powderfinger700 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 I also just got a first generation variax this year. A 700. About 6 months later and I can honestly say on all the promises it made except one I am blown away on its performance. I love all the sounds accept the 12 string models. They seem to have tracking issues with bends and quick runs, but that is small potatoes as can be, as I already have electric 12 string whose sound I more than truely love. There is also a problem with 2 of the piezo saddles that seems to be common problem where they lose tone and volume. So it appears a bridge replacement is one of the options with the saddle issue. Has anybody here done this and does it seem to work in fixing the problem? I got mine used but can I still register it? Is there any advantage to registering it? I read about somebody who owned one and he updated the firmware. What does this mean? What are the benefits? Can I still get workbench for it? Is workbench windows 10 compatable? Is there anywhere I can see and read up on all the options it allows me to create? Can it do nylon strung guitars? Ovation sounding? Its kinda mind blowing. To have this one guitar that fits the nitch of every sound I ever wanted...and its really swèet looking too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarrellM5 Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 I also just got a first generation variax this year. A 700. About 6 months later and I can honestly say on all the promises it made except one I am blown away on its performance. I love all the sounds accept the 12 string models. They seem to have tracking issues with bends and quick runs, but that is small potatoes as can be, as I already have electric 12 string whose sound I more than truely love. There is also a problem with 2 of the piezo saddles that seems to be common problem where they lose tone and volume. So it appears a bridge replacement is one of the options with the saddle issue. Has anybody here done this and does it seem to work in fixing the problem? There are several discussions on this forum regarding replacing the saddles. I believe GraphTec is a popular choice. Some of those discussions even have videos showing the process. I got mine used but can I still register it? Is there any advantage to registering it? You might need to register it to use Line 6 Monkey to update the firmware. I'm not positive about this. I read about somebody who owned one and he updated the firmware. What does this mean? What are the benefits? You can use Line 6 Monkey to update to the latest firmware, which includes updates to the existing models. You can roll back to previous firmware releases if you're unhappy with the newer versions. Can I still get workbench for it? Is workbench windows 10 compatable? Is there anywhere I can see and read up on all the options it allows me to create? Can it do nylon strung guitars? Ovation sounding? You can still get Workbench. It will allow you to create your own models choosing pickups and body styles and putting the pickups anywhere you want, even on top of each other. It also allows you to adjust the string volumes. I've yet to hear anyone pull off a convincing nylon string model. Its kinda mind blowing. To have this one guitar that fits the nitch of every sound I ever wanted...and its really swèet looking too. It's an awesome guitar. I'm assuming you have some sort of interface to hook it up to your computer; either the footswitch that came with them or a Line 6 effects unit with VDI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chainsawdave Posted November 19, 2016 Share Posted November 19, 2016 Hi I'm a Variax newbie. Your post is really helpful. I have a buddy with an older Variax and he told me the same about upgrading the firmware. The newer stuff tracks better. I haven't done it yet because mine is only a couple of years old and I love it the way it is, but as I get more confident I will play with the setting some more. Enjoy one of the greatest guitars ever 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitartart Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 I had a 700 before I got the JTV 69. I got closest to a nylon sound by starting with the parlour acoustic model for the smaller body size then playing around with the tone control. A little bit of reverb with the tone rolled off also helps. Sorry, I can't remember the details but half the fun of the Variax is experimenting and seeing what happens. Myk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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