eenymason

Some HD500X purchasers maybe. Firehawk is obviously aimed at a different market, so no, I disagree there. Other brands - whatever. That's called competition -people swap sides sometimes - so what? I don't believe a marketing hype like this usually occurs so far out from release. And that's what this is - marketing.

A general observation on the nature of posts in this topic - ok it's directed at the people who are most likely to be standing next to the microwave waiting a whole 30 seconds for their meal to reheat and tapping their feet with impatience.... Take a few deep breaths and relax - I'm not going to pre-order this damned Helix beastie, just because I don't need it. I never will need it. I may in time want it, and I'm sure I'll be happy with it, (even taking into consideration limitations - what I WANT it to do, compared to what it CAN do). If you need it to be on in 5 seconds, don't turn it off. If you need to anticipate the 2ms gap in between patches then just get on with it - that's what I do, and I don't lollipop about it. These products from Line 6 aren't magic wand driven. It's all zeros and ones, and current high speed processor driven with limitations. Could your trusty old Les Paul/Stratocaster into a couple of effect pedals, and a Marshall amp do all that the current setup you have can do? Everywhere you look there are limitations. (Insert Frozen song here: Let it Go, Let it Go, ....ad infinitum). If and when I buy one, to replace one of my HD500s, it will be because I know it will deliver all the flexibility I will need to create a diverse range of (Variax) guitar/tuning/amp/effect combinations in order to play whatever the hell I want to play, WITHOUT having to take all the gear I ever bought (AND sold, so that's impossible anyway) - you know what I'm saying.... Line 6 don't care if you (yes I'm pointing at you foot tappers), don't pre-order their latest, (allegedly) greatest, hyped to within an inch of it's yet to be born life product. They KNOW their product will have limitations, just as of right now, they're still figuring out just how much. Currently my only wish is that Line 6 hadn't started all this pre-release game of sneaking out some information to entice the snarling, slathering beasts.

You'll have to set up copies of the patch (4 in total) and set the harmoniser in the first to F#, the second to E and the third to D, with whatever interval you've worked out - I think it'd be -2 or whatever (without having the pod in front of me to check), and switch between the patches to the relevant harmoniser key (already activated within the patch). It's totally do-able, though IMHO, it's a PITA just for 30 seconds of playing time in one song. There IS a way to do this on your own, without the harmoniser. You can check out the video here ( ) and observe and learn the sections played individually, between 0:49 and 1:19 - then you put the parts together, and play the parts simultaneously. I play the first section slightly differently to the guy in the video, (otherwise this isn't possible to do all together on your own) - all the notes on the one fret, be it the 11th (F#), 9th (E), or 7th (D) I play with the index finger across the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th strings, allowing the notes to ring out where they naturally want to, and the hammer on/off with the middle finger. This leaves your ring finger free to do the other hammer on/off parts of the harmony run. It'll feel like a combination of meditation and yoga for a fair while (particularly the frustration and pain parts), but it'll come naturally after a while... :) It's not always about the gear! I think sometimes gear that has all the bells and whistles can make us a bit lazier than we need to be.

Actually I HAVE read both threads entirely. This information I am giving is to help you. A better attitude and some understanding would be appreciated. I would suggest that maybe you didn't read the other thread in it's entirety. I get that you're after a replacement jack plate cover like you find on the JTVs. The fact that the thread I linked to was asking about a suitable lead is not relevant to our discussion about the jack plate assembly - it's all part of the big picture. The full compass link to the jack plate assembly is for the JTV version. I have successfully connected this unit to the guts of a 300 and a 600 (in a couple of transplants I did). Lee Steel has fitted one to his 500 successfully. Regardless of psarkissian's opinion that they are not interchangable (with the original 300/500/600 jackplate assembly) as a unit - they indeed are, and apart from buying another 500 for parts, it's your best option. The cover assembly won't be available on it's own.

Order the entire jack plate assembly at Full Compass - details contained in this thread... http://line6.com/support/topic/13907-vdi-ethernet-cable/

see above reply to psarkissian re "correctness" of the jack plate you ordered...... I'm sure I'm not just imagining being connected to my PodHD500 via VDI each week I gig...

