robinball

You're quite right - running the Variax with just a VDI cable into the Helix Floor does work without the need for either the battery or a TSR cable. Workbench HD loads and recognises the Variax allowing me to fine tune and export settings (see picture) - BUT - the only way to get Workbench HD to function is via this Helix Floor process (workaround) and not direct from the Variax to the desktop (the preferred route).

Problem 'semi-solved'! To get it to work, the signal chain has to be as follows: Variax to Helix Floor using the Variax VDI cable. (I use a Helix Stadium XL but I had to dig out my old Helix Floor as the Stadium has no Variax input) Fully charged battery in the Variax with a TSR cable in the 1/4" output to a Vox AC15 USB from the Helix Floor to the desktop computer running Workbench HD Both Central and Workbench recognised the Variax! (The legacy Monkey just doesn't function any longer hence having to use Central) Workbench HD (according to Line 6) doesn't work with Variax guitars running anything older than Firmware 2.0 and so they need to be updated to the latest version. My Variax JTV 59 has been running Firmware 2.23 since I bought it and it is still not recognised by Workbench HD when trying to run a direct connection despite what Line 6 says. This is what leads me to believe it is a software issue - something is stopping the Variax, the desktop and Workbench HD from talking to each other (they did last year!). My belief is it could be being caused by one of the many OS updates (Windows 11) and as Line 6 seem to be archiving support for Variax they have not released any updated versions of Workbench HD to maintain continued compatibility. Thanks to everyone who has actively contributed to this thread and hopefully for some of the passive readers who might have had a similar issue they have also gained something from the commentary.

I tried this approach again but Workbench HD and Central couldn't recognise the Variax. Thank you everyone for all your help and support but I think it's time to pass it over to Line 6 - I'm still convinced it's a software, not a hardware, issue but I'll let them decide and figure out a solution!

I beg to differ - please see image of Variax product box. I very rarely use the Variax and when I do it's for recording purposes so access to Workbench HD is vital for preparation. As stated before, everything worked fine last year but this year when I went to use it, it wouldn't connect to the desktop despite everything (cables etc.) being in good order but I will retry the 'battery fake out' suggestion again.

Thanks for your suggestion. Yes, I've tried all permutations. Connecting to the Helix is fine so there's no cabling problems - the issue is that neither Workbench HD nor Central recognise the Variax when connected to the desktop computer with the VDI USB Interface.

Please advise as your help would be greatly appreciated... My JTV59 Variax is no longer recognised by Workbench HD. I'm using the latest version of Workbench, I've replaced Monkey with Central and the Variax firmware is the latest version. Central doesn't recognise the guitar and neither does Workbench although the connector lights are both green. All the cabling is fine as the Variax works perfectly with my Helix Floor via the AES/EBU XLR. Not being able to access Workbench means I have no editing capability any longer making the guitar almost worthless In other words, everything is exactly as it should be except nothing is recognising the Variax. As everything was working fine last year I suspect it might be something to do with the software even though I've reinstalled everything. Hopefully someone else has had the same problems and is able to provide a solution! Many thanks.