Variax dead

[ceejay7777]

... I bought my Variax 500 twenty years ago and haven't played it in a while

... now I 'm retired, I figured I would drag it out and play with some of the other sounds, so bought a second hand VDI, plugged it all in and downloaded Line 6 Central which told me to update the firmware, which I did, except that failed

... the guitar is now stone-cold dead, so I waded through all the forums to discover that this had happened to a number of others

... I then contacted Line 6 support, gave them the details and got a rather pointless reply about updating the firmware from a file which, of course, was impossible as Central no longer recognised that a guitar was connected

... oh, OK we'll refer that to "our Variax guru" came the response

... next reply was a suggestion to contact the local Yamaha dealer, really? talk about passing the buck

... so the Variax remains dead, how sad ...

[psarkissian]

1- Go to the Downloads page on the Line 6 site.

2- Download the Firmware v3.10 program onto your computer.

3- Connect Variax for updating.

4- Open Central. When you go to update, there will be be a button labeled "Choose File", click on it.

5- A window will come up. Open the Firmware v3.10 file and update using Central, but from your local drive, rather than from the Line 6 server.

6- If that fails, try 1 thru 5 using the Line 6 Updater,... updating from your local drive.

 

See if that works. If there is still an issue, go to the nearest Line 6 authorized service center in your area. There could be a loose 

cable connection inside or,... being that it is as you say 20 year product, maybe a few oxidized intermittent solder points inside

that might be getting in the way.

 

 

[ceejay7777]

... thanks for that, but although both green lights on the VDI are on showing that the guitar is indeed connected, since the firmware update attempt neither Central, nor Monkey nor Updater now "see" the Variax so there is no "Choose File" option ...

... as for "a loose cable connection" or "oxidized intermittent solder points", again both green lights say that there is a connection to the guitar and it was connected, working and playing fine prior to the attempted firmware update, so that seems unlikely (although, of course, anything is possible) ...

... I have contacted the nearest Yamaha Australia authorised service centre (as listed on the Line 6 website) *UPDATE* and they have now responded and said that they are prepared to "take a look at it" so I will take it in, but I suspect that firmware issues on Variax guitars are probably not within their expertise, we'll see ...

[ceejay7777]

... as the Line 6 software doesn't "see" the Variax, is there any way, like via a command line, that the Variax firmware can be flashed directly, thereby bypassing the Line 6 software?

[silverhead]

Since the Line 6 software (and hence the computer) doesn’t see the Variax, from where would this command line originate? That’s why the Line 6 software exists - to support computer/Variax communication. There’s no back door.

[ceejay7777]

... dunno, just asking the question, but as the USB interface "sees" the guitar and the PC "sees" the interface, a command line instruction originating from the PC might have been able to pass through without the impediment of the software that caused the problem ...

[silverhead]

If there is such a capability I’ve never heard of it.

[ceejay7777]

On 5/21/2025 at 11:31 PM, psarkissian said:

1- Go to the Downloads page on the Line 6 site.

2- Download the Firmware v3.10 program onto your computer.

3- Connect Variax for updating.

4- Open Central. When you go to update, there will be be a button labeled "Choose File", click on it.

5- A window will come up. Open the Firmware v3.10 file and update using Central, but from your local drive, rather than from the Line 6 server.

6- If that fails, try 1 thru 5 using the Line 6 Updater,... updating from your local drive.

 

See if that works. If there is still an issue, go to the nearest Line 6 authorized service center in your area. There could be a loose 

cable connection inside or,... being that it is as you say 20 year product, maybe a few oxidized intermittent solder points inside

that might be getting in the way.

 

 

... the issue has occurred on a PC running Windows 11 and Line 6 Central

... I've now given it a go on an old Mac Mini running OSX Snow Leopard using Monkey v1.73 and it has come back with: 

Error opening MIDI ports

(Code 8000900C)

Googling that gave me a post from you in 2017 that said

"with that error code,... the main board needs to be replaced by an authorized service center.

It's the only solution for that one, board locked up and is frozen. Log a support ticket in your account.

If anyone in support has any questions, I'm across the hall from them."

