guitarno

Same here. Lots of people having this issue now. No official notice from Line 6 about an interruption of service that I have seen. Would be nice to know what is going on with connection problems to their server.

If you're not already using it for something else, plug a short jumper cable from the FX loop send to the FX Loop L/Mono return, and put an FX Loop block in your patch. Set the send to 0 DB, and the return to whatever DB of boost you want. Assign that to any foot switch for a clean boost for solos. Put it at the end of the chain if you want a plain clean boost, or in front of an amp or dist pedal to drive them harder if you want more gain.

You did notice that Monkey says it could not connect to the Line 6 server, right? I haven't been able to connect to the Line 6 servers for a few days, and others as well. I would advise you to update the USB driver, but I don't know if that's possible while Monkey is not able to connect to Line 6's server. I think this is a problem on Line 6's part, but haven't seen any official notice that their servers are down. Hopefully we'll all be able to connect soon. If your problem persists after that, reload the USB driver. Make sure you are not plugged into a USB hub.

Same here. Line 6 servers must be down?? Haven't been able to connect for days. Nothing wrong with my internet connection...

I've had intermittent trouble with the USB driver getting corrupted in OSX Mavericks. Sometimes if i start up monkey, it will report that the flash memory for the HD500X is "Unrecognized", when I know it is up to date. I also have had my iMac shutdown several times when using the HD500X & HD Edit concurrently. Try opening monkey, and updating the "USB Firmware" if you are having these problems, or any other instability or unresolved problems. I think that the USB driver is prone to getting corrupted by something - may just be my system, but may be the driver itself.

I'm buying a Mission Engineering expression pedal (EP1L6-Black) to mine. I think a second pedal will open up a lot of real time control possibilities. There are no Line 6 "Add-Ons" or model packs for the HD500(X). You can put any other pedal(s) you want in the FX loop though, if there is an effect that you prefer over the on board effects.

Is this when using the 1/4" jack only? Maybe you have a bent or dirty contact on the 1/4" jack (the little arm that contacts the tip of the plug internally). If this happens when using the VDI connector, it's probably something else. Just the bridge position pickup??? Then it's not the output jack. Maybe the internal contacts on the 3-way selector switch for the bridge position. Is this still under warranty? If it is, you may want an authorized Line 6 repair center to replace the 3-way switch. I've seen more than a few references to 3-way switch failures. If it's out of warranty and you know a little about guitar electronics you can pull the switch out (still connected) and see if there's debris in there, or corrosion on the switch contacts, or if a contact arm is just not making good contact, you can try spraying it with contact cleaner, or you may be able to bend it in slightly with a needle nose pliers (very carefully) to make better contact. Be careful when spraying the contact cleaner - It may damage the guitar's finish. You should put something over the area to avoid overspray.

I agree with the answers that Arislaf & GTLaser have given. Having updates fail is not unusual. Make sure you are not plugged into a USB hub when doing updates. You may have better results if you don't have other things connected via USB when updating. Studio/Direct is the right choice for using FRFR / P.A. / studio monitor type speakers. What model Variax are you using? As far as acoustic sounds, a lot depends on how the patch is set up. Most good acoustic patches for Variax guitars use either an amp with real clean settings, no amp at all with the Vintage Preamp and or EQ's. There are a few good patches for acoustic in the "Bass-Aco-Voc" & "L6LINK --- DT" HD500 standard patch setlists, but they may be set up more for JTV variax's. One that I like is called "DI Dreadnaught" from the "L6LINK --- DT" setlist. You should load this patch and some of the other ones in that setlist. You may need to make some adjustments for your variax. Take a look at how this patch is set up in the signal chain, and some of the other acoustic patches in this bank as well. You might want to review some or all of the following articles found in the "Knowledge Base" in the HD section: http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/effects/pod/pod-hd/pod-hd500xhd500hdhd-pro-firmware-v202-and-p-r86 http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/effects/pod/pod-hd/pod-hd500xhd500-pedal-calibration-r161 http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/effects/pod/pod-hd/video-tutorial-how-to-reset-the-pod-hd-series-r209 http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/effects/pod/pod-hd/pod-hd500xhd500pod-hdpod-hd-pro-faq-r26

Just an update on my personal struggles with OSX & HD Edit: I had my iMac crash several more times recently, all while trying to observe caution about touching the pedal while editing in HD Edit. I plugged in the HD500X power cord and went to fire up HD Edit, but it bombed out with an error message saying to re-start the HD500, HD Edit, or both. I did that several times, closing & re-opening first one, then the other, then both, all to no avail. I also tried unplugging the USB cable, (which I normally leave connected all the time). Twice while doing all of this to get HD Edit to work, my iMac re-booted itself with no warning. Very strange!... So I decided to reload the HD500 drivers & flash memory. I started up the monkey, and in the update window, the flash memory showed up as "Unrecognized". Very Very strange!... It was up to date before that - WTF?? :angry: I started by reloading the flash memory: No change. :wacko: I then reloaded the audio drivers: No change. :wacko: I then reloaded the USB Driver: Bingo! :D Now everything works again. Flash memory shows up as updated like it was before. HD Edit loads normally and (so far) is working without issue. No unauthorized reboots in OSX (so far). Looks like the USB firmware somehow got corrupted. How did it get to be corrupted? Why? Corrupted by what? All good questions that I have no answers to. All I know, and care about at this point is that it seems to be working properly (so far). The USB transmission line is the conduit for all communication between the HD500X & HD Edit, so it makes sense that if there are glitches in communication, the USB connection/Driver might be a source of the issue (emphasis on the word "might"). If you are having any similar issues, you might want to try reloading the "USB Firmware" in Line 6 Monkey. It might clear up some of your issues. I'm not saying the advice about not modifying controls on the HD500X and HD Edit at the same time is not valid. I still think that is good advice, and not following it can lead to instability and having both "out of sync" where weird things can happen. Maybe doing so can corrupt the USB firmware??

