WTF?! Line 6 Tonecore series surprise! (UPDATE)

[The Tone God]

I will point out that its not just the DSP processor, or how the software loaded, or the external hardware, but software itself. Do have the software that they use or have you written equivilant software ? No point of getting all the hardware when you have nothing to load into the hardware.

For the price you might as well buy their gear if you really like it.

Andrew

[lizardking]

I just picked up 5 or 6 tonecores at Media Play going out of business at 60% off!  Such a deal - I picked up one of each they had .  I hadn't seen this site until recently or would have alerted y'all...think they're very close to being closed....last time I checked, my store had a couple Chorus units left......I got a chorus, delay, one of the distortions and I'm not sure what else as I haven't taken them out of the bag and played with them yet (busy).  I'm looking forward to the modules as the one unit I really wanted was the roto sound thing & Media Play didn't carry them. 

I have heard somewhere that if one powers multiple boxes off a single power supply, the tone cores are susceptible to hum.  Does anyone have any experience with this - as I plan to make up a pedal board as soon as I get the time....thanks.

PS.  GREAT site people!!!!

[Mark Hammer]

How do the distortions sound???   

Pretty good actually  When it comes to digital distortions, I'm not sure how to think of the EQ-ing, since it's not really "before" or "after" the clipping section.  I kind of like the Crunchtone.  The Uber-Metal is a bit metally for my tastes, though the EQ section works very nicely.  The Dr. Distorto needs a bit more field testing (from me that is) to offer an opinion.  If you were thinking about looking for a Boss DF-2 Super Feedbacker Distortion (now long out of production and occasionally a little pricey because of that), the Dr. Distorto picks up where that left off and adds a little more control over the simulated feedback tone.

Digitally generated distortion tones traditionally have a bad reputation.  Of course that stems from the legacy of multi-FX units that tried to do too much with too little processing power.  Having a dedicated processor has helped to make the distortion quality much richer and nuanced.  That is likely true not only of the Tone Cores but of other single-trick digital pedals like those from Digitech.

[vettaville]

I've just uploaded a video of module up close, for those of you that haven't opened one.

You can also see how easily you can exchange them
http://www.vettaville.nl/vvlatestnewsnl.htm#226

[Mark Hammer]

Pretty straightforward.  What is missing from the video is the removal of the two allen screws on the rear skirt that would normally lock the module into place.  Once the allen screws are removed, though, just push the little recessed black button on the back and the back edge of the module pops up enough to be able to continue removing it with your fingers.  The little black button is large enough that you can just poke the tip of your guitar pick at it and up pops the module.  Having it slightly recessed means that the risk of bumping it during frenzied playing is slim to none.

I will STRONGLY draw your attention, though, to the fact that the power jack was removed before the module was removed or replaced.

[Doug_H]

For me, the next obvious question is: Can I use my roto machine as a "stereo tone dock" and experiment with swapping out other modules? Or do I have to buy the tone dock separately??

Doug

[Mark Hammer]

If you can bear the thought of using only one at a time, you can stick any of the modules you might possess in a single stereo dock, though only those that are normally sold in stereo docks will have stereo programming.  There are no "easter egg" mono modules that suddenly grow mystical magical features when inserted into stereo docks.  Beyond the few distortion modules in the series, there are really no redundant modules, so I'm not sure why folks would want to purchase more modules than docks, unless it is to pick up things they were less interested in initially because they didn't see any advantage to digital modelling (e.g., the Tap Tremolo or Constrictor). 

I may be dead wrong, but my hunch is that this is really to pave the way for introducing more experimental or 3rd party modules in future.  For instance, there is no octave or harmonizer module, nor any phase shifter module at the moment.  I could easily see someone willing to swap their Liqui-Flange module for a phaser of some kind, and their Dr. Distorto for a harmonizer or octaver module.  Not that these are disappointing modules.  Far from it.  Rather, I couldn't see someone using a flanger AND phaser all the time.  I *could* see them in a flanger mood OR a phaser mood, and swapping/popping a module from the pedalboard for this gig or that one.

At the same time, if they decided to experiment with limited-use modules like sideband modulation, frequency shifting, bit-reduction, and other "weird stuff" that folks were reluctant to spend bigger bucks on, the modularity makes sense.  I mean, if you heard a frequency shifter that sounded cool-ly weird, but you couldn't see yourself using it all that often, would you rather spend $150 for one in its own dock, or would you rather spend $55 for a module that required you to do without one of your fuzzes for a little while every now and then?

