scotterp

Just letting folks know that Musiciansfriend is clearing out black JTV 69's for $799. There are other models at different prices as well.

I have only had one serious issue, which turned out to be either a faulty cable or an improperly seated cable which caused poor quality sound from one L3t. Not sure which it was as we swapped out/reseated cables during a break and all was well again. As Don B has stated, given that there was a problem very early in its life, get that speaker replaced. Good luck!

It's always nice to hear the success stories!

Bass definitely comes from the top speaker when upright. At least in PA mode. As Dboomer has said in another post "... they are a woofer and a midrange. The L3 is a 3-way system. Using a guitar as a sound source you are likely not getting much from the top speaker except when you play your lowest notes. Intuitively that may seem off but it has to do with pattern control."

2 different styles that they have available. One is a "shelf" which is one piece and the other listed by ajktsb is a two piece that allows you to actually adjust where the nut sits. It can slide forward or backward if you like. I think this is the original style that they offered. I have used this style before with great success on another guitar (Variax 300) and have considered adding it to my JTV 69. Just not sure how it might work with the whammy bar. Not that I use it a lot.

I use a Digitech GSP 1101 preamp for my guitar sound. I run one output to a power amp and cab for stage sound, and a direct out to my M20D and L3T mains for the FOH mix. The L3T is what is mostly blocking my head from view. It is sitting on top of an L3S. The angle where this video is being shot, you are mostly hearing what's coming out of the main mix from one of the L3T's.

I have lots of videos of our band on Youtube and I've been using a Variax of some sort for many years now. Started out with a 300, had it transplanted to a Tele style guitar, then got one of the first JTV 69's that came out. I've swapped the neck on it (I had the slipping high E string issue and I prefer maple fretboards anyway). This video has me switching from an LP model to a sitar throughout the song. The sitar parts are played during the chorus and are hard to distinguish in this video (shot with someone's phone) and because of the distorted tone I'm using. At 2:25 though, you can hear a clean Sitar being played. Unfortunately, the intro, which is a clean tone and using the Sitar, is missing from the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OTQbyEorPM Also, didn't James Taylor play a Variax on occasion?

I found the firmware update. I'll try to get that updated soon. I don't have another gig where I need to provide sound for the band until the end of the month, so I'm in no hurry at this point. Thanks for the input guys!

The firmware is definitely not 1.05. I checked that a while back when I first got the speakers. I think I also read that unless you were having issues with your speakers you didn't need to update the firmware. So I didn't at the time. I wouldn't describe the sound I was hearing as a click or clicks. It sounded like one of the speakers was blown - in particular the tweeter that is in the middle of the L3t. And only when the guitars and vocals were playing. While troubleshooting, I had the bass player play - sounded fine. Had the drummer join in - it sounded fine. Then when the other guitar player started to play, it sounded terrible. It sounded like the signal was breaking up. Same when the singer sang. So it appeared to be isolated to certain mid frequencies. I did not notice the number in the LCD window flash but I was also not really paying attention to it. After we replugged everything back in, all was well for the remaining 3 sets of music. Once again got compliments from people saying we sounded great (after hearing from some people early on that we sounded terrible!). Note that the 6 foot mic cable is one that I've had for a long time. I don't know who made it. Not high quality. It was just the right length so I used it. I have better cables around (longer) that I can use instead. Where can I locate the new firmware? Is it posted in the download section? I'll certainly take care of that first.

The longer runs (20 and 25 feet) are AES/EBU cables manufactured by Best-tronics. I do have a simple mic cable (6 feet) running between one L3t and the L3s. I suspected that could have been the culprit but everything worked well after replugging everything in. To avoid any further issues, I will be replacing that with an AES/EBU cable. In the end though, I still suspect that our singer did not seat one of the cables properly.

This happened to me at a gig on Friday. It started during the first set and sounded awful. Simply decided to finish the set with that speaker off. During the next break, we did some trouble shooting. Unplugged cables and put this speaker at the beginning of the chain rather than at the end. Could not replicate the problem. So we hooked it all backup and all was well for the rest of the night. I seemed to recall a discussion on this and found this today. I am going to double check all of the cables before the next gig to make sure all is well. As a final note, I did not hook up the cables this gig for the first time, our lead singer did it. Maybe he was the problem. Damn lead singers! :)

Well now you've done it! Something else to add to my list. I currently aim the minis at the band to provide some front lighting. They aren't as bright as other lighting options, but also not as blinding! These Dotz do intrigue me though. Thanks for the info!

That's quite an elaborate light setup SiWatts! Impressive indeed.

Best to contact customer support and get a ticket for this one. They'll let you know how best to proceed from here.

