cruisinon2

No... that amp went the way of the dodo some time ago. The Spider series still exists, but is several generations removed from that model at this point. Only way to find out if you'll love it or hate it, is to cruise on down to your local Megalomusic and try one.

I've done it plenty of times... but only in HX Edit, never tried to do it on the unit itself. Sometimes while fiddling around with a patch I might create a new snapshot, but then decide that I want to them layed out in a different order on the footswitches, left to right... usually in the order they'd be used within a song. Anyway, it's stupid easy to do in Edit... just go into the snapshots drop down menu, right click on a snapshot and select "copy", then paste it into whatever slot you want. I'd have to poke around and figure out if it's possible to do it on the hardware.

1) You can set up pretty much everything with a computer if you want to... with the possible exception of some of the global settings, global EQ, etc... not entirely sure if all of those things are accessible via HX Edit. The edit software won't work on mobile devices, however. You might be able to rig up MIDI control from an iPad... though I've never tried, so I honestly don't know. 2) As long as you can see the footswitches clearly enough to select what you want, yes...I hardly look at the screen at all. 3) Never ran a mic into mine, as I have no need... nobody wants to hear me sing. ;) But it can be done... somebody will chime in. 4) You can use the scribble strips to label things any way you want... but if you can't read them while playing, I can't imagine they'll help or hinder you one way or the other. 5) Never seen the LT in person... no clue.

In Helix, nearly all the blocks in your signal chain will have a level parameter, so you might have inadvertently pulled any one of them down, but I'd check "channel volume" in the amp block, first.

Variax is a niche product... and the Shuriken more so than the others, as it has clearly been designed to appeal only to certain "Djents"...;) As a rule, Variaxes of any variety don't exactly fly off the shelves... in fact, it's hard to find a shelf that has one sitting on it. A significant portion of buyers have to resort to ordering online. I've had my JTV for about 5 years now, and I live within a 10 mile radius of 3 hulking "Megalomusic" chain stores in a major metropolitan area, and I'm still waiting to see even one Variax in stock anywhere. The average guitar player probably doesn't know that they exist... at least around here, lol. Bottom line, I wouldn't worry about it... the JTV's have been around considerably longer, and they're still cranking those out. I seriously doubt all the Shurikens are gonna vanish in a year.

I'm sure it's fascinating... if you're an engineer. But alas, I tend to have intense disagreements with anything beyond algebra... I'd have better luck trying to read "The Divine Comedy" in Chinese.

lol...The OP has a grand total of 3 forum posts in 5 years, and hasn't logged on since July 2017... he's about as likely to respond as my grandmother, may she rest in peace. ... though if anyone does hear from Grandma Dottie, please let me know...I can pretty much guarantee it'll be an interesting supernatural encounter. She was a pi$$er... loved bourbon. Miss ya Grandma! Gonna pour myself some Maker's Mark as soon as I get home...;)

I don't know a blessed thing about how the models are created... but if the Variax has a limitation, it's the fact that it relies on piezos. Crosstalk that can affect the alt tunings, the dreaded "plink" that has driven more than a few players insane enough to abandon the guitar altogether, etc. I like mine too, but one of the things I was looking forward to most was drop D tuning with the flick of a switch... but the crosstalk makes it utterly useless with moderate gain and palm muting.

The riffage was kinda cool... but that tone would drive me nuts. It's a rattling, honking, nasal mess to me. Just proves how completely subjective all this stuff is...

Exactly my point... and Idea Scale is great...but suppose it never existed? The POD would still have been dethroned by something else eventually, regardless.... customer input, or no. That's how this game is played. Maybe, but development cycles are exactly that... cycles. One platform peters out, and something else is introduced to replace it. You don't need a PhD to recognize the same pattern repeating itself time and time again. It's how just how the cookie crumbles... and frankly, it's fine by me. I don't want the same dinosaurs dragged along and kept in production forever.... there's no progress that way.

It's pure speculation, and I could be wrong, but I'll bet the farm that the current Variax iterations aren't gonna get any more facelifts... it's been years. The old man went out for a pack of smokes, and never came back....;) What I do think we'll see is another generation of Variax stuff. Whether or not the tech will bear any resemblance to what we've got now, is anybody's guess. Ditto for backwards compatibility. It's just like the POD HD series...it wasn't "euthanized", but has most definitely been put out to pasture. Then POOF! Along came Helix. Round and round we go....

I'm not happy until it sounds like a spaceship in a low-rent scifi flick...;)

It's a frequent request, but no...apparently it's rather difficult to get a steel string to sound like nylon. Workbench can only do so much.

