toasterdude

Thanks for the info. Now I remember you are certainly one of the guys that knows way more than I do. The part that piqued my imagination was in workbench the guitars are not differentiated. Just JTV variax. So to me it seems almost like the same board. The variax side is the same, but the pickups and switching scheme are different. Doesn't look like that would require different boards for each model.

Turns out only 7 were real transplants. One is a stock 69 body that was refinished, new neck, new pickups, new pickguard, new tuners. That one and the first four xplants were done by guitartex in san antonio. I don't know if he was qualified back then, but he is likely the most qualified in the world now having done four of them;-) The last three were done by a local guy in santo domingo where I live. Third world country and they turned out fine. The first was a flying V which created problems as the wiring wasn't long enough to make it. It all had to be extended. Plus a Graphtec TOM bridge with Bigsby B5. Took a few tries but working fine now. I have a new local luthier that is sanding off finish of two ebay purchased warmoth bodies. He is picking up an empty JTV59 to be able to make templates for routing etc.I will have those guitars routed and painted so they are ready for any new electronics I will yank from used JTV 59s I may come across. Though we may just have to mess around with my lap steel which was a JTV69. If I can pull the cable harness out and she still functions, I hook up that harness to a JTV69 main board, battery box and output jack I have. My only issue with using those in a LP custom 3 pickup would be, not wanting a five way switch. Would rather have a LP type 6 way, or just put a switch for the mags and control the variax from Helix or POD.

I have done a bunch of JTV transplants. 8 so far. However I don't do the actual work. . lol. I send them to luthiers and techs. However with all thos xplants I have some extra parts laying around. I am trying to figure out what I can cobble together from these parts. I am pretty sure I have 2 of the VDI output assemblies, 1 or 2 battery boxes, A few of the JTV 59 switches but I need to swap them into some xplants that are exhibiting flakiness with the switches. I have one JTV69 main board and one JTV59 main board. I assume they work, but not 100% sure. I have just aquired 2 JTV 89 wiring harnesses with the knobs and pots. I remember some threads where people way more knowledgable than I am were commenting on how all this stuff works. I have a bunch of questions, and I am sure will have more, but off the top of my head: 1- are the main boards actually the same? In workbench there is no distinction for each model, so I am thinking the wiring harness and switches sort of determine how the guitar acts, 59, 69 or 89 etc? 2- I recall reading that the "super switch" works by sending particular resistance values down VDI? If that is true would I be able to hack a different super switch to work? I am thinking the stew mac 6 way LP type in place of the 5 way on JTV69 and 89. 3- what is actually needed for the guitar to function. I think I have read that if no controls were hooked up, the guitar can still be controlled via POD or Helix. I rarely if ever change models or tuning via guitar, always from POD and Helix. I rarely use volume and tone at all. Though using them as expression pedals with Helix is way cool. I have a lap steel with JTV 69 "guts". If I could borrow back the cabling harness and pair it with my JTv 69 main board, I can build another guitar. Planning LP custom 3 pickup BUT, would love to not have to put a 5 way in a Les Paul and instead use another switch. Worst case I save the JTV69 stuff for parts or backup, or build another 3 pickup type guitar somewhere down the road. 4-JTV 89 control harnesses have 5 way switch. I need to see how they are wired. May work as they are. Thinking maybe a double cut LP with 2 mini humbuckers or tradition humbuckers with coil splits and control as 89 does. I am sure those questions will create more questions, lol. Thanks for any info you guys may have. Gonna pots a "family pic" of these xplants in another thread.

Looks great. However I will use Helix as sort of dual mono. Variax models panned left with one path of FX and amp, magnetics panned right with another path. Keeping the mags and models hard panned is key. If I plug left and right out of Helix into FH 1500 the 12 inch speaker will not be used? Or used as sub? I suppose not critical if the FOH has the full separation.

External wireless VDI, please. I get that it will not sell tons but dream rig is not a dream until you can use it wirelessly. I think more big tours would implement variax and Helix if they could change guitar models and tunings via Helix without being tethered within 25 feet of the helix.

Man, how I wish on Variax we could send the raw piezo down the VDI line that normally carrys mags. That way use variax acoustic on one side, and straight piezo with a nice IR on the other!

