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Variax and Firehawk


jdbowers4
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Hey guys! I'm probably going to purchase a Variax this weekend. Anyone using one with a Firehawk FX? What are your experiences? To be able to manage your rig from top to bottom with iOS is extremely appealing and so far, I've had a blast playing with the FX. Furthermore, I will be using the entire setup live...any naysayers?

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I use a Variax with Firehawk FX with no problems. Works and sounds great. You can easily store/recall Variax model selections in a Firehawk preset.

 

Just to note..... You can't edit your Variax models in iOS. Variax Workbench requires a PC/Mac.

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Same here, no real problems, except that I like the sound of the Variax much better with a normal guitar cable (and not the digital one), which is a pity since in that case you can't control the model from the POD or Firehawk (or power it without the battery).

 

I find the sound of the Variax with the "variax cable" a lot colder sounding (but that's not "firehawk related", since I have the same problem with my POD). But if you dial in your patches with the Variax cable, that's not really a problem - it's just in case you have  "Strat"/"Tele" and "Les Paul" patches already (as I have), and you want to re-use them with the Variax, in that case they will sound best (= the same as your "normal" strat/tele/les paul) when using a normal guitar cable.

And that's probably not the Variaxes fault, since your guitar cable is part of your signal path and takes some of the highs away and alter the sound. Using the "digital" cable, this is not the case, so you'll have alter your regular patches and give the just a little less treble. Just a minor "annoyance" - I can really recommend the Variaxes. I've got a JTV-59, and like that one very much, great neck, and the standard humbuckers in these are very good as well, they are on of my favourite "guitar models" :-). 

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I've officially retired all my other guitars since getting a variax (a 59)

It plays and sounds as good as anything I've ever owned (the tele model sounds so close to my real tele that I only keep the real one for its sentimental value)

 

Being able to switch a complete virtual rig with one footswitch on the firehawk is awesome, going from plinky verse riffs to a thick soaring chorus is so satisfying

 

The only down sides I experienced were that after getting used to how easy the firehawk app works, setting up guitars on workbench is way more cumbersome and there was a fair bit of setting up required, all my string volumes needed balancing and it took a few attempts to get it right, also I turned up all the models as the mag pickups tend to be a fair bit louder and I wanted to be able to switch between mags and models without a jump in volume

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  • 4 weeks later...

The Variax + FH1500 = Oooo-la-la!

 

I swapped out the PU's in my Variax, so I can't true report on how they sound. The models, however, sound better than they ever did through my DT-HD500. The app makes assigning Variax models to presets really easy. The sliders the app uses for tuning the Variax is brilliant! You can strum your guitar, and slide the tuners while the chord is ringing. Get your tuning by ear, press save, voila! Done deal.

 

I find that if I am struggling to get an a amp tone to soften, I'll play with rolling off the treble on the amp and increasing the presence or increasing the treble and rolling off the presence or you can roll off the Variax tone just a bit and it makes a big difference.

 

Another thing that I find very helpful in sculpting tones is YouTube. I try to find video review/profile of the amps inside of FH1500. I will only use those videos that demo the amps using direct input into a DAW or mixer. I will not use a video where there is just a mic in the room. You want the best possible sound quality you can get. It will sound great through the FH and you can really dial in the FH tone. If they use a tele in the video, then use a Tele model on the Variax.

 

My Variax is like a new instrument in the FH. Very quick and easy to use.

 

Well done!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi. I got FIREHAWK FX and JTV69. These are connected with LAN Cable and work fine.

I can control tone or sth via iphone app.

Only problem is, i want to update jtv69 to HD but

Line6 monkey and/or workbench HD does not recognize jtv69.

I could update firehawk fx thru line6 updater.

That means my firehawk successfuly connected to MBP with USB right?

Line 6 monkey does not even recognize firehawk

. So what should i do?

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Hi. I got FIREHAWK FX and JTV69. These are connected with LAN Cable and work fine.

I can control tone or sth via iphone app.

Only problem is, i want to update jtv69 to HD but

Line6 monkey and/or workbench HD does not recognize jtv69.

I could update firehawk fx thru line6 updater.

That means my firehawk successfuly connected to MBP with USB right?

Line 6 monkey does not even recognize firehawk

. So what should i do?

 

Yeah, I don't think the Firehawk can be used as an interface to update the JTV69 at this point. Your JTV69 should have come with a USB interface, and that's what you'd use to update it at this point.

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I've got JTV 59 and firehawk and they work and sound like they were made for each other. The iOS app is easy to use - and I am someone who doesn't enjoy tweaking. If you've played with a firehawk you'll know how easy it is to create sounds using the iOS app.i haven't noticed any problems with latency or delays when switching between tones. And the people who post on the line 6 communities really know their stuff so in the unlikely event that you have a problem someone will probably know how to deal with it. Looking at the date of your post you are hopefully a proud owner by now. Best wishes

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  • 2 years later...

Hi can any one help I’m fairly new to line 6 firehawk, I really enjoy using the pedal but I can’t seem to edit the variax setting I’m looking to edit the tuning and the models but it’s not highlighted for me to edit can some one please help it’s doing my head in lol thanks 

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23 minutes ago, p3rk87 said:

Hi can any one help I’m fairly new to line 6 firehawk, I really enjoy using the pedal but I can’t seem to edit the variax setting I’m looking to edit the tuning and the models but it’s not highlighted for me to edit can some one please help it’s doing my head in lol thanks 

 

Are you connecting your Variax to the Firehawk with a VDI cable or a traditional 1/4' TS cable?

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1 hour ago, p3rk87 said:

Hi thanks for the reply Im currently using a xlr lead into the back of the firehawk but I have tried a 9mm jack to 

 

Well, and this may be something you already did, but when diagnosing something sometimes it's best to start with the basics to make sure we're on the same page. The Firehawk can only control the Variax if the Variax is connected by a VDI cable through the Firehawk's VDI input. Otherwise it's just like plugging a regular guitar into it, and the Firehawk won't detect anything special. The link to the cable you need is below and the input connection in the back of the Firehawk is below that. If you've already done those two things, we'll have to go from there.

 

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/line-6-variax-digital-cable

 

 

Variax Input.JPG

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  • 1 year later...

Is there something on the app that needs to be turned on I order for Firehawk FX to recognize the variax 300 plugged into it with VDI cable? Everything works great when using 1/4 “ guitar in, but with VDI, tuner won’t even recognize guitar. Thanks in advance.

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Make certain it's a really good cable and locks tight. Older guitar with worn connectors can be intermittent.

My 600 here in the lab is old and the VDI is not as tight as I'd like. But it comes up on the FX and the remote app.

 

Older Variax is 16+ years old and has gone through several incarnations since then.

 

 

JTV, Standard and Shurikens don't have any connection, sync or pairing compatibility issues with the Firehawk FX

and its remote app, but there may be with older Variax, due to the age and technology updates since original Variax.

 

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