adessmith

So I currently have 3 of the older X2 Digital wireless mics. We NEVER have any dropout issues, but they have been dropped too many times and starting to "act up". Looking at replacing them with three of the newer XD-V units, but I'm afraid if I do, I'm asking for trouble based past experience and what I have read about wifi interference. Previously, I used to use a Relay G30 with my guitar and found that it would completely overtake my wifi network. Realizing that we rely heavily on our wifi network, and these mics use the same tech from that G30 I previously owned, I decided to do some research and what I have read so far is giving me 2nd thoughts. We use 2 wireless networks. One is for our Presonus mixer, so devices connected to this wifi access point will definitely be within close proximity of the mics. We have 5 wireless devices connected to this network. The other is a "general" network connection used by staff for laptops, cell phones, tablets, etc. Both networks operate in the 2.4ghz band and there are lots of older devices connecting to them that don't support 5ghz wireless. I have seen charts here that support my concerns that, between the 2 wifi networks, and the 3 mics, there will likely be no way around some interference. For instance, these are supposed to be the safe "line 6 channels" for the listed wifi channel: Wifi Channel 1: 1,12 Wifi Channel 6: 2, 6 Wifi Channel 11: 5,8,9 So if my networks are setup on channels 1 and 6, Wifi channel 1 will interfere with with channels 2-6 and wifi channel 6 will interfere with 1,3-5, & 7-12. Any combination you choose, all of the line 6 channels will clash with at least one of the two wifi networks. Other than replacing our wifi routers and all the devices connected to them with 5ghz units, or going with traditional wireless mics from another manufacturer, do I have any other options? I LOVE our old X2 wireless systems, they have given me years of service, but the quality standards were not up to par. The newer relay units feel like they are built more solid. I really hope to be able to stay with line 6 when I replace them, but I cant spend up to $1,800 on these 3 mics with the very real possibility that it would cause issues with our personal monitor mixing and remote FOH mixing. How do the RF1 vs RF2 modes play into all this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Webster defines genre as: : a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content The whole idea of genre vs subject material is rather...... subjective. Genres change over time, new genres are added, and old ones sort of disappear... It's nothing more than a way to categorize music. When any "category" is referenced frequently enough, people start referring to it as a genre... When someone mentions a "worship song", I think of a keyboard playing pads, an acoustic guitar, and a electric guitar with heavy reverb and dotted 8th delays just on the edge of breaking up. Its typical of songs in a "worship set", usually during a church service. It's a whole lot easier to say "worship tone" than try to describe the sound you want.

I use my HD500 with a JTV-59 every Sunday also. I run direct to the PA system, and use a personal in-ear monitor mix. I love the flexibility to switch to acoustic tones on the JTV between, or in the middle of, a song. I have just never settled into any patches that I really like for electric. I've never been really good at dialing in tones on amps, and you just have too many choices with these. I just switched from an X3L, it took me about 3 years to finally get the X3L really dialed in the way I liked. I don't remember which models I was using on that, but they aren't available on the HD500. I switched to the HD500 to get the midi control. We use backing rhythm tracks because we don't have drums or bass, and I use the HD500 to control Ableton-Live via midi. On the Variax I'm using the magnetics for my electric tones, and use the Variax modeling only to get acoustic tones. Most of our songs come from the CCLI top 100 (Mighty to Save, How He Loves, Glorious Day, Happy Day, Redeemed, Revelation Song, etc...) You know... Pretty standard praise and worship type stuff these days.... Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Chris Tomlin, Lincoln Brewster.... I cant remember what my current tones are based on, but I believe it is one of the blackface models... Tube screamer, digital delay, wah and fuzz... Whatever it is, I get a decent clean tone, a usable slightly overdriven tone, but just cant get a really heavy tone I like (however, I'm not quite satisfied with any of them) I like to keep it down to 4 tones (including my acoustic one) to keep it in a single bank. Anything more than that just starts to get confusing.

