Tboneous

Excellent!

Do you use the factory Strat model or did you tweak it at all? I tell ya, being a Strat guy, the Variax Strat models sound miserable to me and sounds worse through the twin amp model. the BF Double is way to compressed.I replaced my JTV Pups with Suhr ML Classics. They sound fantastic! So when I go to the model Strat, I can really hear just how short of the mark it is. BTW Max, are you using a DT or are you playing direct?

Its a bit hard to hear to tell. Do you have a board mix where you can isolate the guitar? BTW Are you playing direct or through a DT?

I am curious about MainStage in a live setting. Can a band play along with prerecorded music?

Have him hook you up to a POD with a VDI. You don't need a battery for that.

Thanks for the response. I am surprised that there aren't more folks willing to share their tips/tricks on how they tweak their Variax Models or what guitar model works best with what amp. I figured this would be a time to share success stories all day long. Silly me! You mentioned that you thought the models were too bright. Wanna share how you deal with that? For dealing with the hot Lester, have you set the level in the Variax edit? The semi and the spank are awful sounding to me. The only semi I can kind of bare is the Casino. and even that one sounds bad. I have a 335 with P-90's and the model doesn't capture the essence of that guitar at all. I admit I have not tweaked with it much, but out of the box….No Joy! The R-Billys sound pretty good. They are supposed to sound hollow. The Chimes sound good (again, hollow is expected) Getting close with the T-Models but I never pair it with the Blackface. Way too bright. It sounds much better to my ears through the Hiwatt. Oh yeah and I just started to use the cab simulation. I used to turn it off completely cause it sounded horrible to me. But if you turn the cab res and the thump levels all the way down, I get something I can work with. You know what would be cool? A way to turn on and off the Variax within a patch from the HD500. Anyone else? I know there are some cool stuff being done out there.

Thanx for that! The fog has lifted and I am now with the rest of the class. I was conflating the process with the result. In my mind an Impulse response is me going into a large open space and and clapping my hands. My clapping is the impulse, the response is the echo for example. I can think of so many other examples of impulse response that have nothing to do with a mic'd cabinet. That is where I was getting confused. I'm old! Impulse Response is a bit to "techie" for my little brain. I just like simple language. "I want to load my own mic and cab stuff from my personal library of mic and cabs into my HD" That I understand right away.

Ah! Ok, thank you for clearing that up for me. I was so confused for a second there. Why not just say .wav file? If all you are talking about is mic and cab placement why not just say that? Impulse response is far more involved than just cab and mic placement. Seems like the wrong term. I'm probably over thinking it. Hey, at least now I know what you are talking about!

I don't know if it's a bad choice of words. Everyone here seems to know what you are talking about except me. What is a 3rd party IR? How do you load a reaction to an impulse?

Definition of IR (Impulse Response) In signal processing, the impulse response, or impulse response function (IRF), of a dynamic system is its output when presented with a brief input signal, called an impulse. More generally, an impulse response refers to the reaction of any dynamic system in response to some external change. In both cases, the impulse response describes the reaction of the system as a function of time (or possibly as a function of some other independent variable that parameterizes the dynamic behavior of the system). I see people post about new IR's and I have no earthly idea of what these people mean given the definition of Impulse Response. And now we are talking about custom IR's. What the hell is custom IR's? This whole system is customizable IR. As soon as you pluck a string on your guitar (impulse) and a sound comes out of your amp (response) everything in between is customizable. What am I missing here? I feel so inadequate....

An EMG is a noiseless high output humbucker right? Well, the models are noiseless and couldn't you just boost the output and get the same thing or is there more unique tonal things going on? I always associate those style of pickups as metal guitar staples and I don't play much metal these days.

Ok, now we're getting somewhere. Any chance you can remember what it was that needed tweeting? How did you tweak it? What were you hearing prior to tweaking that made you realize that tweaking was necessary? Maybe somewhere in those answers lies a road I can explore to get my Variax to fool me. As it stands now I can hear right away when I am listening to a model as opposed to magnetic pickups. And just to be clear, chords clean or dirty sound great. Can't tell the difference. But single clean notes is a dead give away.

Silver…..I guess it is just me and my ears! ChuckWheat told me I needed to have my hearing checked! I thought he was full of it. Now I'm not so sure! :(

No worries! I had my JTV for a while before I took the plunge into the whole Dream Rig. It's well worth it! Your JTV takes on a new life as apart of the HD and DT. Take care T

Question 1: Can't help on that one Question 2: Yes Question 3: If by "it" you mean a Variax then Yes Question 4: L6 Link is for hooking up the pod to a DT or L series amp &/or speaker Question 5: Yes, if you use a 1/4". If you plan to use the VDI, then No.

