Now Available: Variax Hd Upgrade And Workbench Hd Software

[Charlie_Watt]

Buzzing and other non artifacts can cause it too.

[psarkissian]

Buzzing and other artifacts do similar, but not the same.

Buzzing is typically from the action set low at the bridge, or relief too straight and flat.

 

Other artifacts can occur from intonation, where it may need to be dialed in a little closer by a guitar tech with a precision tuner.

The $30 Samsons are good for quick tuning of a guitar, a Peterson (for example) is precise enough for doing intonations (which is what I use for tuning and intonations).

 

 

 

-P.B. Sarkissian

 

[jefflynyrd]

I don't think that's my case. My pickups are about 1/4" from the strings...But just to be on the safe side I'll drop em down.

[pwik]

Argh....can't download Monkey or Workbench HD. Keep getting "Not Found" "The requested URL/data was not found on this server"  :(

[fremen]

Hi fremen , is possible you share your eqs for acustic patchs? frequencies and etc? thanks

Yes here's some screen caps from the Tonematch, Multiband Compressor, Parametric EQ and Graphic EQ blocks :

 

 

 

 

 

But as I said the complex EQ of the tonematch block brings the final touch, and for that you'll need something like Ozone on your computer

[Junis]

nice thanks

 

 

Yes here's some screen caps from the Tonematch, Multiband Compressor, Parametric EQ and Graphic EQ blocks :

 

 

 

 

 

But as I said the complex EQ of the tonematch block brings the final touch, and for that you'll need something like Ozone on your computer

[psarkissian]

pwik,

 

What's your computer platform? What's your computer's Operating System that you are using?

 

 

-P.B. Sarkissian

 

[The_Doc_Rock]

Why do people insist on hitting the "Quote" button to put a two-word reply, such as "Nice, thanks", but which makes the entire previous post, full of slow-loading graphics, load all over again?  Even more of a pain for those reading this on eg an iPad.

 

Just saying.... ;)  Better just to use the Quick Reply at the bottom of the page.

 

And for those who have been following this thread, I still haven't got any answers as to WHY some people's guitars just don't like this v2.0 firmware update, and give awful sounds.  Like mine, and a few others who have posted here....

 

Wonder when v2.1 will be out?

[silverhead]

...

 

And for those who have been following this thread, I still haven't got any answers as to WHY some people's guitars just don't like this v2.0 firmware update, and give awful sounds.  ..

I'm using the Quote button to indicate that I am answering this specific comment in your specific post......

 

Have you opened a support ticket with Line 6? What is the status of that?

[The_Doc_Rock]

I'm using the Quote button to indicate that I am answering this specific comment in your specific post......

 

Have you opened a support ticket with Line 6? What is the status of that?

 

LOL :)  I don't have a problem with the proper use of the Quote button, as you can see.  It's just that to use it for a quick two-word reply to a post containing huge graphics, seems somewhat superfluous...

 

I opened a ticket, but have not yet heard back. I was delayed until a couple of days ago before opening the ticket (was in hospital - OK now though). And in the ticket, I pointed to this thread, along with my posting nick, in addition to a full description of the problems and what I have done to try and solve them, including that experiment with my mate's Korean JTV69 that sounded great with v2.0.

 

Once I hear back from Line6, I'll post any progress on here.  Thanks for your interest and help, SH :)  Appreciated.

[johnnyayyy]

And for those who have been following this thread, I still haven't got any answers as to WHY some people's guitars just don't like this v2.0 firmware update, and give awful sounds.  Like mine, and a few others who have posted here....

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=why+computers+glitch&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=%22why+do+computers+have+glitches%22&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial

 

Doubt anyone here can answer that question. Some guesses?

 

1. Possible cause: You used the USB dongle to do the firmware update. The dongle sucks (IMO based on my own experience and reports in this forum).    Solution: try connecting to your computer using a Pod HD 500 or Pro, then rolling back to an earlier version and re-upping the 2.0 firmware.