Interesting to read this comment about the JTV jack not being suitable for older variaxes, psarkissian - I contacted my local service agent in Sydney, and was told they ARE interchangable. Indeed ,to my knowledge, the older style are no longer being made - maybe you could confirm this for me? Maybe you could post a link to the jack we older variax owners SHOULD be ordering? EDIT NOTE: I did a search on full compass for "variax jack plate" and it returned this: http://www.fullcompass.com/search.php?parent=471&search_simple=true&txtAll=variax+jack+plate+assembly I went ahead and ordered two, and despite a slight size difference, which required a little chiselling inside the 300 to allow it physically fit, (physically fit, physically fit ;) ). The connections are modular, and it is a bit of a PITA to swap over, as you need to remove the pickguard in order to allow internal access to disconnect the jack from the pcb, and the earth connection inside the cavity. Once this is done, replace, and reassemble. It's not rocket science, but also not for big clumsy fingers, which I'm sure you don't have, if you're a guitarist ( :lol: ). If you know how to change a light globe in your car, you'll laugh at the idea of taking a product that's clearly not covered by warranty to a service centre (how far away?), for a qualified (!) tech to do something that really isn't that hard. MAKE SURE you take note of where the model selector is when you remove it for taking off the pickguard. I would suggest moving it to either of the custom positions, at the end of it's rotation. Putting it back on HAS TO BE in the same position from whence it came, otherwise your model selection is screwed up.

As on the other post - forget trying to do this with the Pod or Variax - pitch shift the backing track to 440!

I guess the backing track's a digital file - why not just pitch shift it the teeny bit it would need to bring it to 440? Plenty of audio software would do this for you - I'm thinking Cool Edit as one example - an old but very useful piece of software IMO.

Sweet - thanks so much for the speedy response!!!!

Do I need to update to 2.62 to be able to use these patches? Are they compatible with 300/600 variaxes or only JTV?

Interesting to see this has moved from "Active" to "In Review" in Ideascale and also a comment from Digital Igloo: "We tested Helix's legibility extensively. Those with the worst eyesight in the building (their words, not mine) gave their thumbs up." I only hope there are some with eyes as bad as mine involved with the process.... ;) Thanks for the reply DI

Damn straight - thanks for that CH!!

Hi to all of you heavily anticipating the release of Helix. My two cents FWIW: Looks like Line 6 are on the right path with this release, with so many improvements on the HD series - and for sure Yamaha would be in agreement, otherwise they wouldn't have come to join the party. One thing I'd love to see in one of the first Firmware updates (assuming it isn't already onboard - I doubt it is), is the ability to make full use of the increased screen real estate, and have available a mode which is LARGE TEXT so that us oldies (I know there a lot of us), whose eyes aren't what they used to be, be able to read the list patch names without having to bend or kneel down to read it. The bonus is for the younger users out there, they can read it from the other side of the stage!!! Please check Ideascale and vote!!! Regards, Ian.

I haven't done this on the JTV69, but certainly have on the older 600, and also now on two strat clones I transferred the guts of the 600 and a 300 into. It certainly shouldn't be glued to the point of it not being removable. It is a very tight slot, and minimal glue would have been used. When you think about it, a really tight slot, and only having downward pressure from the strings (effectively holding it in place), makes sense that minimal glue would be used. Light taps with a slot screwdriver (alternating sides, just til any glue holding it, has it's seal broken), then make the taps upward angled, to lift the nut instead of trying to slide it all the way across the slot. Once you have it up enough on one end, easing said screwdriver under will help to lever it out. I replaced mine with graphtech nuts, and had to sand the underside of the new ones a little at a time so the height matched the ones I removed. I didn't mess with the slots - just used them pre-slotted as they came from the factory. I just used a couple of dabs of wood glue to hold it in place.

Ok, so I finally decided on how to cover up those pesky holes in my pickguards where the magnetic pickups used to be on my Varicasters.... I considered badges from actual pickups (ie F100 and the like), but these others are far sexier IMHO. Besides, over here in Orstraya we don't actually call em pickups - we call em utes, and that's just not sexy :lol:

FYI there have been people on this track before, regarding string tension (more specifically evenness of tension across the strings), and here's a link to what may or may not be your cup of tea.... http://www.zacharyguitars.com/Strings.htm Interesting site - not for the faint of heart when it comes to listening to somebody rant (with a few swear words thrown in) about something they're pretty passionate about. You've been warned! ;) I've been using 10-52s on my Strats for about 35 years, all the while bending high E, B, and G strings up to 4 semitones in standard tuning without much drama. Obviously your fingers need to be in pretty good shape, and once out of practice, it takes a while to get back into shape. I've not actually used the strings in the link, and don't consciously think about the differences in string tensions - they are what they are.... SRV played 13-60s (admittedly tuned down a semitone). but nothing was going to stop him and his big bends eh!!! Sometimes ya just gotta put ya back into it!

