silverhead

I can't answer whether or not you need to use both XLR and 1/4" outputs from your bass pedal. That's a question I asked you earlier. It depends on your pedal specs. The complication is that the MIC input is routed through the POD preset processing while the cd/mp3 input is not. You can use the cd/mp3 input without fiddling with any POD presets. However, it's simple enough to create a separate POD preset that you will use for your bass guitar. The simplest would be to just use the 1/4" output from your pedal into the Aux input on the HD500x. Assign the Aux as input to the preset, and do not use any processing unless you want to add to the bass pedal processing. If you need to use both inputs, assign the Mic and Aux as inputs to the preset. As mentioned before you may need to get a bit fancy in the preset to adjust for the different expected input signal levels in the MIC and Aux inputs. All you will need to do when playing is switch presets when you switch guitars.

Yes it should. So it may be a case of the modelling knob making contact with the guitar body before being fully depressed. Hence the modeling is not being triggered. Inspect closely to see if this is happening. It's not uncommon although it is a manufacturing flaw. You could go through the replacement routine but there's actually a very simple fix. Just carefully lift off the modeling knob, jam a little wad of paper into the top of the knob and reinstall the knob, being careful to position it so the readout matches the model selection. This will raise the knob a bit on the shaft allowing for proper engagement.

If the XLR and 1/4" outputs from your bass pedal are both separate and identical mono signals (and I've never heard of an XLR and 1/4" stereo pair) then you only need to use one of them. A 1/4" to 1/8" adapter will be fine. And don't worry about Line level output - it's just better if possible for this situation.

Did you fully charge your battery?

If I understand you correctly your bass guitar is being processed by another pedal. You don't want to use the POD to process the bass signal; you just want to pass its signal through the POD, presumably because you can't connect the bass pedal directly to the mixing board for some reason. If that's the case you may be over complicating things, but we need to confirm what model of POD HD you have. Based on the info you've provided I believe it is the POD HD500/X. It's not the Desktop model because you talk about using its XLR outputs, which the desktop doesn't have. It's not the HD300/400 because neither of them have mic inputs. It's not the HD Pro/X because you talk about the Aux input which the Pro/X doesn't have. So it's the POD HD500/X. In that case you just need to connect the bass pedal outputs to the Hd500 cd/MP3 input (you will need an adapter, and ideally you can set the pedal output to Line level). Nothing else is required. Your bass signal will be passed directly to the POD analog outputs when you play the bass, and your regular guitar will be processed by the POD and sent to its outputs when you're playing it. No need to even think about the HD500/X preset.

I think you mean you are using the MIC and Aux inputs? Do you have those two inputs selected for your Bass path in the preset? If your MIC physical input is not selected as a preset input it makes sense that you will hear nothing when you disconnect the 1/4" input. Also, you may have to fiddle with levels in the Pod because the MIC and Aux are expecting different incoming signal levels.

Curious. I'm experimenting with this right now using my JTV-59. On my Helix Rack* device the Vol/Tone knob controller assignments are only removed when I change models using the Model Selector knob. Moving the pickup selector switch does not affect the knobs as controllers; they remain locked. My Variax Settings is Per Preset. The Preset Variax Lock Control is set to Volume+Tone, but I also tested with just the Tone knob. Save the preset. Move to another preset then recall the original preset. When I move the pickup selector switch the only thing that changes is the pickups. Moving the knobs has no effect on Vol/Tone. When I rotate the Model Selector switch the knobs suddenly control Vol/Tone again although the display still says they are locked. I expect (most of) the above behaviour is as designed. I think there's a small bug in that the Lock Control display should change to read Unlocked (matching the behaviour) when the model selector knob is rotated. * My rack device is running firmware v 1.02.2. However, the release notes for this version (available in the Downloads section) make no mention of any changes in this behavior so I assume it is the same in the latest Helix floorboard firmware.

I am not able to test this at the moment but I think you can move the pickup selector switch without affecting the Vol/Tone knob controller assignment. Changing models by turning the Model Select knob removes the controller assignments.

I agree. I've had several Pod HD device editors installed on the same computer and successfully used all of them at various times.

