Jtv59 Upgraded V1.71 To V2.00 - Problems - Advice Needed

[edstar1960]

In an effort to fix an issue with my JTV59 D (4th) string sounding very nasal and boxy and very different to other strings, I decided to upgrade from FW v1.71 to v2.00, just to see if it was a fw issue or a piezo issue.

 

Firstly I hit the "(Code 80009000) Unknown MIDI Error" issue right at the end of the upgrade. Repeated 3 times still same issue.  Decided to roll back to v1.71 - that worked - so thought I would try one more time for v2.00 and this time it worked and displayed the Tyler Variax Update Successful message.

 

Next I tried the JTV59 now with fw v2.00 with my HD500.   Please note that I have spent many days previously tailoring my patches on the HD500 with my v1.71 sounds to work with my Behringer B210D powered speaker and had finally got some decent sounding patches.  The only issue I had was this odd sound on the D string that was particularly bad when playing LESTER and SEMI in pos 3. So I was excited to try out fw v2.0, hoping that the odd noise would be tamed and that I would love the sound of the v2.00 models.   Oh my oh my was I disappointed.  The v2.00 models sounded like they had lost their balls - like they had sampled guitars that had their volume controls truned down to half or under and their tone controls rolled back a bit.  The TELE 1,3,5 positions which I use suddenly were fainter and weaker The SEMI sounded nothing like what I thought a 335 should sound like. It sounded almost like they had modelled the guitar unplugged rather than the output of the humbuckers.  Does a real 335 really sound like the new HD model? I have never had the chance to play one so I really don't know - but I know it is nothing like the earlier version and to my ears doesn't sound like a semi fitted with humbuckers.

The new acoustics had far more pronounced body sounds and so did the Reso models, but again I felt the output was maybe quitter than before. The new Lester pos 1 model doesn't seem to have the sustain of the earlier one - fading out really quickly when holding a note on my lead patch and again generally sounding thinner.

 

Workbench HD tells me that the GLOABL STRING volumes are as follows:

low E is 0 db

A  is -3.7 db

D is 0 db

G is -2 db

B is 0 db

E is -2.5db

 

I did not set those values - they were the ones it came up with - so are they the default values for GLOBAL STRING volumes  with fw v2.00?

 

So, I have a choice.  Do I try yet another re-install v2.00 in the hope that it was an install error and that next time I will get nice full sounding HD models with the correct level of output?

Or do I go through each model with Workbench HD and tweak the output volumes to see if I can reintroduce the balls to their sound?

Or do I just reset the GLOBAL STRING volumes up a few db?

Or roll back to a previous version?

 

Thanks in advance for your responses.

[guitarno]

   Some people really don't like some of the models in 2.0, especially the strats when compared to 1.9 or other earlier versions. If you are going to use 2.0, you may want to try updating to 2.0 several times in a row. This was stated in a couple of different posts here. It doesn't really make any sense to me, but apparently it's possible to have an update that reports being "successful", but still have some kind of data anomally that causes problems. The solution proposed in one post (which now I can't seem to find) was to update several times successfully in a row.

 

   As far as the global string volumes, if you re-flash, they should all start out at zero as far as I've seen. They should only be at other values if you change them. That is strange if you didn't set them.

 

Here are some other 2.0 issue related posts. Make sure you follow the update procedures in the first post exactly. You also should not be plugged into a USB "Hub" port, only into a USB port directly on your computer. You also may want to shutdown / unplug all other connected hardware when you do this.

 

http://line6.com/support/page/kb/_/guitars/james-tyler-variax-guitars/variax-reflash-and-software-update-instructions-r103

 

http://line6.com/support/topic/2866-how-many-persons-rolled-back-to-a-before-hd-version/?hl=%2Bvariax+%2Bfirmware+%2Bupdate&do=findComment&comment=18823

 

http://line6.com/support/topic/2121-variax-20-spank-bug/page-3?hl=%2Bvariax+%2Bfirmware+%2Bupdate&do=findComment&comment=13889

 

http://line6.com/support/topic/2190-my-jtv-hd-20-experience-ordeal/?hl=%2Bvariax+%2Bfirmware+%2Bupdate

[edstar1960]

Thanks guitarno.

 

I am plugged into a rear USB port, and I have now tried updating to v2.0 again but still had the same result - very low output volume on the TELE, STRAT and SEMI making the sound very thin and weak as if they were modelled with the volume controls turned down to half or less. Maybe boosting their output volumes in Workbench HD would make them usable but should I have to do that?  Does that indicate a problem with my update?  So is a reflash  a better option?

 

I have now rolled back to v1.9 and those models have now got volume, definition and depth back.  They also sound different to v1.71 which I did not expect as I did not think they had changed between those versions. So perhaps my v1.71 install was faulty? I will experiment some more and will try another v2.0 upgrade to see if it sounds different next time.

[edstar1960]

This post from Phil_m (http://line6.com/support/topic/2351-battle-of-the-quacks/) showing v2.0 model strat and real strat recordings is proof positive that the v2.0 STRAT model should sound great.  So I think my issue must be due to a faulty v2.0 flash upgrade even though it said it completed successfully - so it has got to be worth a couple more upgrade attempts before opening a ticket with L6 support.

