cbrillow

Congratulations! And thanks for providing the updated information. It's always useful to keep things like this in mind when discussing the frequent update failures with PC & the Line 6 Updater application...

In case you haven't seen it, the amplifi remote app for Android devices has been updated, supposedly on Feb 2nd. I just received the update notification today. The new version is 2.60.1, which is a minor update. The description of the changes lists only 'bug fixes', and as of just a few minutes ago, there are no reviews of the new version. I just hope it doesn't break something that did work...

Wish I could give you some good advice, but you've already done everything that's usually recommended. This happened to me on an Amplifi 150 that I bought used. I was on the telephone with tech support for the longest time after I hit the same skid you're in. I'm a VERY experienced hardware guy, and also very good at following instructions. Going through the procedure step-by-step produced failure-after-failure. It's ridiculous -- try a different USB port, try a different computer. I tried it with 4 computers -- how many people can do that? In the end, I had to send it back to California at my expense. Three weeks later, it was returned to me, functional, with no explanation. I had to ask what was done to it. Oh, they just did the firmware update. As you said, the exact thing that I was trying to do. What's wrong with this picture? There are many stories like yours and mine on this forum. The Line 6 updater/USB combination seems to be very problematic. You have a new unit -- get in touch with tech support and have them commit to taking care of you. Or return the amp and consider yourself all the wiser. Good luck!

Out of curiosity: Do you have the latest firmware on your 75? Have you experienced bluetooth connection problems on more than one mobile device? Do you have the ability to test both the iOS & Android versions of the Amplifi remote app? I've read through all the threads here and have seen a lot of complaints about bluetooth reliability and the contention (from Line 6) that firmware updates have improved the connectivity issue. Seems to me that most of the complaints were registered during the earlier days of Amplifi's existence. I'm a latecomer to the Amplifi family, starting with a 30 last year at about this time. An odd combination of circumstances has led to the point that I now have a 30, a 150 and an FX-100. My experience in streaming audio files and controlling/editing presets via bluetooth has been virtually trouble-free on all three devices, regardless of whether I'm using my 3rd generation iPad or an Android phone to connect. Have you talked with Line 6 tech support about your miserable history of connection unreliability? Clearly, you're not able to fully utilize the Amplifi to its fullest, and if that's been your experience the entire time you've owned it, you've been shortchanged. It doesn't cost anything to open a support ticket or start a dialog with them. You may be pleasantly surprised to see that they're willing to work with you to resolve your problem. No guarantees, but certainly worth a try. (P.S. I would contact them directly - don't count on someone reading your post and reaching out to you...)

I don't have more than a guess on this issue, but I think this is unnecessarily complicating things... I agree that all 5V 2A supplies are not created equal, and the differences can range from insignificant to relatively important. Noise, ripple and regulation can all be a factor on the operation of whatever is using it for a supply source, including the Relay G10. Frankly, I doubt that the G10 receiver is looking for a handshake from a sophisticated charging circuit, or inspecting the incoming supply voltage. Could be wrong, though -- it's happened before... ;) For the record, I frequently use mine with a power bank -- essentially, a battery -- so that I don't have to have an available AC outlet nearby all the time. It works just fine...

No insight here, just stark reality. Line 6 seems to prioritize the development of newer products over adding features or functionality to the more 'mature' ones. Tech changes so quickly, you have to be 'nimble' -- oh, how I hate that word -- to stay in front, sometimes just to keep up. I think the key term in your original post is "2014". Amplifi is old news. Considering how much of a crap-shoot they have turned updating firmware into, I'm not so sure that I'd want to attempt another update, anyway. 'Fool me once', as they say...

I'm not optimistic about the prospects of future updates for this series. And, to be honest, I'd be half-afraid of experiencing another expensive failed firmware update, such as the one that bricked my 150.

Congratulations on the new baby, a thanks for reporting back -- glad to hear that you're pretty pleased with it!

There's some risk involved, as it's no longer in production. Anything with tech in it can go bad, but some products can also have a remarkably long lifetime. I don't know if there's a body of evidence about the Variax acoustic that would point to its reliability and longevity. I certainly haven read much about it, but it wasn't something I was especially interested in when it was available. Maybe some search engine inquiries would help on this. I can say that, if the price seemed attractive, I'd seriously consider it. I have a Variax - now called the '500' - from one of the first production runs available, and it's still going strong. If the vibe seems good to you...

Suspect you mean 9V 3A, not 3W... There will undoubtedly be admonitions to use nothing but the official Line 6 supply, but the reality is any supply capable of providing a clean, stable 9VDC at 3A, with the proper polarity, will do nicely. I sometimes use a 12V battery with a 9V regulator to power my Amplifi 30. You can probably find something very reasonably-priced on a major online shopping site that starts with an 'A'... You need to do a little homework first, to assure that what you buy has the proper-sized connector and polarity. This information isn't too difficult to find. If you need additional help, send me a PM and I can give you some suggestions.

I agree with you 100%. I'm also a very experienced hardware jock who could not make this work with the Amplifi 150, and I tried it with 3 different computers, precisely as-directed, and even attempted it while on the telephone with tech support, giving a play-by-play report of the result of each step. There are plenty of similar posts about this issue on the forum. Something is wrong with the process. I had to spend $113 to send my 150 to California, and it was returned, working, without explanation, 3 weeks later. I had to ask what was done to correct the problem, and was told that it 'simply' needed to be reset to the factory default and then updated to the latest firmware version -- precisely what I was attempting to do! Thanks for your explanation of how you resolved your problem. I smell 'abandonment' of this product line, and doubt that I'll ever have to nervously contemplate a future firmware release, but I'd be tempted to go the bluetooth route, if attempting it at all.