[Doug_H]

I'll take that as a "yes".

Doug

[Mark Hammer]

Good call!

[vettaville]

Pretty straightforward.  What is missing from the video is the removal of the two allen screws on the rear skirt that would normally lock the module into place.  Once the allen screws are removed, though, just push the little recessed black button on the back and the back edge of the module pops up enough to be able to continue removing it with your fingers.  The little black button is large enough that you can just poke the tip of your guitar pick at it and up pops the module.  Having it slightly recessed means that the risk of bumping it during frenzied playing is slim to none.

I will STRONGLY draw your attention, though, to the fact that the power jack was removed before the module was removed or replaced.

Hi Mark, the video of unlocking the srews is also there, but previous in this thread
it's at this link
http://www.vettaville.nl/vvtonecoremodularity.html#5

hope it helps

[Mr.Huge]

Ah... try putting an Otto Filter in a Stereo dock...
Also... Hold the top switch on the echo when the unit is engaged and then switch the trails switch... turns the noise gate on or off... red = off... Not all echos have this.
Good times...
http://line6.com/tonecore/modules.html

[Mark Hammer]

Ah... try putting an Otto Filter in a Stereo dock...

So now you expect me to sit here all day at work, while my pedals are all at home, wondering what this does?   Have a heart, dude!  You're torturing me!!

Also... Hold the top switch on the echo when the unit is engaged and then switch the trails switch... turns the noise gate on or off... red = off... Not all echos have this.
Good times...[/quote]
Since the instructions are a little cryptic, is there a way of identifying which issue of the EP has this?  Or by "not all echoes", do you mean not all commercially available ones?

[WGTP]

Do does this mean we will "Boutique" Programs for these in the future?

Instead of the "Keeley" mod's we will have the reprogramming?   

[SeanCostello]

Do does this mean we will "Boutique" Programs for these in the future?

Instead of the "Keeley" mod's we will have the reprogramming?   

I wonder how much people would pay for "boutique" mods?

Sean Costello

[SeanCostello]

Do does this mean we will "Boutique" Programs for these in the future?

Instead of the "Keeley" mod's we will have the reprogramming?   

A few more thoughts: I would presume that you won't have the equivalent of the Keeley mods, which are refinements to the existing Tone Core pedals. This would require Line 6 to release their algorithm source code to 3rd party developers, which I am assuming they won't do (and rightly so). I am also assuming that anyone that reverse engineers a Line 6 algorithm would not be allowed to release a modified version of this code as a 3rd party.

Sean Costello

[WGTP]

I guess they would need the complete modules then, to smooth out the response, add more bass, more transparant distortion, more gain, more tubelike distortion, etc.   

Boutique Algorithms - Anyone know which algorithms Billy Gibbons used to get the sound on the ?? solo. 

[Mr.Huge]

Also... Hold the top switch on the echo when the unit is engaged and then switch the trails switch... turns the noise gate on or off... red = off... Not all echos have this.
Good times...

Since the instructions are a little cryptic, is there a way of identifying which issue of the EP has this?  Or by "not all echoes", do you mean not all commercially available ones?

Version 1.2 has the noise gate.
Plug in echo... turn on effect.... now hold down the foot switch only to the 1st soft switch. Now use the trails switch to turn on/off the noise gate.
Hot.
-Mr. Huge

[Mr.Huge]

A few more thoughts: I would presume that you won't have the equivalent of the Keeley mods, which are refinements to the existing Tone Core pedals. This would require Line 6 to release their algorithm source code to 3rd party developers, which I am assuming they won't do (and rightly so). I am also assuming that anyone that reverse engineers a Line 6 algorithm would not be allowed to release a modified version of this code as a 3rd party.

Sean Costello

True... All Line 6 products have a Licensing agreement... so you can't reverse engineer it and then use it. Sorry.
However, if you're a smart lad... you can write your own algorithm.
-Mr. Huge

[Mark Hammer]

Okay, NOW I get it.  I had a flashback to that old fake ad they used to run on Saturday Night Live about the watch that essentially needed three hands to operate.  I hope to goodness there aren't "cheat codes" for the EP that involve switching trails, filter, trails, tap 3 times, then switch from analog to tape quickly. 

BTW, you might want to put up a "Hidden Features" page as part of the Tone Core site, if you haven't done so already.

[bwanasonic]

I hope to goodness there aren't "cheat codes" for the EP that involve switching trails, filter, trails, tap 3 times, then switch from analog to tape quickly. 

Kerry M