Leaderboard

I own an old Variax Acoustic 700, and use it for coffee house and winery gigs during solo acoustic sets for special tunings. Line 6 abandoned the Workbench software, so I have to keep an old Mac laptop specifically for use with the guitar. So, my comments echo @Brue58ski's. I'll have my old strats for many more years and the value keeps going up, but the Variax will get harder and harder to get support and hardware for. Its like owning a Model-T after awhile; you have to learn how to maintain it and where to buy parts. Even so, I bought a newer used Standard at a good price a couple of years ago, and keep it around mainly for special tunings in the studio. Its good for that, I think (I wouldn't own it for banjos, sitars, dobros acoustic guitars, etc). There are artifacts with some tunings, but they are usually buried in a mix.

FYI- A new video that shows more of the menu section. Very nice. Now I dunno if I want to incorporate an HXFX or Helix. I may just run this bad boy via a Morningstar MC-8 midi controller and call it good. ; )

This is not a 100% solution, and YMMV.... I like to run a TILT EQ at the front of a Variax preset and roll the high back about -20 to -30. This really solves the "plinky" tone that gets under my skin... and gets rid of it at the beginning so effects and amps respond more naturally. In general I find a Variax to feel "cold" for lack of a better term.... this helps me in that regard.

I mean to level the Helix Presets within the Helix, so that the output level is the same for all of the presets. I'm not really familiar with the XR18. If it has Input level meters you could use those, combined with a db meter (on your phone?) and your ears. Then you'd only have to set the Trim once, and FOH only has to adjust the Channel Volume as necessary for the song/room. Keep in mind that if you're using a clean boost for solos (I use a FS with MIN=0/MAX= +4db), you'd want to set the trim with the boost ON.

Note that the Variax magnetic pickup signals are digitized in the guitar and sent as digital signals on the VDI cable. What this means is that the Helix auto impedance for the guitar input has no effect on Variax. There's a few models, like the Arbitrator Fuzz doesn't work well with Variax and VDI.

Yes, the DI cable carries both mag and model signals. Here's the cool thing: you can use Variax Workbench to create blended guitars with both mag and models, or you can use the Helix to have separate inputs for mag and models, then process them separately. The VDI cable is not included with the Variax. You can get one from Line 6 or Bestronics makes good ones too.

https://line6.com/support/page/kb/effects-controllers/helix/helix-tutorials-by-jason-sadites-r891/

Dear all I just downloaded the demo of Helix native and its already blowing me away. I'm a huge Doom Drone Stoner fan. Is there a resource on here for settings please? I'm finding I'm getting lost in options and was wondering if someone can give me some good starting points. I'm guessing I should be looking at the Orange and Emperor IR at Ownhammer. Any other recommends? I'm guessing the Sunn o))) infinite sustain is going to be an issue for drone. I was thinking of picking up one of the game changer audio sustain pedals. I love what Brooks does at Blackhawk amps. Any fans here that have tried to model these sounds? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhEWTTf5tI8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itkfBcC2J5U&t=52s Forgive all the questions but I would love to start a thread. Thanks in advance :)

Hi There.. Can someone help me? I have a HD 500, and found a video on youtube. kelly simonz did a cover of "the loner" by gary moore. The patch/tone is downloadable from his website, but i cant get it into my EDIT list. Is it so that i have to purchase more line 6 products to get this sound? Link to the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_MJQdX7zMA

Anyone? Had been nice to know what to do..:-)