jsr1983 Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 Hello everyone. I've tried to read any past threads and couldn't find much on the subject. So I've been playing for almost 2 years. I really want to get my kids into this. I'm having a blast but they're young and i think it would be awesome to have us all involved in this. I'm looking at the helix (deciding between floor and lt), but what about the variax guitars? I can buy a bunch of cheap guitars but how good are these? Opinions and pist off comments are appreciated, thanks everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmniFace Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 Since this is about the Variax, I'd probably post it over to https://line6.com/support/forum/37-variax-instruments/ I haven't tried Variax in like 10 years, but my experience then was that they were quite good except palm muting always sounded a bit weird. I also didn't really like the guitars themselves and wish they made an installation pack. Warmoth came out with Variax routing for a while but you still had to buy a Variax and strip the important stuff out to move it. The newer models are a lot nicer though. The Helix is great. I have the Floor. LT seems to do most everything the Floor does, but has fewer connections. If you're not going crazy with routing, you probably don't need the Floor... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunedinDragon Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 The first thing that pops into my head is are your kids ready for this? We see a ton of people that come in here that have a hard time adapting and understanding the technical nature of what a modeler does and how you use one. With only 2 years of experience yourself, I wonder how much guidance you'll be able to give them in how to effectively use the modeling environment which can sometimes be daunting for many people that have been playing for years. Quite frankly I'd suggest you dive into it yourself and get plenty of experience and then see if they truly are interested in learning what can be a pretty daunting technical environment. It takes some patience to get comfortable with everything, and kids aren't often very patient animals. The mostly want it NOW!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 If you’re considering buying ‘a bunch of cheap guitars’ I would definitely buy a Variax instead. The more recent models, from JTV onward in my opinion, are very nice to play with a good build quality. And features like alternate tuning and Helix integration combined with the variety of models make the Variax a very fun and flexible instrument. And then, of course, there’s Workbench HD for even more fun and flexibility! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waymda Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 Hi My personal experience with my kids is that the simpler the better initially, with them ramping up the complexity as their understanding and desire 'for more' builds. Its very easy to forget where your knowledge vs theirs lies, and even 2 years of playing is way beyond none. For me I had 20+ years playing before having kids old enough to be involved and the gap was substantial. Through that time I'd started on acoustic, moved to electric with effects and amps, and then eventually modelling. I introduced one of my kids to a simple modeler/multi effects and it blew their mind. My suggestion is build slow, and invest in 'reasonable' simple gear so they're not feeling its all too hard. The ideal is probably buying stuff you may also use and that they will benefit from. There is certainly a point where what you are paying for is more and more esoteric and nuanced to the point your skill level needs to match to know the difference - musical gear is no different to any other product where what people are prepared to pay varies with knowledge + marketing. On the point of variaxes - they're very nice guitars when set-up well. I've owned a few and now use Standards exclusively for live work. However coming back to the point of building skills and knowledge, would you or your kids know what to expect from a Strat/Tele/Les Paul/etc in terms of sound - or perhaps even care? I do think a variax is much better than a bunch of cheap guitars, but it is a significant investment in learning. Perhaps a mid range acoustic and mid range electric of the type a guitarist you really like would be a better starting point? Its a really tough question to answer, and largely driven by your budget - if money is no issue, go for it. If your partner will question why you need more than one guitar definitely a variax. If you want to learn about fender vs gibson etc then definitely appropriately priced examples as a starting point. Perhaps consider what you want first and then hope your kids will share/use the gear is a way of thinking about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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