferent. It just is. If you don't think that Apple already has a 5 year plan including the next iThingy and iThingy 2 that we'll all be told we "need" to have, then I don't know what to tell ya...agree to disagree I guess.

I've found that setting the 500X's outputs the "correct" way based on my amp/cab setup sounded like boiled a$$. I run studio/direct outs straight into a power amp. It may not be the "right" way to do it, but it's what sounds good to me...bottom line is there's no right or wrong here. Whatever sounds good to you is the way to go. The tweeking will go on forever anyway. What sounds good today might horrify you tomorrow :wacko:

Planned obselescence is the name of the game in everything electronic since the transistor. Good or bad, it keeps the merry-go-round running.

C Crackling and/or hissing sounds usually mean one or more bad piezos, according to conversations I've had with Line 6 tech guys. Intermittent problems are unfortunately difficult to diagnose, be it a guitar or a yacht. If you send it back to Line6 now, invariably it'll work fine when they get it on the bench and they'll send it back, having proclaimed it is "functioning normally". Good luck.

Yep...there will always be a corner cut somewhere. They could make the knobs bullet-proof, but then we'd be paying $650 for he thing, and we'd all be bitching about that instead, lol

As far as I known those strat issues can happen if you overwrite the individual Spank model and save it to position 2. Adjusting the global string settings shouldnt do that since you're not changing the models themselves. Didnt affect mine any, and I've played with various volume levels and havent noticed anything funny about the strat sounds.

I've got the HD500X, and personally, I hate the way it sounds running into the front of a head, or to a dedicated tube power amp (I've tried both) when using the "correct" output settings on the 500X. However, if I leave the POD output set to studio/direct, I have no problem dialing in tones I like. I realize that this is not the way it is "supposed" to be done, as I'm running cab and mic emulations through an amp and cabinet, but for me and my ears, it works (perhaps I'm going deaf...I've been at this a while, lol). The band has yet to complain about anything sounding funny though, so it might be worth a try before you decide to toss the POD...but as always, your mileage may vary.

It may be worth messing around with the string volumes in Workbench before you return it. I adjusted the global string volume to lessen the piezo "quack" in certain models. Lots of others have done the same and seen improvements. I think that the piezos are just too hot on full blast, particularly if you're used to picking hard.

Does this happen with or without palm-muting the string(s) in question? I had a similar issue that turned out to be odd noises coming from the adjacent string that I was resting my palm on. Drove me nuts till I figured it out. Not sure if your problem is the same...

Apologies if this was already raised in this thread, but I'm too lazy to read thru 6 pages of posts to find out. I've been running 2.0 since the guitar came out of the box a month ago. Wanted to try an earlier version just for a comparison. Rolled back to 1.9, and without touching a blessed thing on the HD500X, right away I noticed a HUGE increase in sustain across most models, but particularly all the Lesters. Notes ring for days now....I like it. Anybody else notice this? Also enjoying the lack of popping when switching patches on the 500x. Think I'm gonna leave it on 1.9 for a while. Acoustic models may not be quite as convincing as 2.0 versions, but not bad enough to make me switch back.

No idea what their plans are, but I seriously doubt Yamaha had anything to do with this particular product at all. They've been in charge for what...a month, five weeks at most? No way this thing went from concept to release that fast. I'd be surprised if Yamaha has even gotten their name on Line 6's stationary yet. At this point they're still trying to figure out how many people they're gonna let go...mundane things like the future of various product lines will have to wait until all the hiring/firing/cost cutting gets sorted out.

What he said...lol. Difference in volumes doesn't really bother me. I find it easier to compensate with the volume in each individual patch on the 500x rather than relentlessly tweeking the guitar models in Workbench. Your mileage may vary...

All I know is that Line6 claims that the models all reflect the output of the guitar they are trying to emulate. Thus models with humbuckers can be expected to be louder than those trying to mimic single coils. It says it in the Pilot's Handbook somewhere. Whether or not that's a convenient excuse for the disparity in volumes, or a deliberate design is anybody's guess. I haven't tried the bundle though...

