jon_bondy Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 My new Shuriken arrived yesterday, with only one dead battery and no battery charger. GuitarCenter is working to ship the missing parts (battery and charger), but I would like to play the guitar now! I tried using the USB interface. The LED near the USB connector blinked green for a little while. The LED on the other end blinked green once, and then blinked red for a little while. The guitar only could play using the mag pickup. I've read here that the Shuriken can work with an external power source over the ethernet cable, but perhaps this is only when power is being supplied by a Helix or similar. Can anyone explain my options? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 1 hour ago, jon_bondy said: My new Shuriken arrived yesterday, with only one dead battery and no battery charger. GuitarCenter is working to ship the missing parts (battery and charger), but I would like to play the guitar now! I tried using the USB interface. The LED near the USB connector blinked green for a little while. The LED on the other end blinked green once, and then blinked red for a little while. The guitar only could play using the mag pickup. I've read here that the Shuriken can work with an external power source over the ethernet cable, but perhaps this is only when power is being supplied by a Helix or similar. Can anyone explain my options? You really don't have any options at the moment. You need one of two things: 1) A functioning battery, or 2) Another Line 6 device (Helix, POD, etc) capable of supplying power via a VDI cable. Otherwise you're stuck with just the mag pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_bondy Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 I bought a used PodHD500 and am using that to power the Shuriken. That works fine ... except that the low E string does not work at all. Not on ANY of the presets. I opened the back up and re-seated the connector, but no joy. On a few presets (where the volume is huge) the low E can be barely heard as a low buzz. I realize that one can set the volume on each string, but the likelihood that the previous players of this guitar set the volume on the low E to zero on EVERY preset seems low. And I cannot check the presets because the guitar will not run the electronics when using USB and no battery. My sense is that the low E piezo sensor is bad, or is mis-wired. Nothing is obviously wrong, visually, on either end. Anything else I should try before returning the guitar to Guitar Center as defective? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 1 hour ago, jon_bondy said: And I cannot check the presets because the guitar will not run the electronics when using USB and no battery. Yes you can... use the POD. Connect it to your computer (you'll be wanting the POD Edit software anyway), plug in the Variax with the VDI, and you can get into the Workbench software via the POD connection. You no longer need the stupid USB dongle (but save it anyway...). That said, I'd agree that it's unlikely the previously owner turned the low E volume down to nothing on every model, but you never know...maybe he was a big Keith Richards fan ;)...Anyway, you can check if you want to. Quote My sense is that the low E piezo sensor is bad, or is mis-wired. Nothing is obviously wrong, visually, on either end. That'd be my guess. Quote Anything else I should try before returning the guitar to Guitar Center as defective? Don't bother. If the piezo is dead, there's nothing you can do anyway, unless you want to try ordering a replacement and do it yourself. Just take it back while you still can and let them deal with it. You paid for a functional guitar... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_bondy Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 I moved the low E string around a bit, and now the piezo is working. A little frightening that it might fail again, but I can play it for a week or two before I have to return it. Thanks for your help: I now have both the HD500 Edit and the Workbench running, which is very useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinescudaniell Posted September 6, 2021 Share Posted September 6, 2021 Speaking of batteries, mine seems to completely lose it's charge if I leave it in the guitar over night. Even if it's 3/4 full as indicated by the LED lights on the back of the guitar, the next day - it's flat. Do I need a new battery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_bondy Posted September 6, 2021 Author Share Posted September 6, 2021 My batteries last for weeks just sitting in the guitar. Make sure the guitar is not plugged in: plugging the guitar in switches the battery on and starts draining it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 21 hours ago, marinescudaniell said: Speaking of batteries, mine seems to completely lose it's charge if I leave it in the guitar over night. Even if it's 3/4 full as indicated by the LED lights on the back of the guitar, the next day - it's flat. Do I need a new battery? Are you leaving it on a stand with the 1/4" cable plugged in? If so, that's your problem... plugging it in is the equivalent of an "on" button. If that's not the case, then yes... If say you have a deceased battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinescudaniell Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 20 hours ago, cruisinon2 said: Are you leaving it on a stand with the 1/4" cable plugged in? If so, that's your problem... plugging it in is the equivalent of an "on" button. If that's not the case, then yes... If say you have a deceased battery. Ahhh, yes i do have it plugged in on the stand - I will make sure to unplug it. Hopefully that solves this issue. Cheers all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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