I'm a classic rock/blues/funk player myself. I yet to find a use for any of the hi gain stuff offered. I pretty much stick with the amps you mentioned. I just did an A/B of my DT and my L2M using a T-Model. I clearly hear a "microphonic" tone quality to the models across the board. It is less pronounced when playing chords or on overdriven patches. But if you are playing clean lead work, I definitely hear this "hollow" quality. I have a Schecter Ultra III (a fantastic guitar btw. You should check one out if you ever get a chance!) I had to wax pot the pickups to get rid of that microphonic quality. Eventually I just replaced the pickups all together. I digress…The point being, the Variax Models on clean patches sound just like my Ultra III prior to wax potting. Even when going P.A. direct. Try this and tell me if you don't hear what I hear. Pull up a Blackface Dbl Normal. no other fx. Play some simple scales on a T Model or Spank. Then turn off the model and use the mags. Play the same clean scales. Grab another guitar if you have one and A/B that guitar against the models. There is something going on with the models that does not happen with magnetic pickups. Of course I get it that magnetic pickups are going to respond differently than a piezo. But if I am the only one on the planet that hears this distinct difference in tonal quality and everyone else is wondering what the hell it is I'm talking about, then I does me no good to ask my fellow Line 6'ers for help in getting the T Model, for instance, to sound more like a real Tele. In other words, if there are those who hear what I hear (using your own descriptors. I'm calling it "microphonic"), what are some tips/tricks that others have discovered that can make your piezo sound less (descriptor) and closer to the magnetic pickups the Variax is attempting to model. Hopefully that makes sense.

Curious to know how Dreamers are pairing JTV models with amp models. The JTV models sound great when recording but they take on a "hollow" even "microphonic" quality to them when playing through the DT. Does anyone else experience the same thing? Share what works for you. Thanx!

If there is a guitar shop near you, go play one.

I'll be sure to step over those names you just dropped! Lol! Just funning with you! But seriously, you are right. I am making a judgement based on a photo. But it is a photo that remarkably looks like a crappy entry level Yamaha guitar. I HAVE played crappy Pacificas that look just like this new Variax. So in reality, I guess I should have qualified my remarks by saying something like, "if this new Variax, which looks remarkably like an entry level Yamaha Pacifica, is similar in build quality and playability as the Pacifica that I personally played, then it is potentially a piece of crap." That's just a lot to have to type for every post and I just assumed that was more or less understood. Don't get me wrong. I own a fantastic Yamaha SBG 3000. I love my Yamaha. They have a great history of making fine instruments. But they also have a history of making fine crap. We'll see where this new Variax Standard falls soon enough. Chick IS the man! He, in my opinion, along with Herbie Hancock, introduced the world to the DX7! But dropping Chicks name as proof positive of Yamahas guitar building bonifides has a small flaw... Chick is a keyboard player and a keyboard ain't a guitar. I mean really, those who make guitars are Luthiers. Those who assemble synthisizers are....what now? You are right to give Yamaha the bene of the doubt! I should too. For some reason, in this case, I am a bit suspect. It's a gut thing probably not based on much that is real.

I don't think anyone is talking about "looks" per se. I think we are speaking more to build quality and playability. I think you may have missed the point just a wee bit.

No fair! I was ready to hit post and I got a message on my screen that state "1 reply added" You are too fast Zap!

I did not know this was possible! Awesome! how do make this happen?

Best advice yet! I would add that just because you have the ability with the Dream Rig to shift from a Treadplate to a pair of BF Doubles in the middle of a song doesn't mean that it is the most practice thing to do. Remember, this rig is doing a LOT! Switching topologies at times and reconfiguring power tubes, changing turnings etc.. There are going to be delays and pops and other sounds when making those types of changes. Keep realistic expectations and you will have a lot of fun with this rig!

When you say "off load a reverb onto the DT" are you saying that you can take the particle reverb from of the HD and load it onto the DT and the mix of that downloaded reverb can be controlled by the reverb knob on the face of the DT? I would then be able to unplug the HD from the DT, plug directly into the front of the amp and the reverb would be the Particle Reverb?

Thanks for that Info! I'll trust it to be gospel. but I don't know man…..Click on these and you tell me... Yamaha PAC012DLX Pacifica $179 Variax Standard $800 That's a bit too close for comfort! I'll give it a try whenever I can get my hands on one. Doubt I'll buy it, but who knows. Now when they get it together and throw the Variax guts into one of these or one to these….. I'm your huckleberry!!