clay-man

I say this because I remember when I got my JTV-69. I got 1 which sounded perfect. I had a used 600 prior to this and it has the issue as well. The ONLY reason I returned it was because I thought a software error with the 12 string acoustics + Capo mode was a hardware issue. It was most likely just the DSP buffer messing up and causing issues in rare instances. I knew it was a software issue because the second guitar did the exact same thing. I sent the guitar back and got another one, and I instantly heard the plink noise in the 2nd guitar. I sent that back to sweetwater, and asked for the 1st guitar back but they said it's being returned for defect already. I got a 3rd guitar, and it had the plink issue as well. I lied to myself and said "it sounds like it's not as bad" or "maybe it's the way it's supposed to sound??" I was excited to have my JTV and I've used it through out the years. I started getting other guitars, and they all sounded better than my JTV, not even in the sense that "it sounds more real" but it just sounds more pleasant. The plink is a huge contributor. Now I find myself not touching the Variax as much. The modeled strat sounds like garbage compared to the

I am asking this because while some people can just put software EQs in the beginning of a VST chain in a DAW, something like this should be built in the guitar. According to Line6Tony or someone else, there is a filter coded in the Variax to fix this. Ok, apparently it doesn't fix it though. Make this open ended so we can change notch's frequencies and DB of the frequencies

I had my Variax since 2015 and I think I lied to myself the whole time about the plink not being an issue or that I can just adjust accordingly. This is a thousand dollar guitar with a string that can end up sounding absolutely unusable in certain situations. I've seen thread after thread about this, and I've seen Line 6 people say they've taken the best they can to address the issue. Have they really? Why isn't the supposed software/firmware work around with the built in filters adjustable by the user's end? Open this up in variax software please. Make it so you can have like 3-4 frequency bands you can notch out, and adjust the DB levels to. This would literally fix the issue. If every variax guitar is a hit & miss with the plink sound being an issue, and 70% of guitars have the issue to some degree, why not have it hard coded to be more aggressive towards the issue? Why are the frequency notches so ineffective? Please just make a firmware update and Workbench update that let's users control the parameters of this. It's not that hard. Just edit it to be software accessible instead of hard-coded into the firmware.

Lowering the electronics and presetting the tone knob to about 8/10 helps give a more realisticly smooth Les Paul sound, but it's annoying because it ruins the whole concept of those electronic values supposedly sounding that way, or the use of the tone knob liberally. I guess it can be fixed with EQ, but I'd like to just plug in the guitar and have it sound like what it's supposed to sound like. Does anyone have a Les Paul that honestly sounds as bright and lacking in bass as the Variax models do?

Am I the only person who things the 6th string has a problem regardless of whether or not you have a plinking sound? It just sounds inconsistent to all the other strings. It has way more honk than any of the other strings do, and I literally played 4 Variaxes. I don't know why they don't compensate for this in the modeling. It's super annoying to deal with. The problem is if you ever do any type of boost that gives more bite to the other 5 strings, the 6th strings becomes way too grating. I don't know how many of you just play low gain rock, but if you play with higher treble sounds or high gain, it becomes an issue.

I don't know. The more I go back to humbucker based sounds the more I feel like it all sounds too nasally. I feel like there's probably a defect with my Variax that somehow got worse over time. The quacky sound is really bothersome.

I got an Epi Les Paul Custom a while ago and it blows the Variax's Lester settings out of the water, but I still want to get sounds out of it. Is it me or is the settings too nasally? Are they based off of a Les Paul with brighter humbuckers or something? Does anyone else have a Les Paul and think the Lester model sounds close? It's just not happening with me. Any way to fix this in Workbench?

Yeah if you're not confident at all, don't do it. I've disassembled electronics many a times so I know a grasp of what I'm getting into. It's relatively easy if you have that concept down. You look at it and go "oh, this thing touches against this thing to get a read of which slot it chooses, so I clean that". If you can't get a basic obvious concept of what you're looking at, then no, don't do it yourself. I've already replaced piezos on both my guitars as well as replaced a volume and tone knob on my old Variax, but that's because I have a basic understanding of electronic layout.

