I recently bought a line6 Helix and a Variax to go with it, and I must say, I am very impressed.
I play cover songs, and my approach is to duplicate the original sound as much as possible. In the past, that frequently meant owning a ton of different amps, guitars and effects pedals, because each piece of gear has its own signature sound... and in order to get the same sound as the original recording, you need the same gear that was used on it.
The Helix has EVERYTHING... amp models, cabinet models, clones of all the classic pedals... and you can arrange them in any order. The best part for me is that its all MIDI controllable. By embedding MIDI commands in my sequence, I can change settings on the fly without having to shift my focus from playing to stomping on a pedal.
The Variax is an interesting guitar... it too is programmable. It has built-in models for a Strat, two Les Pauls, a Rickenbacker 12 string, an Epiphone Jazz box, several acoustics and a variety of other guitars and stringed instruments. You can even program different tunings, such as open G, DADGAD , virtual capo settings, or you can even create your own tuning and recall it later in a song. MIDI can change the guitar from a 12 string to a Les Paul in mid song, just mind-blowing what this combo can do. You can go from a realistic Beatles sound to Tom Petty to Led Zeppelin... and absolutely nail the original sound. Without ever touching a knob during the performance (assuming you get it all nailed down when you create your patches)
In a world that is more and more focused on streaming online, the ability to program a set list so you can go seamlessly from one song to the next without having to manually change any settings is priceless. One pause and the click-through rate starts to skyrocket.
And the best part is that the modeling is latency free as far as I can tell. The DSP processing in these units is very powerful. I could go on and on... But I just wanted to offer a heads up to anybody who might be looking for the features this provides.
I have a room in my studio, full of vintage tweed & blackface Fender amps, but they're all too heavy and valuable to gig with, so I looked into the Line 6, and some others, but settled on the $198 Fender Champion-40 with Digital Voice Models, FX, and Channel Switching... it has a 12" speaker, and weighs less than 20 lbs... It's crazy... I love it...
GREEN with envy!! I have wanted a Variax forever! I have played with one and loved the possibilities. To dial in and change to drop D or open E tuning... and to electronically capo...
Is your an old original or a newer James Tyler model? The JTs seem to have better electronics. Which of course means a higher price. The older ones, back like version 3, were badly affected by humidity. My friend used one up here and when he went to Florida all of a sudden 2 or 3 strings would stop responding. He tried everything. Sealing the body cavity better. Putting desiccant packets in the body cavity. Nothing helped. He had about 4 new logic boards put in over a few years. But then he got the JT and it has been flawless for like 6 years now.
And now you have one!!! AND a Helix!! Waiting for a demo!
I have a Fender Super Champ XD that serves the same purpose for me--just recording, and it is a BEAST. It combines the best of tubes and digital modeling.
I can't remember the last time I touched my Twin for recording.
I have the acoustic Variax and it is kinda cool, but the tones are a little too brittle for me, so I have to say I have not used it on finished product yet that much.
I had a Variax, but since I pretty much only play acoustic, I never really found the need to use it.
I ended up selling it to a friend who did gigs with his electric. He loved it, because it meant he didn't have to have to haul a bunch of gear around to get the sounds he needed for the songs.
The Variax and Helix is such a great combo. You don't have to carry a load of stuff and can get a phenomenal number of sounds. Not infinite but it feels like it.
This thread caused me to plug it back in and experiment.
I had forgotten how cool it is, if you use the right effects, compression, reverb, etc.
I would not use it as the main upfront acoustic because of the way I play--I like a lot of instantaneous control and wide, varied string response because I pick with my fingers. I also like the main acoustic to "breathe."
BUT, for other tracks mixed down a little lower there some really neat things you can do with the Variax, especially percussive things, that you will not get with a normal acoustic.
I had a Variax, but since I pretty much only play acoustic, I never really found the need to use it.
I ended up selling it to a friend who did gigs with his electric. He loved it, because it meant he didn't have to have to haul a bunch of gear around to get the sounds he needed for the songs.
yes, that's EXACTLY what I love about the combo. Those two items replace a whole room full of amps, pedals and guitars (at least for MY purposes, which are pretty trival. I'm a hobbyist who makes no claims about having the talent to justify a need for really great gear.
My goal is to get as close to the original sound on every classic rock song ever recorded as I can afford, and I think I can start selling most of my other gear collection now.
