radatats

'Thanks! and I could program a POD patch to pull up the model and tuning along with the amp and FX settings too right? Very tempting...

Just to clarify, if I want to convert my own guitar to Variax, there is no difference in the electronics between the 300, 500, 600, 700? and just to be sure, there are no alternate tunings available with the original Variax, right?

surprisingly, the ID series look a lot like Spider amps... including graphics for FX knobs! Maybe Line 6 is licencing their old tech to other companies?

I already did a full thread on this here: http://line6.com/support/topic/4651-mixer-blasphemy/ Read through, there is some good insight. In the end as long as you know why you are doing it one way or the other and you are not introducing unwanted distortion or clipping it is really personal taste...

duh... uh... sorry... joke recognizer block was disabled to free up DSP... :lol:

They already did that with the Alchemist line... Uniquely versatile design with inspiring features: • Two channel All-Tube design, 100% pure valve signal path • 40 watt, 6L6 Power Amp section, with 20 watt low power mode • Gold (left) Channel: Gain, Treble, Middle, Bass, Volume knobs plus Clean/Crunch, Bright and Deep switches • Mercury (right) Channel: Gain, Treble, Middle, Bass, Volume knobs plus Punch, Bright and Mid Shift switches • Built-in Reverb with studio-grade Plate, Hall and Spring options • Built-in Delay with studio-grade Ducking, Analog and Tape options plus Tap Tempo • Parallel Effects Loop for external effects units • Boost for both channels • 4 function footswitch: channel switch, boost on/off, delay on/off, reverb on/off • Available as Open 1x12 Combo, Open 2x12 combo, and Head plus 2x12 Speaker Cab

1. Could be the cable. Swap XLR cables with a known good one. 2. Could be the patch. Start a new patch with nothing but an amp Pre model of your choice. Keep it in the default position with default settings. 3. Could be the order of turning them on. They are still computers and need to talk to each other. (This has helped me in the past) start with everything off. turn HD500 on let it stabilize. turn DT50 to Standby, Master off, PWR on and wait. There will be no light around master or topology settings. wait and it will click on, it will click again in a few seconds as the topology syncs with the POD and the lettering will be lit up. turn DT Standby to ON, Master up a quarter. POD Master to half, guitar volume up, should have sound now. always use the reverse to shutdown if you want to use HDEdit, turn POD on first, then HDEdit before DT on. Let us know if any of this helps...

What theRealZap said is correct however, I have often noticed that HD500 tones uploaded to Customtone get the tail changed to l6t for some reason. When I download them I just change the tail back to h5e for my HD500 and they work fine. If that is what you are referring to, tones that were originally made for your gear, then it will work; otherwise as he said it won't match up. Either way, it won't hurt anything to try it in your online editor software. Make the change and see what it does. If it works, great!

Johnny, did you ever finish that White Falcon conversion? How hard a job was that? I really like that idea for doing a conversion with a hollow body type guitar...

thanks bignath, they all uploaded fine. For some reason they have the .l6t tail, I just changed it to .h5e and they loaded right up in HDEdit.

I would be very careful with that... I have seen folks blow up their stereo speakers trying to play guitar through them... Just saying...

Personally I do not use the LVM. Just Pre models into the DT with DT master up and POD master to control volume. You can also lower the volume with Class AB and Triode mode... I know Class A is 10 watts and Class AB is 25 but I swear Class A is louder... I played around with the PHD and the 9/15 models last night and really found some sweet spots. Very interesting with the double drive settings on the 9/15. Just learning more about using this gear all the time... Luckily I don't get too many complaints at home and can turn it up to a decent level... No work tomorrow (Happy New Year!) so I will be trying out some more new ideas... :D

yep, you got me hard on that one... :huh: 8. Class A / Class AB Switch – Class A operation is more dynamic with greater touch sensitivity. Use Class AB operation for greater headroom and power. In addition to setting the operating class, this switch also determines the wattage and bias type: When set to Class A the amp is running at 10 Watts and cathode biased. When set to Class AB the amp is running at 25 Watts and fixed biased. Try both settings with each voicing to see what sounds best to you.

easiest way is to just upload them to Customtone and then paste the link... that avoids all the PMing...

Try my Dbl Clean patch again but switch to Class A, I forgot and left it at Class A/B. That means we are running at 10 watts, switch it up to 25 watts and it gets louder!

I see what you are saying but I never felt it really worked that way. I may be wrong but I look at it like 3 separate levels of gain staging. If I am forced to keep the POD master full up, the only way I can lower the signal to the power section to allow me to turn up the horsepower is to lower the audio level being carried on the signal to the power section. Doesn't seem the same. Plus I either have to adjust every patch individually to change volume or turn down the DT master, exactly what I don't want to do. And the bigger engine is what gives us head room and the ability to respond to transients and pick attack. Both engines may get us to 10 mph but the big engine can easily spurt up to 50 mph... That's it from me... If anyone else can explain it better or differently please have at it...

