An venting my impotent rage about my HD500x

Leasky

Afternoon!

This is a bit of a self indulgent rant so feel free to ignore.

I have a Line 6 HD500x that I use to record ideas at home and occasionally on stage where I can't use my amp for some reason. And I like it a lot. It may not be cool with the "Axe FX" and "Kemper" guys but you know, it works for me.

Except now it doesn't. The flipping thing has packed in. It resets itself whenever you connect it to a PC (or any computer based device and since it's what I primarily use it for I am a bit buggered). After discovering that it is out of warranty and speaking to the chaps at Line 6 who took me through a million different trouble shooting steps, they said "It's broken, speak to our UK electronics repair partner. So I did. Unfortunately, he immediately said over the phone that it was not worth fixing. The problem was likely with the PCB and it costs £180 for the part, £60 for labour and add VAT to that. So you can do the maths against the cost of a new one quite easily. Still, at least he was honest... or maybe he just hates fixing them, I will never know.

So there we are, I am now the proud owner of a massive lump of metal that looks all flash and doesn't actually work. Well, technically, it still does work if you don't plug it into a USB cable but that is not the point... perhaps. Stupid entropy!

Rant over.

Cheers
Leasky

Strangefan

Buy a pc interface, and a boss multi fx.... Job done

joeyowen

Not like line6 to break...

The reason I sold my M13 and the reason I didn't consider a Helix

Leasky

Strangefan said:

Buy a pc interface, and a boss multi fx.... Job done

Oh I have those as well but liked the amp sim bit. Also, it's my toy and it's broke damn it.

joeyowen said:

Not like line6 to break...

The reason I sold my M13 and the reason I didn't consider a Helix

Are they renowned for breaking? That's disappointing. Was looking at the Helix as a future possibility. When I have 5 billions pounds laying about.

Cabicular

Sounds like a short in the USB socket maybe where it is mounted on the board
No local repair person to give you an opinion ?

Bridgehouse

Did you apply the recent 'This kit is too old, go and buy a Helix' Patch then?

gearaddict

I had all sorts of issues with PODs and the old Tonecore pedals, but then I got a M9 which was awesome. I'd have thought the Helix is built to a pretty high standard but I have seen a few comments about reliability.

Sassafras

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

gearaddict

Sassafras said:

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

I had no idea you were a trained IT professional.

Sporky

Leasky said:

Are they renowned for breaking?

They are amongst people who've had one that's broken.

Remember that almost no-one on the internet has dealt with a statistically significant sample, so you end up with 100%ers (ie the single unit they've had has has a fault) and 0%ers (ie they've not had a fault in the 1-3 units they've had) shouting about reliability.

ThePrettyDamned

Sporky said:

Leasky said:

Are they renowned for breaking?

They are amongst people who've had one that's broken.

Remember that almost no-one on the internet has dealt with a statistically significant sample, so you end up with 100%ers (ie the single unit they've had has has a fault) and 0%ers (ie they've not had a fault in the 1-3 units they've had) shouting about reliability.

Indeed. It becomes clear when there is a true problem when there are a significant number of 100 percenters, but it needs to be quite significant. 

Line 6, as a company, have been okay for me to deal with. Contrast with ehx... 

It's a shame it's out of warranty - try finding a local electronics repair person. Sometimes, relatively simple things can go a bit wrong and are easily fixed. 

The Helix is supposed to be built like a tank, although like any advanced technology that has pretty much consistently sold out, a few people have had issues. Line 6 have been quick to respond for the most part it seems. 

Danny1969

What exactly happens on the PC when you connect the device, ignoring what the HD does ? what happens on the PC driver wise ? does it detect the HD or does it just detect an unknown device on the USB bus ?

Voxman

Ok here's my recommendation. Call Line 6 in the UK and ask to speak to the UK service manager and explain the problem and what you've been told by the first-line customer services team. Ask them to look at the unit, which you'll send to them and to advise you of repair cost for your agreement prior to undertaking repairs.  If the service manager is less than helpful, explain you are a loyal Line 6 customer and how they deal with this problem will influence future purchases eg Helix.  Point out you are a member of one of the UKs biggest forums and how Line 6 responds will be of great interest to members, many of whom are considering Helix.  Make sure you date and time your calls and get the full name and title of the people you speak to.  Escalate this up the ranks in the UK eg to the head of UK distribution.

If you come up against a wall put all of this in writing to Line 6 HO in the UK and copy in Line 6 HO in the US saying you are now very concerned at Line 6 customer support in the UK on what is still a current product and you have been asked to update the relevant UK forums you are on, because customer support is an ever important theme.

