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Variax transplant donor bodies...


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As I've been enjoying the whole process of playing and learning about my Variax Acoustic 700, (special thanks to those here who are helping me do that) I've read about people who are putting the guts of their Variax's into electric guitars. The idea makes me cringe, but it did make me wonder where the hollowed out husks of these donor guitars go to.

 

As much as I like the balance and feel of the acoustic 700, I think it might be fun to do the opposite and take a guitar that has been gutted out and transplant the heart of an an electric into it. I've got a box of pickups left over from old repairs and upgrades, including a sweet PAF that might sound pretty good in one of these. 

 

Does anyone here have a body hidden away somewhere?

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Body will have an affect on the overall tone colour (EQ) of the signal. How much,

I'm not certain with this body. My educated guess,...  darker tone maybe a smidge boomy,

a bit mid-range -ish, looking like maple body so the highs won't be as pinched off as with

some other woods.

 

Would still be functional, if the transplant is done correctly without mods to the electronics.

 

 

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Hopefully the title of this thread will catch the eye of someone who has one. With the right pickup and EQ, it might turn into something fun to play. Even going back to the day when I bought one new, I've love the feel and look of this guitar.

 

I saw a post from someone else who dropped in a pickup so he could switch from the modeling to an electric sound. Even though I'd never dream of doing that with the one I have now, I should track him down and see how that worked out. Maybe see if he can post a video of it in action.

 

Speaking of video, is there any of you working yours? It would be cool to hear and see what you've been able to do with your Variax.

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...heres an older video of me playing mine. It starts with a setting that has a double-string "12 string" tuning on the E and A strings, with the double set an octave lower. Near the end of the song I play a slide lead on the Variax, changing the tuning to (I think) Am. There's some looping of the Variax also, with sax.

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12 hours ago, soundog said:

...heres an older video of me playing mine. It starts with a setting that has a double-string "12 string" tuning on the E and A strings, with the double set an octave lower. Near the end of the song I play a slide lead on the Variax, changing the tuning to (I think) Am. There's some looping of the Variax also, with sax.

OMGosh! You're awesome. I was blown away with the whole performance. I'll have to check out your other videos. Man that was inspiring. The tone you got out of the Variax, and the difference it made having the drop octave on the bass string,  and switching to slide, bravo. Super cool song, too. I'm on my third listen. :) bravo

 

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Glad you liked it, thanks very much. I have some unfinished rough mixes on my website, including that song here. I didn't use the Variax acoustic for any home studio recordings (only use it for live stuff), but I did use a Variax Standard for slide stuff in special tunings here and there.

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I'm digging the stuff you have online. The covers are great, and the story behind Night Train makes the whole thing even cooler.  The Variax is a tool that you really know how to use very effectively.   The James Taylor clips with the Variax are discouraging as he never really dials the guitar in. Without giving up your secrets, I'd love to know what you are playing through to get that great sound. I'm pretty happy with mine as it is running through my pedal board into a PA, but it would be great to know how you have achieved your sound.

 

While nothing I've played yet beats the tone of my Martin/LR Baggs combination, I picked up the Variax  to do what what you are doing with it in a church setting. I lead the music at a small church and have gradually been working pedals, ambient pads, shimmers and even the Trio+ Band creator into the services. I've been doing it for 12 years, and the first 10 was with a church with a full band, but now it's just me at this new church, so I'm always on the lookout for whatever I can do to make it as good as it can be. As a solo player I thought the Variax would help me color the songs differently, and keep things more interesting. Your video opened up some possibilities for me to do even more, and convinced me to get the USB interphase to put the octave drop base into some songs. Thanks! 

 

In other news, a broken Variax 300 just turned up on eBay, so I might get a chance to use it for my Stephen King guitar idea. :) 

Edited by Bob2point0
clarity
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The sound in those live recording videos were recorded direct from a Behringer XR18 digital mixer while performing. I've been happy with the XR18 for live performance mixing and recording. Its challenging to learn the ins and outs and routing, but has a deep and flexible feature set. The XR18 is overkill for the number of channels (18) that I need (just 5 in the video), but you can record all channels into independent DAW tracks. For the recording you heard, I recorded all of the tracks raw (pre EQ) from the XR18 into Logic Pro X (most any DAW will work). Afterwards, I tweaked and mixed the tracks using the usual EQ and compression and limiting in Logic. Its a pretty simple matter to sync up the video and polished audio (as long as you have video editing software that can do that sort of thing). 

 

There are cheaper digital mixing interfaces with fewer tracks that will also let you record your performances via USB, but it seems like most of those are 2-track stereo only (including the cheaper XR12 and XR16) . That may be good enough for your needs, but if you want control of more sound sources you should find something that will let you record all tracks independently via USB. Its amazing how good this sort of technology is getting for affordable prices.

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Thanks for all of that info. You are so right about how the tech is getting so good and so affordable. The Trio+ Band Creator, for example, is amazing in how it "learns" as you play, and it writes a drum and bass part that sounds organic. You can change the style, tempo, intensity, even the complexity of the parts it plays, going from keeping time and playing root notes, to doing pretty sophisticated rhythm and bass runs. There are parts about it that are a little unrefined but I can only imagine what I'd have done with that kind of gear back in the day. I have a blast playing with it.

 

I'm way behind you in this journey, so I may ask some advice now and then. There doesn't seem to be a lot of activity on this part of the forum, so I'm especially glad to get in touch with someone who is on your level.  

 

Thanks again for all of your help.

 

In other news, my USB is on the way.

 

 

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Kinda along these lines of discussion, Taylor T5-T3 models could make for some interesting Variax mutations?  

It’s kinda shame Taylor and Line 6 never partnered while Taylor was exploring solid body electrics?  Both Southern CA companies pushing newer tech rooted in classic fit, feel, tone and support.  Seems like a perfect match for US Variax manufacturing.  Oh well, far beyond my pay grade…

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As great as the VaxAC700 really is in the right setting, and the Taylor T5, it's probably only a matter of time until someone tries again to push the boundaries in this arena. Maybe Line6 is working on a worthy successor... if so, I'll be there when they debut with my pick in my hand ready to take it on a test drive. 

 

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