 

2. Possible cause: Your guitar is defective, whether through a manufacturing flaw or perhaps a .

Solution: repair or replace.

 

3. Possible cause: The firmware is flawed. The majority seem to be able to achieve good results so this is a longshot.

Solution: roll back to 1.9 or earlier and wait patiently for the next version.

 

 

I believe you have already installed 2.0 using a Pod HD and compared to your friend's JTV and found his guitar sounds good and yours doesn't, correct? If this is the case and you have already tried doing incremental flashes with unplugging,resetting monkey, and double flashing I believe you may have a corrupted or defective main board due to a problem occurring at a critical moment during an update and if it were my guitar at that point I would be shipping it back to L6 or taking it to a local authorized repair person..

 

Info here:http://line6.com/support/topic/2128-jtv-20-try-this/

 

Places things might have gone wrong for you -

 

Quote: "7) Update will be in process for several minutes. DO NOT interrupt this process, or processor board (Main Board) may be rendered un-useable. It would have to be return to Line 6 Repair for possible re-program and recovery."

 

Quote: "12) A prompt will come up “… keep the existing patches …†click “Noâ€. If during update a patch gets corrupted, and it is saved, then it can create problems later"

 

Quote: "13) Message and “Continue?†question, click “Yesâ€. Update will be in process for several minutes. DO NOT, interrupt this process, or processor board (Main Board) may be rendered un-useable. It would have to be return to Line 6 Repair for possible re-program and recovery."

 

Important things to do during incremental flashes and reflashes:

 

1.JTV volume UP

 

2. JTV modeling switch set to mags

 

3.important steps from the .pdf at http://line6.com/support/topic/2128-jtv-20-try-this/

 

"10) Go to Monkey and click on “Change Deviceâ€, and select Tyler Variax and click on “Okâ€, this re-initializes the Monkey Interface."

"11) Regardless of Flash version displayed, select Flash memory and click on “Reinstall Latest†and “I Accept†on the prompt."

 

"15) Disconnect, and then reconnect the VDI cable to re-initialize the JTV."

 

Sooooooooo many places things could have gone wrong with your guitar, or it may have been defective and unable to properly run 2.0  when you bought it.

 

If you have done everything you can to fix it and you can't make it work you will probably have to send it back to L6 when you finally get tired of being stuck in 1.9.

[The_Doc_Rock]

@johnnyayyy: Many thanks for your detailed reply - appreciated.

 

Just for the record, I've done pretty well all of the above, several times (the JTV has now been flashed 5 times with v2.0).  ALL the flashes have progressed through to completion with no problems, and I received the "All OK" thingy at the end.  They were all done via the USB interface. I had the volume up, modeling turned off (i.e. was on the mag pups), jack in the output socket, etc etc.  Said yes to all the right prompts and no to the others like the one about keeping presets.  Basically, I have done everything that you outlined above.  \

 

When I did EXACTLY the same to my mate's Korean JTV69, the sounds that resulted were great.  Mine couldn't have been more different - honky, mid-range sounds that sounded like an old telephone line.  Like the 1KHz EQ was notched right UP, with everything else almost off.  And that was after EVERY time.  When I did the comparison with my mate's JTV, I used the "Update from file" method in Monkey, and used the exact same file that I had downloaded (actually the third download just to make sure it wasn't corrupted).  The fact that it worked perfectly on his guitar but sounded awful on mine is where the mystery lies.

 

I am as certain as I can be that

 

(1) the upgrade file was OK,

 

(2) the upgrade itself proceeded without error and completed, and

 

(3) having done it 5 times now, the results are specific to my individual guitar.  BUT - a few others have posted earlier on this thread that they got exactly the same thing - so perhaps it is something that is specific to SOME guitars?

 

I have outline everything to Line 6 in my ticket.  I am back on v1.9 and happy with it, as I was before I tried all this updating malarkey ;)

 

I'll be patient and await v2.1 and try again.  Returning the guitar is NOT an easy option, as I'm in Australia (imported the guitar from the US before they became available here), and the local importer is in Sydney while I am up in Queensland, with Australia being a BIG place! :)

 

Thanks for your help, and the list of suggestions - appreciated.

