Variax with POD HD PRO X - models, mags, & tube amp

[glenn_szymanski]

So, I play guitar in an all original band. We sound like what would have happened had Black Sabbath kept Ozzy and kept getting more into a progressive rock sound with more keyboards.

 

My main guitar is a 1985 Gibson Les Paul Silverburst that I have tuned down to C# for that Sabbath sound. I also have a 1996 Mexican Strat that I use for Standard tuning. My amp is a Marshall JMP-1 going into a Peavey Classic 120/120 power amp into two 4x12 cabs.

 

I bought a Variax Standard so that I could do acoustic, 5 string banjo, and sitar sounds live. I had debated getting a Roland VG-99, but I liked the sounds of the Variax better. I had trouble MIDI footswitching my amp and hitting the model knob on the Variax at the same time mid-song to access these sounds, so I bought a POD XT live to switch the sounds. Turns out that the Standard was "too new" to interface with this unit. So I bought the POD HD PRO X and I've been able to use my MIDI foot controller and the VDI cable to get the Variax to change sounds. I'm also able to use the POD for effects with my regular guitars.

 

Here is the problem... I always want to use the magnetic pick ups on the Variax Standard going into my regular amp set up (Marshall/Peavey) and have the modeled sounds go from the POD HD PRO X to the Peavey power amp. I currently plug my regular guitars into the "in" of the Marshall JMP-1, the outs go to the stereo "ins" of the POD and then the "outs" of the POD go to the "ins" of the Peavey power amp. On the POD HD PRO X, I have the inputs set to "Guitar/input L/Variax" and "Guitar/input R/Variax". I was planning on using a 1/4" cable and the VDI cable at the same time to do this, but I just read in another thread that this can damage the Variax?

 

Any ideas?

 

Is there any way to route the signal from Variax Standard through VDI into POD HD PRO X back into the Marshall JMP-1 without undoing a bunch of cables and changing the input menu on the POD? There are only 2 songs in our set list where I'd be using the Variax Standard. The rest are all with the Les Paul and Strat. I'm just really trying to avoid using amp models in the POD when I have the perfect tone that I love with the Marshall/Peavey combo. Not to mention the weight that I'm carrying in the rack.