edstar1960

Interesting that a reflash fixed the issue - the same thing has happened to me and others - but I don't understand why it should make a difference - a flash update should work or not - it's really odd that sometimes it can partially work and cause a problem such as low volume on B and E strings. Makes no sense at all, but glad that a reflash can mysteriously fix it! :)

Actually it is often labelled fx loop return.

+1 to lwolford You need to have a jack in the R to ensure you maintain separation of L and R, and you must ensure no fx are post mixer unless they are fully stereo and maintain L + R separation. If you are unsure, keep all your guitar stuff in PATH A and all your vocal stuff in PATH B, with nothing before the split and nothing post mixer. Pan PATH A to 100% L and PATH B to 100% R. That way you will have guitar on L and vocal on R.

Thanks!

Thanks!

I understand that you are not overdriving the amp with your clean guitar signal - but when you are using one of the distortion fx blocks and getting a fizzy sound that sounds like you may be overdriving the fx and/or the amp. You can adjust the level hitting the fx block by ensuring INPUT 1 and INPUT 2 are different, and you can adjust how much effect is hitting the amp by turning down the amount of the effect and also the output gain from the fx. If you like the sound of the fx running through an amp model on headphones or direct into your computer then you should be able to tweak them to sound good as stand alone fx in front of your amp. I assume your amp sounds good if you use a stand a lone distortion stomp box?

It sounds like you are over driving the input to your amp. I suggest you try on the standard settings for your amp to start with. Adjust the output gain of the chosen distortion model and also the MASTER VOLUME of the HD500X, and leave the mixer settings with 0db. If things are still sounding bad then try setting your INPUT 1 to GUITAR and INPUT 2 to VARIAX (default is SAME). This will lower your input guitar signal by 6db which may be a better match for the input to the distortion fx block. You can also try adjusting the input impedance setting for guitar in the SETTINGS menu - it is usually at AUTO which is best because it should match the impedance of first fx block model, but you can manually select a different value to affect input guitar impedance. Hope that helps.

Is the replacement of the 12AX7 simple? Or does it also need to be re-biased and carried out by someone who knows what they are doing? Thanks.

I assume you have your guitar connected to GUITAR in on the HD500X and you are taking your output from either the L/MONO or R/MONO jacks on the back - is that correct? Have you also got the 1/4" inch OUT switch on the front face of the HD500X next to expression pedal set to AMP? Yes? If that is all true then the basic connections are correct. Have you also got the TONE controls on your amp set to a FLAT value? ie: bass/middle/treble all at half way - or middle on max and bass and treble at zero. As stated above by the other forum members the HD500X is not a simple plug and play box like a stomp box. You have to spend some time setting it up for your particular environment, with your gear for your use. As you are using it in front of an amp, then treat it like a pedal board to get some basic sounds set up. Don't use the amp sims or cabs. Just use fx blocks to produce a sound you like. I suggest you start with some simple fx and adjust the parameters until you can get it sounding like you what. If you are looking for overdrive then pick just one of the OD models and adjust that. Try this with output mode set to COMBO FRONT first if you have a combo amp or STACK FRONT if you are using a head/cab. They are the correct starting points as they allow you to tweak the sound to compensate for the colouring of your amps own TONE controls. If you cannot get these to sound correct, then try the COMBO or STACK power settings - these are almost the same but with the ability to tweak the eq, and if you are still not happy then try the STUDIO/DIRECT mode which will be what you were hearing through your headphones. When you have identified the output mode that is closest to what you want then stick with it and fine tune your chosen fx to get it to sound just right to you. Once you are happy, then move on and try some other fx and tweak them to what you need. Do one at a time and once you have a few that you are happy with, then you can build some patches that use those fx. Once you have the fx nailed - then you may want to experiment with the AMP models but these will be much harder to make sound right because they are designed to go either direct to a mixer or direct to a power amp - so they will not sound great going into an amp's preamp via the instrument input - BUT you may be able to adjust the controls to get sounds that you like. Read MEAMBOBBO's guide that jandrio pointed you at, and also look up HD500 ROUTING SCHEMATICS in this forum for all you need to know about routing paths. Good luck on your search for your tone!

Option 1 above doesn't require the fx loop block.

