edstar1960

I googled HD500 demo of MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE and found this: https://soundcloud.c...age-in-a-bottle Have a listen and see what you think. There may well be other HD500 or HD500X demos out there for the same song that may be better or worse. I don't believe it was made using the custom tone patch you have highlighted above BUT it was certainly created using an HD500 - so you should be able to tell whether or not it is good enough for your purposes. So it should at least demonstrate what the HD500 is capable of. And remember any TONE can be tweaked to suit your specific rig and tastes so you may well be able to get a better rendition of the MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE tone once you get your hands on an HD500 and tweak it. The only way you can know for sure is to try one yourself.

You are correct Line6 have stated that the software is not performing any filtering on specific strings for the "plink" - so if it is not the software, then in this scenario I guess the only thing left is the electronics - and maybe the signal path through input 6 on the PCB and the electronic components on the board is the mysterious factor that on some guitars makes the "plink" unbearable. So I don't think you are crazy but I have no expert knowledge in these areas so I have no idea if it is plausible or not. The bottom line is that the "swapping the wires" experiment has shown that the mechanical "plink" can be "removed" or "masked" by the way the electronics process the signal. How or why it does this only Line6 knows. And the fact that they have not rolled out a software fix points to it not being an easy fix or perhaps the fix introduces other potentially worse issues? Or that there is much more needed for a complete solution and that the electronics part highlighted by this test is just a small part of the overall problem? Only Line6 knows. I have followed this thread and just like everyone else would love to know what the causes are and the reasons why they cannot be fixed and therefore why Line6 have closed down all work on the subject. However, I am not holding my breath, and I doubt we are ever going to know officially.

I think you have misunderstood what is happening with this re-routing - the E string piezo is remaining under the E string - they are simply plugging it's output wire into the board input socket for the A string - then they do the same for the A string but plug its wire into the input for the E string. So the mechanical string/piezo combo is the same - it is just going into a different input on the PCB board. Now - as we are keeping all the components of the E string together - we would expect the plink to continue to come through loud and clear when we play - however - in this scenario the plink mysteriously "disappears" from the E string - in other words - they can play the E string and no longer hear the plink - so somehow it has been filtered out. Conversely, as we are keeping all the components of the A string together we would expect to be able to play that without any plink as before - but that is not the case - when the A string is played they can now clearly hear the same audible plink that was plaguing them on the E string. So whatever was filtering it out from the A string before is no longer working when using the different input on the PCB board. If the source was entirely mechanical, and the electronics and software had no filtering in place, then it would not matter which input on the PCB board you move that string/piezo combination to - the plink would still be audible when you play that string. The guys that have tried this have said that the plink disappears from the low E when they do this but instead they then get a plink when they play the A string which is now routed through the input that previously was used by the low E. As the physical situation is the same, and all that has happened is the wires have been swapped on the PCB inputs, then how can we explain how the plink now manifests when playing the A string and not the low E ? The implication is that the electronics/software are actually doing some filtering which removes the plink - why else would the E have the plink when plugged into PCB input 6 but not when plugged into input 5? And why would the A have no plink when plugged into PCB input 5 but then have a plink when plugged into input 6? I hope that has clarified it.

Everybody above has already explained the situation and why someone else producing a sound demo with their equipment but with the same HD500 patch isn't going to prove anything to you except that the person in question can use the patch and can create a sound demo. What it sounds like will be subjective and will depend on how you listen to it. You may think it sounds nothing like it but I may thing it's a very close match. Either way, it doesn't prove what it will sound like when you play that patch through your HD500 with your rig and your guitar - it may sound like the clip and it may sound different again. I did wonder whether anyone has already done an HD500 demo of MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE - so I googled it and found this: https://soundcloud.com/tapatw/cover-message-in-a-bottle Have a listen and see what you think. There may well be other HD500 demos out there for the same song that may be better or worse. I don't believe it was made using the custom tone patch you have highlighted above BUT it was certainly created using an HD500 - so you should be able to tell whether or not it is good enough for your purposes. So it should at least demonstrate what the HD500 is capable of. And remember any TONE can be tweaked to suit your specific rig and tastes so you may well be able to get a better rendition of the MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE tone once you get your hands on an HD500 and tweak it. The only way you can know for sure is to try one yourself. Get one online with a 30 days return option and give it a go - if you don't like it - then you can always send it back. Good luck!

