brue58ski

Very glad to hear about the batteries. I do hang on to my laptops for a bit more than two years. And I am still able to use them if I want to (and i do, I have a Vetta for one thing) with easily available power supplies. No easily available power supply for the Variax. Not even available really. I can still plug in and use my Atari 5200 if I want to. I don't...but I could (haha). (I need to dump that thing). I'm not a tech so the using my own electronics option may exist for you but does not exist for me. It does speak to a thought that it would be cool to find some way to retrofiit the Variax's I have with new electronics. I can do that. Yes, I am aware of the huge issues that would very likely come with that but that's probably the kind of thing people said when the Variax was first thought of. Just too many possible problems. Where would we be if the conversation never went further than that? I do get your point and I don't think it's a character flaw or there's anything wrong with you for having it. I just feel differently and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one. I would say both points have equal merits. I do think it's something that Line 6 might take into consideration if and when any kind of new Variax hardware is created. I'm guessing at the very least it would help sales.

i don't know about a "battery lock" but I believe the Variax batteries have some kind of tiny regulator circuit for the current or voltage that protects the guitar. That's the reason you can't use other batteries. They may work but the potential for damage is there. Keep in mind this is from my memory which could sure use a tune up.

Apple and MS are no longer supporting 32-bit processing, that doesn't mean you stop using a computer. Audio tape is no longer supported, all those cassettes laying around, that doesn't mean you stop listening to music. I understand what you are saying, but I can still use those computer systems if I want to. I can also still use the cassette tapes if I want to. There are cassette players out there (I have one). But if my JTV battery is unavailable, I can't play it like I can my unsupported 1976 Gibson SG. I can even still play my original unsupported Variax using a 1/4" cable with store bought batteries. But with the JTV, once the batteries are gone, so is my JTV. Yes I can still play it using the Helix (or whatever VDI supporting Line 6 device) or the power supplies, which are getting harder and harder to find. But if i want to play the JTV through something else using just a 1/4" cable, I'm going to run out of options the harder the Variax power supplies get to find. Basically, as long as they are treated well enough, I expect guitars to last a very long time. I can already hear the "you need to change your perspective" comments but that's how I feel. I don't mind guitars not being supported as long as i can still use them until I break them. Not so with the JTV. I'll consider the next iteration of Variax, if there is one, but I've had the last two, and if it can't work with a "regular" 1/4" guitar cable with things (like batteries) that are easily obtained, I will have to think hard about getting one. For those of you that want to buy a $1200 guitar that you know will become unusable in few years. Go ahead. Just my opinion. I won't judge.

Soooo. When Line 6 stops supporting the current Variax technology (which I'm sure they will eventually), does that mean there is no alternative to the Lne 6 battery? Is that true? If it is, it will definitely influence my decision to buy the newer iteration of Variax, if there is one.

I would say that any new JTV, Shuriken or Standard will have up to date software so anything sold out of the stores new will not need the Monkey to update it. And Workbench HD will work with them so technically the NEW Variax's ARE supported with all of the software they need. If another update comes out then they will have to fix that issue. But until then, the only people out of luck re: can't use Monkey, are anyone that has or is buying an old/used one that doesn't have up to date firmware. I think it speaks to the future of Variax. I just don't think enough sold to warrant putting resources into another iteration of Variax. I do, very much, hope I'm wrong.

I notice on one of the Monkey page it says there are no drivers installed for the Variax. Is this normal?

Depends on the size of you room but I think you can find a small powered monitor that will work. Like this https://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/sterling-audio-mx3-3-active-studio-monitor-pair-black?rNtt=powered monitors&index=2 I just randomly picked that. Not a recomendation. Many of them have bluetooth so look out for that if you want it. I have these. https://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/ik-multimedia-iloud-mtm-powered-studio-monitor?rNtt=powered monitors&index=14 They're relatively expensive but they are small, I use them in my relatively small living room for regular listening, they have bluetooth and they are very portable. I often take them on vacation with me.

I am aware of nothing that has 3-4 expression pedals on it.

I would go ahead and download the manuals for whatever you think you might get to confirm this but. Helix Rack - Yes Helix Floor - Yes Helix Stomp - Yes Helix Go - Probably not, but it's hard to tell from the manual. It looks like you can use the Guitar In and FX loop return for your two instruments and then use the Main outs and Amp out for the outputs. The Amp out is made to get the signal right before the IR/cab so that's where you'd put the acoustic. The problem is I don't see any way to get those two inputs their own paths. No way to split or pan the inputs. Hope this helps.

