I have a first generation Variax 300 electric. There is also a first generation Variax 300 acoustic. The two modeling guitars have different guitar models installed.

All the first generation modeling algorithms are based on a standard guitar tuning. If the guitar is out of tune, the output will be out of tune. If you tune down half a step all the output will be down half a step.

The James Tyler Variax uses second generation hardware with more on board memory and a faster cpu compared to the first generation. The modeling algorithms were updated to take advantage of the hardware advances. It will be interesting to follow Pat's journey to see if the enhanced algorithms essentially follow the same tuning rules.

Pat, does your guitar have a tremolo (whammy) bar? If so, how accurately do the models follow the pitch shift versus how it sound with the pickups?

Second question, can you blend the sound of the pickups with a modeled output?


Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (Build 1128) RB (Build 5) - Ultra+ PAK
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