I had a problem with the model knob on my Variax. I disassembled the pick guard to get to the contacts of the model knob (A metal prong contacts against another piece with indents to indicate what model is selected). I shot some Electronic contact cleaner between it and flipped through the models fast. I did this like 3-4 times. Never had a problem with models freaking out again. Could work with the alt tuning knob as well. Pretty sure it's the same principle. That's if, the problem is stemming from the tuning selector reading wrong.

You missread it, I said the thin E string not the thick. The thin E string actually carried a lot of the tension. The thick E string actually carried not so much. You break off the thin E string on a tremolo and you're pretty screwed.

I've tried putting tape under the string before and it did not help for me.

I have it on a few piezos.

the tension on the E string is barely anything. I mean it's enough, but the low E string has the highest tension honestly. It affects the tremolo tension the most when tuning the guitar up.

I MIGHT consider replacing the stock pickups with lace sensor pickups for a change. Is there anything I should know about swapping pickups that might be different on the Variax opposed to a normal guitar, or should the pickup area be pretty much the same until it leads out to the other components?

It's fine to compare them on the same basic principles, but to point out that the autotune guitar has a weird static noise because of the alt tuning feature, and say "well they're both modeling guitars, does the variax do this?" Is like asking someone since they have a brain, if your parents are their parents too. Pitch shifting doesn't have anything to do with modeling. It's a separate process. All I can say is that there's many things that can come into play with your guitar. It could be software or hardware. Maybe you have something wrong with your guitar and it does that because of a hardware problem. Have you asked fellow Autotune guitar users if they experience this problem? If they do, then it might be software then. If it's software, maybe it has something to do with the pitch shifting. Something might be interpreting something incorrectly. It's weird because i'm pretty sure Antares is hailed as innovators in pitch shifting technology. Another thing that could happen, is if it happens to be the modeling's fault, the modeling's algorithm might be reading frequencies that aren't within the range it normally handles, and causes the sound to distort. If you're asking about whether or not you are considering getting a Variax, the Variax does not have this problem. The things you have to consider with the Variax though, is that it is susceptible to warble. Hammer on/pull offs can be culprit to warble with the alt tuning system if not played with enough clarity.

I took the survey as well. I told them to address the plinking situation that plagues a lot of people. I told them to add more models and pickup selections, and I told them that additional controls are fine as long as it's not an eyesore. A touchpad would deter from the guitar to me. I feel like it would be cool, but that's not why I got a Variax, so honestly, I don't want one. I mean, what would it control? Unless they can give me examples, I don't want one. As for controls, Tone, Volume, PU select, and Alt tuning have to stay on the new Variaxes. My only question is, what will become of the current Variax items? Will it just be like the old ones? I mean, I guess we bought it because what they presented what it does for us, not what it could do in the future. We paid for what we saw and heard, so I can't complain too much, it's not like that functionality is going to randomly disappear.

Worst offender is using a boost pedal into high gain. That's something I like to use for sharp sounding high gain sounds. It tightens up the whole sound, but with the Variax, it makes the plink problem rise to the top.

No, they're really not. They all use different coding and engines to produce what their sound is. They all do modeling, but to say "Oh will it do this, because I expect it to because they're both modeling guitars" is like asking if a PS4 will do something windows can do because they're both computer processors. If you want to ask about a question, fine, but why in the world do you have to setup your post like you're asking if a variax you own is normal for doing such a thing, then you turn around at the end of your post and go "by the way this isn't a variax it's a completely different product from a completely different company". Word it better next time please.

