cruisinon2

Well, you're right, you are starting from scratch each time...the HD500, 500x are quite different anything else I've used. Definitely not plug-and-play. I tend to think of the clean and dirty tones as completely different universes. I almost never use the same amp model(s) for both...but your mileage may vary.

yeah, that works well. been doing that for years. I don't think the OP likes the satin feel though...

Can't say for sure, but they may not have changed anything. That satin finish doesn't last long. Oils and perspiration from your hands will literally polish it for you over time. Every guitar I've had with a satin finish neck [as opposed to a heavy, polished laquer] has been like that. Had mine little more than 2 months, and even in that short time, just from daily use the neck now looks and feels much different than it did out of the box...more of the "glossy" feel that you describe. Difference can easily be seen comparing the neck to the back of the headstock, which isn't getting handled at all. Don't even have to touch it...it's easily visible. So if the used one you bought was played a lot, it doesn't surprise me that it feels different from a newer guitar.

I've noticed that with the JTV, too. Odd, but never happens without being connected to Workbench, so I can deal with it while tweaking things...as long as its quiet through the amp.

All I meant was that "high gain" tends to mean different things to different players, depending on your style/taste. As far as what "Metal" is...according to an 11 part documentary series [i'm sure that wasn't an accident...lol] from a few years back, there is a dizzying array of sub-genres...enough to make you laugh sometimes. Don't remember the exact title, but that series categorized everything up the yin-yang, with a flow chart of sub-genres that can make your head spin...many I'd never heard of before. But anyway, I really just curious about how much gain you can really get out of the 11R...if it's high gain capabilities and with Stones-y/ Zep kinda tones, then it wouldn't be for me. Love Zeppelin, just don't play that kinda stuff much.

And the Sonic Port...odd that iOS would be embraced for some products and not others. I know a bunch of guys who all keep an iPad on a music stand on stage for lyrics, set lists, etc. Wouldn't be that hard to build an app for HD edit.

Ahh...that explains it, thanks! One more question. I'm assuming that the new one will include only the hardware, and not the board mounted to the sustain block that all the piezos are soldered to, correct?

Sorry to hear that you're still having issues... I'm curious about the bridge you ordered. That part number doesn't turn up in the search at the full compass site. I scrolled through every Line 6 part they claim to have, and didn't see an entire bridge. Maybe you got the last one...lol. Could you point me to it? Thanks...

Either because there are just too friggin' many to catalog, and it's not worth the man-hours paying somebody to do it (I wouldn't want that job...), or there are frighteningly few, which would be lousy PR for their latest "re-invention". Either way, you're not terribly likely to get your list...

Not really sure what you're driving at...I've never had two different patches with all the tone controls set in exactly the same spot. Especially switching from one amp model to another, one size definitely does not fit all. If the problem is that your acoustics patches (which ideally won't be using any of the 500's amp models anyway) sound good running direct to a PA, but not the electrics with amp models, then the answer likely lies with whether or not you're using full amp models or pre-amps only, and also what output settings you are using...studio/direct, combo/front, stack/front, stack/power amp, etc. Each will color the tone differently, and some experimenting is usually required to get it to work with the rest of your gear.

I've never looked under there, but one would hope that you could just spray some contact cleaner in there without too much drama. You should never have to ship a guitar anywhere to deal with a scratchy pot...if it needs to be replaced, I suppose that may be more complicated with these guitars. I think I've only had one volume pot die completely over the years, so hopefully that's not necessary. Dirty/scratchy pots are a frequent problem, however, and if the only way to deal with it is to ship it to L6, they've set themselves up for a whole lot of headaches for a problem that should take 0.84 seconds to solve with an aeresol can.

All of that I'll buy...makes perfect sense they way you've explained it, and obviously you know more about this than I do, lol. Like I said, I'm no expert. But L6 has apparently told him that the issue is one of blended mag and piezo outputs, and that's what I don't understand. Is it not possible to completely isolate the mag's output from the piezo's? Unless you've gone into Workbench and deliberately created a model that blends them (which can give you some really cool tones blending the acoustics with the single coils, btw), why would the mag output be bleeding through if you haven't "told" the guitar to do it? If you can't totally choke off the mags when using the models, I would think that just about every Variax would be useless in alt tunings. What am I missing?

Lol...yeah, "no user serviceable parts inside". Never seen an Amplifi in person...is it a plastic enclosure, or some kind of composite material? I think when there's a bunch of plastic parts all shoved together, this kind of vibration issue is more likely to happen. Less problems with a big wooden box...at least that you can tinker with it, if need be.

If you can't get a single replacement, get a set of Sperzel machines. Great locking tuners, I have them on several guitars.

I've seen his other posts...he's hearing two distinct pitches, which in an alt tuning could certainly be caused by the mag pickups' signal being sent to the output along with the piezo's. But I can't see the magnet pulling on the strings causing the two signals to blend, which is what he said the "official" diagnosis is...unless I misunderstood his post. I'm no expert, but if blending the outputs is the problem, doesn't that almost hafta be an electrical issue somewhere between the pickups and the output? A magnet too close to the strings by itself (assuming no other malfunctions) might pull them out of tune slightly, but how can it result in him hearing the kind of dissonance that you get when notes a 1/2 step apart are arguing with each other?

