funnbobby88 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 The Variax community has shown extraordinary patience, but that patience is running out. We've been waiting for the D10 interface since October 2025. We heard expectations of an April 2026 release. Four months later, we're still waiting, with no product and little meaningful communication. These aren't casual customers asking for an update. These are some of your most committed, long-term supporters who have invested heavily in the Helix/Variax ecosystem and kept faith in the platform. What many of us want more than the product itself is honesty. Tell us where things stand. Tell us what's gone wrong. Tell us if the project is delayed or canceled. What we shouldn't have to deal with is month after month of uncertainty and silence. Loyal customers deserve better than that. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbehrens Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 My Helix Floor stopped sending MIDI (This was confirmed by MIDI-OX - Only get it from SourceForge by the way and NOT MIDI-OX.com). So I exhausted all other possibilities that I could think of and resorted to re-installing the Firmware thinking perhaps it may be a Firmware corruption as it was oddly specific. The Firmware update failed and now the Helix Floor is bricked and is history. I have opened a Support ticket but I have exhausted everything I think that they will ask me to do. Though I suppose that I will have to do it all again anyway. I am willing to send the Unit to a Line 6 repair shop (Do those still exist? - I hope so since I also have a Stadium - and it's MIDI works just fine). But the only way I can use Variax Models within a Song Preset is Expand D10. I know that this is not Line 6's problem. But it sort of is since I purchased the Variax and the Helix for this proposed functionality that (as of now) no longer exists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VGK17 Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 I'm sure you're frustrated but Variax was discontinued almost three years ago. It's beyond end of life, unfortunately. I'm sure if the D10 was ready for the initial features it would have shipped by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 On 8/10/2026 at 11:06 AM, bbehrens said: …. But the only way I can use Variax Models within a Song Preset is Expand D10. I know that this is not Line 6's problem. But it sort of is since I purchased the Variax and the Helix for this proposed functionality that (as of now) no longer exists. There’s nothing that ‘no longer exists’ re:Variax. It still works as it always has with your Helix Floor (doesn’t it?). And it doesn’t yet exist with Helix Stadium, so can’t be said to no longer exist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbehrens Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 Yes. Line 6 supporting it via the Variax CAT-6 interface in the D10 was a selling point for me and others. Of course, there are currently no Expand D-10's that have shipped, demoed, show, and Line 6 is now no longer talking about it at all. Because they did sell it as a future feature at Stadium launch, didn't they? I don't remember them going into any detail on Stadium NATIVE last year. Also, I no longer recommend the Variax to anyone since new ones are pretty much all relegated to distributors (if they have any left). And this includes the Shuriken. And I have only heard that Variax components are scarce to extinct, making it an unmaintainable guitar. I may be wrong on this but makes sense since, as VGK17 points out, the Variax was discontinued about three years ago. Of course, I still have my Variax Original (renamed as the Variax 500 when Line 6 introduced the Variax 700) that I purchased in 2010. One of the piezos is giving out on that one. I bought the first Red Variax to hit Skip's music in Sacramento that December (I think - memory isn't what it used to be). By the way Silverhead. I appreciate your input. I know that you have been an active member of this community since way back when Line 6 created these forums. I remember when you and a few others still on these forums where defending the Variax as being a great guitar. At least, I think that was you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Yes, I have been a strong proponent of Variax guitars and I still use the two I have regularly. I still think they are great guitars and I regret that development was shut down by Yamaha when they bought Line 6 (just my observation and opinion that Yamaha was the reason - not necessarily factual). I too am looking forward to the arrival of the promised D10 device and I too am frustrated by its delayed introduction, so I understand your frustration. I was just responding to your characterization of something no longer existing when it hasn’t yet existed - i.e. Helix Stadium supporting Variax. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbehrens Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 I actually said that On 8/10/2026 at 10:06 AM, bbehrens said: proposed functionality that (as of now) no longer exists which is true - as of now. But to your point. Line 6 has had a long history of eventually coming through with most things that they plan for - like the touch interface. And they reluctantly included profiling in the Stadium. There was just no clean transition from the Helix to the Stadium for Line 6 users such as you and me. Since my Helix Floor died in an update Failure (still unresolved but I am working with Line 6 Support even though the Unit is 9 years old and it could just be failing at this point) I have no Variax interface now. I have good batteries but I used to use the guitar model for tone matching within the snapshots with no audible gap - something NO OTHER UNIT ON THE MARKET BACK THEN, OR TODAY, CAN DO. Too bad the Stadium can't do it right now. Arrgh. That is what I was using Helix Native (on the 15 day trial) for to see the models affect the Stadium Presets. The old Helix doesn't translate well for me. I think that the processing clarity in the Stadium is so good, and so clear, that I now hear artifacts such as distortion in Presets that were clean in the Helix. I also hear more... treble, bass, metallic sound of the strings, etc. that I never noticed n the Helix when every block is identical between the Helix and the Stadium. So I find that I tend to recreate or at least tweak the same Presets in Stadium to make it sound like it should. Maybe the trim can help with this but the Variax is not known for hot pickups in the models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike-w Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Fingers crossed. I have a Variax as well. With all the buzz about NAM, I've wondered if Line 6 could use the D10 as an interface for NAM capabilities. Just a thought, and it could push the VAx funtionality forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 On 8/11/2026 at 9:10 PM, bbehrens said: I actually said that which is true - as of now.... Apologies. I had misread that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funnbobby88 Posted August 12 Author Share Posted August 12 On 8/11/2026 at 2:08 AM, VGK17 said: I'm sure you're frustrated but Variax was discontinued almost three years ago. It's beyond end of life, unfortunately. I'm sure if the D10 was ready for the initial features it would have shipped by now. Whether Variax is discontinued or not is not the issue. I Sold a perfectly good Line 6 Helix floor that natively worked with my 2 Variax guitars and bought the Helix stadium based on the promise of the functionality of my guitars being restored via the D10 in April 2026. At this point it's false advertising at worst, at best they thought they would have an interface that they now have scrapped leaving Variax users stranded. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 On 8/12/2026 at 1:13 PM, funnbobby88 said: Whether Variax is discontinued or not is not the issue. I Sold a perfectly good Line 6 Helix floor that natively worked with my 2 Variax guitars and bought the Helix stadium based on the promise of the functionality of my guitars being restored via the D10 in April 2026. At this point it's false advertising at worst, at best they thought they would have an interface that they now have scrapped leaving Variax users stranded. I'm still confident that there's a third option: It's been delayed much longer than anticipated but it has not been scrapped. I don't believe they are now planning to leave Variax users stranded and just don't want to tell us. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funnbobby88 Posted August 12 Author Share Posted August 12 Line 6 support line says they are trying for a December release... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbehrens Posted August 12 Share Posted August 12 Maybe I should cancel my Musician's Friend order. No money has been given to Musician's Friend so it would be a simple cancel. Line 6 needs to learn. