Variax Standard factory specs and over

[mau65]

Hello to you all of the Line 6 forums.

I recently purchased a Variax Guitar Standard and, in amazement, I found neither in the package, either on the site of Line 6 the factory specs to be able to adjust the setup of the guitar better.

Tech support tells me that it can not be published for various reasons, and if there is need for special adjustments, send them the guitar; good support, no doubt, but I'm used to from 30 years to have it set me my bass and my guitars and I wanted to continue on this way.

I'd like to share your settings with regard to the relief of the neck, the action of the strings at the bridge, the gauge of strings that lmounted the thickness and, in general, what are the measurements that have given you more satisfaction with the pick-up piezo under the bridge in order to make the most possible simulations.

This kind of guitar, for me, is something new that I never got to approach first: any help, advice eyes all of you will be really pleasant ;-)))

[eenymason]

Hello to you all of the Line 6 forums.

I recently purchased a Variax Guitar Standard and, in amazement, I found neither in the package, either on the site of Line 6 the factory specs to be able to adjust the setup of the guitar better.

Tech support tells me that it can not be published for various reasons, and if there is need for special adjustments, send them the guitar; good support, no doubt, but I'm used to from 30 years to have it set me my bass and my guitars and I wanted to continue on this way.

I'd like to share your settings with regard to the relief of the neck, the action of the strings at the bridge, the gauge of strings that lmounted the thickness and, in general, what are the measurements that have given you more satisfaction with the pick-up piezo under the bridge in order to make the most possible simulations.

This kind of guitar, for me, is something new that I never got to approach first: any help, advice eyes all of you will be really pleasant ;-)))

If you bought it from a shop, expecting it to be "set up" already, maybe contact the shop, if you're not happy with it.

 

Alternatively.....

I'm guessing you have a Strat style guitar already in your possession, which is set up as you like it?

The basics of setting up your guitar to how it feels best for you is something I believe everyone should be able to do. I'd suggest check out closely your favourite Strat, and using the supplied allen keys, adjust action etc to best suit your needs. Detune the strings as you adjust them, otherwise you will likely cause problems, like stripping the thread, or allen key slot.

Note - there has been discussion here about setting the action too low on Variax Standard, and JTV, and this causing an undesirable "warble" when using the modelled sounds. Apparently this is caused by the "pull" of the magnetic pickups on the strings.

There will be plenty of information on youtube, and it wouldn't hurt to learn before you get into it, but it's not rocket science to make simple adjustments!

[amsdenj]

A Variax Standard is setup up just like any other electric guitar with a couple of minor additional considerations. The models are getting their input from piezo pickups in the bridge. These pickups are very sensitive to small pressure changes and this can have an inpact on setup. The first consideration is action. Generally one sets the action as low as possible with an acceptable level of fret buzz. This should be done after neck relief has been adjusted which can be impacted by string gauge. Heavier strings might need a bit more relief since the purpose of relief is to provide a pocket in which the string can vibrate without hitting the frets. Different people will have different levels of "acceptable" fret buzz. But on a Variax guitar, those piezo pickups tend to see that fret buzz more than magnetic pickups and it is therefore transferred into the models. So I generally run my action a bit higher on a Variax guitar and keep the fret buzz to the minimum.

 

The second consideration is pickup height. The magnetic pickups have pretty strong magnets and there can be anywhere from 3 to 4 pickups on a Variax. These magnets interact with the vibrating string and if the pickups are too close, you can get some odd intermodulation in the low E string especially when it is fretted more than half way up the neck. Again the piezo pickups seem sensitive to this and tend to accentuate that warble. So keep the pickups perhaps a little lower on the bass side, especially the neck and middle pickups and make sure there's no warble on the low E string.

 

Although not part of setup, pick choice can also have an impact on modeled sounds. Pick attack puts a big transient pressure wave on the piezo pickup which tends to get picked up a bit more in the models than in the magnetic pickups. So beveled picks with rounder points and smooth edges might help control potentially excessive pick attack in the modeled instruments.

[cruisinon2]

Hello to you all of the Line 6 forums.

I recently purchased a Variax Guitar Standard and, in amazement, I found neither in the package, either on the site of Line 6 the factory specs to be able to adjust the setup of the guitar better.

Tech support tells me that it can not be published for various reasons, and if there is need for special adjustments, send them the guitar; good support, no doubt, but I'm used to from 30 years to have it set me my bass and my guitars and I wanted to continue on this way.

I'd like to share your settings with regard to the relief of the neck, the action of the strings at the bridge, the gauge of strings that lmounted the thickness and, in general, what are the measurements that have given you more satisfaction with the pick-up piezo under the bridge in order to make the most possible simulations.

This kind of guitar, for me, is something new that I never got to approach first: any help, advice eyes all of you will be really pleasant ;-)))

Yes, unfortunately L6 is notorious for refusing to divulge even the most insignificant set-up specs, as if the recommended pickup and/or string height were the same sort of "proprietary" info as the modeling algorithms themselves. It's absurd, but a long established policy. The excuse that's usually trotted out is that "too many people don't know what they're doing and damage their instruments". Boo-hoo. The resulting "logic" is to leave everyone twisting in the wind, as if that would somehow translate into fewer morons ruining their guitars. Morons will do that anyway, specs or no...it's what they do. But I digress...

 

On the bright side, the dirty little secret is that there is absolutely nothing mystifying about setting up a Variax. It's still a guitar, and subject to the same stresses and tolerances as any other. Set it up so that it's comfortable for you, whatever your preferences are, and you'll be fine. Like any other guitar you'll want to minimize fret buzz, as the piezos tend to react poorly to it. And make sure the intonation is spot-on so the alt tuning algorithms don't get confused. In other words, nothing that you wouldn't be doing to any other guitar on earth if you want it to play properly. Don't let the fancy electronics scare you...

[mau65]

Thank you very much to you all, your tips are very valuable for me :-)

 

Have a nice days !