The string LEDs are flashing white, and tuning doesn't work at all.
A white flashing string LED indicates a short circuit. The strings carry power and data to the neck, so
even if only one string is touching a hardware part (bridge, tailpiece, even a fret bar) or another string,
the tuning system won't work. Also note that if the Gibson "G" on the neck electronic cover does not
start flashing once you activate the system, it is most likely that there is also a white LED on the MCK
flashing to indicate there's a short circuit, and therefore, no power going to the neck electronics.
Please check the following:
The string ball ends must not touch the tailpiece at all.
The strings must be in the middle position of each string bar.
Look at the tuner posts; the strings must not touch each other, so cut all string ends very close
to its post.
Check the tailpiece and bridge height, then adjust if needed.
I want to shut down Powertune so I can use the MCK as a standard
tone control, but when I push down on the MCK, it won't shut down.
When you push the MCK down, this should activate the tone capacitor and shut down the Powertune
system. But there is one exception: Powertune remains active when the PEQ or the Piezo signal is
present
and
you rotate the MCK to the LED Peg symbol. When you push the MCK down at this
position, the PEQ and Piezo signal remain active. The tone knob feels like a regular knob (without
clicks) and the tone capacitor is activated again. To summarize:
If you want to shut down Powertune, turn the MCK to
any position other than the LED Peg
symbol
and push the MCK down.
If you want to play with active electronics (PEQ and/or Piezo) rotate the MCK to the LED Peg
symbol and push the MCK down.
When I tune the Powerheads manually, the process seems
extremely slow.
The gear ratio in the Powerheads is 24:1, so you need to turn the tuning peg 24 times to get one
complete rotation of the string post. This is one reason why Gibson recommends using the Robot
tuning options, especially when re-stringing. Please see Chapter 5 for more information.
I can't use the Piezo pickup when charging, either with the
Breakout Box or the RIP.
This is because the ring lead carries the Piezo output but also carries the power needed to charge
Dark Fire's battery. So, you can't have both happening at the same time. However, you may enable
the "Piezo Blend" function, which blends the Piezo pickup with the magnetic pickups, and routes this
signal to the Breakout Box's "Amplifier" jack.
Gibson Dark Fire 4.0 manual, page 38