Speaking of which, it would be kind of cool if the forum here had a dedicated thread for selling gear.
The Variax and Helix is such a great combo. You don't have to carry a load of stuff and can get a phenomenal number of sounds. Not infinite but it feels like it.
The combo enables more possibilities than I will ever explore in my lifetime.
This thread caused me to plug it back in and experiment.
I had forgotten how cool it is, if you use the right effects, compression, reverb, etc.
I would not use it as the main upfront acoustic because of the way I play--I like a lot of instantaneous control and wide, varied string response because I pick with my fingers. I also like the main acoustic to "breathe."
BUT, for other tracks mixed down a little lower there some really neat things you can do with the Variax, especially percussive things, that you will not get with a normal acoustic.
Have fun with your model Pat.
I totally agree David. If you have the real thing, you don't need a model of the real thing.
And if your application is in a studio where there is no time constraint to change from one instrument to another that is the right instrument for the next track... that's a no brainer. You're doing it right.
My situation is always a live performance where I can't stop, switch guitars from an electric to an acoustic (even though the instrumental part in the song requires it)... so I have to fudge a bit. At the end of the day, modelling is best suited to live performances, and the advantages are:
1) not having to carry as much gear to the gig. 2) the ability to automate a lot of what you're doing 3) a much better representation of the sound you're imitating than you'd get by playing the acoustic part on an electric guitar etc
GREEN with envy!! I have wanted a Variax forever! I have played with one and loved the possibilities. To dial in and change to drop D or open E tuning... and to electronically capo...
Is your an old original or a newer James Tyler model? The JTs seem to have better electronics. Which of course means a higher price. The older ones, back like version 3, were badly affected by humidity. My friend used one up here and when he went to Florida all of a sudden 2 or 3 strings would stop responding. He tried everything. Sealing the body cavity better. Putting desiccant packets in the body cavity. Nothing helped. He had about 4 new logic boards put in over a few years. But then he got the JT and it has been flawless for like 6 years now.
And now you have one!!! AND a Helix!! Waiting for a demo!
Pat, that's a nice guitar. The thumb wheel control to select twelve alternate tunings is pretty neat. I believe the Line 6 Helix has a Variax digital cable port. The Variax port may be able to provide power to the Variax electronic circuitry. So you don't need to have a battery power pack installed in the guitar. The Variax can send a digital audio signal through the cable and an analog audio signal through the guitar plug.
One thing many people may not realize is that Yamaha bought Line 6. Yamaha has improved the Line 6 quality control.
Four guitars in one for the price of four guitars!
Ha... that's funny...
well, I already have way too many guitars, but after some research, I may have to reconsider my "no more guitars" policy. I'm very impressed with the alt. tuning functions, and I hate dragging out my resophonics for a freeby gig...
BTW, just how heavy is your new Variax guitar? "don't want no heavy wood"...
Four guitars in one for the price of four guitars!
Ha... that's funny...
well, I already have way too many guitars, but after some research, I may have to reconsider my "no more guitars" policy. I'm very impressed with the alt. tuning functions, and I hate dragging out my resophonics for a freeby gig...
BTW, just how heavy is your new Variax guitar? "don't want no heavy wood"...
The variax comes in several models: One is a strat clone, one is a Les Paul Clone and they have a couple that resemble Ibanez shredder guitars. Weights (I'm guessing) are about the same as the guitars they're styled after.
One thing I didn't mention clearly: the Variax is powerful by itself, but all of its capabilities are accessed manually (ie. by turning knobs) if you are using it with a regular amp.
In order to access the programmability, the variax needs to be coupled with a Helix. I never intended to buy a Variax.. I already have plenty of guitars. But when I realized that all the features of a variax are MIDI controllable once you pair it with a Helix, I had to go that extra step. For what I do, its a natural progression.
Four guitars in one for the price of four guitars!
Yeah, that is a common observation. The Variax isn't for everybody.
Most people would be better off spending their money on a vintage guitar that will grow in value. Tech toys don't grow in value, because technology quickly becomes obsolete, and demand for the product diminishes.
I'm at a stage in life where *I* am also becoming obsolete, so the window of usefulness for a tech toy is approximately the same as my window of life expectancy. I'm willing to pay a premium price for a tool that checks all the boxes for what I want to do on stage. At this point in life all my decisions are driven by the goal of keeping me interested. Once the interest in being alive goes away, its all downhill after that.
