maxnew40

I still didn't get to my HD500 last night, but we have a drummer audition tonight so I will get the serial number and file a ticket. I also do not believe that the my power supply got flaky at the exact moment I updated the firmware. I do believe that the power up sequence is now different in some way. I can't imagine the firmware change actually making either the JTV or the HD500 draw more current. I really hope this can be resolved with a firmware update in the future. -Max

Getting mad at people on an internet forum is just as pointless as trying to warn the characters on the screen at a movie to not go in that house. It might make you feel better but everyone around you is snickering. -Max

I didn't submit a ticket yet as I have to get to my HD500 to get the serial number off of it to be able to submit a ticket. As far as the PSU unit goes. In my experience these little power supply units typically are not designed and manufactured to give a perfect voltage at max current draw. It is very possible that the new POD firmware is doing something a little different when powering up the POD and the JTV. If they are both trying to power up at the same time then they are going to be drawing current from both devices which may cause a slightly out of spec PSU to drop the voltage and if you have any experience with digital gear you will know that voltage drops are nearly always going to cause problems. I don't have another PSU to try either and at the price that Line 6 sells them for I am not going to chance purchasing a new one in the off chance that it may resolve this issue. If I can get to my POD tonight I will submit a support ticket. -Max

What some of us don't understand is what is exactly is the point of the original post? What was it supposed to accomplish? This type of look at me posts usually draw well deserved ridicule. It isn't that I don't like what he has to say (you completely failed at mind reading by the way) as I could care less what device he is using or what car he drives or pretty much anything about the guy. I come here to read about how to use my HD500 better and to find out about upcoming releases and such. Posts about how Joe Blow has decided that he wants to use some other device doesn't contribute anything to HD500 users as far as I can tell. It seems the point of the post was akin to posting what he had for dinner or what he watched on television last night (hey everyone look at me!). -Max

Thanks, I wanted to be sure since it is not uncommon to write HD500 even if you have the HD500X. I didn't have time to check to see if removing the JTV battery has any effect last night. Based on the results above it seems that if the JTV is fully powered up (by connecting the 1/4 inch) then the HD500 is powering up correctly. It seems that there may be an issue with current draw while powering up both the guitar and the HD500. You can hear the JTV powering up (sounds like a relay clicking) when the HD500 powers up. Knowing how variable these little power supplies can be, it would make sense that some of them may dip the voltage under that maximum current draw when powering up both the guitar and HD500. -Max

Can anyone who responded that they did not experience this issue tell me if they are running the HD500 or the HD500X? -Max

I wonder if he sends this type of stuff to a car manufacturer when he switches brands? Sorry Gillette but your blades just aren't cutting it for me any more. I want to let everyone know that I am switching to a much more expensive boutique brand of blades and I just wanted to pop in here to let you know that you should now feel inferior to me. -Max

I will try removing the battery from the Variax, it is the only variable that is different on my system. It isn't a show stopper but is very annoying from a usability standpoint (I test software for a living). -Max

The fawn sounded good to me with the right guitar. On some guitars it sounded just right and with others not so great. I think it sounded better with single coils to me. -Max

I used the dongle to update both of my JTV guitars. Both JTV guitars have the battery installed. Both JTV guitars were connected to the HD500 via the VDI cable made for performance (not the cheap cable that comes with the dongle. I have the HD500 and not the HD500X. I tried a JTV 59 and a JTV69 both with different VDI cables. I have not changed the way I have anything connected and I did not have this problem with the older firmware versions. I will submit a support ticket tonight when I have the serial number handy. -Max

As soon as I get home to get the serial number and other info I will submit a service ticket. I have verified that there is a real easily duplicated issue with this new firmware when powering up the HD500 with a JTV connected via VDI. If you power up without the JTV connected there will be no problem. -Max

OK, I have verified that this is an easily repeatable problem with the new firmware. On My HD500 with the new firmware and a JTV59 and JTV69 with two different VDI cables (not the cables for the USB dongle but the real VDI cable for performance). All you need to do to make the POD completely unusable is to power up the HD500 while the JTV is connected. After power up The foot switches do nothing and the POD is in a bad state. The only way to fix this issue is to power off the POD disconnect the JTV and power up the POD and then connect the JTV after the POD has finished powering up. I will be submitting a ticket as I feel this is a serious defect in the new firmware that needs to be resolved. -Max

The only issue I have had with the new firmware was one time the tuner wasn't working right and the only thing that fixed it was to unplug the VDI and then plug it back in. No amount of power cycling the pod would fix the tuner. -Max

I love my Fender SuperSonic amp and will probably never sell that amp. I use the dream rig with an L2 speaker for gigging these days though. -Max

I have both the JTV 59 and a JTV69 and I have a band rehearsal tonight. I am going to test powering up with the 59 and then the 69 connected and see if I can reproduce this issue. -Max

Have you tried placing the flanger in front of the amp and then after the amp? It will sound different depending on where it placed. -Max

I found the pre versions great when using an actual amp. I found them incredibly terrible when going FRFR which makes sense because a pre amp with no power amp, speakers, or mic isn't expected to sound good. -Max

The lack of a power switch has never been an issue with me. It would be just another point of possible failure and nearly everyone has the crappy power supply unit connected to a power strip anyway. -Max

The pitch glide is not going to make a 6 string sound like a 12 string guitar in case that is what you were trying to achieve. a 12 string has the b and e strings tuned in unison and the other strings tuned in octaves. You can't do that with a pitch shifter. -Max

I have been gigging with my JTV variax for a over a year and have not had any issues with my VDI cable yet. I do have a spare just in case though. -Max

I have purchased three L2m speakers in the last several months and none of them have had this issue. -Max

We found some L3s and L3s for sale. However a sales rep told us that the L3 speakers were most likely repaired speakers that were sent back from dealers for the fan repair. It still seems that no one has the M20D in stock yet. -Max

I had an issue this last weekend where the tuner wouldn't work right until I unplugged my Variax JTV and plugged it back in. You are not the first to report an issue with powering up while the Variax is plugged in. Please be sure to submit a support ticket with Line 6. I am sure as soon as they see a few of these they will investigate and fix it. -Max

What is not unsubstantiated rumor is that many of the European sellers of this gear already state the product is discontinued. This is not rumor but fact. Guitar Center no longer carries this stuff, but claim they can special order it. Does this mean that Line 6 is not going to make it anymore? We can't really be sure, it may be that these dealers have found that they can't sell enough if this stuff to make it worth having any stock on hand. For myself I am not that worried about if the product is discontinued as long as Line 6 supports the units for many years down the road. I love my L2 speakers and our band plans on buying two L3s, L3s, and an M20D, but even finding these pieces in stock anywhere has been a real challenge. -Max

Line 6 didn't design the USB connector and that same connector is used a ton of computer gear, I don't think a broken USB connector has anything to do with the product reliability. I deal with computer and printer hardware every day at my job and I don't think I have seen on of those get broken before. I have seen them get loose depending on how they were mounted but not broken. How did that thing break, did the unit get dropped? I really do think you should sell your gear as in my mind you seem to have an unrealistic expectation for this stuff. Real amps and stomp boxes don't have computers and USB interfaces which can add more points of possible failure. If you are looking for drop dead reliability I would also avoid tube amps, maybe a Roland JC120 would fit the bill. For anyone else following the thread I will try and do some testing to see if I discovered a repeatable firmware issue or if it was just an anomaly. -Max