I also changed over to 11's and am using the 2.0 models. I reduced string volumes globally (was having a resonance issue on "D" string), and reduced volume on some electric models to balance them with the others. I'm generally happy with the results - more balanced, but now the mag pickups are much louder than the models. I will have to adjust the mags down to compensate. I made the change to 11's more for the feel & tone when using acoustic models, but I think in general they give you better tone on everything. For me this was a separate issue from the update to 2.0 models.

I just recently bought an L2T and am still in the learning phase, so I can't say for sure, but I believe that the acoustic body modeling feature is only available to something plugged into channel 1 of the mixer, not available if plugged in via the L6 link. So it really depends on how you hookup to the L2T. I am normally using the L6 link, but some people have said they prefer to use the XLR's on the HD500 into the XLR inputs on the L2T's mixer. If you did that, the acoustic body modeling feature would be available to the side that is plugged into channel 1. If you had a patch where the acoustic chain was panned to the side going into channel 1, I believe you could use that feature. Anyone out there know for certain?

I think the OP is asking about how to use the HD500 FX loop (not the looper) with the "4 Cable Method", not to using effects in the HD500 FX loop. Is that correct? If so, see the following posts and references: From MeAmbobo's guide for Pod HD: ---> http://foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/setup#live4CM YouTube video on HD500 & 4CM: ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyfWRZkZ7aU Line6 YouTube video on HD500 & 4CM: ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmIbByDizyM A couple posts from this site on 4CM: ---> http://line6.com/supportarchivenew/thread/69483 ---> http://line6.com/supportarchivenew/thread/74159 I hope some of this is useful. I have used 4CM before, but not with the HD500, so I can't tell you the finer points or where you want to position the FX loop in the chain. In a 4CM setup with a regular guitar amp, the effects loop on the amp sits between the guitar amp's pre-amp, and power amp. In general, I think you would want the Pod's FX loop in the middle of the chain, with effects you would normally use in front of the amp (Distortion, Compressors, Wa-Wa) before (in front of) the FX Loop, and ambient effects (Delay, Reverb) after it. Check out the links, maybe they will help clear up some of your questions.

Yeah, setting off the looper accidentally during a performance would not be good. It's unfortunate that it isn't treated like an FX block that you can add or not. Or have some way of disabling it on a per patch basis, or globally. It's a nice feature in a way for testing sounds & recording a simple phrase to solo on top of, but it's too limited for most performances. I'm glad to have it because I wanted to start experimenting with looping, but I have mixed feelings when companies include stripped down features like this in their products. I would have rather had Line 6 put the resources & DSP into better sounds & features of the base product & leave it up to the end user to add a dedicated looper in a separate unit. I'll have to try the rubber band thing or tape a cap over that switch for my next performance so I don't set it off at an inopportune moment.

I Just saw this post: ---> http://line6.com/support/topic/3205-dt25-reverb-knob-bad-after-one-year-planned-obsolesence/ Maybe it's a hardware failure on the DT25?

I actually have had my iMac crash several times lately. And I do use HD edit & the hardware simultaneously - only because I am adjusting settings and then trying them before I commit to saving the patch in it's present state, in case I want to "undo" my changes (re-load from hardware to HD Edit), seeing as how there is no undo function in the software. This could explain a lot - as I said, I have had numerous crashes recently - always while I am doing something with HD Edit & the pod, but I really hadn't put the two together for sure until reading this post. I was beginning to think it was the precursor to imminent hardware failure on my iMac. In a somewhat related post here, other users (and I) have found that some screwy things happen when you make changes in HD edit on a patch, and then use the HD500 hardware switches before doing a save to the hardware. I thought the effects of that were limited to making the patch on the hardware unstable, & not accurately reflect the settings current in HD Edit. Looks like it can also take down your computer if you don't do a save to hardware before operating the HD500 directly. I'm going to have to change the way I experiment with and create patches. I'll have to have one saved version in one preset slot & copy it to the next slot to make experimental changes, and send it to the HD500 before I try the changes. That way, if it becomes too complex to "Undo" the changes, I can get the previous version back. I'm going to have to be careful with this so I don't end up screwing up my Mac.

