Variax global vs per preset

[njglover]

What is the difference? I cannot find this explained anywhere in the manual and would like to know what each actually does.

[rvroberts]

I'm not sure what you are asking............

Globals have their effect globally - that means they affect every patch - so if you adjust global EQ, it is applied to every preset.

There are also different parameters in globals  - so some things can only be adjusted globally.

The Manual does give you a good list.

Is that what you want to know?

[njglover]

No, I am looking specifically at the Variax input block. The Variax settings can be applied as global or per preset.

[marrstians]

With global it will use the setting you saved for the Variax for every preset. With the other option, you can have the preset recall the Variax setting. This way you don't have to remember which model you used with a preset, it will change the Variax to the model selected during the last save. So preset one your Tele, preset two your lp, etc

[njglover]

That makes sense. I think I'm slowly figuring it out. Really digging the options. I wish there was a way to turn the Variax back off automatically, though. I use the magnetic pickups most of the time (they are really quite good).

[davidb7170]

I use the mags probably 90% of this time. I set my preset to per preset, then if I want the mags with the preset, I set it and save it with my JTV in mag mode (model knob light off) , and it recalls the preset with the mags on. For presets with the models on, I save the preset with the guitar model light lit, and it recalls the preset with the model I saved it with. When I want a mag & model is the same preset, I have to set up 2 paths with Variax model input on one and Variax mags on the other, and use the snapshots to switch between the 2 paths and mute the one I don't want. I have a few presets with acoustic models and mag electric so I can play rhythm on acoustic and a lead on electric. Pretty handy...

 

Dave

[njglover]

It seems like the key is to have the input block set to Variax (or Variax magnetics, I suppose) for every preset instead of multi, that way I can specify which preset does which. I'll have to experiment with the options as you described. I wonder if I could set one model to just be magnetics, then I could switch to it that way, too... So many possibilities!

[jaminjimlp]

I set up using different paths as well but you can also change when you're set up for per preset the variax model can be changed per snapshot, each snapshot can be a different Guitar model IE you can have a tele with a Fender amp or a Les Paul with a marshall on the same patch or even when you hit your lead boost snapshot you can change the guitar there as well. I really like it. You just have to activate that parameter to be changed with snapshots like any other parameter

[amsdenj]

Whether you use global or preset depends on how you approach and use your Variax. If you think of the models as essentially capturing a guitar that you would use on any patch, they you'd use global. That is, you treat the different models as if they represented a more or less fixed guitar that you select, and then use for multiple patches, just changing the pickups, volume and tone like you would any other guitar. This is convenient because when you change patches, you know what guitar you're going to get and it doesn't change with the patch.

 

If on the other hand, you treat your Variax as just another parameter you have available to get tones for a specific song, then you'd maybe want to use preset mode so that the tone of the amp and guitar are set by the preset

 

I do something that's somewhat halfway between. I tend to use one Helix patch the whole gig. This patch has the effects I generally use and I have 10 footswitches to change the effects. Three are used just for gain staging with different levels of distortion. These are complicated patches because the gain stage buttons control multiple parameters in multiple blocks in order to re-voice the different distortion levels. 

 

Then I use snapshots within that patch to do typical Variax changes, in particular open tunings and the guitar models I want to use on them. Snapshot 1 is always magnetics only. Other snapshots might use different variax models and tunings as needed for different songs.

 

I like this approach because I can setup the amp for my own tone - I don't try to copy the tone of the original recording, I just try to get close to the spirit while applying  my own interpretation. Then different snapshots shift the guitar for very different tones and open tunings in the same patch. I simple, makes for an easy, reliable work flow, and isn't impacted by changes in the song list.

[njglover]

I think I'm finally getting the hang of it, and I'm really loving the Variax. I still have to mess with it a bit - right now, I set one of the models to just be the magnetics (by the way, not as straightforward as you might think - I ended up dropping output for it 6 dB and rolling the tone knob to 7.2 to get it to sound right), so I can use a controller to switch between, say, a Les Paul neck pickup and then back to the magnetics (which are set to bridge in this case). It works, but it might be better to do this by switching between two paths, one that is magnetics through a dirty sound and the other that is modeling through a clean sound. I suppose it'll depend on the patch and what I want to do, but switching between pickups is the main reason I would want to do that sort of switching. For patches where I only want to use the magnetics, I suppose it will make more sense to set the input block to magnetics instead of regular Variax. Very excited about all the possibilities...