Well I got a Firehawk 1500 recently and am working on understanding how it functions. I do not have a Variax Guitar, using a standard fender Tele. I have a positive attitude so far. There are channels that are for the Variax only but I have not out ruled getting one. I used the AX212 for years and wasn't great at programming it. This one is for me, a motivator, to get me into it. So far, I feel I'm in a new relationship with promise. It is heavy, but so was my "Twin".