Since the post is from 8 years ago, you may not get a response

DO NOT use both outputs. It changes the voltage somewhere and could brick your Variax. It doesn't always so just because it didn't, doesn't mean it won't. Also, it has been stated elsewhere that the JTV works best when in standard A=440Hz tuning. It's just the way the algorithms work.

I've found that turning an electric guitar signal into an acoustic one is a major compromise at best so don't get disappointed that it doesn't get closer than it does. People seem to like the Sigma IR's but it's only OK to kind of good at best, in my opinion, for making an electric sound like an acoustic.

The answer to your question is the bodies are different. Not sure about the woods but the Standard body was two different woods while the Special was one. Also the Standard body was carved/shaped like a violin where the Special was essentially flat. Does it make a big difference in sound? The answer to that, as has essentially been said previously is, only your ears can tell for sure.

One thing that hasn't ever happened with either iteration of Variax, is that no new pickups or body models have appeared after the initial introduction. I've often wondered about that. Why haven't other models of pickups or bodies been created since the release of the JTV Varaix? Why can't it be like the Helix with models being addded. Even just a couple. There's some D'marizio (sp?) and Seymour Duncan pickups I'd like to see modeled. There was a pickup that was the same specs as Eddie Van Halen's pickup. What about that one? How about an SG body? Anyway, I don't know the reason but the history of new pickups being added doesn't give me any hope the pickup you want will ever be modeled. Here's a good place to go for diffent Variax patches. https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?board=138.0

Just very quickly, Guitar into Helix. in the Helix, you would then have your pre Spider amp Helix effects and this would then go to an effects send/return block set at instrument level. The effects send goes into the Spider's guitar input. You then take the direct outs of the Spider and go into the effects return in the Helix. In the Helix, that would then go to your post Spider Helix amp/effects. The Helix output then goes into the aux in. I've skipped all of the level adjusting you will have to do to get it right. Specifically focusing on the Spider's direct outs going into the Helix HX. You would probably have to have different effects return levels for different patches depending on what you want to do. And don't forget, there's things you can do with the parallel path the Helix HX is capable of. I anticipate you will come up against the DSP limit quickly if you do use that.This is just a starting point. It's the best way that I can see to get to what you want. The blend/balance between the Aux in and the Spider amp/effects that goes to the speaker outs will most likely be an issue but I'm not familiar with the Spider or how or even if, you can adjust that. Again this is just how to hook it up. The real work will come with the level/balance setting. Hope this makes sense. Good luck.

One more "do it yourself" suggestion. It will probably take you just as long to find something as it would if you were to plod through Customtone. One suggestion, look up what equipment they used. I've had a lot of luck with that. Previous modellers weren't very good at all at that, compared to the Helix. Clean Pink Floyd (Breathe)? Hiwatt/Univibe/Strat. Without any tweaking, wow, pretty close.

One trick I remember was to use the mix parameter. Set it at about 75% and then adjust to taste.

I don't know if you know this but he did use chorus on his delay repeats but not his dry signal. At least he used to.

One problem with the Variax is forgetting what guitar model you are on. I would like to have the Variax guitar model name on Helix home screen big enough to see on floor Helix standing up. This would help a lot. I just put this on ideascale. If you agree with this, please vote it up. Here's the link. https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Variax-guitar-model-name-on-Helix-screen-big-enough-to-see/1022179-23508?submitted=1

One problem with the Variax is forgetting what guitar model you are on. This would help a lot. I just put this on ideascale. If you agree with this, please vote it up. Here's the link. https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Variax-guitar-model-name-on-Helix-screen-big-enough-to-see/1022179-23508?submitted=1

One problem with the Variax is forgetting what guitar model you are on. This would help a lot. I have just submitted an ideascale for this. I wish I'd thought of it sooner. If you agree, vote it up! Here's the link https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Variax-guitar-model-name-on-Helix-screen-big-enough-to-see/1022179-23508?submitted=1

