cruisinon2

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

I hear ya...I had same issue. I've found that strumming needs a delicate touch..and when I say delicate, I mean barrly touching the damn strings...a 'glancing blow', if you will. Took some serious adjustment on my part. Not at all a 'natural' technique...I'd been doing it one way for 25 years...not easy to change gears like that...

How far did you turn the string volume down?

To all those having trouble finding a good acoustic sound...chech out Sean's latest blog entry above. It deals precisely with this issue. And while many wont want to hear this, it may very well be a string guage and/or playing technique issue. It was for me...not only for acoustic models, but other problems I was having with weird overtones while palm muting the A string on high gain settings. The piezos are ridiculously sensitive...extraneous/accidental string noises that wouldnt come thru a mag pickup can result in some odd sounds with these guitars. And the acoustic models seem to require an extraordinarily light touch when it comes to picking and strumming. If you're used to beating on the strings as if it were an actual acoustic guitar, it will probably continue to sound lousy no matter what you do with the amp settings. I had to learn the hard/stubborn way...lol

Thats worth a try...although I suspect it wont matter. Unless I'm mistaken, lowering the string volume will only affect the piezo's output, not the inherent sensitivity of the pickup itself. If there's extraneous noise being picked up, I would think that would still be there regardless of the string's volume setting. I'll just end up turning up the amp...I kinda think those adjustments are there to allow relative volumes of different models to be normalized so that the outputs are similar...but who knows, you might be right. Many nuances to this instrument, and I'm just getting started.

Well, after much tinkering I sorted out the issue. Pilot error...lol. It seems that the nasty overtones were coming from the low E string, just from my hand resting on it while also palm muting the A string. I guess the piezo was picking up what little vibrations the low E was generating even though it wasnt being played. It takes a little manuevering, but if I stay away from the low E, all is well. So anybody else withh a similar issue, try repositioning your hand to avoid any unwanted funky noises...not something I'd consider a 'defect' in the guitar per se, just a side effect of a piezo's sensitivity I guess. Takes some getting used to, but its managable.

Thanks for the ideas...I have already muted the strings behind the nut, but i have not addressed the bridge at all, so ill give that a try. Initially I thought it was pilot error...i figured some technique adjustment might be necessary to get the piezos to behave as close to a mag pup as possible, but it really is only present on certain alternate tunings. If it showed up on all of them, I'd be more willing to accept that it was just a limitation of the technology, but why some alt tunings and not others? It only affects those tunings where the low E string is tuned a whole step (drop D, drop Db, open D, DADGAD). And the biggest problem is the A string, which is not even having its pitch altered in most of those cases?? Who knows...

Hey folks...newJTV69 owner here with a question. I seem to be having a issue with several alternate tunings, specifically drop D, drop Db, DADGAD, and open D ( basically all the tunings where the low E string is a whole step below where it would otherwise be). When palm muting open A or open D (4th) strings , I'm hearing some strange overtones. Almost sounds like more than one string is being played. It's terribly annoying, and almost makes drop D unusable. Disappears completely in standard tuning...1/2 step and whole step down are fine too. Anybody else experience anything similar? I've been dealing with Line 6 support. Did all the usual things...checked and rechecked the intonation, reflashed the firmware, etc etc. Any ideas? Thanks...