[johnnyayyy]

@johnnyayyy: Many thanks for your detailed reply - appreciated.

 

Just for the record, I've done pretty well all of the above, several times (the JTV has now been flashed 5 times with v2.0).  ALL the flashes have progressed through to completion with no problems, and I received the "All OK" thingy at the end.  They were all done via the USB interface. I had the volume up, modeling turned off (i.e. was on the mag pups), jack in the output socket, etc etc.  Said yes to all the right prompts and no to the others like the one about keeping presets.  Basically, I have done everything that you outlined above.  \

 

When I did EXACTLY the same to my mate's Korean JTV69, the sounds that resulted were great.  Mine couldn't have been more different - honky, mid-range sounds that sounded like an old telephone line.  Like the 1KHz EQ was notched right UP, with everything else almost off.  And that was after EVERY time.  When I did the comparison with my mate's JTV, I used the "Update from file" method in Monkey, and used the exact same file that I had downloaded (actually the third download just to make sure it wasn't corrupted).  The fact that it worked perfectly on his guitar but sounded awful on mine is where the mystery lies.

 

I am as certain as I can be that

 

(1) the upgrade file was OK,

 

(2) the upgrade itself proceeded without error and completed, and

 

(3) having done it 5 times now, the results are specific to my individual guitar.  BUT - a few others have posted earlier on this thread that they got exactly the same thing - so perhaps it is something that is specific to SOME guitars?

 

I have outline everything to Line 6 in my ticket.  I am back on v1.9 and happy with it, as I was before I tried all this updating malarkey ;)

 

I'll be patient and await v2.1 and try again.  Returning the guitar is NOT an easy option, as I'm in Australia (imported the guitar from the US before they became available here), and the local importer is in Sydney while I am up in Queensland, with Australia being a BIG place! :)

 

Thanks for your help, and the list of suggestions - appreciated.

 

Simply put, your guitar is broken. Whether it got that way through a bad install at some point, or a power fluctuation during reflash, or it was that way from the factory, if you have done all the reflashing you can and that dows not solve the problem then it is broken (yes, if it works proper,ly with 1.9 and does not work properly with 2.0 that constitutes "broken" IMO).

 

The way I am reading the warnings in the .PDF is "slip up here once and no amount of reflashing is going to help, only Line 6 can repair your guitar after this."

 

Did you do the updates step by step every single time since you have had the guitar? I had never seen that .PDF until with all the crazy instructions until everyone started having problems with the new 2.0 update, every time I have updated my Variaxes and my JTV in the past I have done it without unplugging the guitar, without saying no to keeping presets, without resetting Monkey between update attempts, without double flashing, without clicking my model knob to mags, without checking my volume knob etc etc etc and according to the .PDF I could have caused damage to my guitars during any one of those many pre- 2.0 updates and rollbacks.

 

Did you ever do an update pre-2.0 without following the step by step directions? According to the PDF that may be what is causing your problems now.

 

A possible case of "Corrupted firmware remnants causing problems with subsequent reflashes" I deduce... either that or a defective guitar. What do I win if I guessed right?

 

Tho it's true that it is possible there was a "bad run" of JTV's I believe the few who had this problem had guitars built at different times. Also, as I recall, everyone but you was able to fix the problem by reflashing... are there still others remaining who had bad sound in 2.0 and get great sound again by rolling back to 1.9?  Not talking about those who simply prefer the tones in 1.9, but those who are still unable to get results similar to the videos that have been posted with the "correct" sounding updated guitars.

 

I will be interested to see the results of your support ticket, I know you already said you can not call for faster service - I think you might be left with the options shipping the guitar to your nearset repair center (however far away that may be) or living with 1.9 for as long as you have the guitar.

[The_Doc_Rock]

Did you ever do an update pre-2.0 without following the step by step directions? According to the PDF that may be what is causing your problems now.

