HD500/Variax 500.....Please help.

[Anderton]

Originally Posted by Bluesman001

Also, you'd think a company like Line 6 would stand behind their product - even out of warranty. It's not like they stopped making the Variax altogether.

But for them to stand behind their product, the companies that make the parts in that product have to stand behind what they make. The boards may look the same, but there's no guarantee that what's inside any custom chips are the same, or that there haven't been component substitutions over the years for different production runs.

I bought a new computer where it was not possible to replace its motherboard only two years afterward because the motherboard wasn't being made any more. The only option was to try and find one on eBay or whatever, but it could just as easily fail a few months later and be a waste. Besides, I only found a few, and they looked kind of funky. Parts used to have pretty decent life cycles, but no more.

And you'd also think that by now there would be someone else who had a stockpile of spare parts or had a workaround (surely I'm not the only person in North America that's had their Variax go bad.)

Not necessarily. Companies have to buy parts for future replacement at the time the parts are being made, so they check out reliability figures and if they project that, for example, they'll sell 10,000 units over a product's lifetime with a 1% failure rate, they'll need to stockpile 100 widgets. They may end up sitting on 50 widgets that they'll never use, or need another 100. If it's a custom part and they run out, having a production run of 100 units may be cost-prohibitive, or maybe not even possible if the supplier doesn't make those widgets any more.

I recently had a fax machine die. All that's wrong with it is the power supply. There's no available replacement supply, and the transformer isn't an off-the-shelf part. By the time I found an equivalent transformer and modified the case to accept it, or built an external power supply and added some connectors to hook into the fax machine, it would have been cheaper to buy a new one. Virtually NO companies do component level repairs any more, just board swaps (and that assumes having a board to swap). I don't like that throw-away mentality, and miss the days when you could just pop in a new part and keep going, but those days are gone.

[Bluesman001]

Originally Posted by germanicus2112

Line 6 told you they didnt have replacement boards for the 500?
"dparks Aug 2, 10:17 AM

Hi,

I have checked with the parts department and we have no more main boards for the Varaix 500.

At this point, the cheapest solution would be Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LINE-6-VARIA...item2a20ad13b0

Thanks,
David "

Not to sound harsh, but you get what you pay for. One takes a risk getting a used out of production guitar which relies heavily on technology. Its hard to see how this is in any capacity Line 6's fault. You acquired a used guitar (god knows what it went through in other hands) that has been out of warranty for AT LEAST 5 years now (500's were phased out around 2005 IIRC).

The Varaix, if I remember correctly - was up to date on firmware when I was using my X3 Live. I got a used HD500 and after patching it up-to-date, I plugged in the variax to try it out, and Monkey prompted for a Variax firmware update. I did that, but during the "writing" phase it errored out with the 8000900c midi timeout. The Variax worked perfectly before the firmware update.

Would you buy a used Dell Computer from 2005 out of warranty and then be upset that Dell doesnt want to replace its motherboard for free? This is really no different.

No one said anything me wanting something replaced for free. Take your hate flames somewhere else.

The other question I have, is why do you need to update the firmware? You said that you had previously updated it with the X3. If so, you are up to date in regards to that guitar. There hasnt been any relevant firmware updates for the varix 500 in many years. The last update for the original variax series was on 1/6/06, here are the notes:

As I said before, I had patched the Variax fully while I had the X3 live. I do not remember the Variax patch version number to compare to the new failed one. The only reason for the patch was due to Monkey telling me I needed one, after doing my HD500 completely.

Does the guitar still work with Workbench?

Workbench sees the Variax in "offline mode" and prompts for a Monkey update of the Variax firmware. I can use workbench in offline mode, but that kinda defeats the purpose.

I understand your frustration, as I have a concern about this occuring with all my variax and roland vg/gr gear, but have been lucky nothing has gone wrong beyond piezo's needing replacement.

Goody Gumdrops for you, besides your negative comments you have not been constructive to this thread (and I hope this DOES NOT happen to your guitar). I am looking for help and answers, not to be flamed because you read into what I am saying.

[Bluesman001]

Originally Posted by Anderton

But for them to stand behind their product, the companies that make the parts in that product have to stand behind what they make. The boards may look the same, but there's no guarantee that what's inside any custom chips are the same, or that there haven't been component substitutions over the years for different production runs.

I bought a new computer where it was not possible to replace its motherboard only two years afterward because the motherboard wasn't being made any more. The only option was to try and find one on eBay or whatever, but it could just as easily fail a few months later and be a waste. Besides, I only found a few, and they looked kind of funky. Parts used to have pretty decent life cycles, but no more.



Not necessarily. Companies have to buy parts for future replacement at the time the parts are being made, so they check out reliability figures and if they project that, for example, they'll sell 10,000 units over a product's lifetime with a 1% failure rate, they'll need to stockpile 100 widgets. They may end up sitting on 50 widgets that they'll never use, or need another 100. If it's a custom part and they run out, having a production run of 100 units may be cost-prohibitive, or maybe not even possible if the supplier doesn't make those widgets any more.

