Variax Acoustic?

[ColonelForbin]

My apologies if this thought has landed in the wrong forum; please adjust location if needed! :)

 

I just stumbled across this interesting new 2017 acoustic guitar from Yamaha (A3M); they've got an acoustic guitar with onboard digital preamp system that emulates room and microphone models. Close and wide toggle for the mic placement, and a blend dial for piezo and mic modeling balance. Intriguing! Makes me wonder about the possibility of a Yamaha-Line6 acoustic Variax project?

 

http://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical-instruments/guitars-basses/el-ac-guitars/a-series/a3m/

 

https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Yamaha_A_Series_A3M_Acoustic_Guitar_Review

 

http://www.strumviews.com/Yamaha-A-series-acoustic-electric-guitar-review-SRT-Studio-Response-Technology

 

"The S.R.T System 63 Modeling Pickup System is impressive, too. It features models of three killer microphones—a Neumann U67, a Neumann KM56, and a Royer R-122—with two mic-placement options for each (selected with the Focus/ Wide button), a 3-band EQ, a Blend knob, a Resonance knob, a built-in tuner, and a feedback-control system. Easy to use and navigate, it offers rich, deep, natural tone, offers a really cool way to mix up your amplified tones. The Focus (close-mic) option models the sound of a microphone situated a few inches from the guitar. The Wide option emulates the sound of two mics—one close and another a few feet away. The models are accessed via a 3-position slider. You can EQ the tone to taste as well, but I loved the sound so much flat that I rarely did. Each model is truly unique, and you can really hear a difference between Focus and Wide, too, so you have a lot of jumping-off points for achieving a mood or playing to the acoustic qualities of a performance space."

 

1. The Neumann U67 - great for wide EQ and any playing style, giving the player a large diaphragm condenser studio mic sound
2. The Neumann KM56 - great for crisp, high end where detailed playing must stand out- including crisp lead guitar, scales, finger style picking, and flat-picking where clarity and distinction are needed.
3. The Royer R-122 - a ribbon style microphone is great for rounding out and smoothing the tones for Jazz and Blues playing - this microphone model gives a warmer, wider and smooth tone response for the more mellow acoustic sweetness

 

 

[vmoncebaiz]

I recently picked up one of Yamaha's SLG200N Silent Guitars.  I love it, and being able to use the Mic vs blnk piezo signal is an awesome feature I think future Variax models should incorporate.  Even cooler is that Yamaha's piezo pickups work on each individual string (at least for the Slient guitar).  I have been trying to become the squeaky wheel in getting a Variax Acoustic, and I think a crossover with the Silent Guitar would be perfect: no feedback issues, quiet acoutic sound wouldn't interfere with alternate tunings, and the ability to blend the miced sound with the unprocessed piezo allows for use with differnt, amps, IRs, or processors.