thecameralens

On 12/18/2018 at 11:51 AM, psarkissian said:

Try a 1/4" cable with TRS plug ends.

 

I now have the XPS and it works with no hiss

2 hours ago, psarkissian said:

Try a 1/4" cable with TRS plug ends.

 

Thanks for the suggestion I will give that a try.

I hadn't used my Variax 500 for a month or two so I put new Duracell AA batteries in it and plugged it into my Focusrite Solo USB interface the same as normal, but I noticed that I now have background hiss that I never noticed before. Has anyone else had this issue and know what the cause is? I tried a different set of batteries, connecting via 1/4" jack on the Focusrite, going via a DI box into the XLR on the Focusrite but it still has the hiss. Do you think using an XPS would fix this issue or potentially make it worse? The hiss is the same no matter what model I am using so I don't think it is related to the model's gain settings. I have also tried with multiple cables and the result is the same. Does it sound the the Variax is starting to fail?

On 6/14/2018 at 5:21 AM, jerseyboy said:

Let’s call it a 10-45 where low-high = 45=E, 35=A, 26=D, 17=G, 13=B, 10=E.

 

This will be very close to the same tension as a wound 10-46 set of strings which most Variax ship so that you don’t need to change much if anything about the guitar playing setup. Assuming it was setup for 10-46 string gauge.  

 

Re-reading your post I realized you may think I'm using a set of 10's in addition to the set of 13-56.  No, the 10 is a plain single and costs about $1.  Many guitarists keep single .010's on hand since they often break before the others.  I simply discard the 56 and move everything down one position, adding the 10 on top E.  

 

I happen to use Elixir brand on my JTV59 and frequently change the plain strings (10, 13, 17) but leave the wound strings alone for as long as possible.  

Thanks, that makes sense now.

I have problems with humbuckers too, but at least they are usable with the aid of a noise suppression plug-in in my DAW unlike the single-coil or coil tapped options.

On 6/8/2018 at 7:12 AM, jerseyboy said:

The trick is to buy Medium 13-56 set, throw out the 56 and add a 10 - now you’ve basically got 10-46 set with plain (17) 3rd/G string.  Barely changes a thing about the guitar setup (if already using 10-46) and the flat wound exhibit some cool unique qualities with the modeling.  

 

I'm not sure I fully understand your comment. What strings do you finally have on the guitar, and from what sets? Which strings from the 13 set and which from the 10?

17 hours ago, cbrillow said:

Interesting - thanks for taking the time to create this and share it with us.

 

Spank switch position 5 not working, though!

Thanks for catching that. It is fixed now. I had tested by clicking the guitar icon and not the play button. I also added code to change the cursor now.

8 hours ago, codamedia said:

 

BTW: You want to look into "noise suppression" rather than "noise gates". There is a different, and suppression is much more natural for guitar. Although even then - it's not perfect :) 

 

 

I use a noise suppressor plugin in my DAW and it definitely helps, but it changes the tone a lot in the process. I also have a DI box and have tried the ground lift on it to no avail. The noise I suffer from is more interference than hum.

While creating the Variax sample reference, I was reminded of a major, and often overlooked advantage of the Variax. My house suffers from a lot of electrical noise and the use of single coil pickups is a no go for me. Having the option to coil tap humbuckers is a complete waste of time for me. The answer is the Variax. Now I can get the tones I want with no noise. Yes, I can use filters to remove most of the noise, but at the cost of the tone. I can use a noise gate, but that only gets rid of the noise between notes and does nothing to remove the noise that overlays the guitar’s sound. The answer is the Variax. What would be great is if the Variax technology was licensed to manufacturers, to model the coil tapped sound of particular pickups and have that switched in when coil tapped.

6 minutes ago, thecameralens said:

I just checked and the link to my site does but the link to the .pdf doesn’t. I guess it doesn’t like the space in the file name. I copied and pasted the .pdf link.

It should work now

3 hours ago, psarkissian said:

Link doesn't work.

I just checked and the link to my site does but the link to the .pdf doesn’t. I guess it doesn’t like the space in the file name. I copied and pasted the .pdf link.

For anyone who is interested I have created a webpage that allows you to listen to a simple sample from each of the modeled guitars in the default Factory selection. Simply click the icon of the guitar, or the play icon to hear the sample. The samples are recorded straight to my DAW and a small amount of reverb has been added.

http://www.ccjmusic.com/line6-variax-models.php

This page is an extension of the reference by Luis as found at https://freeshell.de/~luis/guitars/Variax 500.pdf so thanks goes to Luis for the hard work.

I hope you find it helpful

Colin

50 minutes ago, davidegirardi said:

Yep. For the bending, you can test different string brands (they do make a difference on how the bends feel) and eventually some custom string gauges.

 

Thanks for the tip

6 hours ago, davidegirardi said:

I would go for flat wound strings.