I use my G10 for practice at home, powered by the supplied 5V wall wart. and use a USB cable with a magnetic 'breakaway' micro-USB connector on the receiver end. For outdoor and occasional live performance use, I use a 'power bank' to avoid having to have an additional AC power source nearby.

With the occasional references to the JTV neck pocket, it may be worth a mention that this doesn't apply to the JTV-59, which doesn't have a bolt-on neck...

What's old becomes new again. Sort-of... It's been quite a few years since I used Line 6 Edit to create some custom presets for my XT Live and VDI-connected Variax 500. For a long time, I neither played very often, nor had any occasion to connect the two to my computer, meaning that the situation has been static for quite some time. And, of course, in the past couple of years, I've updated most of my computers to newer versions of Windows, ending up with two music-room machines running the latest version of Windows 10. And, for whatever reason, I now find myself revisiting the XT Live, with the intention to make some tweaks and changes to make it more in line with what I'm playing these days. But there are some bumps in the road... First, Line 6 Edit is not only an unsupported orphan, it won't run, even on my one remaining XP machine -- the one on which I last used it all those years ago. In that instance, it's because of the java runtime issue, requiring the older 1.6 version that's no longer loaded on the computer. I've seen some comments here on the forum that hint at some success running the Windows 8 version in Windows 10, but have also seen some indications that it doesn't work on 64-bit Windows 10. So I read some more... I believe I saw a reference to Gearbox being a somewhat acceptable replacement for Line 6 Edit, but that's no longer supported, either! So I'm kinda flailing, here... The big question: Is there anybody out here who is currently a creating or modifying presets for the Pod XT Live and a Variax 500/600 or JTV, using Line 6 Edit, Gearbox, or ????? in Windows 10? I'd appreciate some suggestions, and it is important to be able to select the Variax model in the preset when connected via VDI cable. Is there anything that gives me the functionality that Line 6 Edit provided for the XT Live/Variax combination? Thanks for your consideration...

As a (retired) longtime electronics tech/field engineer, I'm very familiar with active vs passive electronics, especially with respect to guitars. I just misunderstood your combination term 'active/model'. If you'd also said 'passive/mag pickups' somewhere, the little light bulb may have gone off over my head. :lol: My bad, my dumb... At any rate, thanks for clearing my fog, and for taking the time to document your experience. Maybe, while I have your attention, you could comment a bit on your (general) impression of the HD models? It's one of the reasons my JTV sat in its case for so long -- I was expecting, perhaps, too much and found that I much preferred the non-HD models, and those on my 500, in particular. I'll look through the forum to see if you've weighed in on this before...

Thank you for your clarification! May the rest of your experience with the 150 be trouble free!

Hi, JTV-59 (probably earlier version) owner. Also have very early production '500' and a 600. I'm not familiar with the term 'active/model' output that you're using here. Can you clarify it for me, please? I find your posts interesting and informative, but can't quite understand what you're getting at with this one.

Analog pedals put out signals that are essentially the same as raw guitar output. You shouldn't have to worry about damaging you device by connecting a pedal on the front end.

If I might ask, did they actually inform you that they had replaced the motherboard? I suffered this same failure, sent it to Line 6 for repair, and it was returned in working order without any indication as to the problem or solution. Happy with the repair, but I appreciate being better-informed on what steps were taken to accomplish it...

Ultimately, that's a question only you can answer, based upon your tastes and preferences. Some longtime Variax users prefer the older models to the HD versions. Hate to say it, maybe, but I've not warmed to most of the HD models in my JTV59. Others think they're great. Given the age of the 700, it would have to be really cheap for me to pick one up. If the two were anywhere near close in price, I would go for a new Standard, which has currently-supported hardware and a warranty. I'd even buy it with a credit card that doubles the warranty, if possible. Just my opinion -- free! :)

Here's a link to a Knowledge Base page that gives you written instructions for doing this and also shows a video 'walkthrough'... http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/pod/pod-20-podxt-family-pocket-pod-floorpods/pod-xt-series-factory-reset-reflash-and-firm-r491 Good luck! Good luck!

Sent you a private message...

Hmmmmm... I see this has gone unanswered for quite some time. I'll provide a short explanation, even if this user doesn't return to see it... The 'whizbang', meaning the various guitar models and alternate tunings, are created by the Variax onboard electronics, and are available as outputs via a conventional 1/4" phone jack, and a special digital interface that allows direct connection to a Line 6 device, such as a multi-effects unit. The signal that's presented at the 1/4" jack is essentially identical to the signal you would get from a conventional electric guitar. There are no 'effects' -- reverb, amp modeling, compression, tremolo, etc -- it's a simple audio guitar signal, which gets processed and amplified by whatever amp or effects unit it's plugged into. If it's plugged into a plain-vanilla guitar amp, the amp just sees it as a guitar and doesn't know anything about how the signal is produced.

Cool! Thanks for confirming your success. Sounds like you need to learn to save your presets to your computer, just in case!

Thanks for adding to the knowledge base of things-that-can-go-wrong. Hope I can remember it if this happens to me at some point!