Originally Posted By: eddie1261
I wonder if Variax makes a lap guitar? Have to check. Change tuning digitally by selecting the tuning with a knob and go from open G to open D to open E with the twist of a knob. Some sort of modeling guitar sounds like a good idea.

Variax does NOT make a lap steel, but it can change tunings programmatically as previously mentioned.
On that topic, here's a way of raising the strings on a regular guitar (or Variax) so you can use a slide:

buy a small diameter steel dowel (or even a nail will work)... and slide it between the strings and the fret board. The ideal diameter is the minimum it takes to keep the pressure of the slide from forcing the strings onto the frets.

In order to protect my guitar I used my 3d printer to make a saddle which has a radius that matches my guitar's neck radius, and also a channel that matches the diameter of a nail I use. The thickness of the 3d printed saddle lifts the nail above the frets, so the diameter of the nail is very small, which makes it easy to insert it and remove it as needed. (A larger diameter will make it harder to install the pin between the strings and the neck, obviously)

Once you've adapted your variax to use a slide, then the programmable tunings of the variax become useful in a whole new way.

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