SmiffyG

Obviously Yamaha decided there wasn't enough interest to continue the Variax!

Spray some contact cleaner in there first. After that I'm guessing there'll be ribbon cables inside. Again if there are clean them with contact cleaner and reseat.

There is no physical hard drive in an M20D. Steer clear!!

It's late, but maybe this'll help.

Recently went on a guitar set up course with Crimson guitars. Fitted a new Parklane roasted maple neck to my JTV 69, did a complete set up and set the intonation no problem. You do have to be careful not to pull on those piezo wires though! However I would say you do have to release string tension every time you make an adjustment, but you'd do that with any regular guitar.

Just got one sent to the UK from Thomann in Germany.

Open it up and clean all the ribbon cables. The connections oxidise.

A little bit late to this party but....

If you're happy opening the M20 up then do so. Remove the ribbon connectors and clean them with a good contact cleaner, let them dry and re seat them.

There is a ground that can also get oxidised. On ours I've actual soldered a wire to it and grounded it to the chassis.

A 3rd problem is how close the boards are to the case, so whilst it's apart line the case with a non conductive material.

Regular maintenance of this type is the ONLY way to avoid the problems being described here. This whole range was a great idea but I fear that since Yamaha got involved most of the really innovative stuff has been put out to graze. I have a TF1 and there's a load of stuff on there that for me shows why they went after Line 6.

I believe there was an issue with electronic interference compatibility rules in Germany! It was withdrawn whilst the problem was sorted, but as seems to be the way with Line 6 since Yamaha took over, nothing seems to get fixed or updated anymore.

The G30 is a great little unit for home use. Avoid the G10, it was never great and is absolute garbage now!

If you're in the UK and having this problem, I can usually sort this out for you. I've been hiring these desks out since they were first released. We only have 2 left now as we moved to the Yamaha TF1 as soon as they came out due to the regular maintenance required to prevent this issue. I only keep the ones I have because a couple of regular clients won't change to the TFs, physical size issue!! That said they aren't hiring at the moment here anyways so I might just off load them!! If you need help or advice pm me.

Where you based?

I still use my Mk 2, though mainly for home recording now. Using a Spider Valve 2 for live work  until I get the amp modelling sorted to my liking on my TC Helicon Voicelive 3 extreme. Then my rig will be on the floor in a pedalboard and my days of lugging a heavy amp around are done!!! I also get vocal harmony, talk box effects etc with little hassle. Feel Line 6 let their loyal customers down since Yamaha took over and I think credibility is going to be an issue for them going forward. Most dealers in the UK see them as home use products, unless you're going for the high price items like Helix etc.

It's finished in the UK according to Andertons. They've got the last stocks here and they're dirt cheap!

Mne defaults to whatever the last preset used was. Do you have an FBV control board?

Yeah you're right about the attic. I was using it as a metaphor. It'll get put back in the box and in the cupboard in the studio. I did once have a result when I held on to a Great British Spring reverb unit which I bought in '86 for £99. Sold it on eBay a couple of years back for £190 and the guy still uses it today on work for one of the computer music type mags.

my M20 is 3 years old and has spent its life rack mounted in a Boschma case. The case cost £180 and the mixer over a grand so you see what I mean about no value in used equipment! Have seen a few on eBay and they didn't get bids!!

The Yamaha has a lot of similar looking visuals to the M20 but I think they missed a trick not adding the L6 link. There are a lot more powerful smaller, lighter format speakers out there that perform as well if not better than the Stagescape stuff. I'm going to see how the Yamaha sounds with my Line 6 stuff, but dragging up to 4 subs, 4 Lt3s and 2 Lt2s around with no "added value" seems a bit crazy! I'm not getting any younger and the stuff doesn't get any lighter!!

Having spoken with a guy from Andertons, he reckons that they have bought the last of the M20ds destined for the UK and when they're gone, they're gone! At £699.00 they're probably selling at less than their trade cost when first introduced. Shame as was a great product, badly assembled, but easy to use. I think Line 6 will discontinue the speakers too as the Line 6 link is the big draw there, and if there's no mixer to use it with, there's plenty of good stuff out there at a lot less money. Don't know why they didn't licence that out to others! Just got a TF1 so once I get my head around it I'm afraid the M20 will be destined for the attic!! Sadly second hand obsolete electronics have no value nowadays.

I wouldn't hold your breath on a "fix" as it's usually a contact issue inside the mixer and needs disassembly to cure, but yes Quadcabby's correct it can normally be fixed but if you're not happy opening the box, find someone who is! 

As to future upgrades etc I was talking to a guy at Andertons here in the UK, who have the the M20ds on offer at £699.00. He reckons when they're gone there are no more coming to the UK. When you look at Yamahas TF series and how close the presets and general screen similarity is to the M20d, I think it unlikely he was spinning me a line. Why would Yamaha have a company they own, and to whose technology they already have access, spend money on R&D and creation of a product that could potentially rival their own line of mixing desks, at a lower price point? 

The QSC Touchmix 30 seems a good bet as a reliable alternative at the right money, and with more flexibility re auxs etc. Time will tell I guess. There's been no official announcement and I think the Line 6 Link will be relegated to guitar related products, if kept at all.

Mines good after I upgraded my software.