And regarding the very clever line "4 guitars in one for the price of 4 guitars"... there are many more than 4 guitar models in the Variax. The guitar also comes with software that lets you create your own guitar model by changing the pickup locations and a variety of other variables that define a guitar's signature sound. So theoretically, the Variax replicates an infinite number of guitars.
That and the ability to change tunings on the fly AND do it all programmatically... that gets my interest.
Its really hard to articulate all the features of the Helix-Variax combo, because the list is huge. For anyone who might be interested in knowing more, go to YouTube and query the phrase LINE 6 HELIX or USING A VARIAX WITH A HELIX
You'll get enough hits to keep you watching for days.
In a nutshell, its like owning every guitar and every amp and every effects pedal ever made. Imagine the possibilities.
Pat, that's a nice guitar. The thumb wheel control to select twelve alternate tunings is pretty neat. I believe the Line 6 Helix has a Variax digital cable port. The Variax port may be able to provide power to the Variax electronic circuitry. So you don't need to have a battery power pack installed in the guitar. The Variax can send a digital audio signal through the cable and an analog audio signal through the guitar plug.
One thing many people may not realize is that Yamaha bought Line 6. Yamaha has improved the Line 6 quality control.
Thanks for weighing in Jim. As an engineer, you always have interesting observations to make.
On the Line6 user forum, a lot of long standing users have commented on the favorable change in quality since Yamaha took over. I'm a big fan of Yamaha products. My last gear acquisition before buying the Helix was a Yamaha acoustic (AC5R), which I researched a lot before buying an acoustic. I love it. The electronics are amazing, the Japanese workmanship is flawless, the action is as low as my electric, the acoustic tone is the best I've heard... and paired with the helix, it really delivers a nice sound. The Helix lets me combine a plugged signal and a mic signal and add separate effects to each path. Again, you can get any sound you want.
The thing I have always liked best about them is the user programmability. The ability to hold one guitar and with the turn of a knob tune down a half step, moved to open E, open G or dropped D tuning alone would make it worth my while. Especially to switch to and from slide guitar tuning. When you get into the timbres it's beyond remarkable how much they do. From 50s Les Paul to 60s Strat to Martin acoustic to 12 string... I saw a guy once doing a solo with a Variax, a looper, and a drum machine. A blind man would not have known it was not a whole band.
But Pat makes the most cogent point of all by bringing age and end of life concerns into the equation. He has chose to spend some money to own things he enjoys rather than worry abut an ever expiring future. I can't tell you how many people live a contradictory life where in one sentence they want to push every dollar into paying off their mortgage "So I can retire" and then never retire. I love and appreciate having good credit and not a lot of debt, but I will soon hit that threshold where I say "Screw the credit", run my credit cards to the max buying toys I want to enjoy, and wish the creditors well when they try to sue a dead man to recover the debt. That "richest corpse in the graveyard" mentality is just baffling to me. But I understand it from this aspect. Most of us in a certain age group are children of parent from the depression. We were taught that money is the way to keep score. And people work themselves into a stress induced stroke by age 60 trying to squeeze that last dollar out of the consumers. Just consider how it was some strange badge of courage for parents in the 60s to brag that they put their kids through college, because at that time, again based on THEIR history where college was for the elite and affluent, that made them somehow feel like they succeeded. Well, with the changing times came the changing mores. Everybody goes to college now. Most end up back in their parent's basement because they chose some obscure major that doesn't relate to the 2020s workforce. Nobody wins that scenario but the college that took $200,000 from the student (loans), and you have a 22 year old kid starting life in massive debt for an education that is meaningless in this world.
My own different drummer beats outa pattern of "Earn it, spend it, and don't worry about a tomorrow that never comes." Now, for perspective... I have always marched to my own beat. It has not always worked out, but I am what I am and would not change for anything. I am 70 and I don't even HAVE a savings account. I don't need one. Every month, you wonderful taxpayers give me enough money to pay my bills (by way of Social Security and disability) and have plenty of toy money left over. It is stable, it can never stop, and I have no threat of a medical event taking my money due to the VA taking care of veterans. So my situation is specific to me, though I won't say unique as there are a lot of me. I had a guy do some handyman work for me. At the time he was 69 (I was 65) and he said he was going to work until he had 1 million in the bank due to his all-consuming fear of a medical event that could wipe him out. He was heavily invested in order to speed up that process. I once asked him "What happens if your investments crash and burn? Then you love what you have invested. Does that mean you will NEVER retire? And what if you DO hit that million dollar goal and then NOT have that medical even that you worry so much about? You then die and leave one million bucks for the state to absorb into the state troth? And give it away to welfare people? Who wins then? Wouldn't it be a better plan to stop drinking yourself into a coma every day, to quit smoking, and improve the odds of that medical event never happening? Wouldn't that work too?