Plinking is the worst on Strat, possible next worst offender being the Les Paul. It's definitely a byproduct of the piezos. I think ultimately, all guitars have a "plink" to their tone, but the problem is, that the level between the fundamental note and the plinking harmonics is thrown off balance. Plink overpowers the fundamental sound of the 6th string on the Variax to an annoying extreme. Something that happens because of the piezo. The piezos are not all the same, so there is a chance you can run into the plink problem just by having the guitar. Like I said in my personal story, I had 3 Variaxes, 2 returns, 1 final. First one sounded perfect, Very rounded sound on the 6th string, no plink at all. Sent it back because I was fooled into thinking a software glitch with using a 12th string model on a higher tuning caused a static noise, which was really some form of warble, was some type of issue with my Variax. It was actually straight up the software/firmware doing that, nothing hardware wise. Didn't want to risk it, sent it back on impulse. Huge mistake. It was probably the most stable out of the bunch. Second guitar. I noticed the plink problem. Argued with Sweetwater about it. They kinda argued that it sounded fine, but let's be honest, it doesn't. The most prominent the plink sounds off is when using it with distortion with a decent amount of treble. Sent that in because of the plink problem. 3rd guitar. Had the plink problem, but I convinced myself it was decent enough. The plink problem wasn't as overbearing as some of yours. After a year, I accidentally pushed my palm against the bridge too hard, and for some reason I swear the plink got even worse. I could see winding marks on the piezo in fact. It also gave me tuning problems. Got the piezo on the 6th string replaced, still pretty plinky. So yeah, it's probably a lot to do with the piezo...

Why would you ask on a forums for a different product, then? How is anyone supposed to guess what's happening to your guitar that none of us know nothing about? Is this possibly clickbait on a forum?

what firmware version?

I think if they can't provide products that have quality that can last that long, then it's their own fault if it bites them in the lollipop. We should get what we paid for, and I think something that's 1k isn't just buying a roll of paper towels you dispose of after one use, it's a moderate investment. That is something that SHOULD last at least 5 years. Let's be honest, it should last 10, but ultimately, in terms of needing components replaced, it should be covered for at least 5 years. If this is like a car, where you need to take it in to get fixed every once in a while, I could kind of live with it, but a lot of times, these problems are illusive, and support for these products only go so far. It's infuriating how the Variax is basically an indefinite product, and I honestly, don't think the fact that it's a computer system is a good excuse. Obviously electronics/computer systems can last for decades if taken care of, so we at least want these guitars to last a good amount of time. It should ideally last for at least a few decades.

I totally agree. If Boss can have 5 year warranties on their pedals, even though it's pointless on a product like that, why can't Line 6 have a 5 year warranty on electronics on the Variax? I mean, we gave 1k to them, and I think putting that much into something deserves a little reservation for correcting issues. No one wants to spend 1k on something and have to spend 100s more on repairs because the company doesn't want to have better quality control. Basically it's an ultimatum that says "we're one of the only people that will do this, so either you want it enough to get it and suffer through stupid crap, or just move along" Eventually people WILL move along. The guitarist that inspired me to buy a Variax was dealing with this and sold his. What does that honestly say about the product?

When you record 2 guitars, you have to remember that it's also using the amp in 2 instances, and not just 1. Adding 2 recordings of an amp together sounds different then putting 2 guitars into 1 amp signal. Ultimately you want to have the signals split to go into 2 different amp type signals. Another thing you want to think about when people record 2 guitars, is that the playing will not be exactly the same, which creates this depth. When you record off of 1 instance of playing, it will be the exact same playing and that can take away from the sense of depth. Some people do a fake sense of depth, usually to simulate doube tracking in stereo, by adding a short delay on the left or right channel. It gives it a slight out of phase effect that makes it sound like 2 different guitars being played.

Also keep in mind that the Variax is going to have things that will have the broadest appeal. I've never heard of that instrument until you brought it up. The Variax will not ultimately cover every single fretted string instrument to exist, it's not going to happen. The best thing to do is to make a custom patch in workbench, but sadly, for acoustic sounds, this is very limited, and practically ONLY limited, to the 5 acoustic and 5 resonator models in the first place, since there's not any real variables you can tweak on the acoustic models compared to the electric models.