It sounds like you are not familiar with EQ terminology. I will try and help as much as I can but know that there are terms that are interchangeable like q and width, or terms that represent two different things but the differences are subtle visually like shelving EQ and low pass or high pass EQ. Lots of terms that only experience will get you to eventually sort them out. I will be trying to explain this as if you know little to nothing. OK, down the rabbit hole we go. Regarding the MegaPara parametric EQ. It is a 3 band parametric EQ; Lo, mid and hi. You are able to adjust the frequency each band is focused on. There are three settings for each band. Frequency, gain and width. Width is often referred to as Q in EQ jargon. It refers to how wide the "bell" of the EQ is. It's called a "bell" because that's kind of what it looks like. When using Q to describe the "bell". the higher the Q, the narrower the "bell" as you can see in the diagram. The wider the bell, the more frequencies the EQ effects. Now this brand of effect refers to the Q as width. In this case, as you turn the width knob counter clockwise the numbers get bigger. I'm going to guess the numbers they us are an actual width measurement. So the numbers are the opposite of what a Q number would be. I could not get my hands on a manual for this device so everything I say about it is a guess. Another thing I noticed on the SineEffect device is the Lo and the Hi parameters have a switch labelled LO MODE and HI MODE. Notice the two symbols they have above them. The first symbol represents the "bell" curve. I know it looks like a circle but it's just showing that the bell can be like a hill or a valley. The second symbol represents what is know as a shelf EQ. As you can see the symbol doesn't make a bell. It goes up or down and then never comes back down or up. Making what looks like a shelf when you turn up the gain. Both switches on this EQ are on the "shelf" mode. The parametric EQ in the Helix has 3 bands plus a low cut and a high cut. You could consider the low cut and high cut to be shelving EQ's that will only cut those levels and not boost them. They are actually, technically a low pass filter and a high pass filter. Having said all of that, here's what you would need to do to get close to his settings. Remember many of the same devices react differetly. Just because one brand's device is set on a "3", doesn't mean another brand's device's same parameter set on "3" will sound the same. I also notice in going through his computer, he is slightly EQ'ing more and he has added an "enhancer" which is essentially more EQ. Having said all of that, the Helix has no shelving in any of their EQ's that I know of. I am not in front of my Helix so I can't say for sure. But, it looks like you are already starting from a place that is not equal to what he has. You could use the lowcut/highcut filter in the Helix if he lowered those but he boosted them. So what I'm leading up to with all of this is I don't see a way to do what he does in the video with just the Helix. Not only that but he doesn't use the same parameter terminology so using some of his numerical settings probably won't react the saem in the Helix. You could recreate the 6 band EQ with two Helix parametric EQ's but there is still an issue. The Q parameter on the MXR EQ is fixed. I seem to recall somewhere where someone listed what the Q is theoretically on the MXR's since that parameter is set in stone on them. So to do this, you're already up to 4 different EQ's with only one being directly what he has. In order to mimic his SineEffect EQ you would need a parametric EQ and a shelving EQ. Now you're up to 5 EQ's in one patch. I'm not trying to discourage you but the reality of what you request is you probably won't be able to EQ exactly the way he is and even if you were able to, there are no guarantees that it would sound the same anyway using his devices parameters in your Helix. But really, in my experience, if you're using that much EQ, you're probably doing something else wrong. to put it in very simple terms. You could probably EQ a Fender Deluxe Reverb with a Tube Screamer and a Strat to sound like a Marshall with a Fuzz Face and a Les Paul to get close. But you're never going to get it exact. A Fender gain of 3 is not the same as a Marshall gain of three. Ya pretty much have to have exactly what the other setup is. the Helix doesn't have what he has. I hope this all helps in some way. Good Luck. Check out Line 6's Customtone area. The patches are very much hit or miss and mostly misses, but you could get lucky.

So how loud do you have it and how far away from the Yamaha are you when you dial things in?

Sorry. I was limiting myself with the parameters you provided. I definitely concur with not using the Helix for a mic in the first place. It's a cool thing if you need to use it. because of limited resources or whatever else (I use it for a talk box and it works great). Maybe you wanted to use the Helix's effects. But, it's always better to keep it as simple as possible. Which, of course, would be the mic hooked directly up to the FOH mixer. It's easy to go a bit overboard, especially with all of Helix's options. I know I have and still do. I often have to catch myself. I just have to keep reminding myself, simple is always best.

If I was doing sound, I would want the vocals and guitar separated and at mic level. For me it wouldn't matter what channel they were on, left or right but if the sound person is questionable at least it's easy enough to just switch cables to give them what they want. With three singers, (four? Power trio + singer?) and guitar that's 4-5 inputs. Does the mixer have enough inputs would be the only other worry. Good Luck!