So Patrick Marr, you enjoy those new toys my friend. You worked long and hard through your life to have the stuff around you that makes you feel good! We truly have no future. We have a series of "presents", so you enjoy those new presents you bought yourself to enjoy your present!!
In a nutshell, its like owning every guitar and every amp and every effects pedal ever made. Imagine the possibilities.
I get your point... I already have almost all that (except the banjo, I threw that down in a well) in my Home Studio... but to have "virtually" all that at a live performance, would be way cool. I just don't know if I have enough live gigs left in me, to make the jump.
The thing I have always liked best about them is the user programmability. The ability to hold one guitar and with the turn of a knob tune down a half step, moved to open E, open G or dropped D tuning alone would make it worth my while. Especially to switch to and from slide guitar tuning. When you get into the timbres it's beyond remarkable how much they do. From 50s Les Paul to 60s Strat to Martin acoustic to 12 string... I saw a guy once doing a solo with a Variax, a looper, and a drum machine. A blind man would not have known it was not a whole band.
But Pat makes the most cogent point of all by bringing age and end of life concerns into the equation. He has chose to spend some money to own things he enjoys rather than worry abut an ever expiring future. I can't tell you how many people live a contradictory life where in one sentence they want to push every dollar into paying off their mortgage "So I can retire" and then never retire. I love and appreciate having good credit and not a lot of debt, but I will soon hit that threshold where I say "Screw the credit", run my credit cards to the max buying toys I want to enjoy, and wish the creditors well when they try to sue a dead man to recover the debt. That "richest corpse in the graveyard" mentality is just baffling to me. But I understand it from this aspect. Most of us in a certain age group are children of parent from the depression. We were taught that money is the way to keep score. And people work themselves into a stress induced stroke by age 60 trying to squeeze that last dollar out of the consumers. Just consider how it was some strange badge of courage for parents in the 60s to brag that they put their kids through college, because at that time, again based on THEIR history where college was for the elite and affluent, that made them somehow feel like they succeeded. Well, with the changing times came the changing mores. Everybody goes to college now. Most end up back in their parent's basement because they chose some obscure major that doesn't relate to the 2020s workforce. Nobody wins that scenario but the college that took $200,000 from the student (loans), and you have a 22 year old kid starting life in massive debt for an education that is meaningless in this world.
My own different drummer beats outa pattern of "Earn it, spend it, and don't worry about a tomorrow that never comes." Now, for perspective... I have always marched to my own beat. It has not always worked out, but I am what I am and would not change for anything. I am 70 and I don't even HAVE a savings account. I don't need one. Every month, you wonderful taxpayers give me enough money to pay my bills (by way of Social Security and disability) and have plenty of toy money left over. It is stable, it can never stop, and I have no threat of a medical event taking my money due to the VA taking care of veterans. So my situation is specific to me, though I won't say unique as there are a lot of me. I had a guy do some handyman work for me. At the time he was 69 (I was 65) and he said he was going to work until he had 1 million in the bank due to his all-consuming fear of a medical event that could wipe him out. He was heavily invested in order to speed up that process. I once asked him "What happens if your investments crash and burn? Then you love what you have invested. Does that mean you will NEVER retire? And what if you DO hit that million dollar goal and then NOT have that medical even that you worry so much about? You then die and leave one million bucks for the state to absorb into the state troth? And give it away to welfare people? Who wins then? Wouldn't it be a better plan to stop drinking yourself into a coma every day, to quit smoking, and improve the odds of that medical event never happening? Wouldn't that work too?
So Patrick Marr, you enjoy those new toys my friend. You worked long and hard through your life to have the stuff around you that makes you feel good! We truly have no future. We have a series of "presents", so you enjoy those new presents you bought yourself to enjoy your present!!
In a nutshell, its like owning every guitar and every amp and every effects pedal ever made. Imagine the possibilities.
