cruisinon2

Look, it's a Pacifica with Variax guts. From a quick glance on Amazon, the various Pacifica iterations range from $150 to about $600. The Standards are what, $800 give or take? Much of which is the fancy electronics. And thats with a retailer's mark-up... So it's a safe assumption that they're using the lower end of the Pacifica spectrum as the platform. You ever seen a $150 guitar with stunning fretwork? Me neither. Hell, a good G&P can cost that much...

The only people who actually know are never gonna tell us ahead of time. The "new" model (Variax Standard) has only been around for a year or so. I seriously doubt there's gonna be another one anytime soon. The market for these things is tiny. Merchandise that's been sitting around too long gets blown out...and these guitars have a tendency to do that, so you can't really conclude anything from that, either. As for anything your local MegaloMusic might have told you about the model "going away"...in my experience, retailers divide their time fairly evenly between having no idea what they're talking about, or lying through their teeth. I doubt they actually know one way or the other.

Blasphemy!!!...;)

Not even close, my friend. You ever see a guy with a Line 6 tattoo? ;)

"Better" is subjective, and this debate will go on forever. Both are perfectly valid approaches, and with enough tweaking, you can get excellent results. But FRFR and traditional guitar amps are two very different worlds. Fizzy highs and low-end mud live in frequency ranges that guitar cabs just don't produce...so if you have your patches dialed in for a guitar amp/cabinet, and you're migrating to FRFR, there will be growing pains. Some make it work, some don't and go back to their amps. High cut and low cut filters work wonders, and is the easiest place to start.

"What does 3 up and 3 down mean to you, Airman?!?!" "End of an inning?" ;)

And it only cost him 5 years worth of pictures in the process...what a bargain! Ugh, lol. ;)

"Disaffection" is now worn as a badge of honor. It's carefully nurtured by educators, politicians, and especially the media. There are an alarming number of people who comb the airwaves 24/7 looking for new sources of offense and disappointment. Once found, they claim aggrieved status, loudly and at length from their "safe space". They then proceed to beg and plead with our "leaders" to be shielded from that which they have actively sought out. It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. Not sure if there's a name for this disorder in the DSM...if not, there should be. Point is, there doesn't likely exist a course of action for L6 (or any other company for that matter), that would satisfy the chronically "disaffected". For some, there simply will never be enough amps, and what is delivered won't get here soon enough...especially if it fails to materialize before their gig at Walt's Trout Hut. And if by some miracle a perfect model of every amp that has ever existed were magically released tomorrow, they'd simply declare something else to be "deficient" and a personal affront to their needs/sensibilities.

Only if you announce on a forum hosted by the guys who get to decide the fate of your warranty following your self-performed pickectomy...;)

You're not gonna save much money (if any) with passive vs. powered speakers. The Alto's are already about as cheap as any of the current FRFR options. I'd go that route...just plug in an go. Also, that power amp you've got, while a neat little thing, does start to break up at louder volumes. If you really want to go FRFR, you want clean power that won't alter your tone much, if at all. Otherwise, all the patches that you painstakingly create on Helix, are suddenly gonna sound different through your stage monitor vs. what's going to FOH when that power amp starts to break up...especially your clean tones.

Lmao...

Don't forget "granularity". Remember, a tuner is just no good unless it reminds you of Grape Nuts...;)

Ugh, wives...whenever I get the incredulous "Another guitar?!?!" whine, I just walk over to the closet and start counting pairs of shoes and handbags. By the time I get to double digits (it doesn't take long), the conversation is pretty much over...;)

Dogs barking can't fly without umbrella. ;)

Well you wouldn't be able to power the guitar, or control model or tuning changes from the POD...but as long as you're not horrified by the concept of being dependent on a battery, there's no reason you can't use a Variax with a wireless. You just have to get used to switching things on the guitar itself.

Lol...those guys are everywhere. Just like the weekend warrior on his $22K Harley, with another $5K worth of engine mods. Squeezes every last ounce of power out of it so he can putt 3.4 miles to the nearest bar and pay homage to Coors Light.

The guy in that thread was using the Boss RC300 Loop Station as a MIDI controller, though...it might work, but I'm not sure the OP in this case is looking for a $500 solution. There are $30 "tap tempo" pedals out there for units that have a dedicated input specifically for that purpose...but the POD ain't one of 'em. There may be other cheaper MIDI foot controller options that could do the same thing, but I drifted away from those years ago. Not sure what to suggest...research time.

Interesting. If it fits, it fits...as long as there's no scale-length issues. The only problem I can see would be aesthetics. The Tele headstock on a Strat-ish body might look a little weird.

Amen. Unless the gig is a tribute to landscaping equipment, aircraft noise, or dental drills, please avoid the factory presets...;)

I dunno that it would, but having a separate interface would make certain things easier, such as using other software based amp sims like S-Gear, etc. I always take the POD out of the equation if I go that route. I suppose you could load up an empty patch, but who knows if that's gonna color the sound? It'll also make monitoring a little easier, especially with headphones...the POD has no independent volume control for the phones output, so you're stuck doing it all from the DAW in that case. I like having a separate knob available for that.

Lol...yeah, expecting "The Song Remains The Same" and hearing "Deliverance" instead would be quite a Spinal Tap moment. ;) You'd laugh at it later, though...

Variax is a strange world. I'd be very suspicious of the guitar, rather than your Helix...though it is odd that it froze at the same time. The piezo saddles rely on physical contact with the bridge to remain grounded. All the dust, gunk, sweat, and other crap that typically ends up under there could give you an intermittent connection problem like that. Might wanna try giving it a good cleaning under the saddles just in case. If it happens again, that piezo might be on its way out.

L6 should have a contest... $100 gift card to whomever manages to resurrect the oldest thread. ;) Ready...set...rewind!

Lol. Yes, I'm sure. I have no particular beef with L6 or DI. They made a product that by anyone's estimation has exceeded expectations. Retailers were selling them faster than they could make them. But no matter how glowing the reviews, or how good it sounds, the beat of the "More Drum" never ends. It is more than a little naïve and narcissistic to think that any company is gonna change their plans, or speed up their product release schedule because Bob from the house band at Red's Corner Bar in Squashed Possum, WV has decided that he's "suffered enough" waiting for an update. The "where's this where's that, why wasn't it here last week, don't they care about their customers? I paid my money and I deserve x,y,and z...blah, blah, blah" threads are tiresome, and ultimately accomplish nothing.

In a perfect world nothing. However, we live in this one. The entire advertising industry exists for the sole purpose of convincing people that rain isn't wet. You ever read the fine print that flashes across the bottom of the screen on TV commercials? It's legal-ese for "you can't sue us for the lies we just told you". You buy something for what it is, not what it might become 6 months or a year from now, because "promises" notwithstanding, you're only guaranteed what's in the box on day one. After that, all bets are off...for any of a thousand reasons. Don't care who promised what. Promises often go unfulfilled. For proof, I refer you to any politician anywhere on earth. Marketing execs are a close second. In a word, entitlement. More stuff, free of charge, and have it delivered yesterday. That's the world we now live in. We all got what we paid for. No one is "owed" anything. If more comes along, great. If not, oh well...but that doesn't mean anyone's been cheated.