barsiem Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 Hi everyone. I've checked the forums already for solutions to this and have not yet had any success. Posting here (more in desperation!) that there may be something else I can try that I've missed. I have contacted support who were not much help sadly, saying this wasn't a known issue, despite it clearly having impacted others before. They did give me details of someone who used to work there, but he is away at the moment so I'm trying to sort out in the meantime. Background is I bought a Variax 500 off ebay - it worked fine. I wanted to add custom tunings so installed Monkey on a Windows 10 machine. It asked to update firmware, which I allowed (BIG MIISTAKE) - the update failed, and now the guitar will not output any sounds. Nor will Monkey recognise the guitar at all. Things I've tried (multiple times) • Plugging the machine in via a Variax USB Interface. The Interface gives two green dots, which indicates it recognises a guitar is plugged in. Monkey will recognise the USB Interface, but not the guitar • Plugging the guitar into a PODxt Live, and connecting the POD to the computer. Again, Monkey will recognise the POD, but not the guitar. I'm unsure if the POD recognises the guitar as I'm not familiar with it • I've checked the pins for damage on the guitar port, but I don't think this is an issue as it was recognised by Monkey before the firmware "update" and is still recognised by the USB interface • I've tried on two separate machines, both running Windows 10 • I've installed multiple versions on Monkey, not have worked Things I haven't been able to try due to lack of equipment - if this has worked for others I'd appreciate it if you can confirm and I can look to source • Using a PC running Windows 7 / 8 - nor have I tried a Mac • Using a MIDI cable to connect to the PC. If I do this would Monkey potentially recognise it and update the firmware? I literally had the guitar for a few hours before this happened so am pretty frustrated. If anyone has any advice I would appreciate it! Thank you for reading :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 (edited) Monkey is used for Firmware updates, Variax Workbench (not Workbench HD) is used for creating custom patches and tunings. Original Workbench is compatible with Windows 7 and 8,... but not 10. 500 Electric,... should be able to do alternate tunings manually. That would be in the manual. https://line6.com/legacy/variax500 Edited June 19, 2023 by psarkissian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barsiem Posted June 19, 2023 Author Share Posted June 19, 2023 On 6/19/2023 at 4:34 PM, psarkissian said: Monkey is used for Firmware updates, Variax Workbench (not Workbench HD) is used for creating custom patches and tunings. Original Workbench is compatible with Windows 7 and 8,... but not 10. 500 Electric,... should be able to do alternate tunings manually. That would be in the manual. https://line6.com/legacy/variax500 Thank you, but I cannot do any manual tunings in workbench because the firmware failed and now the software will not recognise that I have a Variax plugged into the computer. That includes workbench. I need a way to get the software to recognise the guitar so I can reflash the fireware to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 Something as old as a 500 Electric can have oxidized and intermittent solder point. Recommend a Line 6 authorized service center in your area that knows the product, they can give it check out. https://line6.com/find/service_center/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barsiem Posted June 20, 2023 Author Share Posted June 20, 2023 On 6/20/2023 at 12:39 AM, psarkissian said: Something as old as a 500 Electric can have oxidized and intermittent solder point. Recommend a Line 6 authorized service center in your area that knows the product, they can give it check out. https://line6.com/find/service_center/ The usb interface recognises the guitar so I don't think it's that. But I will contact the service center if the problem persists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brishaban Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 How did you make out with the service center? I have an old 300 and it's changing models on it's own. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 300 with random model changing,... intermittent solder point, loose connector or a loose ground. https://line6.com/find/service_center/ Have the authorized service center in your area that can deal with Variax take care of it. There is a mini pull down sub menu for general service and those that also deal with Variax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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