d1stewart

I solved the problem, kind of. Maybe this is a bug. The originally posted problem happens--it starts up in "failed update" mode--if and only if I have a tone preset with "No amp" as the model in tone slot 1A. Any amp model other than "No amp," and it starts up normally and plays normal. I don't know why it should be that I can't have a preset with no amp at 1A, but that appears to be the case. It only took me about a day to test presets to figure out the variable that was causing the problem...

In short, if I leave the amp off for more than a few minutes, it starts up with all four Tone LEDs flashing, as if a firmware update has failed, even though it hasn't. Only way to get it back to operating condition is to restart in factory reset mode. Then I have none of my patches in it. And it's useless to save any, because it will just . . . repeat the cycle. Any ideas as to why and how to fix? Longer: Turned it on Monday, it started up with all four Tone LEDs flashing. Okay, that's failed update mode. What update? I didn't try to install an update. So I did the latest update (which was already in there, by the way). It failed. I went one update back. It succeeded. Go through the setup process again, turn it on fresh--- Starts up with all four Tone LEDs flashing again. So I tried the latest update (again). The Updater said it succeeded. (By the way, it seems to take longer when installed by USB than Bluetooth.) Factory reset... okay, it's working. Reinstall my patches to the amp hardware... Turn it off for the night. Next morning, turn it on... Starts up with all four Tone LEDs flashing again. Do the factory reset (power on with Tone and volume knob depressed), and it's fine, except, of course, I'm back to factory settings and all my patches are gone. Put my patches back, last night. Turn it off. Turn it on, it's fine. Turn it off. Turn it on, it's fine. Go to bed. This morning, I turn it on fresh--- Starts up with all four Tone LEDs flashing again. Factory reset lets it operate, but then I'm back to factory patches, not mine. Okay, so... this is going to keep happening? Line 6? Any ideas why my amp keeps telling me it has failed to update the firmware if I turn it on after leaving it off for more than a few minutes? It's kind of useless to me like this.

When will it be released? I've had mine on order (and payed for) with Sweetwater for a couple months at least. When will it ship?

They have a Helix editor. It looks just like the Amplifi iPad editor, except for a touch of difference in the effects chain depiction. Surely this is an Amplifi editor too. If not, it easily could be. It ought to be.

Knew it.

That's the question: Is the VDI cable simply a ruggedized Ethernet cable with standard Ethernet wiring, or is the wiring different? Do some of the wires go to a different place in the RJ45 connector? I can make an ethernet cable easily. I have a VDI from Line 6, but it's 25', which is a bit long for my little room studio; I'd like to use a 10'er or something like that. If it's different does anyone have the wiring diagrammed?

Thank you, Uber!

There's not much guidance in the HD500 manuals, so I'm trying to figure out: Can I use the POD HD500 as a USB audio interface, with microphone plugged into the XLR mic jack, Variax into the VDI, and a bass plugged into the guitar input? I want to be able to play through with guitar (or bass) and vocals at the same time, playing through POD Farm (maybe) and into GarageBand. Does that work? I can't figure out from the manual (and haven't received my HD500 yet to check live) whether the vocal goes through a separate route and is thus unaffected by the guitar effects patch. I appreciate clarification on this. Thanks!

From what I can see in the specs available online, the TonePort UX2 seems to be the same electronic hardware as the Pod Studio UX2, the difference being cosmetic (red face vs. black). I know the software you can get--Pod Farm 1.x vs. 2.x--is different. Am I missing something, or are they identical in terms of specifications of the hardware? The use of the same name seems to indicate they're identical.

How'd you do it? Was it a tough thing to put pickups in it? I guess I could do with a set of Strat pickups in my 500... Looks really good--love the pick guard.

Where did you get the decal, and can others get it?

That's what the 69 headstock looks like to me. The 59 (from the 500) is nice. Well, I'm going to have my 500 neck transplanted onto my 69 body, and vice versa. Then I'll sell the 569.

