Help me understand the Helix part of this. Is it necessary to have a Helix to play the Variax or is it an effects device that allows combinations of effects to be layered? I know that the Variax comes with a floor unit that the Variax connects to with that special cable. So what I mean by sound spectrum is "Les Paul with Helix setup #1. Then #2. Then #3..." And then moving on to "Strat with Helix setup #1, etc..."

I know the modeling on the Variax is very good, especially with the acoustic options. The guy that played with a former band had acoustic, acoustic 12 string, acoustic open G, 12 string open G, and many others. He came over here and I used it for the baritone guitar on my song I Hope Somebody Cries. Just dialed it up and there it was in all it's "lowered by a 4th" beauty.