EarthSuburb Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 After 2 decades of Variax, and one decade of James Tyler and Standard Variax around the same motherboard, I hope that Line 6 soon comes with a brand new Variax motherboard and new guitar "platforms". This guitar modelling technology has endless possibilities within its "concept", and together with a "sustainer" it could easily become an instrument to play about ANY INSTRUMENT SOUND one could imagine (cello, organ, ... you name it). If you added a software like the "Antares Guitar Auto-Tune" to the package, Line 6 would have a series of instruments DECADES ahead of the rest of the industry. Imagine coupling such a new design to an extended version of the Helix, and any type of musical instrument could come out of your rig at the flip of a switch or the push of a button on the peadalboard, with the "feeling" and the "touch" that no other platform can produce ... other platforms like keyboards in most cases, which always sound somewhat "sterile", compared to guitars with all their vibrato and pick or finger technique possibilities. I played some synth guitars, but none of them really sounded good ... a new Variax motherboard could forever change the game and bring these synth or modelled sounds to life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 Submit this to Idea Scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarthSuburb Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 But Mr psarkissian, it isn't really a Helix subject, it is a Variax subject at its very core. The Variax must evolve, with the latest standards of electronic developments : faster modern processors and memory modules, better and more reliable modern electronic components, just like any computer on the market. The Helix is the "other side" that generally deals with effects, amp tones, and various external equipment control (switching, parameter control, etc). The core of the sounds of the instrument resides within the motherboard of the Variax guitar. How many times have I heard "It would be nice to have a Nylon String guitar in the Variax!" ... well, it is time to offer that, and way way beyond that. Line 6 could offer series of "Banks of Variax RAW Sounds" to purchase and download and organize into the New Version of a Variax Guitar ... I mean, the commercial possibilities are absolutely ENDLESS, for as long as Line 6 keeps a strict program in terms of "Downward Compatibility", which is pretty easy to achieve when you program taking "higher standards" in count (like programming the core of the software to be able to manage sample rates way beyond the ones delivered in the first versions of the product, for instance ... and this doesn't cost a dime more than programming with "restricted standards", but it allows you to reuse the same software for applications of a better rendering quality, and right from the front). Another thing, about the general architecture of the New Variax Guitar, it should be designed just like a computer : you have a motherboard, with its attached components, and peripherals (mainly the control buttons and the piezo system, and maybe a sustainer like I said in the previous message), and it all should be easily diagnosed just like a computer with its attached devices and drivers. Then, whenever anything wrong happens, a customer goes to the "Line 6 diagnostic page", runs the diagnostic, and as a result gets the parts to purchase with their installation procedure and the drivers to install in order to get them running properly ... and job done (Oh ! You have a problem with a memory module. Here is the page to purchase that memory, and the instructions to install it on your guitar. CIAO !). Anyway, thank you for your answer Mr psarkissian. Best regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 Idea Scale is used for submitting ideas for features and such. It's how and why some of our latest products were created,... including the Helix. All sorts of things are considered and looked at and discussed here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarthSuburb Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 OK then. I'll reformulate and repost there. Thanks for the friendly advice. Best regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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