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13214 Views 22 Replies Latest reply: Aug 17, 2011 9:28 PM by amx05462 RSS
Karin23 Just Startin'
Karin23
29 posts since
Mar 29, 2009
Currently Being Moderated

Apr 7, 2009 4:56 PM

Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance

Hi there,

 

 

how important are the non-pickup characteristics of normal guitar for the Variax sounds?

 

Example: Are the resonance of the variax body the amount and richness of overtones which the Variax body & strings generate (BEFORE the modeling) important for the Variax sounds or are those characteristics modeled as well?

 

These are questions which a normal guitar would address with its body, kinds of woods, neck-construction (mount or thru etc.) etc.

 

But I have no idea, how important those things are to the Variax sound. If they are not important for sound then it becomes merely a question of playing comfort

 

.

Karin

Tags: sound, variax, pickups, resonance, sustain, body, wood, neck
  • Phryrduk Just Startin'
    Phryrduk
    89 posts since
    Mar 27, 2007
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    Apr 7, 2009 6:55 PM (in response to Karin23)
    Re: Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance

    You ask ten different people they will give you ten different answers. For me it makes a difference.  Just like magnetics, the peizos pickup the vibration of the strings, so anything that affects string vibration on regular guitars would do so also on a variax. How much of difference these things really make on any solid body electric is another matter. 

  • Karin23 Just Startin'
    Karin23
    29 posts since
    Mar 29, 2009
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    Apr 9, 2009 2:35 AM (in response to Karin23)
    Re: Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance

    I can try to narrow down the question:

     

    Are the resonance, wood, neck etc. charateristics also modeled in the Variax models or not?

     

    Still, I'm interested in any opinion - I find it very insightful to listen to different people's knowledge on the topic.

    • amx05462 Power User
      amx05462
      3,495 posts since
      Sep 1, 2008
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      Apr 9, 2009 2:58 AM (in response to Karin23)
      Re: Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance

      i did a reansplant into a danelectro. entirely diferent body and neck characteristics . but it sounds the same  so id say the wood the neck etc dont matter in  my opinion. your getting a signal through a processor to the amp . only thing i changed electronicly was the piezo pickups  and i did that before the transplant so there was no diference at all sound wise.

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  • Mr_Arkadin Expert Line 6 User
    Mr_Arkadin
    2,379 posts since
    Jan 25, 2007
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    Apr 9, 2009 3:41 AM (in response to Karin23)
    Re: Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance

    i would imagine that a guitar being ash, maple or whatever would have little effect on the tone, although i imagine that wood and construction (neck-through, bolt-on etc) would affect the sustain of the models - in assume you can't add sustain to a model without the guitar actually giving you that sustain, although some sort of Sustainer would be great on a Variax.

  • Ed_Dixon Just Startin'
    Ed_Dixon
    17 posts since
    Dec 14, 2008
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    Apr 9, 2009 7:15 PM (in response to Karin23)
    Re: Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance

    I think there is a difference, but it may be small compared to the internal variax guts.  So much happens there, that I think the wood makes less difference.

     

    Ed

  • frenchfries Just Startin'
    frenchfries
    71 posts since
    Jan 28, 2007
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    Apr 10, 2009 11:08 AM (in response to Karin23)
    Re: Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance

    I have recently mounted a mag pickup in the Variax 500 that I own since 2003. It has modified the overall acoustic resonance of the axe and does affect the modeling. It's subtle but it's there and can be seen on the graphs of recorded tracks. I could sum it up as following: less wood in the body = less low mids. Funny thing: the tone is now better to my ears (not to mention that the mag pup completes ideally the Vax modeling).

    • amx05462 Power User
      amx05462
      3,495 posts since
      Sep 1, 2008
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      Apr 10, 2009 12:08 PM (in response to frenchfries)
      Re: Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance.

      yes i agree with a magnetic pickup thats true as with all acoustics . but i think the question was about a stock variax setup which has no magnetic  pickup also the harder the wood the more sustain. and the same when it comes to metal as bridges for example an american srtat has  a bit more sustain than say a mexican or japaneese one because the tremelo block is much heavier and thats also why they sell brass tremelo blocks and the reason why theres more sustain in a les paul than a strat is more wood and a little more metal  heavier magnets in the humbuckers heavier tailpiece letting it resonate more. but thats with magnetic pickups. in other words apples and oranges. so now that you have a mag pickup you should get feedback for two reasons one  its a magnetic one  specially if its single coil and two because the cavity in the variax is so big and you must have had to  enlarge it a bit its  semi hollow lending to feed back like a semi acoustic guitar does.