 

A possible case of "Corrupted firmware remnants causing problems with subsequent reflashes" I deduce... either that or a defective guitar. What do I win if I guessed right?

 

 

I have updated sequentially with every firmware update since I got the guitar, and yes, surprising though it may seem, I did follow the instructions every time - to the letter.

 

If I missed something previously, it was purely by error, not because I ignored the instructions - but of course an error is always possible.

 

Your guess may well be correct - you'd win a 6-week holiday on a Great Barrier Reef island resort (hastily add that I'm kidding!!!) ;)

 

I would be very interested, if any of the others are still reading this thread, to hear if anyone still has the bad sounds after the update or if a re-flash has fixed the problem.  Or if they've simply gone back to v1.9 and are staying there, like I am now.

 

Once again, thanks for your thoughts and ideas :)

[drdamski]

I am getting incredibly frustrated with this USB hub.

 

It doesn't work reliably.

 

Sometimes it will connect and I can update (Monkey) or edit (Workbench) - other times, for no reason I can find, it will not.

 

Got both green lights on - but it won't work. So no idea if this new work bench is any good.

 

The only tip it ever gives you is "try disconnecting the USB cable and try again"...

 

I've got the 1/4 inch jack connected, I've tried swapping the VDI cable for another cable....

 

Nothing works. In my opinion it really shouldn't be this difficult.

 

:(  :angry:  :unsure:

 

Any help gratefully received.

 

Thank you.

[runningcloud]

I've read all 19 pages of this topic, so I'll apologize up front if I missed a discussion of my particular problem.

 

I installed 2.0, and the installation seemed to have been accomplished. Monkey reported that 2.0 was in the system. Workbench HD seemed to tell me the same. However, I could not get my JTV69 (non US) to send a signal to my amp. (When I turned off the Variax function, the "straight" sound of the guitar came out of the amp as usual.) I restored 1.9 to my Variax and, presto, the various models sounded through the amp. Hopefully, there is some simple step I missed after installing 2.0 that prevented these models from getting amplified.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

[TheRealZap]

unfortunately, sometimes it takes some experimenting to get it settled in properly.

i'm sure there is a real cause.. however, only Line6 themselves could possibly narrow that down.

for the rest of us it's usually easier just to flash a couple of times and it works itself out...

i've had good luck flashing back to 1.7 or 1.8 and then 2.0 i think the wider differences between those firmwares 

seems to bring the whole thing into focus for some reason.

just some ideas... because noone wants to send their guitar away or take it to a service center.

 

I've read all 19 pages of this topic, so I'll apologize up front if I missed a discussion of my particular problem.

 

I installed 2.0, and the installation seemed to have been accomplished. Monkey reported that 2.0 was in the system. Workbench HD seemed to tell me the same. However, I could not get my JTV69 (non US) to send a signal to my amp. (When I turned off the Variax function, the "straight" sound of the guitar came out of the amp as usual.) I restored 1.9 to my Variax and, presto, the various models sounded through the amp. Hopefully, there is some simple step I missed after installing 2.0 that prevented these models from getting amplified.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

[runningcloud]

unfortunately, sometimes it takes some experimenting to get it settled in properly.

i'm sure there is a real cause.. however, only Line6 themselves could possibly narrow that down.

for the rest of us it's usually easier just to flash a couple of times and it works itself out...

i've had good luck flashing back to 1.7 or 1.8 and then 2.0 i think the wider differences between those firmwares 

seems to bring the whole thing into focus for some reason.

just some ideas... because noone wants to send their guitar away or take it to a service center.

Thanks for the help, First upgrade attempt today succeeded. Yesterday, I had the guitar plugged into the amp. Today, not plugged to amp. Maybe that was the difference. Also, I did not have Workbench 2 open. It may have been open yesterday. Maybe these two things were factors yesterday. Or maybe it was just Line 6's capricious twitchery.