[edstar1960]

OK - I tried upgrading again - it took a few attempts - but this time things do sound different. I wrote up a full report in this thread:  

http://line6.com/support/topic/2866-how-many-persons-rolled-back-to-a-before-hd-version/

I will use Workbench to tweak to taste and see if I can stick with firmware v2.0.

 

Just to make it easier to follow - I have cut and pasted my entry from the other thread here:

 

OK - so I decided to try upgrading to v2.0 again this morning.   I had got there after a few hiccups previously but thought some models were very weak sounding so rolled back to v1.9 where all models sounded good. So this morning I went from v1.9 to v2.0.  Connected up my JTV59 via the dongle to the same USB port I had used before and on my first attempt it failed with the UNKNOWN MIDI PORT error right at the end.  Odd.  Everything was connected just as before when it had worked. So I tried for a second time. Once again it failed at the end with the UNKNOWN MIDI PORT error. Very odd.  OK - so I thought what if I unplug my Alesis IO/2 USB interface as that is the only thing connected that has a midi port. So, I unplugged the Alesis IO/2 and tried a third time. Wow!  This time it worked and I got the TYLER VARIAX UPDATE SUCCESSFUL.  I tried it out through my HD500 and to my surprise, the ACOUSTICS sounded great, the RESO models sound too loud so may need volume adjusting in Workbench HD, the STRAT was a normal volume and sounded great, the LESTER was incredibly loud, the TELE sounded normal on POS 5 and 3 but on POS 1 (the bridge pu) sounded too quiet, most Tele's I have played the bridge pu is louder and has far more attack than the neck pu, and from what I recall the earlier TELE pos 1 model was louder and had more attack, it certainly drove the HD500 patch I have set up for it far more, so this is one that would need adjusting in Workbench HD to see if it can be tweaked back to what I think it should sound like. I also use the SPECIAL pos 1, and this sounded quieter than v1.9 but not by much and still seemed usable so maybe this is a more accurate model and I can tweak if I need to. Finally the SEMI, well it was louder than the last time I had upgraded, more along the volume of the STRAT and TELE but still was not as full bodied sounding as the prior v1.9 model, but maybe that is how 335 should sound?  It certainly was nowhere near as weak and quiet as the last time I had upgraded and I think this time it is usable and maybe with a tweak in Workbench HD will be great.  So this time I get a different result - but why?  This time v2.0 seems usable and worth perservering with and worth a little effort to tweak to taste.

 

So - I thought - is this a one off - have I got yet another slightly off install?  So I thought to be sure, I would reinstall v2.0 one more time to make sure it was not a fluke.  I went back to the PC, connected up the JTV59 exactly as before and bam first re-install attempt I get the UNKNOWN MIDI PORT ERROR at the end!!  What?? The Alesis IO/2 was not connected.  Everything was as it was before, 20 mins ago when I successfully upgraded.   Oh well!  So I had no choice but to try again - and this time - the second attempt I got the TYLER VARIAX UPDATE SUCCESSFUL.  I rushed off to try through my HD500 to see if anything else had changed or if it was the same as before.  After a few minutes, trying the ACOUSTIC, the SPECIAL, the TELE, the STRAT, the LESTER and the SEMI, I come to the conclusion that it does still sound the same - so maybe I have at last got the correct v2.0 install.  But why does it fail?  And why do I need to attempt the install several times in a row to get it to work?  And why, some times, does it says it works but the models don't sound right?  Try to reinstall again and then the models do sound right?     Confuses the hell out of me.

 

Summary of my thoughts on v2.0 on the models I use:

 

ACOUSTICS - sound great - yes there is more body tone coming through but it is not overpowering this time whereas the first time it was.

RESOS - sound great but sound much louder so probably need volume tweaking in Workbench HD

LESTER - sounds great but much louder so probably needs volume tweaking in Workbench HD

STRAT - sounds great, not noticeable different from before, maybe a bit more subtle

TELE - all sound great except for pos 1, bridge pu, which is too quiet, I would expect this to be louder and have more bite, but is it an accurate representation of their modelled TELE or is it a slight blip in the v2.0 install on my JTV59 and is fine for others?  I may be able to tweak this to taste in Workbench HD unless it is a fault in my installed model - so maybe another flash reinstall is needed for this?

SPECIAL - pos 1 is quitter than before but still usable, a little tweak in Workbench HD may be needed

SEMI - quieter and less full bodied than v1.9, but perhaps this is how a 335 should sound, I don't know. It has more bite.  Again volume can probably be adjusted in Workbench HD if needed.

 

I am disappointed that the install process is not trouble free, and that there is no way of knowing if the update has worked completely successfully even if it tells you it has.

However, I am now no longer greatly disappointed with the models, but it is too early to say whether I am overly impressed with the new versions, but they will probably grow on me and I may find that I can really hear the differences after a few weeks and will not be able to roll back to an ealrlier version.  We will see ..... meanwhile ..... time to play!