My new Variax 700!

[jpfeifer]

Hi Everyone,

G.A.S. finally got the best of me and I bought a new guitar (Guitar Center's no-payments for a year deal helped push me over the edge :-). I ordered the Line6 Variax 700 last week and it just arrived today. I got the transparent Red color. I had to special order it because Guitar Center didn't have any of this model in stock.

I've been intrigued by the concept of modeling guitars for a while now. I've been trying the Variax models and also the Fender VG Strat. I actually liked both of them a lot.

Although I did really like the Fender VG Strat (excellent tones and tuning features) I couldn't get past the whole issue of replacing/recharging batteries constantly to keep it going.

After looking at the options and reading lots of online reviews I decided on the top-of-the-line Variax model, since I plan on using this as my main guitar. I wanted something with decent quality that I wouldn't mind keeping for a long while.

I bought this guitar without ever getting to try the exact model. Guitar Center only had the other models 300 and 600, so I was taking a bit of a gamble by ordering it. But I have seen a few guys using this guitar in touring acts using this model, so I had some idea that the quality would be o.k. After taking it out of the box yesterday and playing it for a while I was very impressed with the quality. It has a nice neck with medium sized frets, a great finish, and it even arrived with decent setup. The body is made of Mahagony and Ash. Lots of other Variax users online had complained that the guitars were badly setup upon arrival, but not this one, the action is perfect. However it seems that they didn't cut the string slots in the nut wide enough. (the strings hang a little when you use the tremolo) This can be easily fixed, or I can try applying some nut-suace onto the bone nut. But overall the setup and playability are fantastic (this was my biggest concern).

I took the guitar for a test drive with a little Roland Cube 60 amp last night. I was totally blown away! This guitar is loaded with useful tones. It will be fantastic for live playing or recording. As with all of the modeling guitars you will find that the models are not identical to the original but they do get you into the "ballpark" of the original, in other words, they're very usable options that give you the same overall sound as the original, just not identical.

My favorite tones on this guitar are the Semi-Hollow and Jazz guitar tones. These models are so realistic that they sound like you're playing the real thing. When you select the Semi model you can to the BB King thing instantly . If you add distortion and use the bridge pickup you get a fantastic Cream-era 335 tone. The Jazz guitar tones work extremely well for solo fingerstyle stuff or solo lines. There's a model of the ES-175 and also a Super 400. These are worth the price of the guitar alone. They are so realistic that it's kind of freaky. I love these models especially.

The Fender tones are pretty good, and very usable. I think that the VG does a better job of the Fender tones in general, but the Variax does the Gibson and Semi-hollowbody tones extremely well so it's kind of a matter of which tones you plan to use more.

But to top it off they put in a few unusuall sounds into this guitar like resonator, banjo, and sitar. The Sitar sound is worth the price of this guitar also. It's really a blast to use that sound. You can get that solo guitar sound from Steely Dan's tune "Do It Again" and it sounds exactly like this.

The acoustic guitar sounds don't sound like a real acoustic, more like a plugged in piezo-equipped guitar. But still very usable for live playing. It should sound as good as any other piezo-equipped acoustic plugged in. But, when you use the resonator acoustic models it starts to sounds very realistic. These resonator sounds will be fun for doing fills and slide parts just to add some country-blues vibe to songs every now and then.

One of the other features I really like on the Variax is the footswitch they give you with it. The footswitch plugs into the guitar with a stereo 1/4-inch cable and provides power to the guitar (so you don't have to use batteries if you don't want to). The footswitch provides an A/B box with 1/4-inch plug on one side and an XLR on the other. This allows you to plug your guitar in to an Amp and a PA at the same time and switch between the two depending on whether you are using the acoustic models (sounding better through a PA) or the electric sounds (sounding best through your guitar amp).

I am very excited to start using this guitar for some live playing. I've been waiting for a long time for a guitar like this. I'll try to make some recordings with this guitar and post them at some point.