[Charlie_Watt]

I would think that the problem with failed downloads could be the USB interface itself.  I would recommend that the JTV not be plugged into your amp when using the interface to download flash FW.  That eliminates a ground loop with your PC which can make the USB interface less reliable.  I would also use a short USB cable and go into the back interface on your PC - one that goes to the mother board.

[psarkissian]

There are two kinds of whistling sounds,....

 

-Whistling howl from a clash of harmonics. For that, have the intonation checked and dialed in in smidge tighter.

A guitar tech should have a precision tuner like a Peterson for that.

 

-Whistling that sounds like a high frequency fax transmission would point to an update error of some kind. Try updating or re-installing the Firmware.

 

 

P.B. Sarkissian

 

[Al-Vixan]

@The_Doc_Rock: I live in Spain and bought my JTV-59 Tobacco sunburst from the German website Thomann.de during the last Christmas when it got the price reduced for a few days.  I have exactly the same problemas as you.  FW 2.0 sounds awful in most of the settings, and nothing like the videos I've see on youtube demonstrating FW 2.0.  Did you by chance bought the guitar during the same time or supplier?  I just ask if maybe your guitar is in the same batch as mine.

 

I haven't opened a support ticket, but I'm going to soon.  I will keep you informed about its replies when I do so.

 

Best regards and thanks everybody for your help!

[The_Doc_Rock]

@Al-Vixan: I'm in Australia, and I bought mine from the USA - not from Thomann.de

 

I think it was back in 2011 going by the date I registered the instrument on the Line 6 web site.

 

I did open a ticket, and Line6Hugo was very helpful, but we still couldn't fix the problem - the final suggestion was that it may be faulty electronics (eg RAM chips or whatever) COMBINED with the v2.0 firmware, given that everything works fine with v1.9

 

I did point Hugo to this thread, which he read, as I had mentioned that there were a few others that reported exactly the same problems.  So yours is yet one more with the same problems.

 

I'd suggest you open a ticket, and maybe refer to my ticket and to Line6Hugo, so that the same person deals with it.  If they get more than one ticket, then it's unlikely to be JUST a problem with the hardware, and perhaps they can track down the problem and fix it in v2.1.... :)

 

My ticket ID is 216662

 

I've just updated my ticket to suggest that Hugo look at this thread again, and your post. 

[psarkissian]

Al--- Did you use the update document circulating around? The posting "Try This" and Johnnyayy's and a couple of Doc Rock's postings have good tips.

 

Had one JTV the other day, that after update, it took two more "re-install" tries before it locked in the firmware and got an "update successful" message on the screen.

 

drdamski--- With the 1/4" plug to engage the battery, try a Tip-Ring-Sleeve type,... if you aren't already.

 

 

 

P.B. Sarkissian

 

[drdamski]

Thanks psarkissian, I'll bear that in mind.

 

Also, I tweeted Line 6 on this and asked if they had a trouble shooting resource... they kindly replied and said to go here, which between work and gigs, I've not had chance to do yet...

 

I'll try to get time soon to go through the steps suggested.

 

Cheers!

[pugdealer]

I've been playing a bit with 2.0, using the presets I had on my HD500, which were made for the previous firmware I was sticking to (1.71).

 

Palm muting....waaaaaaaaaaay better

Gibsons....waaaaaaaaaaaaay better

Teles....waaaaaaaaay better

Strat...waaaaaaaaaay worse

Acoustics...mixed feelings on those...I used to love the dread, and now I can't use it, and I use to hate the gibson and now it's my fav and the one I use.

Don't really care for the others...

 

All the presets I had with strats now sound awful...I mean...damn...they just suck now...I could probably get them working again with a lot of tweaking on the presets (and on WB), but all the other presets sound so much better, specially the ones made with the lesters...wow, so much better...I really felt like I had a real fu....ing les paul in my hands!!  The feel, tone, dynamics are way better!

 

WAY TO GO Line 6!!! just fix that f..... strat ;) I'm sure you will make us all happy real soon 

[phil_m]

WAY TO GO Line 6!!! just fix that f..... strat ;) I'm sure you will make us all happy real soon

 

 

Well, they aren't going to change the Strat... So you should get to work re-doing those presets! Not trying to be a jerk, but, really, I'm just telling how it is. They aren't going to be changing that model anytime soon (nor any of the other models).

[Junis]

I tried to simulate a similar equalization in pod hd but it was not good

Yes here's some screen caps from the Tonematch, Multiband Compressor, Parametric EQ and Graphic EQ blocks :

 

But as I said the complex EQ of the tonematch block brings the final touch, and for that you'll need something like Ozone on your computer

[arislaf]

Anybody knows what pick ups used knopfler at his strat on brothers in arms? i want to swap the useless mags on my 69s with these.

[johnnyayyy]

Johnnyayy's and a couple of Doc Rock's postings have good tips.

 

P.B. Sarkissian

 

[The_Doc_Rock]

Anybody knows what pick ups used knopfler at his strat on brothers in arms? i want to swap the useless mags on my 69s with these.

 

First, the mags on my JTV69US are great. Second, the sound Mark Knopfler gets is NOT mainly due to his pickups (although they would play a small part). The sound is due to the way he plays, and to his touch. He plays with his thumb, not a pick, and the position of that very long thumb, along with the feel he imparts in the way he strokes or plucks the strings is the reason for his sound.

 

Give almost ANY guitar to Mark Knopfler, and he will sound like Knopfler. Changing the pickups on any of your guitars is not going to make you sound like him.

 

Wanting to change pickups, or worse - guitars - to something that somebody else uses, in order to "sound like them" is one of the big mistakes so many people make.

 

I can pick up George Benson's guitar and play it, but there is no way that I would sound like George Benson!

[arislaf]

This is not helpfull.

[Charlie_Watt]

May not be helpful but it's true!

[arislaf]

Guys, what is wrong with you?It is such a big deal that i don't like the pickups of the jtv??Or my question is not in english?I didn't ask how to become mark knopfler, I ask what pick ups he uses...

[spmartin]

I have a JTV-69s. I have played many, many guitars - both single coil and humbucker style. The pickups on this guitar are, IMHO, very, very good. Nice broad range of sounds and strengths and pretty darn quiet. This is coming from someone who swapped out my Deluxe Strat pickups for Lace Sensors. I am not motivated in the least to change these in the Variax. Nice job, James Tyler.

[The_Doc_Rock]

This is not helpfull.

 

Sorry if my reply came across as unhelpful.  It was not intended that way.  But your question sounded as though you wanted to sound like Knopfler, and to do it, that you thought you needed to change out the pickups on the JTV.

 

The point I was trying to make - and obviously didn't make it very well - was that Knopfler sounds like he does because he is Knopfler.  Hank Marvin will always sound like Hank Marvin - no matter what he plays, and no matter what pickups are on it.  There are just some players who have such distinctive playing techniques that result in highly individual sounds.  And I really doubt that the pickups make much difference, to be honest.

 

If you don't like the sound or the response of the mag pickups on the Variax, then fine, change them for that reason, to something you prefer.  But to change them in order to sound like a specific sound - eg Brothers In Arms - would be an expensive mistake I suspect.

 

Again, apologies if my reply was less than helpful.

[johnnyayyy]

Anybody knows what pick ups used knopfler at his strat on brothers in arms? i want to swap the useless mags on my 69s with these.

 

 

I was thinking Brothers In Arms would have been from the Pensa/Suhr era for MK, looked it up and... if you meant the song "Brothers In Arms" it looks like he used the neck pickup on a Les Paul reissue, for the entire album he used a bunch of different guitars according to this site:

 

http://www.mk-guitar.com/gear-on-all-songs-for-all-albums-wiki/gear-on-album-brothers-in-arms/

 

 

Knopfler sounds like he does because he is Knopfler - no matter what he plays, and no matter what pickups are on it.  There are just some players who have such distinctive playing techniques that result in highly individual sounds.  And I really doubt that the pickups make much difference, to be honest.

