jmnestle Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 Hello everyone. I'm in need for some advice. After hearing about the guitar for the first time a few weeks ago, I was sad finding out it's not in production anymore. I'm still thinking about buying a used SR270 Shuriken because I 1. really wanted to get a baritone again 2. play in a lot of different tunings and have the need for an additional one or two strings depending on the genre, and 3. really hate swapping guitars, strings and tunings all the time. The Shuriken would probably save money and nerves in the long run. But the fact that Variax guitars were discontinued makes me hesistant, and I have also read their software has issues? So far I have yet to own a single Line6 product which is why I would love to hear the opinions of Line6 customers. Can I expect that the relevant software will continue to be supported? And what about replacement parts, e.g., the interface? I'd rather avoid buying a guitar whose functions will become unusable in the foreseeable future. I'd appreciate your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted June 7 Share Posted June 7 Software issues,... not really much of an issues as much as it was tone or amplitudes. Support and parts are still available, for now, and so long as I'm here at Line 6, there is someone to service and repair them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted June 8 Share Posted June 8 It would help to know what you consider the ‘foreseeable future’ to be. Months? Years? Decades? Eventually, like all electronic equipment, it will fail and there will be no support or replacement parts. Then you will have a regular magnetic pickup guitar for as long as they last. As you note Line 6 no longer manufactures these guitars. Support will continue until Line 6 decides to stop it, and your guess is as good as anyone else’s as to when that will be. The guitars themselves, with their parts, will remain available in the used market for as long as that lasts. Again, your guess is as good as anyone’s. As always when buying used equipment make sure you get some kind of warranty, return/refund policy, or at least a chance to check it out thoroughly before purchasing. Make a list in advance of the key features you want to test. Know in advance how to perform the tests and give yourself time, auxiliary equipment, and a place to test them. Don’t buy it based simply on a visual inspection and a private seller’s word. In short - only you can decide whether the used purchase is worth the price for however long it remains useful to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinon2 Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 The only things in life that are "future proof", are already dead... Because tech evolves so quickly today, anything that's sufficiently "high-tech" will have a limited lifespan. Couple that with a thoroughly disposable economy, and you have the recipe for planned obsolescence. It plagues nearly everything we buy at this point. So no, you cannot reasonably expect replacement Variax guts to be available forever... and especially not for a product that has: A) already been discontinued, and B) Was effectively shelved in terms of development for nearly a decade before it was officially terminated. That being said, the guitar half of product will remain a guitar indefinitely... assuming that you're not swinging it around your head and plunging it through the grill of your 4x12 on stage.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonies Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 The Shuriken itself is a standalone product. I'm unsure about reliability on the road, but mine is often connected to a Helix via the cable (no battery), and hasn't given me an issue. The Workbench HD software has worked alright on mine, but took a few extra minutes to install (I forget the reasons, but it wasn't as simple). It does, however, work just fine for me on both Win10 and 11, also thru the Helix, so I don't mind. If you find one that functions normally, just get it and enjoy; even if the electronics fail (eventually), the guitar itself is quite good, plus the routed areas could be filled with other technological things. Regarding spare parts - I wonder if Line6 would sell to individual owners so they could perform their own work. One example is buying a replacement truss rod once for one of my guitars - not exactly a standard request, but even guitar manufacturers have been willing to send one to a "joe schmo" like me. I'd love to have a backup set of modules in the event one of mine fails and I'm unable to repair it. I expect battery packs to be the biggest issue unless new ones with decent cells are available. I get about 6-8 hours of use from the battery that came with my shuriken, so I stopped using it after about a month and bought a longer VDI cable so I could keep playing. The life is supposed to be ~12 hours, and a 2-3 year shelf life. I suspect that mine sat in stock for a while and the battery may have been low charge. Who knows. But it's something to consider down the road, unless one just uses the VDI cable, at which point batteries are a nonissue. Plug it in like a regular guitar. Buy one and see how you like it - even old Variax models are still kicking around reliably after ~20 years. That's saying something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psarkissian Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 "Regarding spare parts - I wonder if Line6 would sell to individual owners so they could perform their own work. " --- Some are available, some are not, and are acquired through Full Compass. Self repair is not a good idea with these, unless you have lots of experience at these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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