Hi from a former Hobartian - moo you bloody choir.... I bought a Variax 600 from McCanns about 5-6 years back - they were getting out of Line 6 dealership at that point. I believe Modern Musician are able to get Line 6 stuff in - go and give them some advice about the benefits of having the Variax Standard on their display wall. I believe the Standard is going to be the most Strat-like of any of the Variaxes. The 600 was pretty close, though the headstock was a bit different of course, and pick-guard also. The tremelo failed after a few years (some people love em, but the metal in these two post systems is not good), and I never really loved the neck either. But I had my 1971 Strat to compare it to, so maybe that's not really fair on the Variax 600 neck, which I worked on, to get it closer to the Strat feel-wise. My preferred option as a Strat-fiend, was to transplant the guts of the 600 (and also a 300 I bought 2nd hand) into Strat clones (1 maple fretboard, 1 rosewood), painted them both Fiesta Red, reliced them, and hey presto. A bit of work, but I got just what I wanted. Obviously no JTV features, but I control the Vaxplant from my Pod HD500 anyway, and have all my alternate tunings etc accessible that way. Just planting seeds here....

exactly the same

This may well have been pointed out in these forums before, not sure..... In trying to work out an alternative to using the expression pedal to control the pitch parameter on the Pitch Glide on my Pod HD500, for the song Lonely Boy by Black Keys, I stumbled on this. You can set the pitch parameter to be controlled by the variax tone (or volume) control, and with Min set at 25% and Max set at 50%, you have a very usable tremelo. With JTV you can lock the tone or volume control per patch, but even on non JTV this effect is very usable with little tone drop, when you don't need to do big dive bomb tremelo usage. Great for soloing Jimi Hendrix style, etc.... As it turned out, I stuck with the expression pedal for that song, but I'm glad I stumbled upon this for other uses - sometimes my real tremelo chucks it out of tune if I go too crazy mid song... :rolleyes:

This may well have been pointed out in these forums before, not sure..... In trying to work out an alternative to using the expression pedal to control the pitch parameter on the Pitch Glide on my Pod HD500, for the song Lonely Boy by Black Keys, I stumbled on this. You can set the pitch parameter to be controlled by the variax tone (or volume) control, and with Min set at 25% and Max set at 50%, you have a very usable tremelo. With JTV you can lock the tone or volume control per patch, but even on non JTV this effect is very usable with little tone drop, when you don't need to do big dive bomb tremelo usage. Great for soloing Jimi Hendrix style, etc.... As it turned out, I stuck with the expression pedal for that song, but I'm glad I stumbled upon this for other uses - sometimes my real tremelo chucks it out of tune if I go too crazy mid song... :rolleyes:

Bridge pics also... well I knew those strings were due to be changed, but they are mighty rusty under the microscope!!!!!

Hi clay-man, I've been down this road. The TUSQ will definitely improve your situation. Trees may also, but I don't use those on mine. The curve may affect playability slightly, but I didn't use slot files on mine either. Remove the original nut and get the TUSQ nut alongside so you can see exactly what needs to be sanded away so it's the same dimensions. Not externally, but to the depth of of the original slots. The TUSQ barely has any depth to the slots - I personally like this, as there's even less surface area to "grab" the string - although I'm sure there are those who would say this a moot point. It's up to you on where to take the meat off, but I reckon filing perfect slots would be harder than taking the meat off the underside of the nut so it sits down lower. You'll also need to sand the ends to be the correct length. The other part of the equation for me was a no-brainer when I pulled out the LRBaggs bridge at some point (I think I was giving the 600 a good clean one time with all the strings off), and noticed how badly worn the pivot points were. The only way around this (which I feel to be the the bigger problem) on a 600 is to either replace the Baggs with another higher quality two post system, or ideally the 6 screw "Strat" type. I did the entire transplant thing (as I've already mentioned in this forum), and don't miss the 600 body/neck at all. Here are some pics. Good luck. Ian.

Always VDI. I guess I could go into Workbench and lower all the string volumes apart from the two problem strings to count that in or out as the reason for that curiosity. Thanks for all your info!

Thanks for that info. One more question for you or anyone else.... Why would the tuner register there's a string being plucked, yet I hear no sound from the strings in question. I can tune all 6 strings, but only hear 4 when switching the tuner off (in the Pod HD500). Surely this is key to the problem, and may well point at the A/D converters I'm guessing.... cheers again.