roscoe5

Yeah, I agree. Variax was tough for me to swallow all these years. It took good Helix integration and control, as well as a lower price to bite. I guess my point was that I am considering spending $400-$600 on the Fishman Triple Play system with footswitch and MIDI ports, which has wireless MIDI. It seems that the proposed Line 6 Variax/VDI-capable wireless system will have 3 channels; two audio for mag/Variax models and one Variax control. If Line 6 could somehow include some non-Variax capabilities and options that would leverage these 3 channels, such as wireless MIDI capability (even with a simple accessory hex pickup) and dual/stereo 1/4" capable for standard mag/piezo, they might broaden their market to non-Variax owners too and see a bit better return on the product. It would be nice if it could include the 2 Variax mag/model audio channels, Variax control, AND add MIDI capability via hex pickup, but that might take 4 channels. Line 6 would get the $600 I'm about to give to Fishman though, and maybe then some ;) Post edit: Looks like I'm late to the party...DI pretty much killed this in April. Sounds like this thread was basically community confirmation that Variax VDI wireless wasn't really viable or desired at $999 price point. It was still good fun to think it through.

Thanks for the info. Sorry you had to repeat it. I'm new to JTV and Variax HD and didn't dig into the old threads as much ad I could have.

I see you mention traditional guitars could be used with this system. Would it be possible to set this up with dual mono 1/4" or stereo single 1/4" for standard mag/piezo gutars? How about integrating just plain wireless MIDI using existing Variax, optional L6 hex pickup, etc. for use with software or hardware MIDI instruments (maybe integration with Helix), similar to the $399 Fishman Triple Play system (which I am currently considering)? Offering a few new additional features may help justify the $999 without getting too crazy.

I'm a Helix owner and recently purchased a JTV-69. I am fairly new to JTV and Variax HD, but I was wondering if it would be possible to have Variax generate/transmit MIDI notes to say Helix for use with hardware or software MIDI instruments. Maybe this could be set as one of the Variax Custom models. This is a major feature of Roland GK, Fishman Triple Play, the Graphtech Ghost system and maybe others as well. Checking technical feasibility here before considering posting to Ideascale. I'm not too optomistic though since from what I read, it looks like only mag signal, model signal and Variax control back is transmitted over VDI. If this is the case, I will probably just get the Fishman Triple Play system for my JTV-69.

Apologies and I understand if you cant divulge this info, but are there different stock settings in the JTV Variax tech components to match the body/wood/construction of the JTV-69, 59, and 89 to deliver similar modeling results from the different guitar types? I ask because this may influence the decision of the Line 6 JTV donor and/or transplant guitar. I've never had the stock JTV's side by side to compare.

Oh, and I made an IR of the Variax acoustic J model Deconvolved with the Variax single coil neck pickup. Running Helix dual signal path with one path Variax acoustic j model and the other variax mag neck pickup through the acoustic j IR. Really fills out the overall sound. Links are on the Helix site.

Ha, I was actually going to recommend Helix if you could swing it. The Helix LA Compressor, Studio Tube Preamp and parametric eq makes the Variax acoustic models, as well as real acoustic guitars, sound amazing!

Personally I like Studiocats Friedman 212 IRs he posted free on this forum. I also like the 3sigma Mesa Road King IRs. The free Ownhammer Mesa ones are okay too. But I've been getting good metal sounds out of the Helix 412 XXL V30 cab with a Dynamic 112 mic. You can add a parametric eq after with a 750Hz mid cut and little bass boost.

Sounds like warmoth is the way to go then. Thanks guys. I'm started to warm up to the JTV neck, but the nut is definitely narrow. I'm 6'-2"

Yeah, I like to stand when I play even at home. So I am definitely in the mid-field range. Also I learned from research and discovered first hand that the front ported monitors are much more forgiving to their room and location/position.

I didn't think any of them sounded bad. All of the 8" monitors sounded better than my BX5a's. It was a good experience to try them all side by side. I play mostly mid to high gain stuff too along with bass. High gain seems a little more sensitive to the speakers, headphones, cab/IR models, etc. Anyway, its likely just personal preference but I did like the Tannoys best for what I put through them.

The KRKs were a close second to me. I'm not a pro studio engineer by any means, but to me the Tannoys had tighter bass and seemed louder. Little smoother top end too. I didn't feel the urge to tweak the Helix global eq.

I previously had M-Audio BX-5a's and was not satisfied with those with Helix and guitar and bass. On a mission and about a $500-$600 budget, I went to Guitar Center with Helix and guitar and bass in hand and went through all of the 8" studio monitors. The sales rep hooked me up to the audio switcher and closed the door so I could crank them a bit. I went through JBL, Yamaha, KRK, Mackie, M-Audio, Presonus and Tannoy. I walked out with a pair of Tannoy Reveal 802. In general, I thought the front ported monitors sounded best. The Tannoy's were smooooth with strong, tight bass. They sounded great in the GC studio room and at home as well. They carry bass guitar nicely too. Before these, I was contemplating a sub, but no need now. They are pretty good size though, but worth it if you have the desk space. They can get LOUD. The stock Helix cabs sound A LOT better through these than they did through Sennheiser HD280's, M-Audio BX5a's, or JBL Eon 515xt's. IR's sound great as well too. I'm curious about other's experiences with 8" monitors. They seem perfect for the home studio and Helix application. http://www.tannoy.com/creation/products/Recording/Reveal/Reveal-802/