On a related topic. I try to get a double tracking sound all the time. I didn't like the keeley as they seemed to go heavy on detune. Sounded too chorusy. Heard enough chorus in 80s to last 20 lifetimes, but I digress. I get a more natural sounding double track using a JTV Variax with p rails. I have been doing this on my "big rig", but big rig is so big it never leaves the house, lol. I have less than an hour's time on Helix and get a decent approximation. No modulation at all. Not in front of helix now but roughly: Two paths - one variax one magnetics say neck p rail set to p 90 and gretsch neck or 335 neck on variax side. two different amps and cabs 20 ms or similar on one side 100% wet two different slap delays one side 150 ms, other side 180ms. Mix types so that say analog on left and tape on right two different reverbs, one side spring, preferably 63 spring, the other maybe plate or similar I take it to extreme with FX as well: different drive on each side different settings on mutron on each side different phasers on each side different wahs on each side. Delays in parallel with verbs, each side panned hard left or right. I also mess with bias settings in deep parameters. Just turn a knob until the difference is a bit "wider". Basically adding as many small differences as possible. When I get lucky, as you move from low strings to high I hear the "wideness" change. On some patches the high E and B are "wider" with G and D sounding similar and then the A and E wider again. Icing on cake is going into variax workbench and changing cap or pot settings until it sounds a bit more "3D" as well. Tomorrow I ma mess with sending the verbs to the mixer instead of recombining with main path after the delays. Maybe panning reverbs less hard left and right may add to the illusion? Maybe I should lug a varix xplant and helix patches on thumb drive to NAMM. . .lol. P Rails are key to doing this with varied sounds such as single coils, hums and p90s.

Line6 needs help in latam. I remember a few years back when POD HD500 was 400 more than competing Boss product. I have years of experience selling into latam and you NEVER want an exclusive distributor unless you know them very well and they are focused on making sales goals. With the brasilian import taxes and duties, a product can cost 50-80% more in Brasil. Problem is when manufacturer is not on top of what it actually costs, the local exclusive distributor can raise street price to whatever he wants and make the extra profit. Once that happens, he could care less about volume. Instead of making say $50 on each POD HDhe sells he makes 450. He could care less if he sells 80% less. That leads to not being on top of things like Helix being released. It is all about numbers.

Pricing on new FRFR models?

If it doesn't sound good in PA/Ref mode, and you are sending to FOH as well, it likely sounds off there as well. It could be that your patches have some eq problems in high or low end and being in guitar mode removes those frequencies, but it may be better to adjust your patches so that they sound goon in PA mode?

Not a problem. I have plenty of other options besides Helix. With Variax I have 8, so who better to try new FW and be able to compare? Test JTV69 vs 59 etc. If it costs me a bottle of Bourbon so be it . . . lol. .

I have been asking for that feature for years. That will also allow changing tuning within a preset. Have a slide solo in open G, but rest of song is in standard and just a standard strat? Could be done in theory. Come to think about it, having 8 variax, 2 POD HD Pros, HD bean, had HD500x but sold to replace with Helix. . .how the hell am i not a beta tester? lol

No effin way!! I had posted a request for sending midi CC to external devices on ideascale and nobody understood why that would be awesome. Some even voted no. Glad you guys get how cool that is. I can use volume knob on variax to adjust gain on my Axe Fxs? Too cool.

Once you start doing "dual tones" it is hard to go back. I can say both Axe and KPA are way easier to get great tones out of but Variax is a huge part of what I do so that a POD or two will likely be in my rig for a loooong time.

