Charlie_Watt

Why? It does not make sense to me that this change would do anything for the string tension which is mostly responsible for how hard they are to bend.

These days, Manuals seem to be an afterthought. :-) Half the new electronic stuff I have acquired did not come with anything more than a Quick Startup Guide.

Since it doesn't say what it does, I will not be touching it.

HD500X uses an upgraded version of the DSP that is in the 500.

When I had this problem it was my antivirus software that was keeping Monkey from talking to Line6.

I keep my pod under my desk and it's a PIA to go down there and twiddle knobs. Is there a way to access the new global EQ with Edit?

Anyone tried the Acoustic Amp model yet? I am interested in how that one works. I did upgrade my FW last night and everything works fine on my Pod. I have not tried the global EQ because I could not find how to access it in the Edit program.

Variax electronics have proven to be fairly reliable. Many of us have Variax guitars that are over 10 years old and they still work fine. It's a computer but almost anything you buy today has a computer in it.

Really nice work!

With passive pickups, the cable and the pickups form a resonant circuit. (R, L of pickups and C of cable) I doubt that the 1/4 inch with modeling will react this way on a JTV. (Output is driven by an amplifier not a passive pickup)

I'm waiting until we have feedback here on the new FW on the 500x. Then I will do the flash upgrade and buy the model paks. I don't like to be an early adopter when it comes to FW upgrades. Been burned too many times.

Sorry - I don't notice a significant difference when I use VDI vs 1/4 inch. Maybe you have a longer or higher than normal capacitance guitar cable. The 1/4 out (except when using the Mags) is low impedance amplifier output. The cable isn't going to do the same thing that it does with Mags which are relatively high impedance. I rarely use the mags anyway. (too noisy)

Just downloaded the new FW. Have not updated the Pod yet though.

No I don't think there is any signal quality difference between VDI and 1/4 inch. Yes it's different. It's nice to have power over the VDI instead of battery though.

As you found out, amp settings and guitar models go together. One amp setting may sound great with one guitar model and like SH$T with another. Tweak your amp settings for each model and they can all sound very good. I like to start with an acoustic amp setting (no amp) to hear the models with full response on my PA speaker before I try it with an amp.

I think it would be very easy to slightly route where your grounds are if necessary. It doesn't have to be very deep. You want the bridge to sit firmly against the body without putting any pressure on your connections. If I were to do another, I would do the grounds right where you did I think.

Nice job! You did a better job of the grounding than I did. I ran mine back to the thick conductor in the top of your photo. I like your solution better. You do have to make sure that your guitar body is routed where the wires go so that they don't get pinched between the body and the bridge. Your guitar is very nice! I need to do that some day! Did you have the route the body for the electronics yourself or did you get it that way?

The neck on my JTV69S is different than my 500. The fretboard is narrower. I like it that way. I think the HD models sound fuller than the models on my 500. I never tried my JTV with older than 2.0 FW. (Came with 2.0)

It is narrow twin lead wire. The Minus has a blue stripe I believe. It's been over 18 months since I did mine so my memory is fading a bit. Both conductors are insulated. You have to separate them with an exacto knife. The pickups come with 2 pin connector plugs on the ends and very long wires.

If I ever upgrade the pickups on my 69S I will use low noise pickups. I can't use the mags in my music room with an overhead speed controlled ceiling fan. The Variax in modeling mode is dead quiet. My G&L ASAT with EMG active pickups is pretty quiet too. Active pickups are one answer to pickup hum or noise.

Unfortunately, the USB interface can't power the Variax directly so you have to use the internal battery. The only way to turn it on with the battery is to plug in a 1/4 inch plug. I always use my Pod HD500x now that it can interface with workbench.

The Variax could run on it's own battery. I think the only wireless solution is to use the battery and a standard wireless in the 1/4 inch output. You lose all of the VDI enabled features though.

Variax VDI is a two way digital communication bus so the wireless would have to be two way to make it work. It's so specialized that it will never happen!

Yes that will work fine. You just have to be really careful. I think I scraped the flex circuit where the ground run is in the top of your picture and soldered the grounds there but it might be easier to do what you propose. I had to slightly enlarge the holes where the wires go through the pads so that the two wires would fit. I used a tapered punch that I had and just pushed it in to make the holes slightly larger. Sounds like you know what you are doing. I have a stereo scope and a very good soldering station that made the job doable for me. Worst case, you may damage one of the piezos and need to buy a replacement. I was able to get mine done with no fallout.

Carbs? :) Haven't worked on one of them in what seems like a lifetime!