-- Jim

[Robert****]

Thanks for the good review, Jim! I have never tried this model, but I have tried the VG Strat. I will try and find one of these to test out. I've been thinking about a guitar synth, but maybe I should go this route instead for more sounds. Too bad they are so ugly these guitars, but looks isn't everything!

Sounds like a very versatile guitar. How much does it cost?

[jpfeifer]

I agree that they aren't the most pretty guitars, however the model 700 looks nicer than the other ones I've played. Here is a link to the model I bought.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Line-6-V...25-i1146692.gc

Click on the images to get a better look. I bought the red one.

It's about $1400 here. It's not cheap I do think that it's worth it.

-- Jim

[tot_Ou_tard]

Way cool, no pups!

Very interesting, can you post clips Jim? How does it compare to your Hamer Newport?

[jpfeifer]

Hi Tot_Ou_tard,

I'd be happy to post some clips after I have a chance to do some recording again.

To be honest, I still really love the Newport.
It's a very dynamic guitar. The tone of it changes depending on how hard you pick, etc. It's got a great P90 sound and sometimes crosses into the 335 kind of tone area. I'll keep using it.

The main reason I was looking for a modeling guitar is that I wanted to cover some additional tones that I currently don't have access to such as Tele sounds, Gibson sounds, etc, plus being able to get some acoustic sounds was a plus.

I thought about buying a separate guitar but I couldn't justify spending a lot just to get 1 additional sound ( such as Les Paul or Tele, etc). The modeling guitar idea was a way to get a bunch of sounds in one purchase.

The part that modeling guitars don't do as well as real guitars is capture all the dynamics that you get from the real axe. For example a 335 will have a different tone when you bear down with the pick. The Variax does a decent job of capturing it but not exact. But is it close enough to get the basic flavor of a 335?, absolutely. These are the little nuances that you notice on the models versus the real thing. I don't think that modeling guitars will ever replace the real thing but they're great if you want one axe to cover a wide variety of styles.

-- Jim

[hubberjub***]

I'm not a modeling fan but I have used the Variax before. I think they are great for a project studio for getting a demo track down quick. Other than the nicer looking body, what makes the 700 worth so much more than the 600?

[jpfeifer]

Hubberjub,

I think that it's just the better wood and body design in general that accounts for the cost. I think that it's using the same electronics as the other models. The body is Mahagony with a carved Ash top and the neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard.

I've played the 300 model before and I didn't really like it. I think that Line 6 made the 600 and 700 models to put the same electronics into a better made instrument because people were turned off to the orginal 300 model.

-- Jim

[tot_Ou_tard]

I wondered about this. The different models have the same electronics? I guess the wood makes very little difference to the modelling.

[Jimi75]

I used to have the 700 in blue. Unfortunately, I had to sell it - neede some cash :-)

It is a great guitar and the handling and craftmanship is totally awesome. I find it looks pretty.

J, you got a studio weapon now.

Congrats on the buy.
Jimi

[oldguy]

I looked at the red 700 in the link you provided, Jim. I think it's quite cool, albeit unusual, but I dig abstract designs anyway.
Congratulations on your new axe. You'll have some awesome tones at your fingertips for years to come.
Now... of course... we'd all love to hear some clips, if and when you have time.ude:

[Adrian30]

Congrats JP! Looks really cool, though a bit unusual probably due to the fact that there are no traditional pick-ups mounted to the body. I find the contour/shape of the body quite attractive.:

[Spudman***]

Congratulations on the new platform. I know you are a guy that will really get a lot out of that set up. Unfortunately, you just set yourself up with only part of the solution. The other part is connecting it to the XT Live.



gasattak

[Lev]

I've spent some time today checking out the videos on the Line 6 website and on youtube and I'm really tempted by one of these. The variax 600 sits better with me from a budget point of view. The main complaint I can see with this model is the tuners and the setup, both of which can be fixed fairly easily. Hmmmm I've not had a GAS attack in a while......:

[Lev]

Hey Jim, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the Variax now that you've owned it for a couple of months.