I use the magnetics for my electric tone, and modeling for my acoustic tone, and make a smooth transition or blend the two together with the expression pedal. I was just curious if anyone has a different method for doing this. This is how I do it: In the setup menu (hold the VIEW button to get into that menu) scroll down to the inputs page (page 3). For input 1 source I selected VARIAX (knob 1) (This will route the models to the top section where the path splits on the screen) For input 2 source I selected VARIAX MAGS (knob 2) (This routes the magnetic pickups to the bottom section of the dual paths) You also wanna make sure input setup is set to preset, not Global (do this with knob 4) From what I understand that is just to make sure that the inputs can be set differently on a patch by patch basis. Then scroll down to page 7 (the Variax page) Make sure Preset is selected (knob 1)... again, I think this ensures that each patch can have its own model specified. Also, ensure that Vol+Tone+Toggle lock is selected (knob 3) so that any volume, tone, or switch changes you make for the electric tone doesn't change the acoustic model you are using. Then use the #2 dial to set the acoustic model you want to use. THEN, exit the setup menu (using the view button) Place any effects, preamps, etc you want to use for the acoustic sound in the top section of the "dual path" Place your amp and effects for your electric in the bottom section. You also want to select the mixer (the little doohickey where the two paths come together) and make sure neither A or B are panned left or right They need to both be at 0. You can also adjust the volume level of each path here to balance the volume between the two. NOW, the trick to blend between them with the volume pedal can be accomplished 2 ways. You can put a volume pedal in each path. This uses up some of your DSP though, and two effects "slots" on the screen. The other thing you can do is assign the expression pedal to a parameter of an amp or effect (such as volume). To assign the expression pedal to a parameter of a virtual volume pedal or amp, select the amp or pedal is the signal chain and double tap the MOVE button. Turn knob 1 until you see the parameter you want to control. (The only parameter for the volume pedal is called volume, so turning it wont do anything when you are setting up a volume pedal in the signal chain), then turn knob 2 to select EXP1 or what you want to use to control it (you could even blend with the volume or tone knobs on the guitar!) Then use knobs 3 and 4 to select your min and max settings. What I do is assign the expression pedal to the volume parameter of the amp model I use for the electric, and insert a volume pedal for the acoustic. The trick, though, is to enter the max and min values backwards on one of them. For instance: I set the volume pedal on EXP1 (for acoustic) to min 0%, Max 100%. Then I also assigned EXP1 to the volume parameter of the amp for the electric, and set the Min 100%, Max 0% (When EXP1 is at its MIN setting, the volume is 100%, When it is at its MAX setting the volume is at 0) This way the volume pedal controls the acoustic the way you would expect, but controls the electric in reverse (When the expression pedal is at the lowest position [heel down]the electric is all the way up, but the acoustic is all the way down, when it is at the highest position [toe down] the acoustic is turned all the way up, and the electric is all the way down. I have experimented with the values a little, but I've never gotten it to respond exactly like I want. For the most part it works well enough though. The thing to note is, by doing it this way when the expression pedal is exactly 1/2 way between min and max, both tones are at 50% volume. I don't know enough about how sounds mix together, but I would think that 2 guitars playing at the same volume are not 2x as loud, so two guitars at 50% probably don't equal 100% (at least it seems like that when I attempt to "blend" them) Sometimes I disable the volume pedal on the acoustic, so the acoustic stays full blast while I add in the desired amount of electric. Other times I want to make a smooth transition from acoustic to electric, so I keep it on. While I was writing this, I thought about trying to set it up so that EXP1 acts like a blend between the two, and EXP2 adds the electric without taking out the acoustic, but thinking about how to set it up to do this is making my brain hurt. I'm actually afraid if I try my brain may very well explode...

Yeah, I'm surprised that we haven't heard anything. You would have thought there would have been more information released there. Maybe they have scrapped it... :angry:

I've been using a Black Face with my mags for my electric tone. I basically have 4 patches I use. 1) Locked to Mags, Blackface pretty much clean. Can add tube screamer or delay with foot switches. 2) Locked to Mags, Blackface with a little more gain. Has fuzz that engages with wah. 3) Acoustic 1 model routed left, Mags routed right into blackface. Volume pedal assigned to both but inverted on the blackface. (Gives me ability to blend from one to the other) I also lock out the toggle, tone and volume on the acoustic models for this one, so I can adjust my electric sound without changing up the acoustic. 4) Acoustic 1 only (I use this if I don't need the electric, and want to be able to adjust my volume with the pedal) I really like this setup, but I've never been satisfied with the acoustic on either 3 or 4. The signal chain on the acoustic patch I found was "Tube Comp > Graphic EQ > Studio EQ > Analog Chorus > Hall Reverb > Volume > Tube Comp" I'm not really good with EQ or compression, so I haven't tinkered much with this, but it was the best sounding patch out of the ones I tried with custom tone, but I still like the acoustic without the HD500 best, however, I am using VDI for power and I need to keep my guitar to one channel on our mixer. I was going to try to start over with my acoustic patch(s) and build from the ground up, so I'm just looking for a good neutral starting place.

I use a variax now with my HD500 direct to the PA, and have stopped carrying my acoustic when I play out. I like the variax acoustic models if I plug into a direct box, but how can I get a similar sound running through the HD500? I want to be able to switch from acoustic to electric keeping a similar output level on the same channel. I've found some patches for acoustic on custom tone which are ok, but they all have a lot of DSP processing the sound, and they don't sound quite as good to me as the acoustic models direct to PA without the HD500. Any suggestions for building a patch which will do nothing but allow me to add gain without adding or taking away much from the dry sound? I just want to start with something like that before I try adding any EQ or dynamics processing.