I get your point... I already have almost all that (except the banjo, I threw that down in a well) in my Home Studio... but to have "virtually" all that at a live performance, would be way cool. I just don't know if I have enough live gigs left in me, to make the jump.
I totally get that. When I retired, my goal was to gig again, because I stopped when I got married and I thought I could pick up where I left off. Apparently times have changed. Didn't take me long to realize gigging live is hard work. Especially the part about moving gear.
That's where online streaming got interesting. There are a LOT of ways to stream music live, and you can actually earn money that way. Twitch, Facebook, StreetJelly.com, Stageit.com and many more similar sites let you turn on the PC and webcam and start playing music to the world. Danny Campo and I are both on Streetjelly, and some other BIAB forum people have also given it a whirl.
I don't need the money. Like Eddie said, my bank account automatically recharges once a month whether I need it or not. But I like the fact that I can keep all my gear set up and stream on a moment's notice.
A lot of people on these sites are amateurs, but that makes the seasoned players stand out. I figure most of the people here on the BIAB forum have been playing for years and have some chops.
If you love to play but you hate to schlep gear around, maybe online streaming is the right idea for this time of life. I'd love to see you on Streetjelly. And you can do that without spending a dime. You already have a ton of gear! (you might have to buy a web cam if you don't already have one)
My nick on Streetjelly is "Classy Croc" (pronounced like "classic rock") if you see me there, let me know you're from the BIAB forum
/relevant in a musical way //sorry if I just wasted an hour and a half of your life, but I don't think that will be the case ///I bought the DVD twice; the extras make it worth it, like seeing the storyboard for the show, this show is planned from start to finish, like a lot of other top notch performers of the time
If you make it to the hour mark, the theatrics (lighting, costume, performance) become really original for the time
/relevant in a musical way //sorry if I just wasted an hour and a half of your life, but I don't think that will be the case ///I bought the DVD twice; the extras make it worth it, like seeing the storyboard for the show, this show is planned from start to finish, like a lot of other top notch performers of the time
If you make it to the hour mark, the theatrics (lighting, costume, performance) become really original for the time
Speaking of which, the Helix is also capable of sending MIDI commands to external devices, like DMX lighting to create specific lights shows for each song. Or, to switch an amp from clean to dirty channel... or to change patches on an external midi controllable pedal, such as a Strymon or Eventide. But you don't need either because the Helix can already do what either of those high end pedals can do.
sorry if I just wasted an hour and a half of your life, but I don't think that will be the case
Talking Heads is one of a few bands I would do a tribute to. To put it in the time they were performing, they were WAY ahead of their time. Tina Weymouth is one fine bass player!
I've been wanting a Variax for quite a long time, not so much for live performance, but for the infinite sonic possibilities with studio recordings.
This guy pushes the Variax technology to the limits, and I believe he's been awarded with a world record of tuning changes in one song! Even if you're not a fan of this style of music, I think this demo will show you just how much is possible.
The price is not outrageous, i.e. 1 for the price of 4. Pretty reasonable for a nice guitar. Yes, the Variax cable from the Helix will power the guitar send all the programming and sound from the digital side as well as from the pickups if you turn off the Variax modelling. Yamaha makes the guitar quite nice and the Non Variax sound from my model sounds good as well. The wide range of sound is well worth it to me. Especially in a live setting. Works great in the studio as well.
I've been wanting a Variax for quite a long time, not so much for live performance, but for the infinite sonic possibilities with studio recordings.
This guy pushes the Variax technology to the limits, and I believe he's been awarded with a world record of tuning changes in one song! Even if you're not a fan of this style of music, I think this demo will show you just how much is possible.
I think the beauty of the Helix and the Variax is using the pedal, switching tones and switching guitars and tuning with every button. You can have set lists all made up with every sound imaginable all controlled by the pedal board, so you never have to change guitars, or amp settings etc. you can assign the volume pedal to anything for each patch, you can add 2 more volume pedals (or controllers really) and assign each one to something you want to vary (delay, volume, distortion, chorus, flange, phase, you name it) Each patch on the Helix can have an assigned Variax model and custom controllable aspects.
Very intuitive and quite easy to do either on the Helix with controls there or using their software to make the patches and save them to the unit.
great video to illustrate some of what's possible when you combine a Helix with a Variax.
