Charlie_Watt

The 2.0 install works for most of us. I can't say why it doesn't for some. IT's not broken since it works for most. The issue here is whether you like the models better than previous versions or not. That is a mater of taste. They are different for sure so some folks like some of the old ones better.

The trick is knowing when you are clipping. If you clip a lot it's obvious. If you clip a little on the peaks it's subtle. It depends on the model too since some each model modifies the string sound differently.

The same string volume isn't right for every JTV. Piezos vary a huge amount in gain. Even if they select them they will still vary at least 20%.

Move the string volumes up and down to verify which string is going into the input. Make sure they match. For example turn string 6 to zero and make sure that string 6 turns off. I installed these on my 500 myself and it works perfectly! Very much improved over the stock piezos. I used the flex circuit so it was easy to tell that they were hooked up correctly.

You must plug a 1/4 inch plug into the Variax to power it up when using the Workbench interface. The interface does not power the Variax like the Pod does.

You need to try it with a 1/4 inch cable to see if that works and the VDI does not. Sure you could have a bad cable or bad VDI connector.

If it's on the Mags then it's mechanical. You may be able to figure out what it is and damp it with some foam. Check the Alternate tuning selector and the model switch. Both can be loose and vibrate. Also damp the strings above the nut. This often helps a lot. With a JTV it can be something loose inside as well.

You can check by running with the Mag pickups only. No Modeling. Most guitars have some resonant frequencies that show up on a particular string / note. Very often an open B string.

The HD500 has latency - just not enough to notice. It is designed to do Audio processing with minimum of latency. A PC isn't designed to do real time processing - it's actually not very good at that.

You never know what you will find under a solid color body when you remove the paint. Filler, etc. They have to be much more careful with at transparent finish.

Based on my JTV69S I would say their quality is excellent! This minor hardware defect I can live with. The important things are done well on my guitar. Neck is straight, frets are level, finish is perfect. I fixed my trem bar in 5 minutes and I have only had it on the guitar a few times since I really don't use it.

Mine would not screw in properly until I chased the threads (inside of the end of the bar) with the proper metric tap. Now it screws in easily. I insert it all the way and give it two turns to engage the threads.

Can you give us a pointer to the new document? Thanks!

I cut the cables and soldered them to the flex circuit at the bridge. It was not easy to do and if you do not have lots of soldering experience and the right tools I don't recommend it. The wires are long enough to run back to the board but the connector at the board on a 500 is a flex connector. There are no wires on a 500 to splice into. The later Variax models had a white connector with wires and that is much easier to modify. You could try to find a flex circuit that matches that connector or you could very carefully solder the wires to the connector pins but that is not easy either because it is a surface mount connector. I opted to do it at the flex rather than risk damaging the traces on the board. The original piezo's only had one wire and no ground. BAD! The Ghost piezo's have two wires. You have to make sure you ground the correct wire. (I think it was the one with the blue tracer) I scraped away the insulation on the flex to make room to ground each of the second wires on each piezo. The difficulty is that the wires have to be very short so you need the right tools to split the wires and strip the insulation without breaking them. I removed the whole bridge / flex assembly to work on it. This is easy to do on a 500 because it's a hard tail. You also have to be careful not to have the wires get pinched when you reinstall the bridge. That being said my install worked fine first time and it's reliable. I had grounding issues with the original piezos. It would lose volume and get noisy every once in a while. Never happens with the Ghost piezos. Each one is individually grounded. This is a very worthwhile mod. I am a soldering expert - build my own amps and boards and I have the right tools. I would take pix for you but I am in Arizona and my 500 is in Colorado at the moment. I only brought my JTV 69 with me.

I still think there should be no question after a FW update whether it worked completely or not. It's not that hard for the update code to check everything and make sure it matches.

I am VERY curious as to why you recommend multiple reinstalls. What does this do????? I write FW for a living and I have never worked with a system that required this. The install either worked or it didn't. There must be a difference here because for many Line6 products the first suggestion is to reinstall the FW when someone has a problem. I am ok with this if there is a reasonable explanation. I received my JTV69S with 2.0 installed and I am very happy with it by the way! I have several Pods and I have upgraded the FW on them and never had to do it twice. By the way I am very pleased that you are allowed by Line6 to participate some in this forum!

You also have to make sure that you do not have the Mag pickups enabled when you use alternate tunings. That can happen with 2.0.

Companies do not want their employees doing this stuff. Employees in general do not speak for the company anyway. They can say things that the company does not support. I am not allowed to directly talk to customers or suppliers and for good reason. This forum is for us users to hash things out among ourselves (IMO). There are some very helpful folks here.

My JTV69S is not "awful uninspiring"! It is awesome and very inspiring!

If you are looking for a Schematic - forget about it. Line6 is not going to let them out.

The JTV can only play one model at a time. I am not sure what would happen if you tried to do a "Y" VDI connection but I wouldn't try it. You can output the Mags separately from the models and have them go through the two pod channels. Be aware that you can't have alternate tunings on the mags so you can't use alternate tunings with mags and models.

I would just run the VDI to one and the 1/4 inch to the other.

The strings should be only contacting the Piezo elements. If they touch the bridge the bridge will keep the vibrations from getting to the piezo elements. Something is wrong because these things are usually trouble free.

True. I have thrown away at least 20K worth of obsolete PC's and at least 5K worth of obsolete TV's. (But I still have my first guitar that my parents bought me back in 1967)

If you are asking I am not sure you want to do this. Use a DVM but you have to know where to ground it. There is a switch in the 1/4 inch jack that powers the board when the plug is inserted. I'm an EE so I would not hesitate to do this but if you are not real sure what you are doing you may want to return the guitar since it does have a problem.