LOL :D Sorry! I have been caught out before thinking I was buying a plenty loud enough amp or active speaker based on it's published watts only to find it was not anywhere near as loud as I had thought it would be! But the L2m should have plenty of fire power from what I have read. ;)

I agree with you that the L2m should be fine, and that plenty of people have stated that it is really loud and plenty loud enough for a live band - so the OP should be fine with it. :) But I disagree that we can assume it's louder than a 50w tube combo just because it has a declared power of 800w - the wattage alone does not equate to the actual volume that can be achieved. You also have to take into account the ohm's of the speaker(s) it is running into. 4 ohm speakers will give more watts than 8 ohm speakers. Our band had a Yamaha CP2000 power amp - a 2000 watt amp - and the manual states that this amp will provide 650W + 650W into 4 ohm stereo or just 450W + 450W into 8 ohm stereo, 2000W into 4 ohm bridged and 1300 into 8 ohm bridged. Watts don't necessarily equate and more watts doesn't necessarily mean louder. That's all I was trying to say. :)

Yes - you would think that 800 watts vs 50 watts is quite a difference and in mathematical terms it is, but in terms of determining the loudness of a particular amp it really is meaningless. This has confused the heck out of me over the years but I know from experience that the watts declared do not equate to the loudness. I bought a 150 watt reference amp for home recording use, and it runs through some Tannoy reveal monitors and I often have it turned up to max and it sounds like a moderately loud hi-fi and it is not as loud as my Sessionette 75 watt solid state guitar combo with 1x12 turned up to about a quarter. Same with my DT25 - just 25 watts max apparently - but it is plenty loud enough to play in a live band situation to get above the drums and everyone else. I also have a B210D - 200 watt active PA speaker - that gets loud but has to be almost at max to compete with the DT25 in terms of volume and punching through the mix. I agree - I think the L2m will be loud enough for a live band (and I have seen plenty of threads where people have reported it as loud) but I cannot say with any degree of certainty that it will be as loud or louder than the Peavey 50watt tube combo. The L3m is rated at 1200watts and I think has a larger speaker (I haven't checked the specs recently), so will obviously be louder and pack more of a punch. Ideally the OP needs to try both and see which one compares with his amp - perhaps he can get them both on a 30 day return promise via mail order and send back the one that he doesn't need. Personally I think the L2m will be fine but he needs to try it to be sure. :)

It makes zero sense to me too, but I have first hand experience that it did make a difference. Crazy, I know. It should make no difference whatsoever, but, I have experienced different results with the same flash version install, particularly with v2.0. :s

I had to reflash about 3 or 4 times before I had firmware 2.0 sounds that I felt were similar to what others had experienced and demo'd. Unfortunately I hit another problem where my HD500 would make a popping sound whenever I changed to a patch that also forced a model change on the guitar, so rather than tweak the v2.0 sounds to see if I could get where I wanted to be, I simply rolled back to v1.9. The popping sound went away and I was back with models that I did not need to tweak. I will try v2.0 again at some point - in fact I may be forced into doing it quite soon because L6 support want me to give them an audio of the popping noise even though several other people have reported exactly the same issue, so I think it can be recreated fairly easily, but it seems that for L6 support everything is working perfectly so they need some evidence. If you can spare the time, I would recommend that you try the reflash a few more times. If you perform it via the POD then it should work better and more consistently that without - but it certainly seems to behave differently after a few attempts. If you still get nowhere after several re-installs or still do not hear any more potential in the new models, then roll back to v1.9 if you prefer those models. The choice is yours.

Good point! If you don't like the feel and playability of a Les Paul neck then you may not like the JTV59. If you prefer a strat type neck then the JTV69 has a vintage size one - very narrow at the nut - so if you prefer a more standard nut width you may not like that either BUT you do have the option to replace the JTV69 neck with a standard fender neck or equivalent with the neck profile and radius and frets of your choice! The playability of a guitar is a major deciding factor - the modelling will be the same whatever you choose - it is only the mag pickups, the neck and the colours that vary.

Remember we are comparing tube watts with solid state watts - and the L2M only has a 10" speaker - and we don't know what the Peavey 50 watt is running into - is it a 1x12 or 2x12 combo? So I don't know what the actual dbs would be for each. You would hope that the L2m can compete and hold it's own but I guess you don't really know unless you do a side by side comparison. Having said all that - the L2m is designed to be used in a live band situation so it must be plenty loud enough to cut through and get above the drums, and I have seen threads on the forums where people have reported the L2 speakers as really loud.

