Charlie_Watt

Glad to have you contributing here, psarkissian!!!

There is a global string volume in WB so you don't have to do it for every model.

The guitar has no idea what size amp you are plugging into. Are you using batteries????? If not, I would try running on batteries. I never use the power supply with my 500 - only rechargeable AA batteries. One bad battery will lower the voltage enough so that it will cut out. You need at least 7 volts for it to work.

You need to work directly with Line6 on this and get somebody that knows what they are doing to work on it.

I would call it lack of a feature rather than a bug but I agree that a solution to this is way overdue! It should not be that difficult since they have supported the old workbench through pods for years.

How much did you have to adjust the string volumes to get them at the same levels of the old piezos? When I did my 500 I had to go down to about 50%. Full volume sounded terrible.

Discontinued doesn't mean you can't still use it! Last time I checked, my original pod still worked. No I don't use it anymore but it works. So does my other old electronic stuff that is outdated and replaced by more modern stuff. The counter example is my collection of tube amps that I have built from 50's and 60's schematics. But they are orders of magnitude simpler than anything Line6 ever produced.

Noise gates should be able to only clobber noise when you are not playing. That is what they really should be used for.

I have not had much luck searching on Customtone.

They are both great guitars. I personally like the scale length and feel of a Strat so I went for the 69S. I also think the 5 way switch is much more robust than the 3 way on the 59. So it's up to your personal preference.

I would not call digital signals "Completely Pure" from an audio standpoint. I agree that reducing the number of conversion steps is a good thing though. I like the VDI input because it powers the Variax and I don't have to charge the battery. I don't think it sounds any better than the Analog output though.

A full range system can do a good job of simulating a guitar amp but it doesn't work the other way because a guitar amp doesn't reproduce the high frequencies required to model acoustic guitar. I have not tried the Stagesource products but my EV ZLX-12P pa speaker does a great job. I use studio Direct and I can get great acoustic sounds with it.

I agree that their diagnosis did not sound reasonable.

If you plan on using Acoustic sounds a lot, you want a full range Amp or PA speaker. A guitar amp just doesn't do it justice.

I would define "Crosstalk" in this context as any signal from OTHER strings getting into a Piezo. This is unwanted and it doesn't hurt much when you are not using Alternate Tunings. There is going to be some of this due to Mechanical coupling between saddles. This will cause some unwanted artifacts with some alternate tunings since the alternate tuning algorithm is applied to all of the signal that gets into each Piezo pickup.

The noise is the communication between the PC and the Variax over USB. The older variax does that too. Every time you turn the knob, there is info sent between the Variax and WB running on the PC. Don't worry about this since it only does it when running WB.

On my 500 I get that when connected to workbench. My JTV pots are silent when connected to my Pod500x.

I too upgraded my 500 to planet wave autotrim locking tuners. I really like them and they were reasonably priced. The set made for strat necks should work here. My 500 had a 3 on a side headstock. They should be drop in replacements.

The JTV69 has locking tuners. I don't know who makes them but they work just fine. I'm surprised that there is no source of single replacement tuners.

I agree with Phil. This is BS. Companies want happy satisfied customers. They may not all do a great job of doing that but that's what they want because that is what increases sales and profits. My opinion is that for a Small Company (Yes Line6 is a Small Company) Line6 does a reasonable job. They sell very complex gear and most don't have problems with it. This forum is not a good measure of the failure rate since most satisfied customers don't even visit the forum.

Slightly widening the hole with a file or a drill won't hurt anything. Just be careful and don't use a power tool unless you remove the bridge. Personally, I would remove it and get everything right then reinstall.

I think you may have tuning problems with nylon screws. They may stretch on you under tension. I think if you angle the holes in the back of the bridge, the screws should not be a problem. I don't see why that would mess up the pickups anyway. Did you turn down the string volumes? When I switched to these pickups on my 500 I had to back the string volumes way down to prevent clipping. It sounds great now but not so good before I did that.

Your bridge doesn't look level though. You should probably adjust the spring tension on the Trem to get it more level with the guitar body. I do not see a problem with the forces though. It's not ideal that the intonation screw is to the side but it's that way with the JTV saddles also. The string tension should be holding the saddles in place just fine and there should be good contact with the Piezo element. The only major difference in my 500 saddles is that the strings come up through the bridge from the back of the body so they go over the sensor at a much more severe angle than on the JTV bridge.

That bridge / trem is different than the one in my JTV69S. Mine is fairly recent - last September and they did change it for the better. They no longer have those cables tiewrapped to things and the board has been relocated. I did not take any pix of mine though. The pickups look fine in your pix. Not sure why they would not work great. Did you run the wires back to the main board? How did you ground them. I do not see any mechanical problem with your install.

Make sure you have the latest FW!