It's very simple -- you use a Variax to model the GUITARS you want, and a Line 6 POD or amplifier to model the AMPS and effects you want.  Line 6 does not offer any way to model amps or effects from the guitar, or guitars from the amp or POD.  Other companies do -- most notably, Roland.  Their VG series of amps, foot pedals and desktop units (like the VG-99) do offer both amp and guitar modeling (as well as effects).  Roland also makes guitar synthesizers like the GR-55 that models both guitars and amps (plus synthesized instruments like horns, keyboards, woodwinds and various effects) all of which can be played with any guitar through the GR unit.

Most people think that Line 6 does a better job of modeling, though they do not offer the "all-in-one solution" that Roland does.  Roland's advantage is that you can use your favorite guitar and one "box" to get TONS of sounds.  It is virtually unlimited -- however, as stated, perhaps not as authentic-sounding as what Line 6 offers.

You may be wondering -- why would you need both types of modeling?  Well for me, playing in two cover bands, I need to get many types of guitar, amp and effects sounds throughout a gig, from a Strat through a Fender Twin amp, to a Les Paul through a Marshall stack, to a Martin acoustic sounding as clean as possible (so there's no amp selected at all -- just running through the P.A.) and many, many other combinations too.  The Variax and Line 6 POD or amp combination works perfectly for this (I have a JTV 59 and an HD500, as well as 2 Vetta amps and a Spider IV at home).  I also happen to need to play saxophone solos, organ and other synthesized sounds, so I use a GR-55 for that.  And in one band I need some special effects that I can only get from a VG-99, so I have one of those too.  It gets a little complicated and I'm still working out the best way to combine all these . . .  but the sounds I get are phenomenal.

Hopefully that answers your question.  Keep practicing!

No problem.  Now that I read it over it's not that simple at all, except for the initial concept.  Making all this stuff work together is actually quite a challenge, considering that one also can (and should) add an FC300 foot controller for the Roland stuff.  Suddenly I have 4 roughly 18" x 12" units in front of me, with over a dozen footswitches and two foot pedals, not to mention a couple dozen more knobs on the 3 "sound producing units" and my amp.  And then on the guitar I have my choice of 26 instruments and a dozen alternate tunings!  (Or however many there are, can't remember right now).  It's a lot to keep track of and I'm still struggling with it.  But you may never need that level of complexity.  One Variax and a Spider amp gets you to 75% of what I'm doing with all this.

By "monstrosity" I'm sure you're referring to the Roland GK-3 or GK-2A unit and hex pickup that many people use to access the Roland gear I mentioned (plus a lot of other great stuff) through a 13-pin cable.  I have 4 GK-3s on various guitars but still hate them as much as you seem to.  However I have started mounting the main unit on the BACKS of my guitars (velcroed onto the plastic rear control cover) to hide them away as much as possible.  I turn off their buttons and volume control so I can't accidentally change something I didn't want to.  You can probably only do this if you reverse the pickup order and run the cable to the right of the bridge, which Roland makes possible in the setup menus of their newer gear (both the GR-55 and the VG-99 allow this).  Now people only see the slim hex pickup and the cable running around to the back.  I'll attach a picture or two when I get home.

But there are many other ways to get a 13-pin signal without using a GK-3.  One is the GraphTech Hexpander system, which has piezos in the bridge and a small circuit board to translate that signal to what Roland needs.  I haven't purchased one YET, because I don't really want to drill even a very small hole in any of my guitars and this seems to be required.  But I might do it anyway soon . . .  still thinking about it.  There is another company called RMC that makes something similar, called the Polydrive.  I know next to nothing about those.