That's a very weird problem. You may want to try updating to the latest HD500 firmware & flash memory again, even if it's already current. It might be due to a corrupted update process. When you update you may want to be sure to follow any HD500 update procedures on the Line 6 knowledge base: ---> http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/effects/pod/ I know for updating a JTV Variax, they specify that you do NOT plug in through a USB hub. When I update any of my Line 6 stuff, I now unplug everything else (USB), and make sure nothing else is running when I do the update, just to eliminate possible computer conflicts.

Really? So this a known documented bug with OSX/HD Edit, not something particular to your machine? I'm planning on getting another expression pedal for my HD500X, so I will need to get that sorted out. You have "very little hope" that this will get fixed - why is that? How long has this "bug" been known about? Anyone ever turn in a support ticket for this?

There are some interesting synth sounds in the HD500, but as "TheRealZap" stated they're mostly monophonic & in some cases, unless you really have them set up well, they don't track perfectly. I think some of them are usable for pads, background sounds, and some for simple lead lines, but the HD500 is not really a guitar synth per se. If you want good synth tones with pretty good tracking, you should try out a Fishman Triple Play, or a roland GR-55.

You can do it two ways. 1) Use a Volume pedal FX block. If you want it on all the time, turn it on and DON'T assign any switch to turn it on or off. Go to the Controllers tab in HD edit & select the volume pedal in the list - make sure no FS switch or the Toe switch are not selected (set it to "none"). Then with it still selected in the list, set the controller assignment for the "volume" parameter to either EXP1 or EXP2. For the volume pedal to work, switch the HD500's pedal to match the one you selected. 2) Don't use a Volume pedal FX block. Go right to the Controllers tab in HD edit & select the amp your using. Then set the controller assignment for the amps "Channel Volume" parameter to either EXP1 or EXP2. Set the 2 range knobs to whatever range you want, 0% to 100%, or whatever.For the volume pedal to work, switch the HD500's pedal to match the one you selected. In either case, just DON'T assign any switch to turn it on or off.

If you want to make it quick & easy, just run a 1/4" guitar cable from the left 1/4" (summed mono) output on the HD500 to the effects return on your amp, if it has one. This WILL bypass the preamp on your amp, but you can get decent results this way. You're using your amp's tube power amp section only using this method.You may need to change the output mode and bypass the cab emulations on the HD500. If you want to use your amps preamp, then you need to run 4CM, using the FX loop module on the HD500. This is a lot more versatile but signal routing can be a lot trickier. See the 4CM section at the following link:---> http://foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/setup#live4CM There are a number of posts here about using 4CM you might want to check out.

To the OP's point of needing videos, the following link is the complete set of Line 6's videos: http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/general-faq/line-6-video-tutorials-complete-list-r202 Have you looked through these? These are also on Line 6's YouTube page. There are also a lot of user created instructional videos on YouTube that you might need to watch. Some of them are helpful, some are just guys noodling with presets and aren't much help, but there are some decent ones out there. I understand your frustration in not getting what you want right away, but the HD500 is a complicated beast. There's a lot of good tones to be had, but it does take work and time to understand it and get the most out of it. Complicated powerful modelers are by their very nature, well... complex! If you've been using different modelers for years, it's a lot easier to understand how they work & how to set them up, but they all have a learning curve that you have to go through - just like learning to play guitar - you have to pay your dues, or you won't be successful! If this is your first modeler, then it's going to take some time to wrap your mind around the layout & controls - it will come with time. Just download some basic tones from Custom tone, or better yet set up a few real basic patches on your own (one amp, one or two effects, dead simple), that you can use to play for the moment, and in your spare time, watch the videos, take a factory or customtone patch that you like & start going through how it is set up - try to analyze what each module does, how the different parameters affect the tone - experiment with settings. As a previous poster said, initially, set up patches to mimic how you would with your physical pedalboard effects and your amp.

Yes, 8 Years is normally way too long for tubes. It really depends on how many hours they have on them and how many times they've been turned on/off. An 8 year old tube with no hours or use may be in perfect condition, but if you're using you're amp a lot, replacing them yearly or less is not uncommon, depends on the hours. If this amp's been getting a lot of use, and the tubes are 8 years old it's amazing they haven't failed before. Your amp would probably sound better with all new tubes (good ones).

Wow! Way over my head as far as cost, but I don't need a battery backup unit. Furman is a good company so I'm sure it's a good unit. I'm looking for something a lot cheaper and simpler for my needs.

That's a nice little guide on EQ from Presonus. Thanks for the link! B) I'll have to admit that I don't know the finer points of proper EQ, and it's one of those things that I think can make or break a good sound. I do see a lot of DH500 patches with numerous EQ block's in them. Sometimes it's apparent why they are there but sometimes I'm not sure. Some of the HD500 EQ blocks don't seem real intuitive to me, but it's probably my lack of experience with them.

That's a good question. I would like to know what if anything people use for power conditioning / protection from spikes. I don't currently use anything except for a generic power strip which does offer some level of overload protection, but it's not anything built for audio or amps. I've seen references to local power supplies that have extraneous noise or are under or over voltage that can lead to poor performance & sound from audio devices, but I don't really know what specific units are good for guitar amps and electronics, or if it is not really necessary. Is anyone out there using something they would recommend?