 

Surely you hear a difference between, say, the guitar in Money For Nothing vs. the guitar in Sultans of Swing...? I think the pickups used for those two songs may have contributed at least a small amount to the diffference in sound...

 

 

If you don't like the sound or the response of the mag pickups on the Variax, then fine, change them for that reason, to something you prefer.  But to change them in order to sound like a specific sound - eg Brothers In Arms - would be an expensive mistake I suspect.

 

 

I seem to recall reading in Guitar Player Magazine an interview with Billy Gibbons from the 80's where Mr. Gibbons stated Mark Knopfler called him up one day and asked him how he got a particular guitar tone on a particular ZZ Top song as he was trying to replicate it on Money For Nothing... I believe that if it was OK for MK to attempt to recreate a classic guitar tone it should be okay for any of us to attempt to do the same...

 

 

The point I was trying to make - and obviously didn't make it very well - was that Knopfler sounds like he does because he is Knopfler.  Hank Marvin will always sound like Hank Marvin - no matter what he plays, and no matter what pickups are on it.  There are just some players who have such distinctive playing techniques that result in highly individual sounds.  And I really doubt that the pickups make much difference, to be honest.

 

I am 100% certain that if Mark Knopfler had used, for instance, my new Fender Pawn Shop 72 Strat to record Sultans of Swing it would have sounded quite different that the classic version we all know... I guarantee it... sure it might sound like the same guy playing and it would probably still sound good, but it would definitely sound different.

 

According to internet sources Mark Knopfler used at least 10 different guitars on the Brothers In Arms album. Now maybe the album would have sounded exactly the same if he had just used one guitar the whole time but I really doubt it... certainly he did not use all those different guitars because he was bored...? There must have been a good reason to use a Les Paul on one song and a Suhr Custom on another and a Schecter Tele on another and and and... wow, someone should probably turn MK on to the Variax, bet he would love it...

 

Also, for the earlier Dire Straits sound (first two albums I think) you just need some vintage original 1961 or 1962 Fender Stratocaster pickups for the bridge and middle and a DiMarzio FS-1 for the neck, though they will sound a bit different if installed in a JTV-69... you might just want to buy a complete '62 Strat and swap in the DiMarzio in the neck... ;)

[arislaf]

Sorry if my reply came across as unhelpful.  It was not intended that way.  But your question sounded as though you wanted to sound like Knopfler, and to do it, that you thought you needed to change out the pickups on the JTV.

 

The point I was trying to make - and obviously didn't make it very well - was that Knopfler sounds like he does because he is Knopfler.  Hank Marvin will always sound like Hank Marvin - no matter what he plays, and no matter what pickups are on it.  There are just some players who have such distinctive playing techniques that result in highly individual sounds.  And I really doubt that the pickups make much difference, to be honest.

 

If you don't like the sound or the response of the mag pickups on the Variax, then fine, change them for that reason, to something you prefer.  But to change them in order to sound like a specific sound - eg Brothers In Arms - would be an expensive mistake I suspect.

 

Again, apologies if my reply was less than helpful.

No problem, my apologies for going crazy from my side also.

 

I don't know which PUPs he used in "brothers in arms", but I know he likes DiMarzio FS-1 PUPs..

 

give a look here, should be interesting for you:

http://www.mk-guitar.com/2008/12/10/the-dimarzio-fs-1-pick-up-of-mark-knopflers-red-stratocaster/

That is helpfull.Thanks Hurghanico!!

 

I was thinking Brothers In Arms would have been from the Pensa/Suhr era for MK, looked it up and... if you meant the song "Brothers In Arms" it looks like he used the neck pickup on a Les Paul reissue, for the entire album he used a bunch of different guitars according to this site:

 

http://www.mk-guitar.com/gear-on-all-songs-for-all-albums-wiki/gear-on-album-brothers-in-arms/

 

:o

 

 

 

Surely you hear a difference between, say, the guitar in Money For Nothing vs. the guitar in Sultans of Swing...? I think the pickups used for those two songs may have contributed at least a small amount to the diffference in sound...