Another method I HAVE used is from Gibson.  In several of their latest guitars they have installed a piezo bridge and special circuitry to give you a very limited form of modeling called "Chameleon Tone", which by the way is very poor IMO compared to either the Variax OR Roland.  But they do make an accessory called the RIP (Robot Interface Pack) that has on its rear panel a DIN plug that outputs a 13-pin signal.  Buy a special cable and suddenly your Gibson plugs right into any Roland-compatible guitar processor!  I bought a Dark Fire and a Les Paul Standard 2010 Limited for the express purpose of using them with the RackVax ("Variax in a rackmount format"), which also takes the 13-pin signal.  Yes, my Les Pauls have all the Variax sounds.  It worked perfectly for a while but lately I'm hearing some extemporaneous noise and have gone back to using GK-3s on some even nicer guitars (which however do not have Gibson's fast new robotic tuning I like so much).  I think I probably just need a new RIP box but those are expensive and hard to find.  Another problem with the Gibson method is "piezo feedback", especially when used with the VG-99.  This is well documented in several forums but some people have learned how to control it.  If you're interested in this method, the other guitars that have this bridge are (so far) the Dusk Tiger and the new Firebird X to be released in May.  All these also have robotic tuning, which I DO love, and I'm sure Gibson will keep making more "Robots" in other body styles and formats.  Beware, the older Gibson Robots (like the SG, Flying V, Explorer and some of the Les Pauls) do have piezos and (much slower) robotic tuning, but no circuitry to convert the signal to 13-pin output.  You need one that offers Chameleon Tone to be able to use the RIP.

variaxlover wrote:

 

By "monstrosity" I'm sure you're referring to the Roland GK-3 or GK-2A unit and hex pickup that many people use to access the Roland gear I mentioned (plus a lot of other great stuff) through a 13-pin cable.  I have 4 GK-3s on various guitars but still hate them as much as you seem to.  However I have started mounting the main unit on the BACKS of my guitars (velcroed onto the plastic rear control cover) to hide them away as much as possible.  I turn off their buttons and volume control so I can't accidentally change something I didn't want to.  You can probably only do this if you reverse the pickup order and run the cable to the right of the bridge, which Roland makes possible in the setup menus of their newer gear (both the GR-55 and the VG-99 allow this).  Now people only see the slim hex pickup and the cable running around to the back.  I'll attach a picture or two when I get home.

 

But there are many other ways to get a 13-pin signal without using a GK-3.  One is the GraphTech Hexpander system, which has piezos in the bridge and a small circuit board to translate that signal to what Roland needs.  I haven't purchased one YET, because I don't really want to drill even a very small hole in any of my guitars and this seems to be required.  But I might do it anyway soon . . .  still thinking about it.  There is another company called RMC that makes something similar, called the Polydrive.  I know next to nothing about those.

 

Another method I HAVE used is from Gibson.  In several of their latest guitars they have installed a piezo bridge and special circuitry to give you a very limited form of modeling called "Chameleon Tone", which by the way is very poor IMO compared to either the Variax OR Roland.  But they do make an accessory called the RIP (Robot Interface Pack) that has on its rear panel a DIN plug that outputs a 13-pin signal.  Buy a special cable and suddenly your Gibson plugs right into any Roland-compatible guitar processor!  I bought a Dark Fire and a Les Paul Standard 2010 Limited for the express purpose of using them with the RackVax ("Variax in a rackmount format"), which also takes the 13-pin signal.  Yes, my Les Pauls have all the Variax sounds.  It worked perfectly for a while but lately I'm hearing some extemporaneous noise and have gone back to using GK-3s on some even nicer guitars (which however do not have Gibson's fast new robotic tuning I like so much).  I think I probably just need a new RIP box but those are expensive and hard to find.  Another problem with the Gibson method is "piezo feedback", especially when used with the VG-99.  This is well documented in several forums but some people have learned how to control it.  If you're interested in this method, the other guitars that have this bridge are (so far) the Dusk Tiger and the new Firebird X to be released in May.  All these also have robotic tuning, which I DO love, and I'm sure Gibson will keep making more "Robots" in other body styles and formats.  Beware, the older Gibson Robots (like the SG, Flying V, Explorer and some of the Les Pauls) do have piezos and (much slower) robotic tuning, but no circuitry to convert the signal to 13-pin output.  You need one that offers Chameleon Tone to be able to use the RIP.

Thanks so much for the detailed information. I am very intrigued by the capabilities of the GR-55 especially being able to do saxophone solos on guitar. Since I don't play sax, I've been adding that sound to my recordings via my Yamaha Motif with not very satisfying results. Of course, the Roland won't replace my Variax.

Exactly what I was thinking! Thanks again for the info.