silverhead

Pressing any one of the A-D footswitches will recall the preset in the exact state in which it was last SAVEd. The individual FX will be on or off as they were when you saved the preset. So pressing A the first time will recall the preset as just described. Pressing A again will simply recall the saved preset again - it will not turn all FX off and deliver a clean signal. You must turn each FX on/off individually using the assigned FX footswitch. Note that you can assign multiple FX to the same footswitch. Pressing B will recall that preset in its last-saved state. Yes - you can only have one preset active at a time.

ABCD mode allows you to use 4 footswitches (those labelled A-D) to select among the 4 presets in the current bank of presets. The other 4 footswitches can be assigned to turn individual FX in the preset on/off. FS5-8 mode allows you to use all 8 footswitches as FX controllers. In this mode you need to use the Bank Up/Down switches to change presets.

Make sure you download and install the Line 6 driver on your computer before trying to update using the USB connection.

There's a folder/window option in Windows that permits/prevents you from viewing and editing the file name extension. Experiment with the Folder View options and you will find it soon enough. Just another case of Microsoft assuming that all users are stupid and attempting to protect us from ourselves by limiting our capabilities.

For best results I would get a pair of studio monitors, with at least 6" speakers. Your local audio store should have a variey of selections on display for listening comparisons. Bring an mp3 player with some music you usually listen to and select the speakers that you think sound best. Test them at the volumes you expect to be playing at.

As described you cannot connect your usb speakers to the POD. After connecting the POD HD via usb you can try to reset your Mac to use its internal sound card rather than the POD. This would let you continue to use your usb speakers to listen to your backing tracks but I don't think you will be able to hear the sound being produced by the POD unless you also run your DAW (Garageband/Logic). Doing this will allow you to monitor the POD sounds using your DAW while also hearing the backing tracks, all through your usb speakers. Note, however, that you will be hearing a much reduced quality of sound from the POD because it is being routed back through your computer's (inferior) sound card. You overall experience will be much better if you purchase non-usb speakers/monitors and connect them directly to the POD.

I edited my earlier post for Q#1 - does that clarify things?

1) Not sure what you mean here. The POD HD is a physical hardware device, not an application. If you mean the HD Edit program it communicates with the POD HD via usb but the POD HD produces the sound. There is no sound processing without the HD device connected. You can run the Edit application standalone (without the POD connected) to inspect the editor settings with downloaded tone files but you won't hear anything. If you mean using the POD HD without connecting it to your computer or anything else you will need to use headphones or connect speakers to the POD outputs. Unfortunately the POD does not support usb speakers. 2) Connect the POD HD to your Mac via usb. It will become your Mac's soundcard and will be available as the audio input to GarageBand or Logic. However, being your soundcard, your speakers will need to connect directly to the POD, not your computer, to hear anything. Again, usb speakers are not supported.

They are two very different devices. The POD HD is much more powerful, supports dual paths, is much more flexible and capable in terms of signal routing, and has a PC -based editor. Firehawk FX has convenient tone matching features, a larger cloud-based library of presets, and has a mobile devices-based editor. There is a greater learning curve with the POD HD but it will (imho) deliver better tones once you learn how to use it.

It's already been determined, in your two other threads on this same topic, that nothing anyone submits or suggests will satisfy you in this regard. http://line6.com/support/topic/25356-i-bet-the-helix-cannot-replicate-this-tone/?view=findpost&p=194832 http://line6.com/support/topic/25138-can-i-please-ask-for-a-favour-from-pod-hd500x-owners/?view=findpost&p=192570 I suggest the community simply ignore this thread. At the very least, before posting read the above two threads completely and know what you can expect if you choose to respond.

Yes - this represents a lot of work. Your generosity is appreciated!

Here's one of the POD HD bibles. http://foobazaar.com/podhd/toneGuide/ Check out section IX, especially subsections B and C. Many thanks again to forum member meambobbo who wrote this extremely valuable resource. He's not around here as much anymore (we miss him!) but he's been kind and generous enough to keep this site available and up to date.