      • frenchfries Just Startin'
        frenchfries
        71 posts since
        Jan 28, 2007
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        Apr 10, 2009 11:58 PM (in response to amx05462)
        Re: Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance.

        amx05462 a écrit:

         

        yes i agree with a magnetic pickup thats true as with all acoustics . but i think the question was about a stock variax setup which has no magnetic  pickup also the harder the wood the more sustain. and the same when it comes to metal as bridges for example an american srtat has  a bit more sustain than say a mexican or japaneese one because the tremelo block is much heavier and thats also why they sell brass tremelo blocks and the reason why theres more sustain in a les paul than a strat is more wood and a little more metal  heavier magnets in the humbuckers heavier tailpiece letting it resonate more. but thats with magnetic pickups. in other words apples and oranges. so now that you have a mag pickup you should get feedback for two reasons one  its a magnetic one  specially if its single coil and two because the cavity in the variax is so big and you must have had to  enlarge it a bit its  semi hollow lending to feed back like a semi acoustic guitar does.

         

        Yes, all the hardware is important... I have also experimented it, having entirely built one of my seven guitars twelve years ago, with three different trem's before to find the "good one"; I have also changed its neck two years ago and it has totally modified its sound once again.

        Regarding my Vax with mag pup, no, Sir, it doesn't feedback - and I have already played it LOUD.

        In fact, the mag pup, with its... magnetic field, seems to interact gently with the resonance of the body AND the motion of my strings in such a way that the modeling of electric guitars becomes slightly more realistic (!).

        Believe it or not but for me it's a fact.

         

        To answer more precisely to the original question: yes, the character of bodies, necks and their woods are modeled by the Vax. But its own resonance still matters. My example was meant to show it... AnYoutube is full of vid's proving that a Variax transplant doesn't resonate like a stock model. Saying that it sounds better of worse is a question of individual tastes but there's surely a difference. Same thing with different piezo transducers (whose character is always "there" in any Variax modeled tone: that's precisely why I've added a regular mag pup in my 500).

         

        Best regards,

         

        FF

        • amx05462 Power User
          amx05462
          3,495 posts since
          Sep 1, 2008
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          Apr 11, 2009 2:28 AM (in response to frenchfries)
          Re: Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance.

          i wonder if the magnetic field from the pickup could somehow be transfering through the metal coffin case to the electronics having that affect.  your absolutely right about diferent piezos as well because i changed mine from the stock lr baggs ones to  graph tech  and noticen  marked improvement in the over all power of the pickups .also the trebel end is more pronounced which i like  foor the strat and telecaster setings.next time i use the vax im going to try just putting a magnet on it to see if it has any affect .just out of curiosity

          • frenchfries Just Startin'
            frenchfries
            71 posts since
            Jan 28, 2007
            Currently Being Moderated
            Apr 11, 2009 3:01 AM (in response to amx05462)
            Re: Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance.

            Is there not a risk to cancel the flash memory with a magnet close to the Vax electronic? I have personnally shielded the pup cavity against this effect, just in case... Anyway, I wouldn't recommend to put any strong magnet near the Vax guts... And I believe that the interaction mentioned above has much more to do with the motion of the strings. Just MHO...

      • Karin23 Just Startin'
        Karin23
        29 posts since
        Mar 29, 2009
        Currently Being Moderated
        Apr 11, 2009 8:59 AM (in response to amx05462)
        Re: Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance.

        Thanks for these insights!

        • Hey_Joe Iknowathingortwo
          Hey_Joe
          606 posts since
          Jan 24, 2007
          Currently Being Moderated
          Apr 11, 2009 12:01 PM (in response to Karin23)
          Re: Variax importance of body & neck sound & resonance.

          Oops another opinion...

          I have a Variax 300 electric and the 600...I feel that the heavier more dense Agathis wood of the body and rosewood fingerboard of the 300 is more ballsy as far as resonance than the 600's basswood...but the build quality goes up on the 600 and the body is a bit more contoured. So IMHO the body and neck have proven to be of importance.

          I had saved an old  E-mail  somebody posted on the old forum to Line 6 regarding this issue, and in their answer they verified that although the different woods that the different Variax Guitars are made of does not have has much effect as it might on a standard electric solid body guitar with conventional pickups, it still does have some effect on the overall resonance and sustain of the strings.

          I put a Tremsetter on my 600 to beef up the resonanse as well as for the trem http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=115.

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