Just for clarity - when people have reported swapping piezo inputs around - I have always understood this to mean they have fed the piezo that sits under the low E (6th) string into the pcb input for string 5, they have then taken the piezo under the A (5th) string and fed that into the pcb input for string 6. So the LOW E is now being processed within the board as if it was the A string, and the A string is being processed within the board as if it was the E string. In this scenario, the plink that mainfests on the low E string disappears, but instead, the A string develops the plink. This seems to indicate that the software running on the board is somehow able to remove the plink if the E string is processed as if it was an A string by the board. The A string processed as an E string then manifests the same plink that was previously on the E string - which implies the software processing the A string as an E string is not removing the plink noise. I am sure it is far more complicated than that simple overview - but essentially that is what has been observed and reported. So if it is just a mechanical issue on the low E string, then the above test should not be able to remove the plink - the plink should stay apparent on the low E regardless of which pcb input the low E piezo is plugged into. Furthermore, the A string should not manifest a plink just because its piezo has just been plugged into the pcb input for the low E. That is my understanding of what has been reported. Hope that clarifies it for everyone.

As everyone has suggested - you are best off just diving straight in and creating your own patches. If you just want a good amp tone with some reverb, then just try setting up a patch with an amp and a reverb model (plate or spring or whatever you prefer). Audition each of the amps and settle on one that is in the ball park and then tweak it to your taste. The default setting for most amps are very usable and if you change the cab/mic settings you can get a variety of sounds to suit your personal taste and get closer to the sound you want. Check out the ADVANCED USER GUIDE for all the technical info you need to understand how the HD500X works - http://line6.com/support/manuals/podhd500x if you want a more in depth look at the Pod search for MEAMBOBBO HD500 on the internet and read his exhaustive tech guide - http://foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/ And of course come back here and ask questions as you need help and guidance. Good luck! :)

You can assign mutliple fx to one FS - but they can only be used to toggle on/off. So you can use one FS to toggle on several fx or to toggle them all off - or toggle some on and some off - depending on the starting position of the fx. If you want to change parameters within an fx that is already on then it is best to assign that parameter change to the expression pedal - you can assign many parameters to the expression pedal allowing you to move from one parameter value in heel down position to another in the toe down position and any position in between. So in your example, you can assign the VOLUME, DRIVE and DELAY mix to the expression pedal - with heel down as your normal rhythm playing settings and toe down moving to the solo values for each of those parameters. I can't remember exactly the maximum number of parameters you can assign to be controlled by the expression pedal but I think it is way more than enough.

I have not removed the volume and tone knobs myself but I think the best way to remove them is to slide something like a duster or piece of cloth or string underneath them and then grab the ends and pull gently upwards to ease off the knobs. That way you only apply pressure to the underside of the knobs and you don't damage the surface of the guitar.

Only solution to the sharp ends on the string tails poking into your hand is to wrap them in masking tape or electrical tape - you can also attempt to always have the sharp bit facing down when changing the strings but that is much easier said than done. Workbench settings are specific to the variax and not generic to any variax you attach to Workbench.

This has not occurred for some time then suddenly at rehearsal this week it kicked in when I switched everything on. First strum of the guitar and horrible distorted sound sounding like the speaker had broken. So I simply powered off the L2m and then powered it on and everything returned to normal. I did not reseat any cables. Weird. What concerns me is that I do not know what triggers it - and I don't know whether next time it happens that a power off, power on may not actually resolve it. So far so good - so I hope my luck holds out.

When using the Workbench interface dongle the VDI is not powering the JTV - you need the battery in the JTV and then a 1/4 inch cable to complete the circuit and also to take the sound to an amplifier source so you can hear what you are doing. This is per Line6 design and documented in the manual.. However, using the VDI connected to an HD500 which is providing power to the JTV as well as processing the sound signals, and then using the 1/4 inch output to take the sound output to another amplifier or to another input on the HD500 is not recommended by Line6 and it is this situation that they state can lead to JTV circuitry overload.

Yes it can do that and I have tried it out a while back and you get sound out of both but I ended up getting a hum as well. :( However, as Charlie says it is not recommended and Line6 will tell you not to do it. From what I recall the reason stated by Line6 is that the circuits are not designed to allow for both outputs to be used at the same time so you risk overloading them and causing damage to the electronics. I was fortunate that my experimentation did not cause any issues. So if you try it then it is entirely at your own risk and on your own head. Don't blame me if it breaks anything on your Variax! I repeat - Line6 do not recommend using both Variax outputs simultaneously. :)

Thanks for the comments. Finally got around to trying it out at home briefly but did not manage to recreate the problem. I always connect the HD500 to the L2m first with the L6 link cable. Then I connect the power supply to the HD500 and power it on. Next I connect the VDI to the HD500 and plug in my JTV - and finally I power on the L2m. Never had an issue before - just the two most recent times that I gigged - and now it seems to be fine at home. So the mystery continues - I hope it doesn't come back to bite me at our next gig......