I have Grover locking rotomatics on my 59 (but I put them on myself), I LOVE them! The Grover's don't have the knob on the back, they use an internal cam mechanism which lock on the string as you turn the tuner. Sometimes the high e gets stuck and there is a slot in the end of the tuning peg you can turn with a flat screwdriver to un-jam it. I have only had this happen when using really light gauges. I don't think any of the JTV guitars have come standard with these though... But it almost sounds like what you have...

Yes... 406c is the model I have. One thing that is interesting to note: It seems that there may be a fair amount of variation in the post holes from one 59 to the next. I first put these 406c tuners on a 59 I ordered from music123. They seem to fit "ok" but the holes were a little large. I really had to tighten down on the locknut to make sure they didn't move around. I ended up having a problem with that guitar (not related to the tuners) and had to put the original tuners back in to send it back. When I inserted the tuners in the 59 I have now the holes were a little smaller and the tuners fit tightly. Same model, same finish, but there was a noticeable difference in the size of the post holes.

I didn't have the 59 even 24 hours before I put locking tuners on it. I LOVE the grover rotomatic locking tuners. They make at least one set which is a direct drop in replacement. The ones I have, I believe, are considered the "minis". They are a little smaller than the ones that come on the 59, but they look nice. Well worth the investment. Just push the strings through the holes and bring it to pitch. No slack required, and no manual locking mechanism. I have heard the planet waves are good, but I've been a fan of grovers for many years, and I don't like the thumb screw on the back side of the planet waves.

Ahh... Yes, I forget everyone is not using the variax exclusively. Some would argue that the whole point of the variax is so you don't need to switch guitars.... BUT not everyone will be that sold out. I now use my JTV exclusively. I use just the magnetic pickups for my electric tones, and I use the modeling for my acoustic stuff. Also, allows me to "blend" between acoustic and electric sounds with a smooth transition. I really like the sound of the magnetic pickups. The electric models are fine also, but I'm more of a simple "one acoustic, one electric" kind of guy. I might venture out more in the future, but for now this is what works for me. I like to play around with the other sounds, but I've never used them live. I guess, you COULD copy all your patches to another bank (or set of banks), and save those with the "guitar" input. But then the solution you have already found sounds like it might be a little more elegant for your needs.

Why don't you change the input(s) on those patches to variax mags? That way, it doesn't matter if the modeling gets turned on, the mags are the only thing getting routed to the pod.

I am ready... but if Line 6 is not then I'm fine with waiting. It would be really cool if they somehow combined the HD Edit software and the new HD workbench into a single program which lets you tweak all aspects of your rig in a single program. Oh, and while they are at it, customtone needs to be reworked so we can find Variax and "Dream Rig" optimized patches more easily.

I just upgraded from the X3 Live, to the HD500. One thing that always bugged me about the X3 works much better with the HD500: If your modeling knob is not engaged, and you pull up a patch which forces a model, it WILL TURN IT ON. This never happened with the X3L. Sometimes I would start out with songs on magnetic pickups and at some point in the set switch to a patch for an acoustic sound. If my modeling knob was engaged the patches which specified the MAGS channel would not let the modeling come through, and switching to a patch that forced models would allow only the modeled sounds to come through without the mags... just as you would expect. The problem was, if I ever forgot to push that knob in and engage the modeling function, when I switch to a patch for a model (typically acoustic), you would still only hear the magnetic pickups. I tried to remember, always, when plugging in my VDI cable immediately engage the modeling function or else I would forget. This is NOT the case with the HD500! If you push the modeling switch to turn it off (unlit), then select a patch which forces models, you will see the light come back on!!!! Sorry about the rant, but this excited me last night when I realized it!

Last night I synced my HD500 with the midi beat clock of apple mainstage running a click track. The strange thing is, when I changed patches, the tempo on the pod didn't change instantly, it sort of "made up" the difference slowly until it got to the new tempo. Also, It would drift +/- 0.1 BPM. Most of the time It would run .01 behind apple mainstage. but would bounce a tenth of a BPM. For instance, if the tempo in MS was set to 80BPM, it would mostly stay around 79.9 bpm, but would bounce occasionally to 79.8, and I believe occasionally hit the target 80bpm. Has anyone noticed this? While it's doing this, the tap tempo light seems strange. It will occasionally light up solid for a second or so, and it mostly looks completely out of time with my click track. I only use this for delays at the moment, and it was to late to turn it up and see If I could hear any strange timing on the delays.