robinball Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Please advise as your help would be greatly appreciated... My JTV59 Variax is no longer recognised by Workbench HD. I'm using the latest version of Workbench, I've replaced Monkey with Central and the Variax firmware is the latest version. Central doesn't recognise the guitar and neither does Workbench although the connector lights are both green. All the cabling is fine as the Variax works perfectly with my Helix Floor via the AES/EBU XLR. Not being able to access Workbench means I have no editing capability any longer making the guitar almost worthless In other words, everything is exactly as it should be except nothing is recognising the Variax. As everything was working fine last year I suspect it might be something to do with the software even though I've reinstalled everything. Hopefully someone else has had the same problems and is able to provide a solution! Many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Have you tried using your Helix connected via VDI, rather than the hardware interface device, as the Variax interface? To test you can use a regular RJ-45 (Ethernet) cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinball Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 Thanks for your suggestion. Yes, I've tried all permutations. Connecting to the Helix is fine so there's no cabling problems - the issue is that neither Workbench HD nor Central recognise the Variax when connected to the desktop computer with the VDI USB Interface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 On 5/20/2026 at 11:56 AM, robinball said: ….when connected to the desktop computer with the VDI USB Interface. I think you may be confused. There’s no such thing as the VDI USB interface. There are two ways of connecting a Variax JTV-59 to Workbench HD. You can use the Variax Hardware USB Interface which is a box that sits between the Variax and a computer with certain cables. This does not use VDI. Or you can use a Line 6 VDI-compatible device such as Helix connected to the computer via USB and also connected to the Variax using a VDI cable. This method does not use the external hardware interface and associated cables; Helix is the interface. You need a VDI cable which is a hardened RJ-45 cable, but you can use an RJ-45 cable to test. https://line6.com/store/product/98-030-0004 The product description is well out of date; it also works with Helix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Hmmm,... both LED's are green. Try what we call the "1/4" jack battery fake out". -Connect with the interface device with its CAT5 RJ45 cable. -Insert a fully charged JTV battery in the battery compartment. -Insert 1/4" TRS (stereo) adapter plug into the 1/4" jack. There should be a relay click when you do that. Both LED's on the interface should be green. When the relay clicks, the battery is engaged and the USB should be active and not sag the 5-volt USB line. Should be able to update or use Workbench. If it is still having a glitches, find a Line 6 authorized service center in your area. https://line6.com/find/service_center/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinball Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 On 5/20/2026 at 7:42 PM, silverhead said: I think you may be confused. There’s no such thing as the VDI USB interface. I beg to differ - please see image of Variax product box. I very rarely use the Variax and when I do it's for recording purposes so access to Workbench HD is vital for preparation. As stated before, everything worked fine last year but this year when I went to use it, it wouldn't connect to the desktop despite everything (cables etc.) being in good order but I will retry the 'battery fake out' suggestion again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinball Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 On 5/20/2026 at 8:03 PM, psarkissian said: Hmmm,... both LED's are green. Try what we call the "1/4" jack battery fake out". -Connect with the interface device with its CAT5 RJ45 cable. -Insert a fully charged JTV battery in the battery compartment. -Insert 1/4" TRS (stereo) adapter plug into the 1/4" jack. There should be a relay click when you do that. I tried this approach again but Workbench HD and Central couldn't recognise the Variax. Thank you everyone for all your help and support but I think it's time to pass it over to Line 6 - I'm still convinced it's a software, not a hardware, issue but I'll let them decide and figure out a solution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 On 5/21/2026 at 4:33 AM, robinball said: I beg to differ - please see image of Variax product box.. Sorry for the misinformation. Hope you get things sorted out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinball Posted Monday at 07:38 AM Author Share Posted Monday at 07:38 AM Problem 'semi-solved'! To get it to work, the signal chain has to be as follows: Variax to Helix Floor using the Variax VDI cable. (I use a Helix Stadium XL but I had to dig out my old Helix Floor as the Stadium has no Variax input) Fully charged battery in the Variax with a TSR cable in the 1/4" output to a Vox AC15 USB from the Helix Floor to the desktop computer running Workbench HD Both Central and Workbench recognised the Variax! (The legacy Monkey just doesn't function any longer hence having to use Central) Workbench HD (according to Line 6) doesn't work with Variax guitars running anything older than Firmware 2.0 and so they need to be updated to the latest version. My Variax JTV 59 has been running Firmware 2.23 since I bought it and it is still not recognised by Workbench HD when trying to run a direct connection despite what Line 6 says. This is what leads me to believe it is a software issue - something is stopping the Variax, the desktop and Workbench HD from talking to each other (they did last year!). My belief is it could be being caused by one of the many OS updates (Windows 11) and as Line 6 seem to be archiving support for Variax they have not released any updated versions of Workbench HD to maintain continued compatibility. Thanks to everyone who has actively contributed to this thread and hopefully for some of the passive readers who might have had a similar issue they have also gained something from the commentary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted Monday at 12:42 PM Share Posted Monday at 12:42 PM On 5/25/2026 at 3:38 AM, robinball said: Problem 'semi-solved'! To get it to work, the signal chain has to be as follows: Variax to Helix Floor using the Variax VDI cable. (I use a Helix Stadium XL but I had to dig out my old Helix Floor as the Stadium has no Variax input) Fully charged battery in the Variax with a TSR cable in the 1/4" output to a Vox AC15 USB from the Helix Floor to the desktop computer running Workbench HD … You should not need the battery in #2. Try removing it and using a TS cable to your Vox. Does behaviour change? In fact, using both VDI connection and battery simultaneously can overload and damage internal circuitry in the guitar. Avoid doing that. What’s the current state? Did you manage to update the firmware? Is Workbench HD working now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsbrum Posted Monday at 02:47 PM Share Posted Monday at 02:47 PM I’ve been having this problem for about a year, just not a Helix but a Pod HD500X. As a software developer, software functional test and performance engineering specialist, much like the OP i have gone through every permutation of signal chain that I have available to me. Variax HD Workbench *only* recognizes my JTV59 now (all at lastest available firmwares), with USB VDI to laptop USB (mac book pro), and battery, and 1/4” cable. The new Line 6 Central sees the Variax when it is plugged into the Pod HD500X VDI (no 1/4”), AND Pod HD500X sees the JTV59 in the same configuration. Ironically the only software that does not recognize the JTV59 is Workbench HD. This is because Workbench HD is using different VDI libraries than the other tools. I ran deep code analysis on the handshaking routines for all the software and provided the code call chains to Line6 Support with highlighting and demonstrated the variance in Workbench HD and they basically said nothing is going to happen, they no longer have budget to invest support into this product line. I even offered my help for free as a software developer but they declined. Sigh. This is why I keep an old Macbook Pro around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinball Posted Tuesday at 09:26 AM Author Share Posted Tuesday at 09:26 AM You're quite right - running the Variax with just a VDI cable into the Helix Floor does work without the need for either the battery or a TSR cable. Workbench HD loads and recognises the Variax allowing me to fine tune and export settings (see picture) - BUT - the only way to get Workbench HD to function is via this Helix Floor process (workaround) and not direct from the Variax to the desktop (the preferred route). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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