variax

[joeymusicguy]

wanting to get a variax setup going, for ultra clean stuff, and alternate tuning clean stuff for that exotic sound, and complicated diatonic stuff

wondering if anyone has bought into line 6's marketing and got one, and if its all hype, or all right

do not intend to use it for anything distorted, i bet it sounds horrible
but for clean, it seems priceless

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

My drummers dad just got one. I am supposed to go check it out cause he is convinced that I am gonna be blown away. I am pretty doubtfull but once I do I am gonna report back.

 

[PhilR]

Fucking horrible things. You can get them to sound just like a banjo alright. But getting a good electric guitar sound? Forget it. I recorded a punk band with one a while back and the guitar sound was full of this horrid nasal upper-mid twang that we simply could not get rid of no matter how we tweaked the amp and Variax settings.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Were you using gearbox or was the guitar pluged into an amp?

 

[Kazrog]

I'm pretty impressed with the variax for getting non-metal sounds. Forget it if you plan to do anything high-gain though.

 

[joeymusicguy]

yeah i just want it for clean
and not twangy clean

just intricate modern metal clean breaks, with weird tunings
cuz it lets you change the tuning, and the pickups dont pick up interference so ultra clean clean

hoping someone has had a little experience with one, to tell me if the videos they show of the variax are... well hype, or pretty true to the package

 

[egan.]

I'm pretty impressed with the variax for getting non-metal sounds. Forget it if you plan to do anything high-gain though.

Whenever line6 stuff comes up, I always wonder if the guys in rockabilly (or blues, or jazz or whatever) forums talk about how the line 6 stuff is ok for high gain stuff but sucks for crunch and clean sounds. I imagine they probably do.....

In other words, does it suck for high gain or does it suck for whatever amp/guitar sound you personally are most familiar w/ and critical of?
sorry for the random interjection.

 

[nwright]

I've played the Line 6 stuff pretty extensively and the only guitar of theirs I'd get at the moment, even for clean stuff, is the Variax acoustic. The electric just doesn't have it, for much of anything, IMO. BUt, for some reason, I really dig the acoustic.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I like gearbox, but like someone said I think it is pretty much good for high gain only. I have yet to find anything remotly acceptable for clean shit. I use the v jr or that (at the moment) as I dig it's clean.

 

[Wild]

Hi guys!

I got a Variax 700 and can´t be happier with it´s sound, both clean and distorted.
The best thing apart of the sound, is the zero noise factor I experiment from having it

Here´s a little high gain demo I did for trying it out together with Steven Slate drums
( Variax + Gearbox triple rectifier):

http://www.badolatomusic.com/music/badolatomusic.com_DEMO_ROCK_01.mp3

Cheers!

Guillermo

 

[smy1]

Hi guys!

I got a Variax 700 and can´t be happier with it´s sound, both clean and distorted.
The best thing apart of the sound, is the zero noise factor I experiemnt from having it

Here´s a little high gain demo I did for trying it out ( Variax + Gearbox triple rectifier):

http://www.badolatomusic.com/music/badolatomusic.com_DEMO_ROCK_01.mp3

Cheers!

Guillermo

VERY nice and tube-y!!

 

[Wild]

Thanks smy1!

Seems to work ok for being a whole virtual chain

cheers!

 

[Metaltastic]

Whenever line6 stuff comes up, I always wonder if the guys in rockabilly (or blues, or jazz or whatever) forums talk about how the line 6 stuff is ok for high gain stuff but sucks for crunch and clean sounds. I imagine they probably do.....

In other words, does it suck for high gain or does it suck for whatever amp/guitar sound you personally are most familiar w/ and critical of?
sorry for the random interjection.

Hahaha, excellent point man, but more importantly, I absolutely love you guys, and I really dig your clean vox on Dismantling Devotion (especially, of course, on Solitary Refinement), and I can't wait for the new one! You are the most European-sounding American band (along with Kamelot) that I've ever heard, and I mean that as the biggest compliment I can give.