 

I didn't even think of them as an option. I assume they help with the string noise rather than the bending.

12 minutes ago, psarkissian said:

Changing the tension would change the set-up in general.

May be other artifacts, as the circuitry wants to see certain frequencies on

certain strings. Going outside of that frequency range will cause problems.

 

It may sound okay at different frets and not okay on others. Going outside

normal parameters like that is a crap shoot, as the saying goes. Be aware of that.

 

Yeah I had a feeling it wouldn't be a straightforward thing. I was thinking about changing strings and wondered if I should try buying individual strings to test this out. Sounds like I should leave well enough alone. I am loving the Variax 500 so far :)

This may sound like a weird question, but does anybody know if it is possible to use non-standard strings on a Variax 500? By non-standard I mean replacing the normal wound strings with duplicates of the G string. The idea being easier bends and less string/finger noise on the E A and D strings. I know on a regular guitar there would be a problem with volume from the magnetic pickups, but would this be a problem with piezo pickups? Also would it cause a problem with intonation or neck relief.

While searching the internet for Variax related information I came across this tutorial on advanced editing in Workbench relating to tone. I am not sure if it has been shared here before, but I didn't find it doing a quick search of the forums.

The information may be useful to other Variax users so I thought I would share it. If you are interested in resonant frequencies etc. and how to set the capacitor value and pot values this is a good resource.

Thanks to the original creator. The only reference to go on is Vettaville.nl

WB Tutorial 6 290107.pdf

2 hours ago, eenymason said:

Another thing to note is that most people who use the acoustic models on the variax, say that using heavier gauge strings, and a lighter touch gives you a more realistic sound. I don't use it so much, so don't claim to have any expereience with this either way - it's just what I've read here on the forums. Have you searched for "acoustic" tags on here?

A lighter touch definitely makes a difference, but I think I have found the problem. Compared to my other guitars I realized I was playing closer to the neck. I moved closer to the bridge and things sound much better. I think the lack of pickups is throwing me off as far as a reference point.

Thanks for sharing that. It is always good to hear how other people use equipment I use too. I purely play music for my own enjoyment and always go directly into my PC via the Focusrite Solo, I then add effects etc. in my DAW (Mixcraft). I only recently started playing guitar and am really happy with how the Variax works for me.

7 hours ago, codamedia said:

I don't talk about myself on the internet... LOL!

Let me guess, you use interpretive dance instead! :p

This is purely a curiosity post, so remove if it is not thought to be relevant.

I was wondering out of all the Variax users here, what the main genres of music are that you use your Variax for? Most of what you see online is either blues or metal, but are there others that are well represented? Also what playing levels are Variax users at?

I myself would classify the music I make as Chillout or Ambient depending on the track, think Tangerine Dream or similar. I am by no means a guitarist, and can play enough to fit in with my musical style and needs. The Variax is a perfect solution for me as I can get a wide variety of tones that make up for the lack of playing ability.

That makes total sense. You are right, I have been trying to get a more trebley sound in my experimentation with the sound prior to the Variax. Because of the high impedance of the piezo transducers I have used the low end has been missing when going into the Focusrite. The Variax is low impedance so I have more low end to start with.

1 hour ago, silverhead said:

I find I get best results with acoustic models if I do not use an amp/cab/mic in the preset. I just use some light compression, a studio preamp, , EQ to taste, and a little reverb with optionally some chorus and delay.

I think part of my problem is that I spent a lot of time before I got the Variax, trying to get my idea of the sound of an acoustic, either by EQ and effects on a regular electric guitar, or by adding piezo transducers to regular electric guitars and combining with the regular magnetic pickups in one way or another. Now I have the Variax the modeled sound is far duller than I am used to. It is probably just down to my perception. I don't ever use any amp/cab/mic in the presets.

12 minutes ago, silverhead said:

For acoustic models the Tone knob on the Variax simulates a mic-position parameter. It does not control Bass/Treble like an electric guitar's Tone knob. When you turn the Tone knob with a Variax Acoustic model selected you should hear a varying amount of body/depth/boominess in the tone.

That does make some difference for sure, but trying to use the acoustic models in a mix ends up with them just being lost still. I can correct via EQ etc. I was just thinking they should be brighter to start with. Maybe I am assuming the real guitars would be brighter than they really are. I don't own an acoustic to know what to expect.

Is there a way to adjust the tone of the acoustic models on the Variax 500? I have noticed they all sound dull and lifeless compared to the results I have had using a piezo transducer on my other guitars. Workbench doesn't seem to have any control over the sound. Am I missing something? Does someone have a raw sample of the acoustics from their Variax 500? Maybe the issue is with mine alone. I am listening with no amp or effects, just direct into my DAW via a Focusrite Solo so the problem isn't from playing through a regular guitar amp.