1) If you're asking for a list of individual parameters that you'd enter manually, I think the answer is no... there are so many things to tweak that even a simple patch would end up with a list of dozens of discrete settings... basic amp settings, the deep-edit parameters for the cab sims, FX settings, EQ, input impedance, footswitch assignments, etc. etc... it's endless. You'd need a whole lot more patience than I've got to write all that crap down, and I'm not aware of such lists having been complied anywhere... I'm getting tired just thinking about it, ;) 2) You don't need a computer per se, as you can edit/create patches on the unit itself, and it's important that you know how to do that if you need to make changes quickly at a gig. But, it certainly is a whole lot quicker and easier with the edit software. There's also the issue of backing up your patches...for that you do need a computer. If you don't have a backup, sooner or later you'll be sorry. On a long enough timeline everything crashes, and starting from scratch after a factory reset really sucks.

I love these threads... to much of this! Not enough of that! If only there was that other thing! ... and the tuner still sucks. ;)

Half the point of snapshots is to be able to change multiple parameters, and/or toggle multiple FX on or off with one tap of a footswitch. You can put enough individual FX blocks in your chain to choke a horse and control them all with a selection of snapshots, named accordingly... wet gain, dry grain, wet clean... etc etc etc. You don't have to tap dance anymore unless you want to.

Well we all have different needs of course...but honestly, I can't envision any one tune for which 8 snapshots isn't enough to toggle everything I need on or off, adjust individual parameters, etc... in fact, I think there's only one case where I've needed more than 4.

Running straight into the front of an amp is definitely not the best way to get the most from your Helix, unless you're using Helix purely for FX... but even then it leaves a bit to be desired. With that setup, if you're using amp models in Helix, the amp's tone controls are further coloring everything... you're effectively daisy- chaining two amps together. If you don't plan on playing outside the house, look into a decent pair of studio reference monitors... good ones will be FRFR (or as close to it as anything actually gets in the real world), they'll provide all the volume you need, allow you to play along with songs, plus the added bonus of allowing you to use stereo FX, which can be glorious when used properly. There are a number of options that will work quite well in the $200-$300/ pair range. My personal vote is for the JBL LSR305's... or the 308's if you have a bit more room for slightly larger speakers.

I expect the familiar requests for everything from spy satellite integration to bluetooth control of smart toasters... followed by the inevitable weeping and gnashing of teeth when it's not forthcoming. You know... the usual. ;)

No idea how neutral those are, but I suspect it's not really FRFR...I know you said you could get it "cheap", but those amps were introduced in the late 90's, if I remember correctly. Unless you're getting it for the price of a trip to Starbucks, I'd look at something from this century. There are a number of FRFR options now that won't break the bank that have become favorites around here... the Altos, the new Headrush cabinet, etc.

I'm perfectly content to let my Mac pester me to update indefinitely, and I'll never install a new OS the day it's released...the machine currently works just fine, so let the early adopters find whatever problems may lurk within the code. I have enough headaches as it is... couple weeks or a month from now if there's no screaming from the rooftops in here, then maybe I'll get around to it.

Three words: boom, fire, sirens. Don't do that... under any circumstances. You can't feed power into an already powered device that's expecting a line level signal. You'll destroy both units.

XLR outputs are mic level, which is considerably lower than line level... nothing to do but boost the output of individual patches, or deal with it at the mixer.

Sure I can... Of course there are other options if all you want is a guitar... but that's not the primary reason for buying a Variax, is it? We all want the fancy signal manipulation for one reason or another, and that's the part that's guaranteed to evolve. So as far as the electronics are concerned, the HP printer analogy is perfect, imho. If all I wanted was another Strat (or clone thereof), there are better options in terms of fit, finish, and build quality in the $1000-$1500 price range, which will remain exactly the same 20 years out. And I wouldn't need to do any mental gymnastics with computer operating systems in order to play it. The guitar itself will always be a guitar, long after the guts crap out or become obsolete...but lets face it, it's just an OK assembly line instrument, who's primary function is to serve as a delivery vehicle for fancy electronics.... so when those electronics become the butt of Commodore 64 jokes, then it's off to the toothpick factory. It's not as if it we're the most comfortable guitar I've ever played and can't live without. I'll get used to whatever comes along to replace it. We may not agree, and that's fine...but I stick by everything I said. Know what you're getting into. If you want a decent quality instrument that'll remain exactly the same forever, unaffected by the cyclone of technology, then don't buy something loaded with exotic gizmos and software that's dependent on computer compatibility and interaction. Because that stuff is guaranteed to go the way of the dodo a whole lot sooner than any of us would like... and way before 6 strings and a couple pieces of wood will have outlived their usefulness.

Only if you're concerned about the 1's and 0's leaking out...;)