Sorry about that; knee-jerk fanboy response.

 

[zystudios]

I transplanted a variax 500 into a warmoth neck and body. Im really pleased with all of the tones except the palm muting. The palm mutes are muddy with very little punch. although being able to tune to drop c with a flick of a switch is pretty nice. I've A/B-ed the drop tunings and they are dead on. Just a little lag if your shredding otherwise unnoticeable. Indispensable in a live situation. Especially if you cover System, Rage, Soundgarden, and Deftones, then want to jam on some Sabbath. Try doing a set with 5 different tunings and see how much time you waste tuning.

The palm muting also creates a harmonic buzz. When tuned to E the string creates an A. Which stands out because of the suspension. You can only loosely palm mute if you cant handle this. I run the v-axe through the pod x3 live(which kills anything ive ever heard) and a mesa stiletto ace. Running through the amp makes the harmonic buzz not so noticeable. But direct it stands out a bunch.

If your doing classic type rock like ACDC, it really sounds fantastic. The sustained chords sound great distorted.

As for the other sounds
acoustic - phenomenal
hollowbody - Butter if you play solo jazz guitar arrangements like me
Les paul - Great for classic rock shiity for metal
strat - Awesome to jam some blues, great for funk tunes

I played guitar on a cruise ship for a contract and this thing with the x3 live was priceless. We did a funk set, a jazz combo set, a big band set, a latin set, dixieland, and random rock tunes, with a motown set. This setup nailed all of it.

I would never get rid of this thing because it beats carrying around a crate full of guitars. Although for the metal songs i have a tele with HBs. Which sounds amazing with the x3 live. BTW you can have the v-axe and another passive guitar plugged in at the same time for switching. just change your preset and its all there. you can also A/B tone 1 and tone 2 to different amps.

When I bought the x3 live the guy at Miami Guitar center on Kendall tried to get me to buy Boss's $500 equivalent. I'm so glad I didnt because now I can sound like Freddie Greene or Joe Pass or Paul Gilbert or Satriani etc... with a button push. I would say this setup is worth its weight in gold.

If you want patches for the v-axe or x3 live just email me. I can give you sound samples too of direct or with a mic'ed amp.

z@zystudios.com

 

[HeadCrusher]

Three and a half years since the initial post...

Anyway, they released new models, the James Tyler ones.
A friend of mine who owns numerous Les Pauls and has played guitar for 15 years or so loves his Variax-moded Tele.

Been thinking about maybe starting a Heavy Rock cover band. As usual thinking through the gear setup first so that's why I came across the Variax (again) and wanted to get some opinions. Maybe over the years more people from the forum got into them?

 

[sprack]

I have a 400 series. It is great for the versatility, but you do have adjust you hand for palm muting, the piezo's are a bit touchy. It sucks batteries like a mad fuck, playing through the included DI box saves them. The stock setup is very close to the feel of a mexi-strat, but the body is considerably heavier and unbalanced so you have to be careful when playing sitting that it doesnt roll off your lap. Also its touchy about which string get the most response out of the piezo's, and you're pretty much stuck with 9-46 range strings. The software is still broken for OSX Snow Leopard...

That being said its still my goto axe for composition since it does everything well. Tuning switches, like zystudio said, are the biggest selling point. Only thing weird about that is if you're playing at low volume you hear the standard tuning from the strings along side the variax-tuning in a weird stereo effect. I'd like to transplant mine as well, but I have to find something I'm willing to cut apart first.

 

[Jind]

Caught in the old thread machine...

 

[Rhys Llewellyn]

I'm just curious what "complicated diatonic stuff" means

Playing in key? lol.

I agree with the majority, they are a bit gimmicky, good for clean tones as far as far as any decent piezo equipped bridge is but doesn't do it for me with the hi-gain stuff.

 

[guitarguru777]

HAHHAHAHAHAAAAAA

 

[OneDaySky]

Anybody got a Variax here? Want to know how good it holds its tuning!