[psarkissian]

"... Googling that gave me a post from you in 2017 that said 'with that error code',... the main board needs to be replaced by an authorized service center. "--- That was for a JTV's with Flash v1.82, as there was glitch in the program. You had to roll back and then update to a Flash version beyond v1.82 or risk freezing the board beyond repair.

That does not apply to original Variax, such as 500 Electric.

 

On the Downloads page, it looks like Snow Leopard is too current an OS.

 

 

 

[ceejay7777]

On 5/28/2025 at 6:22 AM, psarkissian said:

On the Downloads page, it looks like Snow Leopard is too current an OS.

 

 

 

... "too current" for what? Snow Leopard was released in 2009 and is rated "Compatible OS" on the Downloads page for Monkey v1.73 which is what I used ... don't follow the reasoning ... and the error code is the same irrespective of it being a different guitar, there is a similar report from 2012 with the same error code for a 500 and in that case the response from Line 6 was "At this point a repair would be component level. If the guitar had a warranty the repair would be free but component level repairs are generally very expensive if you have to pay by the hour.
At this point it would probably cost more to repair the guitar than purchase another used one."

... it's still dead ...

[psarkissian]

Just "OS X",...typically refers to OS prior to the animal named OS's. 

Monkey has been backwards compatible until recently, when it all went to Line 6 Central. 

My last Mac Lap compatible with original Variax was OS 10.6.8 (whatever animal that was). 

Monkey still worked until recently on my OS 15.4 Sonoma, but I can no longer connect to any

original Variaxes except to check Firmware version and can no longer do updates.. 

 

With many parts no longer available or made anymore, some people are getting used one as a source for parts. 

Also check out https://line6.com/support/ as some info have become available. 

 

https://line6.com/technical-schematics/  Just became available recently, for Legacy products, for those with technical prowess and skills. 

Some IC chips are no longer available or made anymore, being an almost 20 year old product and all. And as usual, attempt at own risk. 

 

 

[ceejay7777]

On 5/28/2025 at 11:32 PM, psarkissian said:

My last Mac Lap compatible with original Variax was OS 10.6.8 (whatever animal that was). 

 

 

 

... yep 10.6.8 is what I have on the Mac Mini, Snow Leopard, I still run Logic Pro 8 on that hooked up to a Soundcraft 328 Digital mixer via ADAT through a Profire Lightbridge ... I also have a couple of Alesis HD24 multitracks, am I living in the past? too right (but I also run Samplitude Pro X on a Dell PC under Windows 11 via an SSL USB interface so no need to drag me off to the funny farm yet) ... 

... as luck would have it, at the same time that Line 6 Central was blowing up my original 500 with a firmware update, someone less than ten minutes away from my house was selling his, so I made an offer, bought it and will use that from now on ... 

... thanks for all the suggestions ...

[psarkissian]

Used to work at JBL/UREI, so Soundcraft was down the hall from us, very cool mixer boards and consoles. 

 

Was an ADAT service tech at Alesis, doing all the ADAT variants, my specialty was the M20, along with the 12R

and Studio 32 mixers. Was going to be one of two A6 Andromeda synth techs and was going to be the main tech

for the HD24,... then the whole breakdown occurred and Numark bought them. 

 

Interesting times. 

 

Central might not be backwards compatible enough for the 500 for some reason. Glad you manged to get another one. 

 

[Nick_S]

On 5/28/2025 at 3:02 PM, psarkissian said:

 

With many parts no longer available or made anymore, some people are getting used one as a source for parts. 

Also check out https://line6.com/support/ as some info have become available. 

 

https://line6.com/technical-schematics/  Just became available recently, for Legacy products, for those with technical prowess and skills. 

Some IC chips are no longer available or made anymore, being an almost 20 year old product and all. And as usual, attempt at own risk. 

 

 

Useful, thank you. There are couple of omissions I'd be interested in (Pod 2.0 and Flextone Duo)... the "Flextone 1" and "Flextone 2" schematics are actually Flextone HD and Flextone HD II.

[psarkissian]

Flextone discrepancies,... could be differences in revisions. There were heads as well as combos. 

Also, there may not be third party schematics for third party modules or sections, as they would not be ours to have or display. 

 

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