OK...noted. Never played a 700, so I have nothing to compare the JTV to. Fanboy signing off.

When you say "swap the pickups around", what do you mean exactly? I havent experimented with workbench all that much yet...

Look, I'm not shilling for Line6, but I think you're asking a bit much. There isn't a single guitar on the planet that is 100% suited to anyone who touches it. That doesn't exist, and it never will. Guitarists are the pickiest/craziest people on earth.

1) Popping is annoying. No fix I know of. 2) I wish I could get the 500x to do this...less thinking (it hurts me head...especially live, lol). I'd love to not have to worry about where the knob on the guitar is. Generally speaking, if I start with a Les Paul patch, Les Paul is where I'd like to stay. Sucks if you forget to set the knob to the same model before the tunes starts...then you suddenly find yourself whisked to Acoustic Land when you thought all you were doing was changing to the neck pickup

Yeah, I dunno about that either...go to any GC or similar Big Box music store (whichever ones still exist). There will be 500+ righty guitars, and maybe half-dozen lefties, if that. Nobody caters to the lefty...which admittedly sucks for those players. But if there really was a 10% market share, you'd see more on the racks, but you don't. When I used to teach, any square one beginner who wanted to play lefty, I would try and steer them away from it. If you can't play at all anyway, what difference does it make?...might as well start out righty. At least you'll be able to find a guitar...

I don't know one way or the other...way before my time, but these photos would seem to argue that he did restring his guitars. Looks like low E on top to me...Now Eric Gales, on the other hand does indeed play lefty AND upside down. Seen that for myself. http://www.fanpix.net/picture-gallery/jimi-hendrix-picture-26657098.htm http://www.contactmusic.com/photo/jimi_hendrix_1992826

I think you're right...that worked for me too. I suspect that the prospect of having to do that horrifies some players, though...lol. Bottom line is, these guitars are a very different animal than what we are all used to. I don't think there will be any universal solutions, though. Everyone approaches their instrument a bit differently. As such, any issues encountered will vary, as will their solutions...from player to player. Experimenting seems to the name of the game. Tedious and frustrating perhaps, but anyone who wants to spend the time can probably find a work-around for some of the odd little noises that these guitars can produce. I was convicned my guitar had something wrong with it at first due to some peculiar overtones on palm-muted strings when playing through any high gain amp setting. Only happened when using certain alternate tunings...once I realized that I could make it go away by slightly repositioning my picking hand (which I discovered COMPLETELY by accident), it totaly changed my perception of the instrument. Anything like that, which can be produced / removed at will, I can't call a "defect"...just the nature of what is really a very complicated beast. With that much signal processing at work, there are bound to be some quirks...

I'm new to the party too...only had the JTV69 for a month or so. But I've logged many hours of playing during that time. I've found that most of the issues raised on the forum, including some initial problems I had, all boiled down to technique. Simply put, it's not a normal guitar...and as far as physical technique is concerned, some of the things that are second nature to anybody who's been playing for a lot of years may produce some odd sounds on this guitar, especially with the acoustic models. Some might call these "bugs", but I'm not so sure that's a fair assessment. Quirks is a better word, because at least some of the problems that some folks are having, I do not consider "defects" as much as they are side-effects of the fact that the piezos are very sensitive. Any accidental string noises that would go unnoticed through a mag pickup are gonna stick out like a turd in a punchbowl on these guitars. If anything, it forces you to play cleaner. Some issues I had with funky overtones on palm-muted strings, and the often lamented "boominess" of the acoustic models, I was able to make disappear with slight adjustments to how I approached playing the guitar physically. At this point, I can ellicit strange noises and get them to disappear at will. So a lot of these issues I think really boils down to the player. Playing at all sloppy, or beating the daylights out of the strings, probably means you're gonna have issues. Just my $0.02...Your mileage may vary.

This might be a dumb question, but what do you mean when you say "using only one input" on the HD500?

"Reflash the firmware" is the musical equivalent of "eat more salads and get some exercise" when your MD has no friggin' idea whats wrong with your gut...lol