Your next guitar?

[incubus]

Getting one of these bastards delivered today;

http://uk.line6.com/variax-modeling-gui ... -standard/

I will mostly be playing banjo...

Well, what do you think?

[incubus]

@ Reverend: I've only been able to play one once, seemed like a very well made guitar. IIRC, the neck heal was too big for me personally (that's why I like superstrats, much of the time I can easily reach the higher frets)

[SJ_Digriz]

Getting one of these bastards delivered today;

http://uk.line6.com/variax-modeling-gui ... -standard/

I will mostly be playing banjo...

Well, what do you think?

I'm interested as well. As a Helix owner, I have been tempted. But having demoed a couple, I was not overjoyed. However, I have not tried one through the Helix. And I assume like all guitars, for every one good one there are 52 meh and 3 piles of wooden shit on a stick.

[SJ_Digriz]

The other one, a mid-50's Fender, also has a baseball bat for a fretboard (super round)

(Super Round) describes my 57 strat. Since Gibson have much flatter fretboard radius, and most other brands either have flat/shred radius or compound ... It's the one guitar that really feels odd when I pick it up after playing other guitars for awhile. So, I'm not convinced that "baseball bat" which I associate with the neck not the fretboard, has as much to do with it as the radius of the fretboard all by itself.

EDIT: Sorry was mixing some statements. Basically I'm saying I think an very curved fretboard is weird to play no matter how thick the neck is. And, when I hear the term "baseball bat", I think "thick neck" not curved fretboard. Sorry for not being clear.

[Uncle E]

I'm interested as well. As a Helix owner, I have been tempted. But having demoed a couple, I was not overjoyed. However, I have not tried one through the Helix. And I assume like all guitars, for every one good one there are 52 meh and 3 piles of wooden shit on a stick.

There were some old Variax 700’s that were made in the Ibanez factory in Japan. I imagine those are good. The USA made Tyler’s were very good, I once played a 59 model that could hang with any USA Gibson (including the weight, unfortunately) or PRS.

[SJ_Digriz]

I'm interested as well. As a Helix owner, I have been tempted. But having demoed a couple, I was not overjoyed. However, I have not tried one through the Helix. And I assume like all guitars, for every one good one there are 52 meh and 3 piles of wooden shit on a stick.

There were some old Variax 700’s that were made in the Ibanez factory in Japan. I imagine those are good. The USA made Tyler’s were very good, I once played a 59 model that could hang with any USA Gibson (including the weight, unfortunately) or PRS.

It was the Tyler models I demoed at Sweetwater 2 Junes ago (at least my memory is pretty sure it was). I think I tried 4. The Helix was on display/announced around then, but in the tent area that had the Helix they did not have a Variax.

[incubus]

I've been underwhelmed by them as well, but they are highly functional.

I have to be really picky, I'm not some f**king awesome guitarist, the instrument has to be very specific to be of use to me. Basses are different, they can be in the ball park and I'm fine with them.

[SJ_Digriz]

I have to be really picky, I'm not some f**king awesome guitarist, the instrument has to be very specific to be of use to me.

I suck just as good on a good guitar as a crappy one. I just prefer sucking on a good guitar.

[incubus]

[donkey tugger]

Getting one of these bastards delivered today;

http://uk.line6.com/variax-modeling-gui ... -standard/

I will mostly be playing banjo...

Well, what do you think?

Really good. The Les Pauls, hollow bodies and Rickenbackers sound spot on to me - the 12 strings .The tele's and strats a bit less so, which is surprising given it's a strat style geetar, but still servicable. The acoustics are nice to mess with and would be good live but for recording they still sound a bit 'electric-y' - may sound a bit less so when the strings wear in a bit. The sitar and banjo are a good laugh, and would probably quite nicely sit in a track. I've yet to properly tinker with the workbench software yet but it looks like there's a lot of control and customisation to be had if you want to.

What really surprised me is how responsive it is. If you're using one of the detuned patches or a 12 string then you can tell there's a tiny bit of latency (but still nothing compared to an average ASIO recording setup), but using the standard patches it's inaudible.

Action is nice and low and it's very playable. Feels well made too - bloody heavy!

I'd definitely recommend one if you can get one on offer (mine was ex-display, so £400).

[incubus]

Glad you like it!

Ummmmmm, yeah, they are REALLY heavy. The couple they have had at my local GC were like "whoa, what is this, lead?"

[tapper mike]

There's mahogany and there's MAHOGANY. Old growth mahogany as was used in 50's LP's is nothing like newer growth or african mahogany. Mahogany can give you mid low warmth but it won't give you tightness. If you want tight heavy low end then go for Korina.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01vnUqTRlEA

the swamp ash has a little more snap but the korina is a little more gurthy.

[donkey tugger]

Battery life on the Variax is a bit shite mind. I read 6 hours use somewhere. Mine's just conked out after about 4 hours widdling and twiddling. Probably some ploy to get people to buy a spare one at the mental price they charge. (crap pun intended...)

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

almost sounds like they should make a 'trs' cable variax, with power. uli roth does that for the active components of his sky guitar...

[incubus]

Maybe I'm way off, but I think that with the variax, it is powered via line 6 pedals. Not really sure about that.