Marcpattison Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 I'm looking to buy a used Variax. Do the 600 and the newer standards have the same firmware capabilities? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 No. The current latest model (Variax Standard) uses completely different modelling than Variax 600. It also has additional firmware capabilities. They don't run the same firmware, they use different versions of Workbench, and the files are not compatible. Overall a different beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcpattison Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 Thanks a million! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 600 does not have real pickups you can switch to, and has old modeling and technology from 2000's. Standard has mag pickups, HD modeling from 2013, and has a tuning knob you can use to designate tuning options to, instead of relying on patch-by-patch tuning presets, which limits which tunings you can select for what model you want. At this day and age, the JTVs and Standards are probably worth getting over the old Variaxes now. JTVs on ebay go pretty low these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leesteel Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I stand by my own experience that the 500 & 600 sound much better than any of the new JTV models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I stand by my own experience that the 500 & 600 sound much better than any of the new JTV models. I know there's a lot of personal experience, but I don't see how someone could flat out say a 500 and 600 sound better than a JTV. You can get the same modeling on a JTV by rolling back, and from personal experience, my 600 has this weird unnatural tone when you hit the strings to hard that doesn't happen on any guitar I own or heard. Did you have the stock LR baggs pickups yours or did you upgrade to the ghost system? What makes you come to the conclusion that the old Variaxes beat the new ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leesteel Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I know there's a lot of personal experience, but I don't see how someone could flat out say a 500 and 600 sound better than a JTV. You can get the same modeling on a JTV by rolling back, and from personal experience, my 600 has this weird unnatural tone when you hit the strings to hard that doesn't happen on any guitar I own or heard. Did you have the stock LR baggs pickups yours or did you upgrade to the ghost system? What makes you come to the conclusion that the old Variaxes beat the new ones? I have 3 Variax 500s. 2 of them have ghost saddles and one of them has the LR Baggs (stock) saddles. In some respects I like the sound of the stock saddles better but the ghost saddles do have what I would characterize as a smoother sound. I am basing my comparison on the fact that I bought a JTV-59, tried it, did not like the sound, and got rid of it quickly. I used my HD500X and the exact same patches I use regularly with my other guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I have a 500 and a JTV69S. The 69S sounds better to me and it's a much nicer guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leesteel Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 I also prefer the fact that it has no magnetic pickups in it. People come up to me all the time at gigs and ask me, where the pickups are… I am in the market for a nice solid body 700. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 I have 3 Variax 500s. 2 of them have ghost saddles and one of them has the LR Baggs (stock) saddles. In some respects I like the sound of the stock saddles better but the ghost saddles do have what I would characterize as a smoother sound. I am basing my comparison on the fact that I bought a JTV-59, tried it, did not like the sound, and got rid of it quickly. I used my HD500X and the exact same patches I use regularly with my other guitars. When did you buy it? You could simply prefer old modeling to the new modeling. Some places pre-install the HD firmware on the guitar. Since you've installed ghosts on your Variaxes, you probably got rid of the weird noise I get from my 600 with stock LR baggs. It's why I think the JTV is better, because I think they improved the piezos to be more responsive and to not quack when you hit the strings hard. I do admit the 600 can get some great sounds, and I loved it, but I barely touch it anymore. My main argument is that technically you can get the same sound out of a JTV as the 600 if you just roll back the firmware. There are some slight tonal variations between a old Variax and JTV even with the same modeling, but I think the JTV sounds brighter and more responsive, which is good in my opinion. Either way, I guess it's personal preference, and like I said, maybe you don't have that weird quack problem I have on my 600 on your guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leesteel Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Perhaps I just learned to embrace the quack! HAHA I don't know, you are right, personal choice. I had a 600 with the maple neck for a while too and still like the rosewood 500 neck better. I find the JTV necks a little on the "log-y" side for my liking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Perhaps I just learned to embrace the quack! HAHA I don't know, you are right, personal choice. I had a 600 with the maple neck for a while too and still like the rosewood 500 neck better. I find the JTV necks a little on the "log-y" side for my liking. It's less noticeable if you have certain amp tones. I get not liking some the shapes the JTVs provide. I still like the 600 neck a little more than the JTV69's neck. I do like how twangy I can get my 600 to sound compared to my JTV though. For some reason I can't get the tele model as bright as I want it on the new firmware on the JTV. I used to be able to just back the pickup towards the bridge in Workbench, but on the new firmware, instead of getting brighter, it gets nasally, if that makes any sense. I will admit, I just fixed my 600's 1/4 jack a month ago for backup, so I do still value the guitar. I found some rechargeable Double A batteries. I'd love to use it to just mess around and play anywhere without worrying about having an expensive guitar with electronics out in public. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leesteel Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 The other thing that bugged me about the 600 was the gloss finish on the back of the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clay-man Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 The other thing that bugged me about the 600 was the gloss finish on the back of the neck. I made mine satin with sandpaper, but sadly it wears off pretty quickly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eenymason Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 The other thing that bugged me about the 600 was the gloss finish on the back of the neck. And by logy you mean it's too thick/wide? Slow and steady with an orbital sander, and you can make it how you want - get yourself some calipers if you don't already have some. I've done that with both necks on my vaxplants, and my '71 Strat (which had the back of the neck sanded back when I bought it 2nd hand in '82), was my model for these. The strat neck is as smooth as silk, and the others aren't quite yet, but they're certainly on the way. Re-finishing is up to you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leesteel Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 I am currently VAX-PLANTING a sea foam green DiPinto Galaxy IV. Chris DiPinto made me a replacement white pearl pick guard with no pickup cutouts and Ghost makes a bridge that is the exact replacement for the Jaguar style Mastery bridge that was already installed. Got the hole routed for the standard jack plate and all I have left to do is route the battery box in the back and assemble. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashcraaft Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 As you can see, a newer firmare means not automatically a better tone :ph34r: BTW which is the latest FW for the 600 model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eenymason Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 As you can see, a newer firmare means not automatically a better tone :ph34r: BTW which is the latest FW for the 600 model? The latest firmware for the legacy variaxes is quite old now, and as far as I am aware, there are no issues with old vs new firmware versions, like there are with the Standard, and JTVs. Not sure of the Firmware number, but I believe it is of no significance. Any discussions regarding rolling back to a preferred firmware version is always in relation to the later variaxes as mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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