Appears like Line 6 don't like their own Variax's? A little rant.

[brue58ski]

This is something kind of minor if not infinitely small but, just for fun, I've finally decided to comment on it. I can't help but notice the lack of Variax's in much of Line 6's media. Look at all the pictures of the Line 6 products on the website. Not counting the Variax product page, out of the 21 guitars I found on the website (this includes videos), only 6 were Varaix's.

 

And to answer the question coursing through many of your minds now, yes, at this moment, I have little to no life. Anyway, if the Varaix is all it's supposed to be, why isn't it the main guitar I see in pictures and videos? Is it just me? Why aren't most if not all of the extra patches offered by Line 6 (not counting the factory patches) created with Variax's? If I were Line 6, it would be the Varaix I would almost always see. It would be the Variax I would almost always hear. Especially the guy on the beach on the main page...where's the Variax? That's your "opening number". 

 

You may say "well many of the products don't have a VDI Variax interface". That isn't a requirement for the Variax. You can use a battery. I don't mean it should be in everything, but it should be the main guitar I see throughout the website. Is it just me or am I being a bit anal. Don't answer that. And don't take this too seriously. But it does make me feel a bit like a second class citizen and that even Line 6 doesn't like their own Variax's as much as I do.

[silverhead]

Perhaps it's just a marketing decision for the non-Variax products. Line 6 markets their products to the entire guitar playing market, not just Variax owners. Maybe they just don't want their advertising to suggest that these other products only work, or work best, with Variax guitars.

[brue58ski]

I get that. It shouldn't be the only product on there, but I think it should be the main guitar I see. If the Variax is the guitar they claim it is. Did you ever see a Les Paul in a Fender amp ad?

[silverhead]

Your first instinct is right - not worth spending more time on this.

[cruisinon2]

I get that. It shouldn't be the only product on there, but I think it should be the main guitar I see.

Nah...they're trying to sell stuff to the whole guitar playing world. And guitarists are mostly crazy, anal, and addicted to their own personal preferences for instruments. And most (myself included) tend to play mostly one style of music. The country and blues guys will never give up their Teles and Strats, nor the classic rock guys their Les Pauls, jazz dudes their hollow/semi-hollow bodies, or the metal heads their Ibanez (or insert other "pointy" guitar manufacturer here________;) ). Might as well ask them all to give up air for a week. That's why I don't see the Variax as ever having a huge audience...but don't get me wrong, I like my JTV.

[brue58ski]

Your first instinct is right - not worth spending more time on this.

 

Then don't. See ya.

[BillBee]

Hey my man - I see it like the HD stuff right now. Its not the new and exciting kid on the block - yet...... those L6 buggers usually are quiet on things for a reason: a) Kill mode or b) Product dev mode.

 

I hope its "b." No sense doing a bunch of promo if something is in the works. They have too much $$$ invested and its a great product (yes - which I don't have yet).

 

But hey, I am an optimist :)

 

Bill

[brue58ski]

Hey my man - I see it like the HD stuff right now. Its not the new and exciting kid on the block - yet...... those L6 buggers usually are quiet on things for a reason: a) Kill mode or B) Product dev mode.

 

I hope its "b." No sense doing a bunch of promo if something is in the works. They have too much $$$ invested and its a great product (yes - which I don't have yet).

 

But hey, I am an optimist :)

 

Bill

 

But I still can't help but feel that if they really believed in and stood behind their product, i.e. the JTV's, then we'd see them in almost all if not all of their promotions. I don't see anything but Fender guitars in Fender amp ads and promotions.

[mcbeddall]

A fender guitar advertising a fender amp is a serious guitar advertising a serious amp.

Variax isn't seen as a serious guitar by most guitarists out there so it would kind of detract from the validity of whatever fx unit etc they were advertising.

The entry point to the line 6 world is definitely the fx units, they have deservedly built a solid reputation for quality gear.

If the variax was focused on as an entry point to line 6 gear then probably 80% of guitarists would immediately turn their nose up at it.

I love my variax but until I had one in my hands I'd never given one a second look , yet I loved all line 6 fx units that I've owned.

I would agree that they aren't readily available to try out in stores though, at least in the uk. Maybe if people could try them out they'd become more popular and have less of a stigma

[vmoncebaiz]

Another tid bit on this point is that sometimes I will avoid using a Variax specifically to avoid confusion. When I'm training a dealer on a specific Line 6 FX or modeling unit, I use whatever guitar is sitting at the store. That way there's no question as to weather the Variax is part of the sound. I think it's a good thing to show the products all work well independently from each other. Then when you start to use Variax along with other Line 6 products you can highlight the added functionality that comes with it.

 

One of my favorite parts about working for Line 6 is that we might be the only company who can openly like other companies and their gear. It's part of what Line 6 does.

 

I imagine the employee at Fender who secretly and shamefully plays his Les Pauls and Marshalls in his basement. Ha. Gear is fun and variety is the best part.