My setup: JTV59 -> VDI -> HD500 -> l6link -> l2m I gig occasionally and my L2m is not used that often and when transported it is carefully carried and placed in the boot of a car and it has a protective padded cover. I have had the l2m for 2+ years now and not had any issues with it other than the well documented vibration problem when I first got it which was fixed under warranty. The problem: The last two times I have taken the L2m out to a gig and a rehearsal, and connected it up as shown above, when I first play a chord on my JTV59 using a patch on my HD500 for a clean guitar sound, I get the guitar sound plus a distorted fuzzy sound which sounds like the l2m speaker has blown or is about to die. I then switched the l2m off - and only the l2m, leaving the HD500 still plugged in and connected and the JTV59 connected to the HD500 - and when I switched the l2m back on it had cleared the problem and I was getting the expected clear sound from that patch. Also at this point I haven't proved beyond doubt that it is the L2m at fault but I do know that switching if off and on does resolve the problem so it does point towards the L2m being the issue. ​ This has now happened twice. I will test it some more over the weekend but meanwhile I wanted to ask whether anyone else has had this problem or a similar problem? And whether or not they resolved it or if it got worse and had to be sent off for repair? Thanks

I don't know for certain but your best bet is probably YAMAHA MUSIC in London. Yamaha own Line 6 now - so it would make sense that they would have all the Line 6 guitar range available at their main UK store - but I have not been there myself so I can't be certain. However, their website states that they have all the range in stock - but that doesn't necessarily follow they have every one on display and available to play. Here is the link: https://www.yamahamusiclondon.com/Guitars/Electric-Guitars/Line-6-Variax/ I suggest you give them a call and ask which Variax models they do have available for you to play.

I agree.

And then at the next rehearsal the clang has gone once again ...... the only difference was I used my 2nd (newer) VDI cable ..... I need to do a direct A/B test with both my VDI cables to make sure but I hadn't noticed any difference in the past .....so not sure I will now.....or even that a VDI cable could cause an issue..... I thought they would either work or not work ..... I didn't think they could introduce audible anomalies. Hmmmmm.

You will probably find them in a variety of new forum threads. The solutions to sympathetic vibrations produced by the strings either between the nut and the machine heads, or between the saddle and the ball end of the string, are as follows: Wrap cloth or Velcro or something similar around the strings between the nut and the machine heads Wrap string tails with masking tape, electrical tape or shrink wrap tubing For JTV59 bridge use a thin trip of the soft Velcro side between the saddles and the tailpiece grooves Hope that helps.

It doesn't work for me either - I think it is linking to the old forum threads which did not get moved across to the new forum format. If my memory serves me right, the solution proposed in the thread was simply to dampen the strings between the nut and the machine heads, using either Velcro or a piece of cloth or anything that just muted the sympathetic resonance when strumming.

Unfortunately, at my most recent rehearsal with my JTV59 into HD500 into L2m, the plink or metallic clang returned, and it was particularly noticable on the unwound 3rd string - the G - but it was also there on other strings. So despite the fact that immediately after adding tape and shrink wrap tubing to my bridge and strings I thought I had fixed the issue and the guitar did sound good at home and at my first rehearsal like that, the second rehearsal, 2 weeks after the previous one, seemed to reveal that the problem had not been fixed at all. :( For me and my JTV59 - the search for a permanent solution continues....

I haven't tried that although I do have a DT25 combo - I usually use either the L2m OR the DT25 and not both. If I get the chance, I will try to set it up and give it a try. From what I have read, it should be possible and, as shown in the video, it is demonstrated as working. If I remember correctly the order in which you link the DT25 and the L2m via L6 link is important - I think that the DT25 should be connected first, but it may be the other way round. It may also be important how the L6 link settings are set up on the HD500 to define the connections to the DT25 and the L2m, and also the point at which the signal chain sends the audio to the units. Lots for me to read up on before I can try it out. Of course, it could simply be a bug that has yet to be fixed - in other words, it is meant to work BUT doesn't due to a glitch that needs to be fixed.

I have got the HD500 connected to L2m via L6 link. I usually power on my HD500 first and then switch on the L2m. To save a particular L2m speaker mode such as acoustic guitar with a patch, I first select the patch on the HD500, then I manually change the L2m to the acoustic guitar mode, then I manually save the patch on my HD500. That works for me - the L2m setting is stored with the patch and it recalls it when I select the patch. Looks like you have already tried this method but for some reason it isn't working - so perhaps you have got a fault with the L6 link cable or the L6 link connectors, either the one on the L2m or the one on the HD500. First of all I would try using a different cable, and make sure it is securely connected before doing the save and recall. If it still doesn't work then I would contact L6 support as they need to trouble shoot the L6 link connection for you. Good luck - I hope you get it fixed.

NB: Only available to customers with US addresses.

I am assuming you have only got a guitar connected to the Pod. Correct? What happens when you set Input 1 to Variax and Input 2 to Guitar on Pod? (I think you will now lose sound from Path A) What happens when you set Input 1 to Guitar and Input 2 to SAME on Pod?​ (I think you will now have sound from both Path A and Path B )

Thanks MiroslavKloud for the extra information. So, in your case, you did get a new replacement piezo but it did not resolve the issue. :(