I liked what he said about the complex things people do in the controlled studio environment, which may sometimes be difficult to reproduce on stage. The programmability and flexibility of this system pretty much makes ANYTHING possible on stage.
I am also reminded of the complex pedal setups artists like Eric Johnson have, which enable him to switch between dirty and clean amps and entirely different lead and rhythm guitar sounds. But his pedal board produces approximately the same 2 sounds on all of his songs. The helix/variax can give its owner the same kind of flexibility, but with the added benefit of making the lead and rhythm sounds almost infinitely variable.
What do the native sounds in the Variax sound like? Our guy used the 12 string a lot and the old Les Paul. He HAD the Helix but he didn't always have it engaged.
I found his explanation of the advantages of the longer scale length interesting, but could have used much more depth...Afer all the hype, I was disappointed in the video... I do see great potential in the Variax... I'd love to know more about the tuning, and pitch shifting/correction, how well does this work if the strings are slightly out of tune?? I also wish he had left off the fuzz, and demonstrated more of the tonal qualities of the different guitar models... I'm sure there are a lot better videos online... I'll be checking them out soon.
Looking forward to hearing what you do with it Pat.
I found his explanation of the advantages of the longer scale length interesting, but could have used much more depth...Afer all the hype, I was disappointed in the video... I do see great potential in the Variax... I'd love to know more about the tuning, and pitch shifting/correction, how well does this work if the strings are slightly out of tune?? I also wish he had left off the fuzz, and demonstrated more of the tonal qualities of the different guitar models... I'm sure there are a lot better videos online... I'll be checking them out soon.
Looking forward to hearing what you do with it Pat.
If the guitar is out of tune and you change the tuning using the knob to say 1/2 step down which is one of the options, it will still be out of tune but a 1/2 step lower. The Tunings are changed digitally of course but the change is done to the signal created from the strings and "pickup" in the bridge so they need to be in standard tuning to begin with. I have no idea about any pitch correction. As far as I know it does not do that but I could just be ignorant.
As to the native sound, mine is the sort of strat copy/body and you get a similar strat sound using just the normal magnetic pickups. since there are varying body styles and pickup combinations available, the only real way to find out is to play them.
The modelled sounds are all quite good. I am not too fond of the 12 string stuff on its own but in a mix it sounds fantastic. The Les Paul, Strat, Tele sounds are all good. The hollowbody stuff is good as well. There is a 335, Gretsch, Good resonator stuff and even a Sitar. The jazz guitars are modelled nicely too. Really good overall, in my opinion.
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?
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
What do the native sounds in the Variax sound like? Our guy used the 12 string a lot and the old Les Paul. He HAD the Helix but he didn't always have it engaged.
I guess the realistic answer, (without trying to make it sound like the Helix/Variax combo is the greatest thing since sliced bread)is to say that modeling provides a convincing representation of a guitar that was modeled under specific settings. If you have ever used Impulse Responses, you have noticed that a typical set of IRs will include a LOT of different files with slight differences in one setting. Differences in mic distance from the speaker cabinet, or mic used for an acoustic guitar. That is a limitation of modeling.
A good amp with a good guitar gives your guitar player all the flexibility he needs to extract the full spectrum of sounds out of his gear, and that's probably why he doesn't always use the Helix. Given enough time to tweak parameters by trial and error, it might be possible to get the same sound out of the Helix, but your guitar player probably has an understanding of his gear that lets him get from idea to tone with a lot less effort.
But I'm not a pro by any means. For me, it's way better than anything else I've ever used to duplicate sounds on the songs I'm trying to replicate.
Hi Pat, What is the scale length of your Variax from nut to bridge? If its's standard Fender strat length, did you ever try out any of the longer scale models as a comparison?
Hi Pat, What is the scale length of your Variax from nut to bridge? If it's standard Fender strat length, did you ever try out any of the longer scale models as a comparison?
My Variax is the Strat version, and it is scaled like my actual strat (not exactly, but close) I haven't tried the Shuriken model (the one used in the Video supplied by Simon) because I bought from Sweetwater, which didn't give me a chance to actually sample anything.)
The Shuriken is modeled after the guitars used in metal bands, which frequently rely on baritone tuning, which I believe is why the neck scale is longer on that model. In retrospect, since I already have a strat, I probably should have bought the Shuriken, since it would have given me some variation on what I already have. But frankly, I am already experiencing "possibility overload".
