Octo777

Well, just a little update on my previous post. Since opening up my desk, unplugging and reconnecting the ribbon cables, I have not experienced a single drop out on any channels! I've been using Channels 1+2 and 5+6 on rotation while teaching/practicing and everything has been perfect. I am fairly confident at this point that reseating the ribbon cables has been enough to solve this long running issue! Again, I am obviously going to be monitoring everything extremely closely as I am still hyper paranoid that the issue will return at the most inopportune of moments, but till then, all is good1

That is very interesting Rewolf! Well after I finished some work with the desk last week, I cracked it open over the weekend to have a look inside and review what I may or not be able to do in regards to the earthing. I have to say from what I observed, the earthing points on the sockets/pcb looked pretty solid and I saw very little evidence for poor earth contact to be the significant factor in causing these drop outs..... Through the process of my investigation, I obviously had to disconnect the ribbon cables and then reconnect when putting everything back together. Now, to be fair, I've not had a chance to check everything extensively yet (I simply focussed on the problematic channels) but I used my desk for a few hours while teaching today and since I had the desk apart, I've had zero drop outs on Channels 1 or 6 that were consistently dropping out all the time before!!! Like Rewolf, I'll be monitoring things over the next while as well as doing a more specific test in the next few days, but it definitely seems like in some cases, simply reseating the ribbon cables may be all that is required to fix these drop outs......

So, I have been working with the issues on channels 1 and 6 (generally avoiding using them) which has been OK for most things since posting this 2 years ago. However I have some full live work (the first in a while) coming up in the next few months and going on the assumption that it was faulty input sockets, I was looking to have them replaced by Line 6. However, after having a scan of the forums, I see that many more have reported very much the same issues across different in's and outs and that the fault may have been traced to an unsubstantial Earth on the sockets not making good contact with the chassis of the unit with a tricky looking fix of soldering a wire to each tab and then connecting it a universal earth point on the chassis. Assuming that this is indeed a reliable solution to the issues reported above, then great! I am rubbish with a Soldering iron and this is not something I dare attempt myself, despite the fact that my unit is now out of warranty. I'd be quite happy to pay for work to be done in order to repair my M20d, but given that I use my desk almost every day for work, I am obviously eager to avoid having to send my desk away......and again this is under the assumption that this will actually solve the issue of the drop outs! Is anyone aware if this is a solution that a Line 6 service centre would even carry out? Or is there potentially a less technically demanding solution such as simply spreading the tab to ensure it makes contact with the chassis? I'm really just looking for some clarification before I take steps in either direction.

So much lulz, some great advice and sadly some pig headed arrogance in this post. The thing I loved about the HD500 when it first came out (I was an early adopter and still have and use my original HD500) was that it was easy to get great tones with minimal tweaking. Not zero tweaking, but minimal. That is not what has happened with the PV, for whatever reason. I am lucky enough to have a decent amount of experience with all manner of 5150, 5150II as well as 6505 and 6505+ amps in real life though sadly I never owned one. I can echo Robbie61's sentiments with all of these amps, that they were all super easy to get magical tones out of the box with no modding and minimal tweaking. The PV Panama does not share these traits with the real world amps. I've only just got my Stagescape PA home after it being out doing a stage production the past few weeks, so I still haven't had time to tweak with my regular set up yet. I will be using some of the great advice from this post to tweak and improve, but I have limited time let alone the desire to spend time polishing the tone of a paid amp which in my opinion, should be sounding magical out of the virtual box...... If I don't get something usable over the next few days, I'll be deauthorizing and getting a refund.

Hey folks, its been a while, still using all my L6 gear, just don't have much time to interact these days. When I saw Line 6 had added the Peavey 5150 to the HD models, I had to come and upgrade and was happy to pay for the Metal Amp pack after all, a 5150 was #1 on my wish list for amps. However, I have to admit I am pretty underwhelmed by the 5150 model, I thought something was wrong when I heard all this buzz coming, tweaked a bit and made it go away a bit, but still wasn't ideal by any means. Then I come on here and see that the 5150 being too hot is something many users are experiencing.... I'm kind of concerned that someone at Line 6 listened to that Amp model and thought it was OK to be released.....not only that, but that it was OK to CHARGE for it too because well......it's not very good at all, is it? I mean, it definitely sounds like a 5150....it's just a shame it sounds like a 5150 being played from inside a wasps nest..... I'll persevere for a while when I have time to tweak....but I have a distinct feeling I will be returning and getting a refund, which is a real shame!!!