[djmcconnell]

I'd also be curious to hear from people who already have an "analog" guitar hooked up to a Pod X3 device to see if you can get all the Pod/Variax sounds that way.

[jpfeifer]

I've had the guitar for several months now. I've used it for serveral recording sessions that I've been involved with, and some other gigs including a weekly church service as well as some variety gigs.

There's the good side and the bad side. You kind of get the balanced view of it after using the technology for a while to see how it feels once the novelty of it wears off.

On the good side:
There are a lot of great sounds in the Variax and it excells as a live guitar. It delivers convincing sounds for lots of useful guitar tones. I am using the Strat, Tele, and P-9O Les Paul sounds a lot. They sound great. My country sound has improved alot because of the Tele sounds. I'm getting alot of compliments on the tone. I also bought the Workbench software and started editing my own sounds. I put a P90 Les Paul model (on neck pickup) into one of the banks and set up the tuning for open E (electronically via the Workbench software). I use this for slide and it sounds great. At the flick of the model knob I can go from hollow-body Jazz sound to a great slide tone and never have to retune the guitar. The flexibility of the guitar is unmatched.

On the bad side:
The technology is not perfect, it has it's drawbacks. One of the drawbacks of the Variax is that it relies on piezo pickups. The modeling circuitry takes the signal from these piezos and works it's magic to make it sound like the desired guitar model. However, the modeling circuitry is not smart enough to remove some of the less-desirable artifacts from piezo pickups, notably, the ultra-sensitivity to finger noise or picking noise. I've had to adjust the way I dampen with my left hand as I move from chord to chord to avoid the squeakiness that shows up in some of the models. However, I did change to a different brand of strings that many of the Variax owners reccomended on their forum and it seemed to help some. The other thing thing that I've noticed is a slight digital artifact that happens when you de-tune (electronically) the guitar (like dropped D) and you play the lower strings harder. The digital circuitry can get a little confused as the string is first plucked (goes a little sharp) and it tries to resolve the note. You can get a noticable digital warble in the note as it is decaying off. However it's not noticable on the upper strings.

That being said, I'm overall very happy with the Variax. I've used it for some recording sessions (which is a true test of whether it sounds good or not) and the guys were very happy with the tone. One of the guys in the control room couldn't see me playing it and he asked me, "what kind of Tele do you have, it sounds really nice" that is when I knew that it was a useful piece of equipment to have. I expecially liked having it in this situation because I could imitate lots of other guitars on the same session and not have to worry about tuning up several guitars or hauling them to the studio. If they asked for a different tone for a part I had 37 different guitar sounds to choose from. I don't have enough money to invest in a whole collection of guitars that this thing can imitate, so it makes sense to have this instead. However, I'm looking forward to the day when the technology get's even better than it is now.

-- Jim

[SuperSwede]

Jim, I am thinking about buying a Variax. I would really like to ask you how good palm muting works on the variax. It usually doesnt sound very good with acoustic guitars with piezos..

Could you record something with a clean and dirty sound using palm mutes?

[jpfeifer]

Hmmm, I haven't really noticed any problem with palm muting when playing this gutiar. But I have noticed it being more sensitive to finger noise though. The guys on the Line6 forums were reccomending Elixr Nanoweb strings, apparently they tame the finger noise issue a bit. I tried a set on this guitar and they really do sound good.

I've been meaning to make some recordings with it and post them, just haven't had the time to do that. I've been having a lot of fun playing it. I was thinking of making a video demo of it to show some of the different sounds that I like to use on it. There's several users who have posted videos of it on youtube where they are playing different settings on it to show what it sounds like.

-- Jim

[SuperSwede]

I would really appreciate some video clips! Those that are available on youtube usually play with backing tracks.

btw, have you got the workbench software? it seem to be really cool and useful!