Well, yes and no. The thing is, what you are asking about is not specific to Line 6 so no - there is no official Line 6 documentation about such. Line 6 models real world equipment, and - yes - the descriptions and info you ask about is available in the original source documenatatoin from each device manufacturer on the internet. One of our kind and generous forum members took it upon himself to create a site in the context of Helix that provides links to the product descriptions for the devices that are modelled by Helix. Whether modelled by Helix or the POD, the descriptions of the settings and what they do are the same. This site should give you hours of reading to understand things. Unfortunately there's no short cut. As you have already discovered there are very many FX with a lot of terms and concepts. These will take a long time and a lot of study to understand fully. Just dive in one piece at a time and experiment with th device while reading. It will come gradually. http://helixhelp.com/pmwiki.php

If I understand your routing your headphones are monitoring a doubled signal from both the POD and the mic. Once directly and again from the PA Aux send back to your mixer. Is there perhaps some phase issue going on? How do things sound if you disconnect the Aux feed and just listen to the direct POD/mic inputs in your mixer? Or perhaps there's a signal level issue? Maybe the PA Aux Send is line level output while your personal mixer is expecting mic level input?

Here are the update instructions. Let us know exactly where things break down. http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/effects-controllers/m5-m9-m13/m5m9-firmware-update-instructions-r308

Knowing that it's a Variax Standard eliminates one structural problem that sometimes exists with the JTV-59; that's why I asked. Sometimes with the 59 guitar the Model knob is prevented from being fully depressed by contact with the guitar body. But I haven't heard of that issue with the Variax Standard so it must be something else. You seem certain that it's not the battery. Can you tell us whether or not the green charge-indicator lights on the battery casing confirm that the battery is fully charged? How many green lights do you see? There could be an issue with the battery itself or the battery charger. I suggest the trouble shooting should be aimed at determining whether your issue is your battery/charger (which can be replaced) or whether the guitar has an internal hardware issue and needs servicing. If it's convenient I would try another (new, fully charged) battery or other power source. If you don't have a spare battery you might be able to find one at a local Line 6 retailer. There is also an external Variax charger kit that uses AC power, and there is the Variax VDI connection that must be used with a Variax-compatible Line 6 multi-FX guitar processor (e.g. POD HD500/Pro or Helix). Again your local retailer should be able to set you up with one of these options.

I am interested in getting to the bottom of this strange behaviour, Guitarmaniac64, primarily to show that there is a clear explanation that does not involve 'dictator mods'. Here's what I suggest to set up a controlled experiment: You, Guitarmaniac64, start a new thread with a title something like "Testing thread deletion behaviour". Describe your intentions and plan in the opening post. Include a link to this thread and request that someone else make a post (NOT a moderator - we have special permissions and that's not what we want to test with). These posters should copy the link to your test thread, or 'follow' it using the forum tool. After one or more non-moderators post something, you delete your thread. I will be watching what happens to see if I can see anything interesting with moderator privileges. Meanwhile, you start another new post and ask people who responded to the now-deleted post to describe what if anything they see/get when they try to access the deleted post using the previously-stored link or the 'follow' utility. Hopefully this experiment will shed some insight into what is going on.

What you describe must be a Variax JTV or Standard. The Variax 600 has no magnetic pickups and the modelling cannot be turned off. Please confirm the type of Variax you have.

No. The POD HD can do that but Helix does not.

Try manually resetting your PC sound card after connecting Helix. Use the Sound Control Panel item.

I also think headphones is a good option. But if you don't want that then I think the best option is a studio monitor on a stand. That will eliminate any sound coupling with the floor. Also at the levels you're speaking of I think a 6" speaker would suffice.

Do you want to use the different hardware devices to process an incoming signal simultaneously or independently? In other words, do you want to use, say, the amp modelling of the POD then send that output signal to the input of the Eleven Rack for FX such as distortion, chorus, delay, ... and so on until the serially processed signal is routed into your DAW? Or do you want to send you guitar signal independently through only one of those devices at a time and then to you DAW?

Yes. Done. Thanks.

The person you are responding to made his comments more than three years ago. I doubt he's still here to read your vitriol. I suggest you read the terms of use for this forum if you want to stick around. Another post like this and you're liable to be banned.

Any midi foot controller pedal will do the job, except probably for the scribble strips.