Not true at all. If you want basic amp and effects tones the Axe is way easier to dial in. Stock DEP settings on HD are whacky for one thing. EQs with % instead of frequencies is not intuitive. The whole dual stereo, paths with having guitar on both increasing level to clipping is not inuitive either. I wrote a post years back when I got my Ultra. I could no longer get tones I wanted with POD and the DSP limit. I was tired of hearing how DSP limit is a feature and not a limitation. . .lol. I did not leave POD or Line 6 though. I just do not use Line 6 amp modeling in my main rig, even though it has two POD HD Pros/x in it. Purely effects before the amp sims of Axe plus routing of my JTV Variax transplants. I still have a bean, and HD 500x but find it hard to get amp sounds that rival Axe Fx. Of course the Axe costs way more so that is not surprising. I have a Atomic Amplifire waiting for me when I get home from this business trip and from all accounts it has amp modeling closer to Axe/KPA league. It is portable which is a plus as well. I may need to integrate it with my HD500x and maybe a torpedo cab so I can get two higher quality amp/cab sims out of that rig. Having said all of that, I could build a rig to replace my rack from hell without Axe Fx but not without PODs. The integration with JTVs is hugely important to me. . . .though I need WIRELESS VDI. . .lol. Another advantage of the PODs is the ability to change input routing on a patch by patch basis. Axe does not do that. On 95% of my patches the first POD has mags left and models right to get a dual sound type deal. If using a purely acoustic patch both sides get Variax as input. Same if I use and alt tuning. I also have a custom built stereo mandoln and an electric stereo Tres Cubano. I just picked up a stereo in, stereo out zoom CDR to connect to line in on the first POD so that using one of those instruments requires no messing with input cables on POD. Rumors are flying about a new more powerful POD or modeling device from Line 6/Yamaha. Unless they do rack version and improve routing or effects quality, I woudl stick with the POD HD Pros in my rack, but certainly look at an improved florrboard with better amp/cab sims IF the JTV integration is the same or better. I don't get the whole Axe vs KPA, vs POD wars. When I see an unfortunately typical snobby Axe FX user just bash POD as being a toy, I defend Line 6. When I see Line 6 users saying Axe is way harder to learn. I reply as well. Learning the basics is actually easier, BUT there is way more depth to continue learning if one wishes. 75% of axe users most likely do not use scene modifiers, LFOs, the sequencer, ADSR, Synths, etc, but they are VERY powerful.

I'm glad I picked one up when I did! Now, the crazy part is I am transplanting the guts from that guitar into. . . . a warmoth goldtop with bigsby.. . . . . lol. The neck on the 59s is just too different from the rest of my transplants, plus all my xplants are 25.5 scale length.

Blue Mofi. Expensive but well worth it IMHO. There are guys on fractal forums that say tweaking on Mofi then using CLR live works well. I have my first CLR inbound so have not tried for myself yet.

Also only one chain in Firehawk where with HD500x you can have mags and acoustic or another electric guitar model at the same time.

All of my xplants have 25.5 inch scale necks and all are strung with 11s. I could not even imagine what playing on 8s is like!

I have put in feature requests to allow changing variax models and tunings via midi. Obviously the POD is changing this via midi over the VDI. If they allowed us access to the PC or CC used via external controllers, you would be able to set up the IAs on the POD to change just the Variax settings without changing patches on the POD. I also requested being able tos end midi CC from Variax volume and tone pots to other midi gear. Using my tone knob to adjust gain on an Axe FX amp sim etc. Using volume to adjust gain on Axe FX drive block etc. The possiblities would be endless.

I have always paid to have the work done. My luthier/tech figured it all out. I may have a less hectic work schedule this year and may try to do more of this stuff myself. Even if just basic set ups and wiring. I have started buying the tools etc from stew mac. Hopefully I will have the time.

I didn't do the wiring but if usuing triple shots should be just a matter of wiring leads from triple shots to where the original pickups were on the circuit board. I originally got the triple shots to try out the p rails so I wouldn't need to modify the guitar with mini toggles or push pulls. I guess push pulls may work on the volume and tone but they may be special pots and not as easy to find push pull with same specs. Also the triple shots give you 4 combinations on each pickup so I have just stuck with them. I use the p90 and rail settings more than the humbucker settings so far.

Hopefully I am pretty much done with xplants. I have a Billy Bo lap steel being painted and have a JTV 59 for the guts for maybe a starcaster with bigsby. Maybe in a few years when the yamahas are like 500 USD, I can do more. lol

Damn. I REALLY want wireless VDI. The missing link in the dream rig.

Specs: warmoth Firebird body JTV 59 guts Fralin tele bridge pickup Fralin strat middle pickup Lollar mini humbucker extra toggel to give strat pos 2&4 Warmoth tele neck with brazilian rosewood and flamed maple graphtec saddles on tele type bridge metallic purple finish by warmoth