I don't turn volume levels down at power up/down. I leave the volume on the speakers notched. However, I am careful about the order in which I power the speakers up/down vis-a-vis the M20d mixer. When powering up I work from the inside out, making sure the M20d is powered on and all inputs muted before I power up the speakers. Then I unmute the inputs. When powering down I do the reverse; first Mute All on the mixer, then the speakers go off, then the mixer. This sequence avoids the nasty pops that SiWatts69 describes.

At the top of this page there is a link that says 'Support'. Hit that, then choose Technical Support. Then Contact Support. Then Open a Support Ticket. Here's a direct link. http://line6.com/support/tickets/add.html

That's only if you are using the Firehawk's amp modeling, in which case you are using your physical amp as the cab with no need for mic since the cab speaker provides the sound output direct to the room. If you want to use Firehawk for FX only (no amp, as the OP prefers) then you need the 4CM to use the physical amp's preamp.

That's unusual and likely hardware related. Open a support ticket to work directly with Line 6 tech support on this.

Yes. ONE very nice real amp.

... Put a mic on a chainsaw and a blender in the background, and then turn everything to 11 - including the blender.

I'll have to let others chime in here. Personally I don't use 4CM. My knowledge about it is theoretical, namely I know how the connections work and what the overall idea is. But your question is for those with the real life experience, which I don't have.

Don't forget shipping fees, and inevitably the currency exchange rate if you are paying from a $Cdn bank account or credit card account. It's cheaper to buy it in Canada. L&M gets much more favourable rates on all those things direct from Line 6 and from Canada Customs than any individual would on an order from a US retailer. And, at the quoted $Cdn price (less than the $US x approx $1.45 current Exchange rate) L&M is also discounting their margin.

Yes, of course - give or take whatever other factors L&M cares to consider in setting their price. Not sure what point you're making.

I use the FBV Shortboard MKII http://line6.com/footcontrollers/fbvshortboardmkii.html The connection is a standard RJ-45 internet cable but the protocol is Line 6 proprietary. You can't connect just any controller pedal to it. It needs to be a compatible Line 6 product.

Technically it doesn't matter but in practical terms you want to position the FX Loop in the signal chain at the point where you imagine the external device (e.g physical amp) to be placed. In other words, place the FX Loop after your pre-amp FX (typically overdrive, compression, distortion, wah,...) and before your post-amp FX (typically chorus, delay, reverb, ...).

There's no 'right', or unity, setting for the Heli master volume. Generally speaking the signal-to-noise ratio is better at higher volumes but I often set it at less than 50% (say 10 o'clock) in my home studio with no audible noise. Normally you would set this level once at the beginning of each session, relative to the other instruments and vocals, and leave it for the session. As for the inclusion of a level monitor in Helix, I'm pretty sure that suggestion has already been made in Ideascale. You could search and vote for it.

Yes. You need to sign up to a service called Ideascale that Line 6 uses for product feature suggestions.

During your research here did you come across something called 4CM? That is the 4-cable method of connecting a multi-fx unit like Firehawk to an external amp, providing exactly the flexibility that you want. You can search for and read many various threads in this forum, but here's the outline: Connections: Guitar -> Firehawk (FH) guitar input -> FH FX Send -> amp Guitar input -> amp FX Send -> FH FX Return -> FH Out -> amp FX Return In your FH presets place the FX Loop where you want your amp to be, after your pre-amp FX and before your post-amp FX. This setup also allows you to experiment with the FH amp models if you ever want to do that. Just set up your preset to not use the FH FX Loop (or just turn it off), and do not assign a cab/mic combination. This will bypass your amp's preamp and use only its power amp and cab.

Note also that in Step 4 you need to ensure that the assignment will merge with, and not replace, existing assignments. There is an option to choose the behaviour you want. The default is merge so if you are unaware of this option you will get the multiple assignments you want. But if you are not aware and the option happens to be set to 'replace' you will get very confused.

It might also have something to do with your M20d channel settings, especially the Trim level. You may have chosen a factory preset that is expecting Instrument level rather than Mic (both of which are different than Line level). You say the noise floor is better now. But I think you should have virtually no noise.