I recently had a fax machine die. All that's wrong with it is the power supply. There's no available replacement supply, and the transformer isn't an off-the-shelf part. By the time I found an equivalent transformer and modified the case to accept it, or built an external power supply and added some connectors to hook into the fax machine, it would have been cheaper to buy a new one. Virtually NO companies do component level repairs any more, just board swaps (and that assumes having a board to swap). I don't like that throw-away mentality, and miss the days when you could just pop in a new part and keep going, but those days are gone.

I agree with your comments about America's "Throw away and buy a new one" mentality that has been forced on the public by companies looking to cash in. I was just floored that no-one at L6 seemed to have ever heard of this kind of failure. And no one had any info or tips beyond the standard 1st level support procedures.

[Anderton]

Originally Posted by Bluesman001

I agree with your comments about America's "Throw away and buy a new one" mentality that has been forced on the public by companies looking to cash in.

It's not just that, it's also a public that wants things NOW. Board swaps are done in minutes, individual parts replacement can take days if that particular part isn't in stock, or weeks/months if a company is in between production runs. A lot of times an assembly line will not be dedicated, but churn out widget A, then do a run of widget B, etc. If they schedule wrong and run out of widget A prematurely but the assembly line is set up to produce widget G...tough luck.

The other thing is the sheer variety of parts. If you had a superhet radio in the 60s, you were dealing with a universe of total parts that, other than custom things like cases or chassis, numbered in the hundreds at most. If you stocked those parts, you could fix any radio.

Think how many parts you'd have to stock to do component-level fixes on a computer...that's why they just throw out the optical drive and screw in a new one.

I was just floored that no-one at L6 seemed to have ever heard of this kind of failure. And no one had any info or tips beyond the standard 1st level support procedures.

Well, it always sucks when that one weirdass glitch happens to you...but it happens. I couldn't update Kontakt 5 from 5.0.2 to 5.0.3. I googled, check forums, etc. and no one else anywhere reported a problem with updating. What's more, as it was part of Komplete, I've updated most of its components and the entire suite of programs - including Kontakt - work perfectly. But I just couldn't update it.

I contacted NI tech support, and they were extremely helpful. They provided a tool that took a snapshot of installations, file paths, etc. and we went back and forth a few times. Finally, they said they simply could not figure out why there was a problem, and the only option was to uninstall then re-install the program (and to their credit, they provided detailed instructions on how to do that and fix some registry issues, too).

Expect more of this type of thing, not less. Sorry, but it's not trending toward things getting any simpler.

[Bluesman001]

 

Originally Posted by Anderton

Update: Line 6 saw this thread, and is trying to track down your support ticket. Could you please PM me with your email address. I could look up the one under which you registered, but can't share it unless you give me permission.

 

So I guess Line6 never went forward with this?

[Bluesman001]

Can anyone tell me what this port is (top of photo)?



Is it possible to somehow connect directly into the main-board to flash a firmware? What kind of connection is that?

[Anderton]

 

Originally Posted by Bluesman001

So I guess Line6 never went forward with this?

 

They passed it along, and it seems the answer is the one you got - don't have replacement 500 boards around any more.

[Bluesman001]

Got a reply on the L6 forums about the connection:

"What kind of connection is that?

Answer: That connector you have marked is for plugging the piezos assembly into. Do not plug anything else into that connector under any circumstances."

[Bluesman001]

If anyone has a main-board/input jack assembly for sale/trade - please let me know.

[elantric]

Bluesman001

Check your inbox

[MattMayfield]

Originally Posted by Bluesman001

Can anyone tell me what this port is (top of photo)?



Is it possible to somehow connect directly into the main-board to flash a firmware? What kind of connection is that?

Answer: "That connector you have marked is for plugging the piezos assembly into. Do not plug anything else into that connector under any circumstances."

They're telling you the truth. The pins on that connector expect analog audio from the piezo pickups in each saddle. That's where I attached Graph-Tech Ghost pickups when I replaced the stock pickups on my Variax transplant.

[Bluesman001]

If anyone has a Variax board/input assembly to sell/trade - please let me know. I'd even take a V300 model. Thanks!

[Bluesman001]

Is it possible to simply swap my (supposedly) fried Variax 500 electric motherboard for say a Variax acoustic 3/5/700 motherboard or any other Variax electric guitar/bass model?

[Bluesman001]

So I found a replacement input jack for the 500.  In the process of installing, I managed to break off the ribbon connector for the bridge pickups.  Similar to this photo barrowed from ION forums of the past:

http://www.instituteofnoise.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC\_ID=25544

 

What is the name of the piezo connector to plug into this port on the v500 board?

 

Any help with where to buy part to hard wire the v500 saddles to this piezo port are definitely welcome.

[BrazilianScopel]

I decided to substitute the original LRBaggs piezzos of my V500 to Graphtech PN-8000-00, since the first ones don't work anymore - except for D string - and I've accidentally disconected the flat cable from the main board. Can I just connect the GT new piezos terminals directly to that port in the photo? I mean, is that easy? No soldering job on the board?