The P90 model and the 69S models were a later release than the originals. They provided the P90 option on the JTV59 and all single coils on the JTV69. They are the only differences. I believe the big price difference you are seeing is because there appears to be some stock of guitars that are just being offered at a lower price, and there may be a number of reasons for this. I can see no reason whey anyone would pay the full price for a JTV if they can get the model they want at a 30% discount. I have recently bought a JTV69 at the discounted price and it is perfect as far as I can tell. The only things I found were that it had an old serial number - earlier than my JTV59 which I have had for 2 years, and it also had the firmware level of 1.71, instead of the current v2.0. This suggests to me that it is a guitar that has been sitting in a warehouse for a couple of years and therefore has now been offered at a discounted price. I don't know if this is true, but the facts suggest that this is the scenario. Having an older level of the firmware is not a problem because you can always update to the latest, and if you don't like the latest, you can always roll back to an older level, and in fact some people have chosen to remain on the older levels. As long as the guitar functions and you can set it up correctly then you should have no problems, Your choice is this, what model you like, what pickups you like and what colour - then order the one at the best price, check it out thoroughly and swap it if you are not happy. Hope you get one you love! Good luck!

Option 1: Set INPUT 1 to GUITAR (or VARIAX) - whichever you are using Set INPUT 2 to SAME Place all your fx and AMP model in PATH A after the split but before the mixer. Set the mixer controls to 100% L for PATH A, and 100% R for PATH B (which is the default) Adjust the mixer level for PATH A and PATH B as needed Take your L feed into your PE60, and take your R feed as your guitar input into the AC15. NB: You may want to add an EQ or the VINTAGE PRE into your PATH B just to make up for any loss of signal input for your dry guitar running through the HD500 - unfortunately it is not TRUE BYPASS, so just running the signal through the HD500 will affect the guitar tone and level slightly. You may just need to adjust using the mixer level for PATH B but do whatever you need. Option 2 is pretty much the same, except you can use the fx loop placed in PATH B to take the dry guitar signal out to the AC15 earlier in the path. Just take the FX LOOP send and input it to the AC15. Again, you may need to adjust the level and tone of the signal to compensate for running it through the HD500. Try them out and see what you prefer. Hope that helps!

It may not have paid off yet - but it is currently the only method we have of expressing our views on the product direction and sharing our ideas and voting on what we would like to see. If we don't make use of it then it will definitely be a waste of time, however, if we do go over there and raise ideas and vote then it may well pay off. I am sure the Yamaha take over has also shaken things up a bit and things have to settle down before we start seeing any progress. I think we need to give it a little more time before we reach a conclusion one way or the other on whether it is worth while. Just my 2 cents.

I have had something similar with JTV59 into HD500 via VDI, but it would appear darker when I first loaded a patch, and if I pressed the patch foot switch again it would get brighter. I have not had it happen recently, or had it change without me pressing anything. But I have had the mag pups drop in volume while playing but moving the pup selector switch seems to reset them.

So everything was working fine a few days ago? Try contact cleaner on the input jack and if that doesn't fix it then contact Line 6 support and open a ticket. You will probably need to send it in for repair. If it is very new, you may be able to contact your seller and get them to send youa new replacement instead.

I have had a similar issue but my JTV59 is 2 years old and I don't normally use mags so only hit the problem when I was playing around with the JTV59 direct in instead of via my HD500. As I mainly use modelling it is not a big deal for me yet - but I don't want the mags to fail - they should have been the most reliable part of the guitar IMO. I have read that others have also hit this issue, and one person sent their JTV59 back and had a faulty pickup replaced. As your JTV59 is still fairly new I would recommend sending it back and getting it repaired asap.

What is your INPUT 2 set to? It will be underneath the "INPUT 2 SOURCE:" Are you using a new patch or a default factory loaded patch? Is the expression pedal in the heel position or full toe down? (IT may be that the expression pedal is controlling the volume and if it is heel down, volume may be at zero for the patch). Is the guitar lead you are using OK? And have you got guitar volume turned up to max?

Look at the System View settings. What do you have INPUT 1 and INPUT 2 set to? If you want to hear the signal from an instrument connected to GUITAR input, then ensure INPUT 1 is set to GUITAR. Leave INPUT 2 set to SAME for now, until you get familiar with the unit and understand how to use INPUT 2.