boner

I definitely don't want to fry the guts! I use mine 100% of the time with the VDI cable too into my Vetta II. If I could run it off batteries, I would be able to use any amp. I have the footswitch and the cable it shipped with, so I know I could use that, but the Li battery would just make it even easier.

I have a Variax 500. Being lefthanded, getting a newer Variax isn't possible. But I look at all the new Variax's available, and I'm jealous of the fact that they don't require the VDI cable to power the guitar. They have rechargeable lithium ion batteries. I realize the battery housing is different, but in theory, is there any reason why a new Variax power supply couldn't somehow be retrofitted into a Variax 500?

A lefty Shuriken? Okay, sure. But with a 27" scale, it's a niche product that certainly wouldn't be my first choice. We NEED a standard scale, left-handed variax. The robots that put the circuitboards together really won't complain if you program them to make the boards backwards. And on the human side, it's just the right thing to do. I'm glad I have a Variax 500. But technology has advanced leaps and bounds over the past fifteen years, and us lefties aren't welcome at the party. Time to finally show some lefty love, Line 6.

I don't know how long a company should be expected to update a piece of legacy software like Workbench, to be honest. It's a tough call. The Variax 600 was discontinued in 2009 or 2010, so I'm not sure it's realistic to think that Line 6 will continue to support the original Workbench indefinitely. Nor do I think that it's realistic to expect Workbench HD to support the earlier Variax (the pre-HD firmware has some pretty major differences). So I don't know... I can see both sides. The long and short is that the Variax is a technology driven item, and the software that supports it is dependent on third-party operating systems. It seems it's inevitable that there will be a time when that software becomes obsolete. I guess the one workaround is keeping an older machine around for the sole purpose of running some of this older software.

I understand the concept of planned obsolescence. That's understandable when there are newer products with the latest features. For myself, and every other left handed person that owns the only lefty model guitar Line 6 ever made (Variax 500), we have nowhere to turn. I don't think it is unreasonable for a software company to support their products at least until a newer model is available.