Variax Recording Question

[Beeron]

Question: When a Tyler Variax is connected directly to a PC via USB (without a POD or anything), can it be recorded directly into a DAW e.g. Reaper?

Or would I need a separate audio interface, and connect the Variax to that via an analogue cable?

Thanks for any answers.

[clay-man]

The USB hub is not an audio interface. It is a data interface for workbench and monkey only.

 

You need to buy an audio interface to use the Variax. You CAN however get a POD and send the digital audio to the pod via VDI cable.

 

The problem is that the USB device is not an audio device so it can't work as an audio interface.

[Beeron]

Thanks Clay-man

[Beeron]

Thanks hurghanico.

I'm not totally sure how the hex pickups work, so I'm not sure if I would be losing something in quality by going via an analogue cable into a low-end USB audio interface, compared to the all digital route into a POD HD500 and then into my PC.

At 500 Euro for the POD, there would need to be a noticeable quality difference to justify that over a 70 Euro Behringer USB interface.

Could anybody offer an opinion as to whether you can really tell the difference (or if there are any other advantages) to going the all digital route?

[silverhead]

.... I'm not sure if I would be losing something in quality by going via an analogue cable into a low-end USB audio interface, compared to the all digital route into a POD HD500 and then into my PC.....

Yes you will definitely get better quality by going the second route, and it's entirely due to the difference in audio interfaces, not due to the analog/digital difference. The Pod HD500 is a much better audio interface than a low-end USB interface. In both cases your are connecting an analog cable/input (your guitar) into an audio interface device and using its USB digital output to your PC. The difference is in the interface device itself.

 

I think the real question is whether you want/need the main features of the Pod HD500, which are its amp and FX modeling capabilities.That's where the majority of the cost/value is with the HD500. If you don't want/need those capabilities you could be better off buying a higher-end usb interface that it just that - just an interface, but one as good or better than the HD500 audio interface capabilities for a lower price.

[radatats]

Could anybody offer an opinion as to whether you can really tell the difference (or if there are any other advantages) to going the all digital route?

 

perhaps for just plain guitar signal input there is no big difference.  The quality of various audio interfaces and their drivers is a separate issue and has its own cost benefits to consider.  As far as the POD HD500, well obviously there is a HUGE difference in additional capabilities.  You would not only have a top level digital interface but a top level performance tool with HD amp modeling and effects too.  It allows you to connect your JTV to the Workbench HD software to manage and control your JTV models and parameters, apply updates to firmware, and save models and settings along with your patches.

 

To me there is no comparison...  POD wins hands down...

[Beeron]

Thanks silverhead and radatats, the POD looks the way to go.

[clay-man]

Thanks silverhead and radatats, the POD looks the way to go.

 

If you use an old Variax or anything below 2.0 firmware than you cannot use a POD HD500X as a workbench interface. Take that into consideration before buying a POD.

 

If this isn't a problem for you and you want the best POD, get a HD500X.

If it is a problem and you still want the best POD, HD500.

If it's a problem and you don't want an HD, get a POD XT Live.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

 

 

Thanks hurghanico.

I'm not totally sure how the hex pickups work, so I'm not sure if I would be losing something in quality by going via an analogue cable into a low-end USB audio interface, compared to the all digital route into a POD HD500 and then into my PC.

At 500 Euro for the POD, there would need to be a noticeable quality difference to justify that over a 70 Euro Behringer USB interface.

Could anybody offer an opinion as to whether you can really tell the difference (or if there are any other advantages) to going the all digital route?

 

Hex pickup gets fed into the DSP/CPU to be processed to sound like the guitar model you have selected.

That is all digital. 

 

Using a VDI gets rid of extra Digital-to-Analog and Analog-to-Digital stages that happen when the Variax converts digital to analog when sending to a guitar cable, then the audio interface turning the analog back to digital for the computer to work with it.

 

While the quality between the two may not differ significantly, it probably does help. It does mean you get absolutely no signal degradation from what exactly your Variax purely sounds like. It also means you might cut off 1-2 milliseconds of latency caused by the D/A and A/D converters which is nice.

 

It's nice if you want to try to be more professional with the Variax. Some people say they can hear a difference. 

 

 

The biggest advantages when using a POD is mostly being able to switch patches and change tunings if you're using an HD500 with a recent firmware JTV.