relayerxxx

New Variax. Problem solved. Output jack was indeed to blame.

New Variax. Problem solved. Output jack was indeed to blame.

Yes, all true, but as I said in my original post the noise sounds digital in nature rather than a ground hum. (Sounds a bit like an old dial-up modem going in the background.) Also, I've tried switching all cables, both TRS and the output to the amp. Anyway, the store I bought it from is suggesting I take the guitar in and test it out against another. Of course I know what's going to happen - it'll all work fine in the shop and then crap out again as soon as I get back home.

I just posted this in the Variax Standard section: Right, well it seems to be a problem with the Standard itself. The noise disappears if I jiggle the jack a bit in the output and press the plug firmly in one position. Happens with two different TRS cables so it must be something to do with the output socket. I suppose having power and signal in the same location is asking for trouble, which is one of the reasons I got sick of Roland GK stuff.

Right, well it seems to be a problem with the Standard itself. The noise disappears if I jiggle the jack a bit in the output and press the plug firmly in one position. Happens with two different TRS cables so it must be something to do with the output socket. I suppose having power and signal in the same location is asking for trouble, which is one of the reasons I got sick of Roland GK stuff.

I've already posted this in the Variax Standard section, but perhaps you JTV people can help me out as the Standard has the same basic architecture as the JTVs and may well be prone to a similar issue. When I got my variax a couple of weeks ago I was a bit nervous about relying on battery power exclusively, so I thought I was being clever scoring a cabled power kit from you-know-where in Germany, as they're pretty hard to get hold of in the UK at the moment. The XPS box is supposed to work with the Standard and the JTV - even the salesman who sold me the guitar said this was the case, though they didn't have one in stock. However, while it does indeed power the Variax, some very unpleasant digital noise appears after a minute or so of use. I've tried switching TRS cables, output cables, different amps - same issue. Works fine on the battery. Has anyone else experienced this with the XPS?

I got my Standard last week - enjoying it immensely. I also thought I was being clever scoring a cabled power kit from you-know-where in Germany, as they're pretty hard to get hold of in the UK at the moment. The XPS box is supposed to work with the Standard - even the salesman who sold me the guitar said this was the case, though they didn't have one in stock. However, while it does indeed power the Variax, some very unpleasant digital noise appears after a minute or so of use. I've tried switching TRS cables, output cables, different amps - same issue. Any ideas?

That is certainly the case with other feedbacker pedals (eg. Line 6's Dr Distorto - there's actually a youtube vid of someone demoing it using a Variax.) But it seems that the FB-2 does something a bit different, hence the manual saying that it only works using an amp, not headphones. Would be great to find someone that had actually tried one with a Variax.

But it needs to be used with an amp for it to drive the guitar into "feedback", as far as I understand. I don't know whether it would work with piezos, especially if the feedback tone was then repitched to a different note. I've used a Sustainer-equipped guitar with a Roland VG-8, which is fine because the mag pickups drive the sustainer even if there's no amp volume. My dream is a Sustainer equipped Variax, of course...

Has anyone tried the Boss FB-2 Feedbacker pedal? Would it work with a Variax, in particular if using alt tunings?