Sure, if I can... Consider your signal as it passes through the POD from your guitar. It comes in at a certain level and is modified at every FX or amp block it encounters. Lets just consider the amp blocks for now. Each amp model has different characteristics and just as in the real world, some models put out a hotter signal than others. The Channel Volume is how we adjust the signal level as it leaves the amp block, before it hits other FX, the mixer, and what ever we have in the Post section. While we can certainly use it to crank every amp block to its max, it is most useful as a tool to level the volume between the various amp models that we use. Max out your quietest amp model and the lower the Channel Volume for other amps to match. Once we do this we now have a somewhat consistent signal level leaving the mixer and being passed to the Post section for further processing. The POD Master comes at the very end of the Post section and our signal chain. This knob adjusts the final signal level being sent to the power section, either the tube power section of our DT or the power amp driving whatever speaker cab we are using. In this case we are talking about the DT power section. The POD master works in conjunction with the DT master to give us our final volume level. It is the interaction between these two that determine whether we get true power section distortion or not. The POD signal contains the audio data we wish to reproduce and the DT has the horsepower to drive the speakers. The audio signal will merge with and ride on the power amp current. We can either send a large audio signal to ride a small current (POD up, DT down), a small audio signal to ride a large DT current (POD down, DT up) or a large audio signal to ride a large current (POD up, DT up). Sort of like a car with different engines. With a small engine (DT down) we can jam on the gas pedal (POD up) and we may go fast but the engine is working hard and not too responsive. With a big engine (DT up) and a light touch on the gas (POD down) we can still go fast and be more responsive without working too hard. With a big engine (DT up) and jam on the gas (POD up) we can smoke the tires and roar down the track and the engine gets to do its thing. Prior to the update the POD was up all the time as the Master knob had no effect. All we could adjust was the DT master and for most of us it was way too loud to use on a regular basis or at home. The update allows us to choose what kind of "engine" we want to use and how hard we want to step on the gas before our ears or our significant others complain. For me personally, I prefer a big effing engine and I can work the gas myself. It just opens up so many more options even though full out power amp distortion may only come with a Led foot... I hope this helps...

http://line6.com/support/topic/4231-channel-volume-vs-master-volume/?p=27929 Whatever...

Before the upgrade we couldn't turn the DT master up at all because the POD master was fixed full up. Now we can turn the DT master up and turn the POD master down to compensate. As my post in the thread you reference fully explains, that allows the power section to breath with more current to the tubes and while you don't really get the full flavor of power amp distortion kicking in until both masters are up pretty high you certainly get a different tone and feel from when the POD was full up and the DT low. It just gets better as you turn it up!

interesting... we get a Product Specialist with advice for purchasing new gear but not a peep when we are trying to decipher the arcane workings of signal flow and gain staging...

I think you will be quite happy with your Mesa cab. Spend time with your POD/DT and the Mesa to see what you really want to do with it. You can always part with your cash later when you know what you want to get... A DT 50 will drive a wide range of cabs from your 1X12 up to a pair of 4X12s provided the load matches your amps capabilities. Really depends on your budget, where you will be playing, your style of music and most importantly, how much you want to lug around! Before you spend your money, try the L2t or a pair of good powered monitors with your POD HD500, you may have second thoughts on the whole DT thing...

try pushing the mixer gain to max for the Dbl Clean and see how it sounds... Also, consider changing the amp model with the same setup. Hiwatt and Slo Clean are others to try... So many options so little time... LOL...

Try these patches I worked on for clean tones at high DT master level. Set DT master to 3 o'clock, POD master maxed, guitar volume max... Dbl Clean seemed to stay clean but Lux Clean just went to a sweet dirt with the DT master turned up that I really like... I ended up setting them up as dual amps letting some raw guitar signal through on channel B and it took some harshness off and I changed cabs. Play around with it, mute channel B, change input settings, whatever, let me know if you like them... Go higher on the mixer gain if you like until it gets where you want it. http://line6.com/customtone/tone/256931/ - Blackface Dbl Clean http://line6.com/customtone/tone/256932/ - Blackface Lux Clean By the way, my patches are not necessarily geared towards recording, they are pretty much all for live use with a DT amp and L6 connection. They may not sound the same under other conditions or with other rigs.

yeah, something doesn't sound right here. My DT25 through a 2X12 cab is deafening at those levels, at least in my space, certainly much different in a larger venue or outdoors...

Those meters will not tell you about internal clipping but your ears should. If you are not hearing clipping or unwanted distortion, it probably isn't there... Clipping can be introduced at any stage including right from the guitar input and once there will be carried through to each successive stage. Setting the mixer to center is hotter than panned left and right but it also depends on how hot the signal is coming in to the mixer. Try to keep it as hot as possible, factoring in balance levels between clean and dirty patches, without any clipping or unwanted distortion. Keep your POD master up full feeding the Tascam mixer.