Funny, I've been thinking about the same thing, and had even printed a template Strat pick guard to see what I could come up with. I'd go a bit further to bring the pg around the bridge, as on a Strat, and take some of the points out from the JTV design. All in all, the JTV is a sonic stroke of art, but the aesthetics of the guitar--primarily the pick guard and headstock--are poor. That headstock is amateurish and ugly in its design, and the pick guard is crude. It suffers from being, I think, an attempt to avoid looking like the Strat pick guard.

Well, that gives me an idea. I am getting a JTV-69. I have a 500. Perhaps I can string my 500 with acoustic strings and put all acoustic models on it, and use it for acoustic only. (Or, as I told my wife I would, I can sell the 500 to pay for part of the 69. That does have some virtue to it too.)

So that sounds fun. How did electric models sound with the acoustic guitar strings? I wonder if one could do a mixed set with... I dunno, bronze for the A and D, e.g., steel for the other four... and get an improved sound without losing anything in electric models.

I have a Variax 500, the kind with the battery box for 6 AA batteries. I'd love to put a JTV-style battery into it. Does anyone know if this could be switched in for the stock battery box?

Just a guess, as they're rebating on the current Variaxes. Anyone hear whisperings about a new Variax release coming soon?

Pauls are heavier than Strats. Is the Paul-shaped 59 heavier than the Stratish 69? If so, by much? Has anyone actually weighed their Variax?

The Remote app is kind of meh, a first blush, really needs better thinking about organization of patches, search facility, and design. It's too slow and complicated to make one's way through. It is terrible for sorting -- that is, there is no sorting, it's alphabetical and that's it. And the search facility for cloud searches is badly crippled by the 30-results limit. But here's one thing that could be done and I think should be done immediately: Put the toolbar, with at least the Level icon, at the bottom of every screen. One-touch (or maybe even no-touch; put a level control on each screen) Level access is critical. Currently the toolbar with the Level icon is at the bottom of the three Tools screen, but it should be added to the Music Library, My Tones, Tone Search, and Amplifi 75 screens too.

Here's what's missing from this: Since the search results are limited to 30, and it's always the top 30, first, they need to change this on the iOS/Android device app. If you search for Line (e.g.), you get 30. There are more than 30. How can you determine which 30 the app decides to serve up? You can't. Download one to your device, search again, the same one(s) you already have still pop up. It's a very poor search facility. Second, as this is all happening through Bluetooth, there is good reason to create desktop machine applications for the AmpliFi. I use the 75 in my office and home studio, and it would be good to be able to interact with the amp from the desktop iMac. Third, there should be some kind of website reference or repository (the latter especially if they make a desktop app) for amp patches. That way one could see sorted and unlimited lists of patches, and searching would also be much easier.

It's the former, not the latter. You can load four new presets, with all models and effects, and cut off the iDevice connection. And if it were just streaming audio from the Amplifi Remote app, there'd be latency, making it unplayable.

First: I suspect that in pushing stuff in and out without really knowing what does what, Tones2 turned down the guitar in the mix inadvertantly. Thus he got a "not loud at all" result. Mine, which I didn't just test in the store but brought home, is quite loud, though it didn't peel the paint off my walls or turn my eardrums to flaccid bubblegum. It's 75 watts. But only 75 watts. I compared it to a 10W, and it wasn't even close, the Amplifi blew it away. Second: I don't know why I keep hearing that tone matching only works with tunes you buy in the iTunes store. It works on mine with everything I've recorded from my CDs. There isn't usually an exact tone for much, but there are plenty of tone matched suggestions. I don't have to buy any track to get tone matching working. Third: I thought the presets were decent, a good range and good illustration. (I must admit, sometimes I think that the "all the presets suck, which is to be expected," is just tone-snob boasting--"Those guys don't know jack about tone, I know all about it!" I've never failed to find a strong complement of excellent presets in every pedal or amp I've ever bought, Boss, Peavey, Line 6, Zoom, Roland, etc. Sure, most contain among their hundreds lots of weird patches that really just illustrate how one particular effect works. But always lots of very usable stuff too. I find all four presets on the Amplifi 75 to not suck.)