Originally Posted By: Jim Fogle
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?

Hey Jim! Thanks again for weighing in!

After my experience with a Roland guitar synth, where glitches, latency and artifacts are all to be expected, I'm quite impressed with the realistic quality of the Variax modeling. I think its better than the Roland COSM modelling, which is also quite good. I can't differentiate between the Variax models and the real thing.

Yes, it does have a whammy bar, and it sounds just as it would on any Strat.

Yes, it is possible to combine the magnetic pickups with the modeled sound, but that is handled by the Helix. You have two separate paths in the Helix, each with a selectable input. Input on the first track can be VARIAX MODEL while input on the second path can be VARIAX MAGNETIC. To the best of my knowledge there is no way to use both sounds simultaneously with the Variax by itself.

Since you're right here in town, you're welcome to come over and play with it. You can PM me for my address. Or not. If you're as busy as I think you probably are, then you might not have time

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ey71h8ep047758h/AAC12jNM0Hz9Q8zsh5iDeqNHa?dl=0