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Problems with my Line 6 Variax 600. Humidity pickup cut out... Fix or buy New Line 6 guitar?


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So the last 2 outside gigs I played with my Helix and Line 6 Variax 600 I had two different strings either stop working completely due to humidity/condensation. At times they would sound be at about 1/4 % volume compared to the other strings and sound broken up. I used a hair dryer on stage tonight to try to fix the issue and had to ultimately just skip the strings that were not working.. Lead fills.. and work around it. 

 

 

My questions are as follows;

 

Is this fixable on the Line 6 Variax 600? (I have already replaced all of the piezo pickups a few years ago)

 

Do the brand new Line 6 guitars on the market eliminate this issue?? I love the modeling and use it a lot. 

 

One other question that came to mind was the issues with switching from one patch to another patch with an acoustic sound. The variax 600 sometimes does not model like it's supposed to unless I switch patch 2-3 times or so. Then you hear the true acoustic modeling start working. Is this an issue with the newer Variax guitars? I really want that issue fixed. I have reached out to Line 6 on facebook a couple of times, but no response to this question. 

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9 hours ago, guitarbilly said:

So the last 2 outside gigs I played with my Helix and Line 6 Variax 600 I had two different strings either stop working completely due to humidity/condensation. At times they would sound be at about 1/4 % volume compared to the other strings and sound broken up. I used a hair dryer on stage tonight to try to fix the issue and had to ultimately just skip the strings that were not working.. Lead fills.. and work around it.

 

I have a 700 but I believe there are no substantial differences with the 600 regarding piezos and modeling.


Some time ago I had a problem with the piezo of a string, one of the 3 low strings, i.e. in the area where the palm of the hand comes into contact with the bridge in particular for palm muting, with consequent transfer of sweat and fragments of skin to the underlying elements.


Following the advice of a friend from this forum, I gently extracted the piezo from its housing (IIRC I used adhesive tape to grab it), and I cleaned with isopropyl alcohol both the piezo and housing elements which must necessarily create a perfect electrical contact between them, which with accumulation of dirt over time is lost.


Moreover, before putting the piezo back into its housing, I turned it 180 degrees, to offer a new side of it to the string.
Since then it has always worked perfectly.

 

I have not replaced any piezos to date, and have been using the guitar every day for years.
 
9 hours ago, guitarbilly said:

One other question that came to mind was the issues with switching from one patch to another patch with an acoustic sound. The variax 600 sometimes does not model like it's supposed to unless I switch patch 2-3 times or so. Then you hear the true acoustic modeling start working. Is this an issue with the newer Variax guitars? I really want that issue fixed. I have reached out to Line 6 on facebook a couple of times, but no response to this question. 

 

maybe the model selector is dirty or worn and if so a light sprinkle of de-oxid or a drop of isopropyl alcohol along the pot shaft could help..

 

or maybe at some point the knob of the models was removed and then reinserted back not exactly as before ..
even though the knob stops at predefined points when it moves, the potentiometer (shaft) below can move in a linear way and each model has a small range area (a few degrees) of it for its selection, so if the above knob (moving in steps) is not positioned in such a way that its stop points correspond to the center of that linear range of the pot for each model, and maybe the stop points are too close to the border between one model area and another, the selection does not work as it should.

 

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Thank you! I had not heard about cleaning them, but I have tried rotating in the past before I ultimately had to replace them all. As far as the modeling is concerned I am talking about a preset patch that I have programmed to switch to an acoustic guitar via the patch. So I am not flipping any switches, etc for that patch. Sometimes I will use some alternate tunings and that always works fine within that patch. It's just switching to the patch that the guitar's modeling isn't activated via the patch. Once I hit the bank button and select that patch again 2-3 times it corrects itself and activates the modeling. 

 

There are several forum posts about condensation of the piezos being an issue. I know a few people were saying they had that issue with JTV 89s? I am wondering if the Variax Standard or the Shuriken are having the same issues of if they designed them differently?

 

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1 hour ago, guitarbilly said:

It's just switching to the patch that the guitar's modeling isn't activated via the patch. Once I hit the bank button and select that patch again 2-3 times it corrects itself and activates the modeling. 

