DavidWS 1 Posted July 23, 2020 On 5/6/2020 at 4:29 PM, cruisinon2 said: If you're really intent on getting a Variax, used ones are not hard to find... they're all over eBay. Eventually a suitable Variax at a reasonable price appeared on UK eBay, & it's now plugged into my Helix. Not the JTV-59 I'd originally intended, but having had a quick tour I'm very happy with my Variax Standard & look forward to further explorations. :) As for new ones, still no sign of them so far as I can see, but that has become irrelevant... 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sifpandor 0 Posted November 10, 2020 On 10/23/2019 at 9:55 AM, cruisinon2 said: That is most likely macassar ebony. It has streaks of brown in it, and at a glance the grain is similar to rosewood. The jet-black, really tight grain ebony...whatever the species is...is becoming increasingly rare and harder to get. https://www.wood-database.com/macassar-ebony/ Yep, it's macassar ebony. I have an Ovation Adamas 12 string with an ebony fingerboard and I wanted a JTV-59 for a while, but not with a rosewood fingerboard. When I found out they now have ebony I ordered one. When it came in I was a little disappointed in the fingerboard. It is definitely darker than rosewood, but has considerably more visible and deep grain than my other ebony. It's better than a full on rosewood, but not as silky as a full on ebony. :-( Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psarkissian 373 Posted November 10, 2020 sifpandor,... the date code on the 59 you have is definitely an macassar ebony fret board. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ir0nspyder 0 Posted January 19 It wouldn't surprise me to see Variax is being discontinued. The Pod Go doesn't have a variax port anymore... I understand they wanted to make a cost reduced version of their floor processor, but to drop the support for one of their own products is very telling. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phil_m 4,655 Posted January 20 5 hours ago, ir0nspyder said: It wouldn't surprise me to see Variax is being discontinued. The Pod Go doesn't have a variax port anymore... I understand they wanted to make a cost reduced version of their floor processor, but to drop the support for one of their own products is very telling. Variax isn't being discontinued, and Line 6 isn't abandoning the concept. The main reason (well, the only reason, really) the POD Go doesn't have a VDI port is that adding that port would have added another $50 to the price, and they were concerned about increasing the overall cost with a port that the vast majority of buyers won't use. I'm sure they would like it if every POD owner bought a Variax, but the fact is that only a relatively small percentage of them do. And those that do tend to be more "power users" to begin with, so they would be more likely to go with something like the Helix LT or Floor anyway. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rpelliccia 0 Posted April 28 Any idea if new models of Variax will be forthcoming? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cruisinon2 2,781 Posted April 29 16 hours ago, rpelliccia said: Any idea if new models of Variax will be forthcoming? They never announce anything until the product release is imminent... that's how they roll. The only thing that you can be relatively certain of, is that the current iterations are no longer being developed, as there hasn't been a firmware update of any significance in 6 or 7 years. But whether or not there will be another generation of Variax guitars, or when they might appear, is anybody's guess. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psarkissian 373 Posted April 29 There was an update or two, to accommodate the Shuriken guitars about three years ago. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rpelliccia 0 Posted April 29 Thank you. I am really hoping they continue... i don't own a variax... I'm very interested in one... but I'm afraid that as soon as i buy one (or fairly soon afterward) they will come out with a new version. so, I'm a little up in the air about what to do. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scotterp 42 Posted April 29 Would love to see Line 6/Yamaha buy out these guys and put both technologies into a new Variax option :) :) https://jamstik.com/collections/all/products/studio-midi-guitar Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PierM 374 Posted April 30 11 hours ago, scotterp said: Would love to see Line 6/Yamaha buy out these guys and put both technologies into a new Variax option :) :) https://jamstik.com/collections/all/products/studio-midi-guitar Just drop a FTP there and never look back. :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidWS 1 Posted April 30 15 hours ago, rpelliccia said: I'm a little up in the air about what to do The best time to buy the best technology always seems to be tomorrow, but if you wait till tomorrow you'll never have an instrument to play. :( Even if a new model was announced today, how long would it be till you could have one in your hands? Months at least? Maybe longer? If it used the existing technology, would it be any better? If it used new technology, do you really want to be among the first users? I'm happy with my choice to get a Variax standard. It's sat here on it its rack & I can pick it up & play it any time. :) YMMV as they say... