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NGD: Variax Standard - Tobacco Sunburst


jameskapherr
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Just got my Variax Standard - currently sat at work counting down the hours until I get home. Got a VDI cable coming on Thursday... battery is charged up. Not sure if I have a long enough ethernet cable to hook it up to my Helix LT for the interim.

 

Do I need to upgrade the software on the Variax as the first thing I do?

 

 

post-2512084-0-15359800-1513090652_thumb.jpg

 

post-2512084-0-29228800-1513090741_thumb.jpg

 

post-2512084-0-91812300-1513090757_thumb.jpg

 

I bought this guitar as I have had an itch for a while to own a Strat / Tele... and these demos sound very good from what i've heard.

 

My setup is in my signature :)

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Standards have the latest firmware.

 

The Canon to RJ45 cable that came with it is for connecting the guitar to the computer interface device,

and is not meant for playing thru. Best to get a proper VDI cable for playing thru.

 

It's official color is just "Sunburst",... but you can call it "Tobacco Sunburst" if you want. Though it can be

confusing as someone might think you have a JTV-59.

 

Enjoy. Rock on!

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Standards have the latest firmware.

 

The Canon to RJ45 cable that came with it is for connecting the guitar to the computer interface device,

and is not meant for playing thru. Best to get a proper VDI cable for playing thru.

 

It's official color is just "Sunburst",... but you can call it "Tobacco Sunburst" if you want. Though it can be

confusing as someone might think you have a JTV-59.

 

Enjoy. Rock on!

 

Thanks for the clarification :) I think I called it Tobacco Sunburst as the site I bought it from called it that... doh!

 

I have a VDI cable coming in a couple of days - they seem to be hard to get over here in the UK - they were back ordered everywhere :/ 

 

Anyway - battery charged up, 1/4 jack connected (not ethernet) - playing about with it and my Helix LT and I am mixed opinion... 

 

I am not sure what is happening... but quite a lot of the sounds are sounding "warbly" - almost like they have some kinda modulation going on, like a phase shift. In particular, if you set the tuning to say Drop D or Eb - playing a chord sounds fine... the low EAD are fine - GBE have this kinda digital warbling sound - hard to explain.

This happens either through the Helix LT or direct into an amp.

 

Not sure if I am doing something wrong here. 

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H'ok that makes sense... Thinking it is like a normal guitar, I adjusted the pickup heights... I tend to have them nearer the body.

I'll adjust them back up.

I also adjusted the action to make the strings lowered. Will check intonation tomorrow :)

 

Thanks :)

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I've set the intonation and reset the pickup heights but still there is this weird digital warble sound on those 3 strings.

 

Does it on all 3 pickups. The bridge pickup I never even adjusted from stock.

 

It is there when using 1/4" jack straight to amp and also the VDI output into a Helix.

 

Only the GBE strings... More evident if I select a different tuning.

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So, I received my replacement Variax today and same issue. However, this one is much better quality than the 1st - fretboard doesn't feel dry - frets are not as 'scratchy' ie will need a light polish to get them smooth. However, pickup heights were WAY off - bridge pickup was almost touching the strings! It made the audio sound terrible until lowered.

 

Anyway - this is the warble - 

https://soundcloud.com/james-kapherr/variax-warble

 

Someone mentioned on Facebook that it sounds like the pitch shift used for alt tunings is not muting the original tone hence it sounding like it is playing the correct pitch and the alternate pitch at the same time, hence the warble.

 

Standard tuning is perfect.

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Well, it is ME who is the stupid one. 

OK - when I play it through AMP or Monitors I can hear the warble, Weird.

Just did another recording in Reaper - inputs 1+2 (wet) and 8 (dry).
Both do NOT have the warble at all. 

Maybe it is my old age...

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Turn up your amp louder to cover the acoustic sound with the sound coming from the speaker.

 

In the recording we are listening to both the strings from the guitar and the sound from the amplifier at the same volume... and they are half step apart!

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Well, it is ME who is the stupid one.

 

OK - when I play it through AMP or Monitors I can hear the warble, Weird.

 

Just did another recording in Reaper - inputs 1+2 (wet) and 8 (dry).

Both do NOT have the warble at all.

 

Maybe it is my old age...

Actually it's not weird at all. What's happening is really very simple, though not necessarily "obvious" at the outset. You are hearing the guitar acoustically, in addition to what's coming from your monitors. This creates dissonance because you're hearing the unaltered acoustic sound of the guitar on top of the alerted notes coming through the monitors. It's a whole lot easier to hear the guitar acoustically than most people realize, and this had fooled more than a few new Variax owners, myself included. Truth is, at lower volumes we always hear the guitar's inherent acoustic sound while playing...it's inches from your head. However, this is easily ignored with a regular guitar, as the pitch the guitar is actually producing is the same as what's coming through the speakers. But once there are two distinct pitches being produced by two different sources right in front of you, you're gonna hear that dissonance unless you crank up loud enough so that you cannot hear the guitar itself anymore... it's the only "fix".

 

You've already proven all this by listening to the playback...if the guitar were actually sending both pitches to your DAW, you'd hear it in the playback.

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That soundcloud,...

You recorded thru a mic?

It sounded more like what's called "dual tone effect". Hearing what's coming off the string in standard tune and

hearing the alt tune, simultaneously.

 

Can you do a direct in recording? And monitor with headphones?

See if the dual tone is still there.

 

One way around dual tone effect is to turn the amp up so the alt tune is louder than the sound of the string.

 

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