 

Have you tried another VDI cable?.. or ethernet cable?
Are the pins of the modeler and guitar VDI sockets still well aligned?

 

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I will look at this and see, but if I switch models on the guitar it is fine... only switching to a patch on the Helix is when the modeling sometimes doesn't work.

 

As far as the peizo pickups are concerned.. What about putting a little dielectric grease on each one? Do you think that would keep moisture from humid conditions from shorting out the pickups? Would it have a diverse affect on the pickups? I wish Line 6 or someone that has experienced this problem would reply.

 

And again... does the problem with moisture/condensation exist with the shuriken models or variax standard? current production models.

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7 hours ago, guitarbilly said:

I will look at this and see, but if I switch models on the guitar it is fine... only switching to a patch on the Helix is when the modeling sometimes doesn't work.

 

As far as the peizo pickups are concerned.. What about putting a little dielectric grease on each one? Do you think that would keep moisture from humid conditions from shorting out the pickups? Would it have a diverse affect on the pickups? I wish Line 6 or someone that has experienced this problem would reply.

 

And again... does the problem with moisture/condensation exist with the shuriken models or variax standard? current production models.

 

When you switch guitar models via Helix patches the devices communicate via the VDI cable and respective ports, that's why I suggested checking them.

But anyway I suspect that also the problem above (like that of piezos) depends on the fact that your instruments are often or always in an exceptionally humid environment such as for example it could be a basement or an underground garage, etc..

I strongly advise against keeping any digital or non-digital musical instrument in an exceptionally humid environment, otherwise they are bound to age prematurely and malfunction over time. 
New generations of instruments would also suffer exactly the same way due to humidity, but initially they would work better only because they have not yet had time to wear out prematurely.


If you really can't do it otherwise you should at least use a dehumidifier in the room where you keep and use your instruments.

 

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@psarkissian Do you know anything about the issue I am having switching to an acoustic patch on the Helix? Wondering if it is more of a compatibility issue with the Variax 600? Sometimes the modeling is not activated. If I select the patch a few times it activates the modeling. Just wondering if when I buy a newer Line 6 guitar if it will eliminate that issue? I will change out the strings and look everything over well today to include cleaning the piezos and looked at pin alignment on the VDI connection.

 

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Check with Support on old Variax with Helix. Being the age difference in these two, I've heard mixed info.

Some have no problems, others some. Check the force/don't force patch on the Helix. If it's in Force mode,

the Helix decides or "forces" the preset onto the Variax, in 'don't Force' mode, the Variax decides on what

Model it uses.

 

600 is a 15 year old (pre dating my time here at Line 6), pre HD product, while JTV, Standard and Shuriken are

current with the HD series, and so made to be compatible. Don't know off-hand how backwards compatible 

the Helix is with older Variax, but I know it was considered in  the Helix functions.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 8/25/2020 at 1:53 PM, guitarbilly said:

Do you know anything about the issue I am having switching to an acoustic patch on the Helix? Wondering if it is more of a compatibility issue with the Variax 600? Sometimes the modeling is not activated. If I select the patch a few times it activates the modeling.

 

IMO, there are two possible problems based on my experience with an older Variax model (300) and a Helix. 

 

It's hard to explain.... but for your own mental health I suggest you set snapshots to discard if you are using an old Variax, and always set the Variax model on the Helix itself.


Now I will try to explain it a little. There is one big "gotcha" for the Helix with the older Variax guitars. The Helix cannot select a custom model unless it is stored in one of the custom presets. If you re-write your preset on a variax with a variation.... your guitar will select the variation with the 5 way, but the Helix can only select the original model. What happens next is confusing to say the least. If you change the models on your Variax and you either... A: save your preset or B: Don't have snapshots set to discard.....  your Helix will get really lost if it tries to remember that location. 

 

The other problem could be the guitar itself.... 

 

If the model selector or the 5 way is dirty it can interfere with this process. The Helix changes the model but the guitar gets a signal very quickly from it's own controls to change to the model the positions are set for. Try placing those controls into a very different position and see if the Helix can control the models with more consistency. If it works, those controls (or one of them) needs a good cleaning. 

 

 

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