See my thread for details of a very similar problem.... After several months I diagnosed the fault down to a faulty Multi Socket on that particular input as well as input 6. http://line6.com/support/topic/6559-issue-volume-reduction-on-stereo-grouped-device/

The M20d is pretty versatile and I've used it in a number of different configurations. My most common set up I use is for my Acoustic Duo. At one point I had 3 L3m's and so used two for FOH and one for Monitor all using L6 Link and it worked beautifully. For full Band set ups, I used it in the same way with the addition of 2 L3s Subs and either one or two (depending on the size of the stage) Behringer Foldback monitors and I had no issues with the fact that I was using both a monitor on L6 Link as well as two monitors from the Monitor outputs. Ultimately, I found carrying 3 L3m's quite cumbersome, especially for acoustic gigs and so opted to sell off an L3m and now I just use the Behringer Monitors. If money allows, I will definitely look into getting some L2 speakers for Monitors though. I guess to sum up, yeah I use the M20d with both Line 6 and other brand speakers and it works beautifully.

Oh really? This almost seems counter intuitive as it would make more sense (in my head at least) to have the speaker producing the bass, closest to the floor? Unless perhaps they found using the top sub to produce the bass frequency produces better clarity somehow? Regardless, the key thing for our OP to remember is that if they want an FRFR system (and they do) not to worry about Virtual Tiltback and stay in Reference/PA mode.

Actually, there is a Sub at bottom and the top, the tweeter is in the middle.

There are a couple of key things you need to be aware of in regards to the virtual tilt back and FRFR in general. 1st thing is, Virtual Tilt back is only turned on via one of the backline modes (Guitar, Keyboard, Acoustic) while the speaker is in an upright position and is not mounted on a pole or turned on it's side. Virtual Tilt-back optimizes the speaker tuning to achieve an upward tilt to its main axis and the idea is that it helps aim the sound upward towards you when the speaker is placed on the ground (like and angled 4x12 cab). HOWEVER.....when you use "Electric Guitar" mode while you will get the virtual tiltback feature actived, you won't be playing FRFR as the Electric Guitar mode turns of the tweeter and just uses the subs (again, just like a 4x12). I can say with experience (and in my opinion) that using P.A. mode to get FRFR with a Pod HD using L6 Link gives you the best sound anyway.....the Electric Guitar mode might be better if you are plugging direct into an input with another external Amp Sim or whatever, but Electric Guitar Mode really lacks definition with the HD units.

So, I just got word from Thomann today that my device is apparently being shipped back to me but that "The indicated defect could not be detected". I'm obviously not very happy at this point and I've contacted them and asked them to hold the shipping to ensure an engineer has a more detailed thorough look at it and even said I'd provide the above videos for reference, just waiting to hear back. If they send it back with no repair, I'll have to send it back to Line 6 direct and send Thomann the bill.....hah!

Hah! Ditto! I had one of the wheels break on mine too and was wondering if it's possible to get replacements....

The short answer is Yes, more than loud enough.

Unfortunately, the "fix" hasn't really worked and when I turn the M20d on now, the channels on both 1 and 6 are showing the same issues. Granted it is possible to jerk them into life by manipulating the sockets, but obviously, this is not how the M20d is meant to work so I have contacted my supplier to arrange a Warranty repair/replacement. Fingers crossed that whole process doesn't take too long! For those interested, here are a couple of videos demonstrating the issues. First one here shows my Pod HD500 connected to channels 1 and 2 and the intermittent cutting in and out on Channel 1, then how it should be when switching to Channels 7/8 and then back to 1/2. Second video shows the channel cutting in and out via manipulation of the socket.

Hey guys, So I'm done with all my work commitments using my M20d for time being and have been avoiding using Channel 1 as a workaround with no issues. So, I sat down tonight just to confirm a few things and gather some solid evidence before contacting my supplier regarding getting my M20d fixed/replaced under my 3 Year Warranty and I think I've actually narrowed down the problem to a faulty Multi Socket on Channel One (and MIGHT have even fixed it so to speak). Basically, I was able to recreate the issue that I'd been having with my POD Stereo Grouped with Channel 1 and 2 by giving the XLR Jack in Channel 1 a wiggle in the socket and was able to make the signal drop in our out by moving the Jack up or down. (I even videoed the process as evidence). I then did the same test using a single Mic and XLR cable and again was able to make the signal drop and then return to normal. However, since giving the socket a good wiggle with the different XLR cable, I now can't get the signal to drop out any more and for all intents and purposes, have "fixed" the issue.... Working on the assumption that the issue I was having was being caused by simply a dirty socket, are there any safe (and more reliable ways other than wiggling the jack in the socket) that I can give the sockets a clean to avoid this issue in the future, that also won't null my 3 year warranty? An air duster perhaps? Once again, any insights to this are greatly appreciated. Many thanks!