Charlie_Watt

I have never liked or used the pod tuners. They are all not good enough IMO. I have had many versions of pods over the years and they are great! (But not the tuners)

I think folks here are confusing Resolution with Accuracy. IMO you want maximum resolution in a tuner to get your guitar tuned properly. Many cheap tuners don't do this because they sacrifice resolution for stability of the display. The Peterson "strobe" display is always moving. The pitch of your strings is also moving. It is sharp when you first pluck it and it levels out as the note settles down and starts to decay. Some players tune on the attack and some tune on the decay.

I use my Peterson!

The 700 Acoustic was a great Variax. I have one of those. Too bad they did not continue with that line. I don't like the standard. I do like my JTV69S. If the Standard is the direction they are headed, I am done with Variax. There have been little or no improvements in 10 years.

What are you going to drive them with??????

Do normal setup checks. Look for high frets, lack of relief, low strings, etc. If you have any high frets, you need to have them leveled or raise the action until the buzz goes away. This is a guitar! Mechanically it's the same as any guitar as far as setup goes.

Real tuning will always sound better than pitch shifted tuning. Alt tunings are a tradeoff. The guitar also does not respond like it normally does because the sound feedback from the amp is not at the string frequency.

The one it comes with isn't really gigable. (if that is a word) You will want to buy a good one. Try Best-Tronics. They make a good one and it's a better deal than the Line6 one.

You won't get interference from the VDI but you might get some in the analog chain after the pod. But if you are not getting any now, then you should be fine with the VDI and the Variax. One great thing about the Variax is that the Piezo's get little to no interference from noise sources where as Mag pickups often get lots of it.

Try Full Compas. Also, I think Sweetwater carries the battery.

Replacement parts are always many times more expensive then what they cost to produce. Try buying a replacement tail light for your car. Mine was $500!

My Variax 500 does that but only when it's hooked to Workbench with the USB interface. The pots should be dead silent otherwise. I would return it if it's not 100% perfect if you just got it.

Your only option is to look for a used one. There are many JTV owners that don't need theirs. (If they have a pod that supports variax VDI.) They did cost $100 originally and that was to pay for the WB Software which was NOT included with the Variax 500 guitars.

I would look for a used one or buy a Pod HD500x.

Every JTV was shipped with the USB interface so if they are not giving you one, you are not getting what it was shipped with. If the deal is right, you might still want to buy it - and look around for an interface second hand. Many folks use their Pod as the interface and they might be willing to part with the dongle. It sure isn't worth $100!

Normal connection would be VDI between HD500x and Variax and USB to your computer. Somewhere here they recommended against using the VDI and 1/4 inch on the Variax at the same time.

Sweetwater - fast service and they check it out pretty well before shipping it!

You too. I was only trying to drive home the fact that the Mags don't use FW when the battery is out so you can eliminate the FW if the problem is there in that configuration.

It cannot be a firmware issue if the mags sound farty!!!!! The processor is dead as a stone with the battery removed. The mags are passive and they come out the 1/4 inch cable just like any normal passive guitar. If it doesn't sound great that way there is a mechanical setup problem PERIOD. End of story.

Again if it does it with the Mags with the battery out it's NOT the electronics and a reflash isn't going to do squat. I am tired of hearing "Reflash" as a solution to any Variax problems anyway. These things sound GREAT with the mags only if they are set up properly! It is just a standard guitar with the battery out! Passive all the way!

With battery out and just the Mags, there are no electronics in play. If it sounds farty then, it is a mechanical / setup issue.

And a MUCH better cable.

I recommend you buy an other than Line6 VDI cable. The one I have is from btpa.com (Bestronics) 98-030-004-XXX It is a very well made cable with good connectors on the ends and it is flexible like a regular guitar cable should be.

Buying used is a $$ vs Fiddle tradeoff sometimes. I would take a chance on a used Variax given my experience with them if the price was right.

Good news! You may need a few adjustments after you get the heavier strings installed. You want little to no fret rattle. If your playing style is light, you can have the strings lower but the modeling will distort fret noise. I would change the strings and then see how it is. Minor adjustments may still be necessary but all guitars need some setup out of the box. I agree that the pilot's guide is way too thin and brief. There is lots of knowledge here though. By the way, I found a few Variax Acoustic presets for the HD500x in Custom Tone that work great with the Acoustic models if you are playing into a full range speaker system. The Acoustic models only sound really good into a full range speaker system. They will sound muddy with any guitar amp. (As will a real acoustic guitar)