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Variax standard with Plug-in & Audio Interface


GodSlaYeRz
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I'm just planning to sell my Gibson Les paul tribute 2017 & Spider V 60, to get new Variax standard or Onyx If I can.

Would it be a good idea to plug in Variax standard and play with Audio Interface & Plug-in.

For example, Audient iD4 & Bias FX

Any thoughts?

 

I just need only 1 guitar that can get all possible sounds from strat, tele, les paul, and so on.

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1 hour ago, GodSlaYeRz said:

I'm just planning to sell my Gibson Les paul tribute 2017 & Spider V 60, to get new Variax standard or Onyx If I can.

Would it be a good idea to plug in Variax standard and play with Audio Interface & Plug-in.

For example, Audient iD4 & Bias FX

Any thoughts?

 

I just need only 1 guitar that can get all possible sounds from strat, tele, les paul, and so on.

 

I wouldn't go selling off other guitars until you find out if you actually like the Variax... as much as I like mine, not everybody gets along with them, no matter how enticing the concept of a couple dozen guitars in one looks on paper. 

 

If you can't try one out before you buy, order from someplace like Sweetwater that has a 30 day, no questions asked return policy... spend some time with it before you unload other gear... especially if it's a guitar you like. Variax is not everybody's cup of tea... 

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31 minutes ago, cruisinon2 said:

 

I wouldn't go selling off other guitars until you find out if you actually like the Variax... as much as I like mine, not everybody gets along with them, no matter how enticing the concept of a couple dozen guitars in one looks on paper. 

 

If you can't try one out before you buy, order from someplace like Sweetwater that has a 30 day, no questions asked return policy... spend some time with it and see if you like it before you unload other gear... especially if it's a guitar you like. Variax is not everybody's cup of tea... 

 

Thanks cruisinon. I have checked many reviews on youtube. I thought I love it. 

1. To have only 1 versatile guitar.

2. To go back to Strat

3. Only play at my home, no live or play with band

4. I love to record with DAW & Plug in

 

Is there any other concerns that I should consider?

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37 minutes ago, GodSlaYeRz said:

 

Thanks cruisinon. I have checked many reviews on youtube. I thought I love it. 

1. To have only 1 versatile guitar.

2. To go back to Strat

3. Only play at my home, no live or play with band

4. I love to record with DAW & Plug in

 

Is there any other concerns that I should consider?

 

They're just a little different...especially with the acoustic models. You might find it requires playing with a lighter touch than you're used to. Piezo outputs also tend to vary, affecting individual string volumes. This is easy to compensate for with the edit software, but usually requires a bit of work to get everything balanced, and it tends to affect different models to a greater or lesser degree. Set-up is also critical... intonation and the height of the mag pickups can affect the alt tuning algorithms. Piezo pickups are also very sensitive, and tend to pick up sympathetic vibrations and fret buzz more than mag pickups do. What would be an acceptable amount of fret rattle, inaudible through the amp with mag pickups, can easily make the models sound like garbage. 

 

Again, I like mine...I find it extremely versatile, especially live. To  be able to go from acoustic to electric with the click of a footswitch, or change tunings without having to grab another guitar is fantastic.  But I wouldn't give up all my other guitars for it... or even one for that matter.  It's good, but it's not that good. 

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I would keep a traditional guitar as a reference. It took me quite a while to fine tune the Variax until it started sounding just as "another guitar" when comparing it with my other electrics.

At the beginning, playing the Variax for a while and then moving to a traditional guitar meant a big "holy cow" moment. The traditional guitar sounded and felt waaaay better.

Now I managed to fine tune the piezo output and find a good combination of modeled body, pickups and electronics and it sounds like a good guitar.

Still, I wouldn't record finished songs with it yet. There is still something in the sound that bugs me. It's still the guitar I play the most so it's not that bad :)

 

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3 hours ago, GodSlaYeRz said:

Thanks for all replies. I will try it at a store first.

But I thought I would better go with HSS / SSH strat for versatile guitar. :(

Again, thank you so much.

 

Get the JTV69 instead of the Standard... solves that problem. 

 

And far be it from me to discourage you from trying one out first, but many of the typical issues that arise in the Variax world require the edit software to address, and you won't be able to do that down at your local Megalomusic. My initial impression with mine was "I just wasted $1K". If all I had was a few minutes of noodling in a music store, I would never have purchased the thing...and I would have missed out on a versatile instrument that I've come to like very much. Most of us had to spend a fair amount of time getting used to these guitars... just the nature of the beast.

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