Can I Use A Fbv Mkii Express *pcb* To Update My Spider Iv Amp?

[zolaar]

Hello! (and congrats on the new forums!)

 

I have a Spider IV 75 that I want to update to the latest firmware, etc. The MKII FBV Footswitches are a little pricey for me atm, and so I wondered if I could simply use the PCB from a FBV Express MkII to do the job?

 

I've found them on ebay selling for ~$10 for just the bare main circuit board; this is much more within my price range! None of the other FBV parts are included: no lcd display, no leds, no dummy input loads.

 

I recognize that I will be unable to use the pedal's other functions (like, for instance, the pedal-y or stomp-y parts), and that's fine. I just want to update my amp.

 

Since it appears a non-trivial amount of current flows to the FBV unit from the amp, I'm going to check first before I blow my $300 amp + $600 PC

 

Ultimately I want to know:

 

Assuming all cables are attached properly,

 

1) can the bare PCB from a FBV Express MkII can be plugged into the Spider IV amp & my PC without risking damage to the amp or my PC?

 

2) Will I be able to update the amp with this setup ?

[TheRealZap]

I think you'd be on your own trying this... don't know why it wouldn't work... but certainly don't think L6 can support doing this.

[zolaar]

Well yeah. Of course it isn't going to be supported; I AM a realist! :)

 

The real actual FBV has to wait until I can scrape together another $200 for the shortboard (sigh). In the meantime, I just want to update it to its full potential.

 

It would be nice if L6 could at least give me a heads-up as to whether this is safe and isn't likely going to hose my stuff -- even if it's full of caveats and misgivings. It's not like ppl haven't been poking around inside their amps / pedals / etc to customize their guitar tone since... forever? It's unsupported activity, but experts can still provide friendly, helpful info to a conscientious & careful tinkerer, right?

 

...right?

[fflbrgst]

Line6 personnel were no longer reviewing posts on these forums (old version), so may not see your question.  You could try opening a support ticket to see if they answer.

If you bought your amp from a brick-and-mortar store near you, you could bring your amp there and ask them if you could do the update through their demo FBV.  I've heard of others doing this.