Shaamaan Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 Hello everyone. I've purchased a new JTV-89 yesterday and now that I got it at home, I'm having some issues getting things to actually play. Perhaps a small bit of backstory - I'm a newbie guitarist and have only played on a cheap classical guitar up to this point, however, getting an electric was always my goal (of course mastering said electric is my next goal ;) ). As such, I don't have a lot of audio equipement related to electric guitars. I do, however, have a pretty darn good computer (with an old, but good Audigy 2 sound card running kX audio drivers with custom DSP settings), and a nice amplifier and a pair of columns connected to that computer. As such, the JTV-89 seemed like a superb idea, because wouldn't have to buy extra equipement and could put more money into getting a good guitar rather than other set pieces for getting said guitar to play (amps, cables, whatnots). Before purchasing this JTV-89 guitar I had a chance to listen to it - it was then connected to a POD 500 and a laptop. As such, the USB interface, the battery - all those things were still sealed in their origial packages - I feel this is important information, as it suggests the guitar itself should be fine and the trouble I'm about to describe might be with one of the connecting elements, unless something had happened during transport, but the guitar was safely tucked in it's bag and the ride was smooth. Now at home I've unpacked the whole thing, charged the battery (after pluggin it into the guitar the little "battery meter" on the back of the Variax showed a full charge), and plugged everything to my computer (after installing the latest version of Workbench). However, the app said I still need to do some installations, because it couldn't detect the Variax (and suggested I run Monkey). I did so - I downloaded Monkey, installed it, and it said I have everything up to date (it DID detect the USB interface, but not the guitar itself). At this point I noticed red light on the USB Interface - flashing on the guitar side. Now, I've tried to connect things using a standard Ethernet cable (rather than the one that came with the guitar) - no luck there. Here are some other things I noticed: - The guitar port on the USB interface seems awfully loose, at least compared to similar ports on my computer or router. - The two knobs on the guitar (for changing the model and tunings) don't light up - I was under the impression that all you need to do is tap on them, but that doesn't seem to do anything. I may be a complete idiot (given that this is my first electric guitar ever, that's highly possible) and am simply doing something wrong. In fact, I'd prefer this to be the case, because then I'm sure anyone here will be able to easily point out my mistake and all will be fine with the world (if not my pride :P ). Otherwise, this might mean I've got a more serious problem on my hands, and since I'm in Poland, getting things fixed might not be easy. PS. My computer is running Windows 7 x64. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snhirsch Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 - The two knobs on the guitar (for changing the model and tunings) don't light up - I was under the impression that all you need to do is tap on them, but that doesn't seem to do anything. You didn't mention plugging a 1/4" cord into the analog jack on the guitar. Unless you do so, the onboard electronics will not power up and you'll be unable to get anywhere with the update. The little USB interface box does not provide power! This is a common mistake. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaamaan Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share Posted June 21, 2013 Oh dear... yes, this appears to have been the problem. Lucky thing I had a 1/4 jack adapter lying around to plug it in. :) Thanks! EDIT: If I may take this opportunity to ask a followup quesion. Was I wrong in my assumption that with a Variax connected to my computer as it is I would be able to play the lovely thing? It seems that all I can do with it now is use the Workbench to edit presets on the guitar, and not actually get a digital signal into the computer. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snhirsch Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 Was I wrong in my assumption that with a Variax connected to my computer as it is I would be able to play the lovely thing? It seems that all I can do with it now is use the Workbench to edit presets on the guitar, and not actually get a digital signal into the computer. :( The Workbench is not intended to be an audio interface. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaamaan Posted June 23, 2013 Author Share Posted June 23, 2013 Yeah, I figured that out. It's a bit of a shame, I think. You have a digital signal already coming out of the guitar - why not let us computer junkies use it? :P Oh well, I'll get a Studio GX. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted June 23, 2013 Share Posted June 23, 2013 ...... why not let us computer junkies use it? :P ..... Because the Workbench USB device is completely different from an audio interface. It is designed to handle only the command/control data related to defining models and their parameters. It ignores any digital audio data being sent by the guitar. To have it recognize and process the audio data would make it a completely different device (like the Studio GX) and increase the cost accordingly. It is not, and won't be, an audio interface. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewolf48 Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 The POD HD500 is both a USB Audio Interface and a Variax "host", and will add Amp simulation and Effects. It is the perfect partner to the JTV as it both powers it and can send digital audio to your computer or can feed a standalone Amplifier (of almost any sort with the right adaptor). I'm not saying that you have to have one, because you don't, but it expands the scope hugely. I would however wait a little bit before buying one. There are rumours that the HD500 is being withdrawn and replaced by a HD500X. I have no idea whether it is true or not, but if it is you will probably be able to get an HD500 (no X) at a knock down price, or go for the new unit of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaamaan Posted June 26, 2013 Author Share Posted June 26, 2013 The POD HD500 is both a USB Audio Interface and a Variax "host", and will add Amp simulation and Effects. It is the perfect partner to the JTV as it both powers it and can send digital audio to your computer or can feed a standalone Amplifier (of almost any sort with the right adaptor). I'm not saying that you have to have one, because you don't, but it expands the scope hugely. I would however wait a little bit before buying one. There are rumours that the HD500 is being withdrawn and replaced by a HD500X. I have no idea whether it is true or not, but if it is you will probably be able to get an HD500 (no X) at a knock down price, or go for the new unit of course. I know the POD HD500 is awesome - it's the device I tested the Variax on! There's one problem with it however: it's bloody expensive! :unsure: It'd be great if there was a cheaper solution available for the amateur guitarists. Right now I've settled for getting a POD Studio GX, but it'd be nice if Line 6 had a similarly priced device designed to make use of the Variax's digital output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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