silverhead

@ The_Doc_Rock: Thanks for confirming that there's something wrong with your particular guitar. I am attempting to escalate within Line 6 the possibility that there is some potential latent hardware issue with some guitars when upgrading to v2.0 (whether it's RAM or some other hardware issue). I don't really have any special information or influence, but I'll keep you posted if I hear anything about this. Meanwhile, you should definitely open a support ticket for your issue. P.S. Also, make sure you are following, exactly, the update instructions posted here: http://line6.com/support/topic/2128-jtv-20-try-this/ Unless you are doing this exact procedure the assumption by Line 6 will be (rightly) user error.

I'd give my Korean JTV-59 a 4.9 out of 5. I found the original jumbo frets too large - I swapped them out for normal size frets, and also installed an Earvana nut. Now it's a 6 out of 5, and I haven't played my most excellent and beautiful Warmoth custom Variax 300 in months.

I guess that means you no longer have both power supplies? A failing power supply can be an intermittent problem - that's why sometimes it will not power up at all, and sometimes it will work fine for a while and then suddenly attempt to reboot. The easiest way to test is to use two power supplies; other ways are more invasive. Can you borrow your friend's again?

Compare using the power supplies of the two HD500 units (assuming you have both PSU cables/warts) on both HD devices. Is it possible that there's a problem with your original power supply?

Disconnect your Logitech speakers from your computer and connect them to the Pod HD audio outputs (e.g. headphones). You should set up two distinct signal paths: POD -> usb -> computer; and POD audio output -> Logitech speakers

Haven't noticed it, but don't doubt what you are seeing. I think anyone who observes this and feels it's important should open a support ticket. The more tickets about the same issue, the higher it will move up in the fix-priority chain.

The recent JTV firmware release, v2.0, is a complete overhaul of the modeling. Older presets created with pre-v2.0 versions of Workbench HD will not work in JTV HD v2.0. And if/when you get your new JTV the first thing you will want to do is upgrade the firmware. So whatever preset is on the sweetwater page is now history. I am not yet familiar enough with Workbench HD and the available guitar bodies and pickups to recommend how to recreate an improved version of that preset. But rest assured, it is possible. No - I don't have an audio sample of the preset I use, and since I have upgraded to JTV v2.0 I can no longer load the old preset to create a sample. Next time I need a bass guitar model I will create a new HD one using Workbench.

Good sounding bass patches have been made for the JTV. They are constructed using Workbench with the alternate tuning feature - down one octave. You can store 60 models on the JTV simultaneously. You can swap models in and out easily using Workbench.

It's just a temporary situation - no reason to be disheartened. The alternative was to hold back the HD firmware/workbench release until the POD/Workbench interface is worked out. That would penalize all Variax owners who don't have PODs. This way nobody is 'penalized' except those who sold the Workbench hardware interface that came with their JTV. Turns out the assumption that it would never be useful was false. Nor is this a Line 6 'problem' - Line 6 has provided everyone with what they need. If you sold part of that..... well, isn't that your problem?

Two opinions are better than one ... and I have the same opinion as The RealZap. The Variax is not for you since you absolutely refuse to change your guitar.

Thanks for the detailed testing and report, wolbai. Very helpful.

Perhaps the best route in the short term is to replace the Workbench interface that you sold. You can buy another one.

What bundle are you trying to upload? Keep in mind that pre-v2.0 models/bundles are not compatible with the v2.0 firmware. As stated in the release notes: Be sure to backup any customer presets that you may have for future reference; however, note that Variax 1.X presets will not work with the 2.0 firmware. You can reinstall v2.0 to restore the factory models/bundle.

Why would you want to do that, given the alternate tuning capabilities of the JTV guitars?