 

 

 

I seem to recall reading in Guitar Player Magazine an interview with Billy Gibbons from the 80's where Mr. Gibbons stated Mark Knopfler called him up one day and asked him how he got a particular guitar tone on a particular ZZ Top song as he was trying to replicate it on Money For Nothing... I believe that if it was OK for MK to attempt to recreate a classic guitar tone it should be okay for any of us to attempt to do the same...

 

True

 

 

 

I am 100% certain that if Mark Knopfler had used, for instance, my new Fender Pawn Shop 72 Strat to record Sultans of Swing it would have sounded quite different that the classic version we all know... I guarantee it... sure it might sound like the same guy playing and it would probably still sound good, but it would definitely sound different.

 

Also correct

 

 wow, someone should probably turn MK on to the Variax, bet he would love it...

 

ROFL

 

Also, for the earlier Dire Straits sound (first two albums I think) you just need some vintage original 1961 or 1962 Fender Stratocaster pickups for the bridge and middle and a DiMarzio FS-1 for the neck, though they will sound a bit different if installed in a JTV-69... you might just want to buy a complete '62 Strat and swap in the DiMarzio in the neck... ;)

 

Thanks a lot jonyayyy :)

[glynn_bird]

I love my JTV Variax! I installed v 2.0 update on my JTV-59 and I have found the following:

 

* new Teles sound great, especially like the 2 & 4 versions with humbuckers, which are much better than the useless 2&4 models in 1.9

* Spank models generally thinner sounding and 2&4 not as distinctive as 1.9's 2 & 4

* Semi - much cooler sound.  I much prefer the 1.9 version which has a warm an resonant tone

* all 12 string models - a touch better than 1.9

 

After spending ages adjusting amp settings on my POD HD I concluded that , on balance, I preferred the 1.9 firmware and I reflashed my JTV back to 1.9. It was like coming home! Shame to lose the new Tele, but my guitar sounds louder and better now. Maybe it's because I was used to the 1.9 and the change in 2.0 was too much, but for me the poor quality of the Strat and the Semi were deal breakers for me.

 

There seems to be a lot of superstitious comments in this forum about firmware updates "not taking", but I find it difficult to believe that a digital device can "partially" take a software update. I believe personal preference is in play here and that some people are finding the 2.0 models too thin.

 

Luckily it's very simple to rollback!

[Bobbyl]

Same here. Strat and semi lost all the midrange character I've liked since even before the JTV. Even the 500 had this character. Gone now. Staying on 1.9.

[The_Doc_Rock]

 

 

 

Surely you hear a difference between, say, the guitar in Money For Nothing vs. the guitar in Sultans of Swing...? I think the pickups used for those two songs may have contributed at least a small amount to the diffference in sound...

 

 

Oh yes - don't get me wrong.  Of course different pickups sound different.  That's one of the reasons I have a guitar collection (at least, that's what I tell my wife) B)

 

And yes, the pickups certainly contributed to the sound of "Money For Nothing". But while it's hard to put proportions on it, I'd guess that 10-20% of the sound was due to the pickups, and 80-90% due to the fact it was MK playing it.

 

I think my point may have been missed somewhat. The point was that I interpreted the initial post in this part of the thread as asking what the pickups were in "MFN" so that @arislaf could change the JTV pickups in order to sound like that track.  And my interpretation was obviously not quite what he was getting at, for which I apologized.

 

I've been guilty (many years ago, though) of thinking that I could sound like somebody else by changing guitars, amps, pickups, etc - but I've learned since then that most of anyone's sound is due to the player. Some are more recognizable than others.

 

Anyway - back to the main point of this whole thread - the puzzle as to why some people's upgrade to v2.0 of the firmware sounds really bad, while others' sounds great.  It would appear that I'm not the only one with the problem, going on some of the posts earlier in the thread, but my support ticket didn't manage to come up with a solution. So I'm happy to stay on v1.9 and wait for v2.1 before trying again.