All good points SiWatts69, especially the disclaimer section! I don't have the L6 bags so that's not an issue for me. I'm contemplating hard cases for them eventually. My choice of hardware also took into account my current gear so that I could potentially interchange other light fixtures that I have if I ever wanted to.

Stealing from litesnsirens and digital-sound, I incorporated a pole mount into the top of my L3t's so that they could hold my Chauvet Colorstrip Minis. Very lightweight and they take up no additional room really. Just have to make sure that the ceilings are high enough. I did have to modify the pole mount slightly to get the holes to align with the fly mount holes in the speakers. The pole mounts are made of hard plastic, so a Dremmel work well to drill out some of the mount for best alignment. I wasn't comfortable using just one screw to hold it in place, although it most likely could have. I'm sure that I did not alter the integrity of the pole mount much at all.

The built-in wheels on the L3s's help a LOT! It doesn't feel like 80lbs with those on there. It's also not a boxy as many other subs so it seems easier to lift for me. I have one L3s and have used it both upright and on its side. I bought a 3rd party pole with a crank. This is helpful when the L3s is on its side. I've also used the same pole (in its lowest position) with the L3s standing upright. It was a semi-outdoor gig with very high ceiling. And, I've sat my L3t on top with no short pole. I don't have that. Like Digitalsound, it did not move at all. Lots of options available. Scott (Canuck in Arizona)

I have recorded every show that we have done with the M20d and have not had the system freeze. I have had the recording stop in the middle of a song while using a non-recommended USB stick. A restart of the recording seems to fix that issue. The rest of the system was working fine. I would venture to say that this would be approximately 20-25 gigs without experiencing a total freeze of the system.

I used to own something similar (older SKB model) to house a different mixer, and liked it in general but did not like the soft cover that it came with. This looks like it has a hard cover for better protection. That's a plus over the one I had. It was also a bit odd to carry around but this model seems to have real handles - mine did not. So they've "fixed" some of the things I did not like so much with mine. I'm now using a much larger rack on wheels as I'm also housing a power amp along with a 2 space drawer, a power distributor and a shelf for some wireless gear.

I started up the M20D, picked the setup that I wanted to use from the list of existing setups, and the FX settings for the monitors were set to 0. So I was not able to recreate the issue this time.

I know for sure that on mine, the monitors are not linked. I have a gig tonight and I know I will be using a different setup than I used for my last gig. I'll report back on what happens.

I have experienced similar circumstances as Jeanpicasso. I just check monitor levels and FX levels to monitors each time I power up.

This is exactly what we did - are still doing. Got the M20d first, ran the mains out via a power amp to some EV speakers. I also split the main outs to some powered subs. From the first gig with that setup, got compliments from attendees on how our sound drastically improved. Ran the monitors out to powered monitors. Recently added 2 L3t's as mains. Run them via the L6 link. Use the analog out from the L3t's to a powered sub. A lot less long cable runs now. No problems at all. Only using one sub now as the L3t's really filled out the sound that a 2nd sub just wasn't necessary. Although I'm not using the main outs, I did test them and they continue to work fine. Still running the monitors out to powered monitors. Once again, attendees noticed another improvement in sound. Next step is to get an L3s to replace the current sub - just because I can (and saved up enough to get one). Not sure if I'll go with L2's for monitors. I'm currently using in ears and the rest of the band is considering it. Not sure I want to go through the expense/commitment for them if eventually they will go with in ears. All this to say yes, you can do what you are planning to do in steps. I've done it, still doing it, and with each phase, your sound will continue to improve. I never get tired of people coming up to us between sets, after shows and telling us how good we sound compared to all of the other bands in the area. The typical comment is "your sound is so clear… you can hear every little detail of what you guys are playing." We're a bunch of old guy rockers so we're not playing clean stuff all that much. Mostly pretty distorted guitars and hard rocking tunes. I encourage you to take the leap and start with what you can afford. You will NOT regret it.

I agree with dscheidt in how he describes who the M20D is designed for… us guys that have to do the sound for the band while we are also IN the band, and aren't necessarily pro sound guys. A comment from a fellow musician who attended our gig last night… He saw us last month at another venue that had a good sound guy. He thought we sounded great. Then he saw us last night and said we sounded a lot better with our M20d and L3t setup. (Can't wait to get an L3s into the mix). He was amazed that I was doing the sound from stage.

My results have been inconsistent. As I said before, I haven't really tried to consistently recreate it. This week I turned on my mixer and when I checked, the FX were all at 0. 2 weeks ago when I turned it on, the effects were on. I also save any changes that I have made.