Well, blended mags and piezos will certainly create a problem in alt tunings...you'll have competing signals producing different pitches, so that's not hard to believe at all. And since blending the signals is a feature, if something is wrong deep in the electronics somewhere, maybe this is the cause of your problem. However, their explanation as to why this is happening makes absolutely no sense. I fail to see how the string's proximity to the mag pickups could possibly cause their output to be blended with the piezos. Ditto for the string gauge...the mag pickups neither know nor care what guage string is being vibrated in their presence. No way that's causing the issue either. And why only with the alt tunings? The mag pickups are the same distance from the strings no matter what tuning you're in, so if that were the cause, you should have blending going on all the time...the models wouldn't sound right even in standard tuning, and I'm sure you would have noticed that, especially with the acoustics. As I said, if you blend the mags and use an alt tuning, you obviously will have problems...and that may very well be whats happening, but neither the distance to the pickups, nor the string guage caused it. I call BS on the "official" explanation...gotta be some internal electrical issue, bad board, etc.

Not weird at all...all solid objects have some dominant resonant frequency. Play that frequency loud enough, and you'll shake it apart. We've all seen the opera (ugh... ;) ) singers who can crack the wine glass with their voice. Same thing is going on here. Somewhere in the bowels of the amp, something's rattling, apparently at 100Hz. . . Google "Tacoma Narrows bridge" for the worlds most unfortunate example of this. But I digress...I've got a Marshall 25th Anniv. cab that had a nasty rattle once. Don't remember what note set it off, but the fix was easy. This thing has a 2"x2" wooden post, that I suppose is there to support the back panel. It's screwed into the front panel where the speakers are mounted, and just sits against the back panel when it's in place. I guess it just worked itself loose after many years of use. I cut a square of material from an old guitar cloth and just stuck it on the end of the post to tighten the fit a little, put the back panel back on, and it hasn't vibrated since.

I'm sorry, but I gotta ask...this presentation you saw...are we talking storage systems, as in big empty boxes that you stuff old crap in (because I've seen these referred to as "systems" before), or was it a computer data storage kinda thing?. 'Cause if there are people calling themselves "field engineers", who's job it is to tell you how to fill the giant tupperware containers that you store under the bed, I'm gonna laugh...a lot. :D

That's just it...there is no universal fit for any piece of gear. I wanted a cherry red, flame-top Les Paul forever. Bought one...loved the look, loved the sound, but it never felt right. Had it for 6 months and sold it. Don't know what it is, but they just don't feel comfortable to me. Just couldn't get used to it...played Strats for too many years I guess. Sounded like I was playing with a broken hand. I've made my peace with it... :(

In my experience, "high gain" has about 1000 definitions. Are we talking Nickleback, Dream Theater, or Norwegian Death Metal?

And if you're buying a new one, they don't come pre-drilled anyway...at least they didn't way back when. Can't imagine they do now...

A number of guys have gone with the Mighty Mite necks and been pleased with the results. They can be found any number of places online. I recall a thread in which someone who claimed to have worked for Warmoth said that their strat necks would not fit the JTV for some reason, but I have a Warmoth neck on one of my Strats, and a buddy who did a transplant with his 69. Just for laughs, I took the neck off the strat just to see if it would fit in the neck pocket of the 69 body, and it slipped right it with no issues. Not too tight, not too loose.Obviously the holes didn't line up so I couldn't put strings on, but I measured all the heel dimensions of both necks, and they were exactly the same, so I can't see a reason why it wouldn't work...but then again this was only half an experiment. I should also note that the Warmoth neck in question is about 15 years old, so who knows if their specs have changed slightly since then???

It's probably nothing you did. It is an iffy process on a good day. Why I don't know. Many tales of woe on here about updating problems and getting Workbench and/or Monkey to recognize the guitar...same thing has happened to me. Sometimes I think it doesn't like which way the wind is blowing...

This is not meant to be discouraging, only to prevent you from wasting a lot of time. The ugly truth is that 1000 of us could dial in a patch that mimics the tone as closely as we can get it, and you could download them all...and you are likely to have 1000 fresh, but useless tones on your hands. There are simply too many variables involved, from the guitar and amp used to do the tweaking, to each person's playing style. No matter what you download, its not gonna sound anything like it did to the guy who dialed it in. If you need proof, download anything you want from custom tones, and if it sounds anything remotely like what its supposed to, I'll buy you a case of whatever your favorite poison might be....it might sound like Eric Johnson to the guy who spent 3 hours painstakingly turning knobs and pushing buttons, but in your hands it could just as easily sound like Johnny Ramone. Such is the nature of modeling amps...nothing will replace the trial and error phase. There are no instant drag-and-drop solutions here. If you need a jumping off point, try picking a factory preset that is at least in the same vague ballpark as what you're looking for, and start making changes from there...I swear this is the only thing that works. Once you get a feel for a few different amp and fx combinations, getting tones you like will come quicker and easier...I've tried the other approach, and it's like pi$$ing into the wind...since you'll hafta start from scratch anyway, why do it with wet shoes?

I appreciate the response, but I've already tried all that. Its pretty clear to me whats going on from the poking around I did with muting the string in Workbench and positioning my hand various different ways. At least in this case, its not the nut or the bridge thats the culprit. The crosstalk is definitely propagating from the A string---> palm---> adjacent string and it's saddle. Its the only possibility, as I've corrected for everything else, ruling out one thing at a time. I can produce the odd sounds, or make them vanish at will, and its all about where I put my hand, changing nothing else.