I'm not happy with the variax 2.0 firmware update either. I tried flashing it twice, and each time afterward, playing through the models, they sound thin and screechy. When I roll back the firmware to 1.9, they're round and balanced again. With 2.0 installed, I tried adjusting EQ, going into patches to start from scratch, but nothing helped significantly. I just want the models to sound good on their own, without any amps/effects, but even starting with no amp or effects, the models sound nasty. I went into workbench to try to make adjustments because the string volumes sound off as well (strings 4,5,6 are louder than 1,2,3). I'm playing through a POD and L2T like I always have, and they sound bad through that, and through headphones. I've tried adjusting the output settings from studio, to the combo options. Any suggestions other than reflashing the firmware again? Did anyone have luck on the 3rd/4th time?