I tend to agree with you - the evidence suggests some hardware failure in your guitar. Your case seems different than others who report that they don't like the new firmware. I suspect that in many cases that boils down to a difference in the interaction between the new firmware and existing POD HD presets.... but your case seems unique. I would open a support ticket to work directly with Line 6 on this. The most confusing part is that v1.9 works fine, while v2.0 has successfully been installed numerous times and sounds like cr@p. Not just a little like cr@p - a LOT. How can that be? Here's one completely unfounded speculation: a segment of RAM inside your JTV has failed but has not been detected as a bad segment. Presumably, v2.0 firmware requires more hardware resources (including RAM) than v1.9. The modeling technology of V1.9 is very old now - a holdover from the original Variax modeling - and the JTV was likely over-engineered in terms of hardware, always anticipating the arrival of v2.0. That could mean that some RAM in your JTV was never required, and has remained unused, with v1.9. But now it is required - and has failed. Rolling back to v1.9 remains fine because that RAM is still not used. Let me repeat - the above is wild speculation, but something like that could be going on. It seems likely that v2.0 places more demands on JTV resources than v1.9. That was certainly the case with the POD HD compared to the POD X3 - the amount of modeling data increased tenfold, and the POD HD DSP required new hardware. So somehow, it may be that the increased demand in your particular guitar cannot be met due to some internal resource/hardware failure - something that is unused in all previous firmware versions. ... just my thoughts.....

I don't think there's any sort of conversion 'formula' for adjusting existing presets to the new guitar models, and if there were it would be different for each model. I expect some experimenting is required. To me it might be similar (but to a lesser degree) to the release of the POD HD series several years ago, when existing POD X3 owners wanted to convert their existing X3 presets to the HD. It simply wasn't practical to provide a conversion utility because the modeling was completely different. The HD amp modeling was a complete overhaul, and users who simply replicated the X3 presets (all amp and FX selections and parameters) found the result to be nothing at all like the original X3 preset. Some were disappointed initially. But those who persevered and started from a blank slate with the POD HD ended up with far superior tones. Seems to me the situation may be similar here. The JTV 2.0 firmware is very different, and may need to be treated in a similar fashion to the POD X3/HD transition. The new firmware may not sound the same with existing presets. That may initially disappoint some, and the time and effort involved to recraft presets for JTV v2.0 may be daunting enough that many will choose to stay (at least for now) with v1.9. But perhaps those who aren't held back by existing presets, or who persevere with recrafting presets, will end up with superior tones. That's what this thread is intended to explore.

Here is a post from another thread made by Sean Halley of Line 6 (you can see him in several JTV/POD HD videos demonstrating tones): I think this is very important in terms of understanding the spectrum of 'love it' and 'hate it' comments regarding JTV firmware V2.0. I have started this new thread (credit/apologies to Sean, as he sees fit :P ) to focus a discussion of this topic. What are your thoughts and experiences regarding the interaction of JTV 2.0 with existing POD HD presets? Does this affect your perception of the JTV 2.0 firmware? If so, what do you think of the new firmware when using it to set up new POD HD presets?

Putting it that way, I agree with you. You might want to contact Line 6 directly (See Contact Us button at the foot of this page) and plead your case. You never know - they might make you a deal. It can't hurt. Ooops.... I just re-read an earlier post of yours and see that you have found your original. Good! I will leafve the above comment for the benefit of others who may have lost their original hardware interface unit.

http://line6.com/support/topic/2051-jtv-v2-models-png-poster/

If possible, try a different (but identical spec-wise!) power supply. If there's a Line 6 dealer nearby perhaps you could borrow one for a while, either in their store or on a refundable deposit basis to take home.

Does this happen only when using HD500 Edit, only when using the HD500 alone, or in both cases?

@ddalton: I think this is the second report that an older Pod product with VDI connection is having trouble with the JTV firmware v2.0. I believe the other report concerns a Pod X3 Live. I suggest you start a new thread for this topic so that we can determine if this is a widespread issue; it may be a new bug that needs to be reported to Line 6. In your initial post please ask others to report if they are experiencing this issue.

No issue - you can have several different Pod HDxxx Edit programs installed, and even running, at the same time. Only one of them can communicate with a connected HD device, though. That one is determined by the device that is connected.

Actually, it's designed the way it is so that the software isn't actually free - Line 6 provides software piracy protection via the hardware. Anybody can go ahead and download the 'free' software. But you can't use it unless you buy a Line 6 hardware device - either a Pod processor (relatively expensive, so they're able to include the software) or the Workbench hardware interface which is more expensive than it need be. Why? To pay for the software development.

For details you should read the Help documentation in the Workbench program.