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cruisinon2 2,781 Posted April 30 21 hours ago, psarkissian said: There was an update or two, to accommodate the Shuriken guitars about three years ago. Must we do this dance every time this discussion comes up? There has been nothing NEW added to the modeling for years on end... the Shuriken is a different physical package, with a few other alt tunings included as "standard issue" compared to the others... the modeling is otherwise identical. Updates that included nothing but bug fixes and/or to fix how things get displayed in Workbench are fine and dandy, but they don't represent "development" of a product. That part of the current Variax lineup's life cycle is clearly over (or at the very least, is on extended hiatus) and has been for some time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cruisinon2 2,781 Posted April 30 18 hours ago, rpelliccia said: Thank you. I am really hoping they continue... i don't own a variax... I'm very interested in one... but I'm afraid that as soon as i buy one (or fairly soon afterward) they will come out with a new version. so, I'm a little up in the air about what to do. Variax is a niche product, and you'll either love it or hate it. Either way, I doubt that a new generation is imminent... with the tiny market share of all the world's guitars, I don't think it's at the top of their list of things to do. And unless there's been some behind the scenes seismic shift in the technology that they're working on, I would bet that the next iteration, whatever it turns out to be, will probably be an incremental improvement over what we've already got. I could be wrong, and time will tell... but if you want one, just buy it. Otherwise you might be in for an extended wait. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psarkissian 373 Posted April 30 cruision2,... Yes and no,... a Flash update is a Flash update. Looking for something more foundational or what may be seen as significant,... maybe, maybe not. Besides, you're a good dancer. :) Keep up the good work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cruisinon2 2,781 Posted May 1 23 hours ago, psarkissian said: Yes and no,... a Flash update is a Flash update. Oh please... really? And a three minute sun shower and a typhoon are both "rain", but only one is worth talking about. These semantic arguments really don't help your cause... but never mind, you win. Don't know how I could have been so terribly misguided. Variax "updates" continue to abound. I'm sure the next one is just minutes away. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scotterp 42 Posted May 3 On 4/30/2021 at 3:44 AM, PierM said: Just drop a FTP there and never look back. :) I have tried the Triple play - which sounded great - but didn't want to have to have a computer on stage for live play at the time. Just looking for an all-in-one solution... making it even more of a niche product :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidWS 1 Posted May 4 16 hours ago, scotterp said: didn't want to have to have a computer on stage for live play at the time Would you consider the MOD Duo (or newer MOD Duo X) a computer in this context? It's talked about as a host for the FTP here. A Variax, FTP, MOD Duo & maybe a Helix in there too for a direct Variax signal would offer a stunning variety of possibilities! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scotterp 42 Posted May 4 8 hours ago, DavidWS said: Would you consider the MOD Duo (or newer MOD Duo X) a computer in this context? It's talked about as a host for the FTP here. A Variax, FTP, MOD Duo & maybe a Helix in there too for a direct Variax signal would offer a stunning variety of possibilities! Haven't looked at one of these yet. Currently. I go Variax to Helix, out the USB to an iPad where I run Midi Guitar 2 and use a couple synths on the iPad to get sounds back in through the Helix. It works, but can be sketchy at times where MG2 doesn't want to connect to the Helix. It also requires my fingering/picking to be very accurate which it isn't! It certainly generates questions at gigs on how the heck I'm getting synth sounds out of my setup. I have also used a EHX Synth9 and a Boss SY-300 and found that my current setup offers the best flexibility in terms of variety of synth sounds on the fly. But I'm always looking into new technology to see how far I can take it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riskymd 0 Posted May 26 Nobody is talking about the Variax workstation and how, even if you get a variax, you can’t use their workstation on Windows 10. I have not been able to get compatibility mode to ever work on any other computer. I think the lack of time they put into their software station necessary to program the variax, should tell us all we need to know about a future Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psarkissian 373 Posted May 26 Workstation, or Workbench HD??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riskymd 0 Posted May 26 17 minutes ago, psarkissian said: Workstation, or Workbench HD??? I meant workBENCH, my bad. What is HD? Under software downloads there is no option for a Win10 version Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psarkissian 373 Posted May 26 That version is for early Variax. Won't work with JTV, Standard or Shuriken, which uses "Workbench HD". Check the pull down menu selection, it's there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cruisinon2 2,781 Posted May 27 20 hours ago, riskymd said: Nobody is talking about the Variax workstation and how, even if you get a variax, you can’t use their workstation on Windows 10. I have not been able to get compatibility mode to ever work on any other computer. I think the lack of time they put into their software station necessary to program the variax, should tell us all we need to know about a future Why this quote is being attributed to me, I have no idea...I never said that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
psarkissian 373 Posted May 27 " Why this quote is being attributed to me, I have no idea...I never said that. " --- That is strange. I know you know better and are sharper than that. Thought it was a typo, I even went looking for it and didn't find it. How odd. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