Trust me on this from personal experience. Handled the right way you will get support.  And you may even find a complimentary or low cost repair is undertaken for you.  

One question - from where was the unit purchased and when.  The reason I ask is because you may have certain rights against the retailer which are quite different to a manufacturers warranty. And this might be the best place to start.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act

None of us can expect gear to last forever, but expensive gear should last more than a standard 12 mth warranty without developing a major fault. If your pod was bought 2 yrs ago, you could have a good case to get the retailer involved...possibly up to 3 yrs. If the unit is older, then Line 6 is your best bet, as above.

Cookiemonster

Under EU which I believe we still are I thought you get two years

Voxman

Cookiemonster said:

Under EU which I believe we still are I thought you get two years

Sorry, not with you..2 yrs of what? 

Bidley

I wonder if @impmann can offer any insight.

impmann

Ok a few things... there is no customer support in the U.K. for Line6 any more. That was the reason I was made redundant!! It's all handled in Germany by Yamaha.

The UK has different warranty rulings to Europe and so you aren't covered by 2 years in the U.K. Plus the warranty conditions are spelled out in the warranty booklet supplied with the unit. Before anyone pipes up 'Sale of Goods Act'... erm, well I know what you mean but you are slightly out of date and you'd need to prove to the retailer not manufacturer that the fault was there at purchase and your use of the unit did not contribute to its failure. Good luck on that...

The repair centre Yamaha will have pointed you to will know more than I about current costs of a main board for one of these but that sounds quite high. And £60 for labour????? Erm, that was a costed repair at half an hour previously - it really doesn't take more than half an hour to swap out a main board on an HD500. L6 UK used to charge £42 ph plus vat for non warranty so it sounds like they are trying to charge an hour's Labour at a higher rate... worth challenging imho.

Take a VERY good look at the USB socket. There was a batch of HD500x that was fitted with a sub standard part (contract manufacturer boob) and the plastic would fail causing the pins to short together. This was a 'known problem' and Line6 used to repair this FOC if it was within the date range (sorry I don't know the serial numbers off the top of my head).

The other option is to contact CS again and say you are very unhappy about the service. Keep being a pain in the bum but be polite - and worse case demand a replacement main board. I know a guy in Northants who could fit it much cheaper than that (ex Line6 Uk service dept) but he'd need the part.

FWIW, depending on how far out of warranty it is if I was still head of Repairs for L6 UK, I'd probably compromise for you and offer you an at cost repair -i.e. Charge you what it costs the company or waive the Labour whichever suits the situation best. 

However, since they did away with Line6 Customer Support based in the U.K. In 2015, I can't really help further.

Hope you get it sorted.

siremoon

The Line 6 Operations Manager Frank Richotte hangs out on TGP and has helped members there get Helix issues resolved when the service department has come up short.  Might be worth contacting him to see if he can help?  He's on LinkedIn too.

Leasky

Danny1969 said:

What exactly happens on the PC when you connect the device, ignoring what the HD does ? what happens on the PC driver wise ? does it detect the HD or does it just detect an unknown device on the USB bus ?

PC finds and talks to the device no problem using the 64bit Line 6 drivers (And recognises it for a HD500x). I use it as my main audio device and talk to it through my DAW using ASIO. No problems. Works great. Problem comes when I run HD edit and alter a patch or change patches. The HD Will reboot, my PC will tell me it's lost connection. The same thing happens when I change patches using the foot switches.

Believe me, it isn't the PC and if I plug it in and leave it alone, it functions as a sound device and ASIO device no problem. I can record guitar from it. Soon as I make a change in HD Edit or the device though.. boom.

Still some good suggestions here. I really like the unit (Had Pod XT Live before this and various other Line 6 thingies) so might get a local electrical shop to give it the once over.

Grumpyrocker

Fired up my HD500 yesterday as I often do every few months in the hope it won't be crap. I sold my M13 to buy the HD500 at launch, something I still regret.

The signal routing is mad in the HD500. It took ages to figure out. But at least now I know how to run a decent signal path in it. 

But the thing that had me unplugging the damn thing within minutes is the horrible fizziness - like crisp packets being screwed up - that every amp model has with a bit of gain. God it's awful. 

longi

You could buy a DI  box for your recordings and an interface if you don't already have one. I'm not taking the piss when I say this but you could pick up a used Line 6 GX/UX1/UX2 for not too much money and still be able to use your HD500 plus you'd have all of the Pod farm models to play with.

I just remembered, the HD500 has balanced outs, Just the computer interface then.