I created a patch that has the Variax Acoustic J model on one path and the Variax mag single coil neck pickup in the IR I created of the same Variax Acoustic J model. VAX Acous + Mags.hlx https://www.dropbox.com/sh/57j7dclc3rhti4g/AACpENY9dE047FjtT_Hd3CdFa?dl=0 Here are some sound clips for comparison Mag neck pickup through Variax Acoustic J Model IR https://soundcloud.com/michael-potts-995394155/r5-acoustic-sc-v2-sound-sample-2 Variax Acoustic J model https://soundcloud.com/michael-potts-995394155/r5-acoustic-sc-v2-sound-sample-vax-only Helix patch with Variax model on one path and Mag Neck PU through IR on the other https://soundcloud.com/michael-potts-995394155/r5-acoustic-sc-v2-sound-sample-vax-mag-mix

Thanks for the reply. Thinking of going for the Ibanez Andy Timmons AT100 vibe on steroids since my JTV 69 is burst finish. Ive been playing the JTV neck for a couple of weeks and still feels a bit different to me. I'm comfy with ibanez necks but didn't like the vibe of the JTV 89.

Anyone ever put a 24 fret ibanez neck on a JTV 69?

I dig the tube power amp IR's too and have been think a lot about Helix preamp vs amp models and those. I'm thinking about posting to IdeaScale to a a power section mix or level control to the Helix full amp models. This could help DT amp users as well as those using other real tube amps. It would be nice to have just a touch of the Helix amp power section modeling when running into real tube amp power sections. The Helix preamps are just a little too stark for my tastes with DT50.

Oh good Lord I'm sorry DI, I didn't even get to your last sentence of your post about a DT Output block like a Variax input block when I replied. I was skimming this while I was at work. But it's good to come to the conclusion separately and just reinforces your concept!!! Seems like a no-brainer. I hope it's not too much trouble.

Yeah, radatats is probably right about the IR rabbit hole, especially if you are new to IR's. Although if you are new and want to try, I would recommend a $7 pack of 3sigma IR's that are the same as your physical cab(s). The 3sigmas only have about 10 IR's per pack, but they are really good representations of that cab. I wouldn't go dropping $100 on a mega pack of 1000's of IR's right away...that might actually be my personal hell ;) Otherwise, you can indeed get great sounds out of the stock cabs, especially with dual cab blocks and a parametric eq after. That takes some work and experimenting too though. What cabs are you playing through?

I occasionally use this method of Helix to a Crate Powerblock and do not use an IR in that signal chain. I use Helix full amp models, not preamps. Cant say I have ever tried just preamps to the CPB though. When I or a soundman don't just mic the cab, I have an IR on a split path to Helix XLR out for the PA. A good IR that is similar to your cab(s) can allow you to setup presets with headphones or studio monitors. 3sigma has most cab types and seem easiest to use. there are of course other IR vendors.

Yeah definitely. It would be nice if that hit along with DT integration. It is really inconvenient to have to change over to 1/4" input to Helix to VDI to USB dongle and Workbench Variax tweaking.

I've seen the DT MIDI Implementation doc and some user created docs. I am referring to a table of all Helix amps and their corresponding DT settings. This could simply be additional DT settings columns next to the Helix preamp and or/amp models listed in the Helix manual. Something official from Line 6...ya know From DI's response, it doesnt sound like they will be automating the DT settings in Helix based on the amp model(s) in the preset as there are up to 4 amp models and you would have to determine the one that drives it. However, if there were a setting in a Helix DT output block to select a Helix amp model just for basis of DT settings, independent of if that amp actually exists in the preset, this would be perfect. You would of course want to be able to select "Manual" in that list to allow custom DT settings. So a dedicated Helix DT output block with selectable Helix-amp-basis-of-DT-settings, WITH option to Manually set DT settings would work perfectly for me. This should work great with Snapshots too. I would be nice to have a power section mix control on the Helix amp blocks for many reasons including DT amp use, but that is really a separate item from DT integration.

Maybe you could just address this with in the Helix amp model list table by adding columns for the corresponding DT class and topo or a Helix DT Implementation supplemental doc. What do you think about a dedicated DT output block, similar to the dedicated Variax input block? This block would host all of the DT settings, similar to the Variax input block. Seems to align with current Helix IO logic. I wouldn't mind seeing a mix control on the DT output block to allow blending of the power amp section of the Helix amp model with the DT power section. The DT power section is a little too dominant using Helix preamps only IMO. Helix full amp models full on into DT isn't ideal either. Maybe the Helix amp models could feature a power section mix control to optimize use with real tube amps, power-amp-baked-in IR's, and DT amps.

And the nonlinear aspects not captured by the IR process I believe are things like compression and distortion that exist in the Helix amp models, correct DI? Like I mentioned above, I am finding some pretty sweet sounds using Helix full amp models with matching baked in power amp IRs of the same amp type. There might be a little tonal overlap, but each cover the gaps of the other.

Nice alternate method talonmm. Reminds me that sometimes we have opportunity to come up with better tones with the Line 6 tools thinking outside the box.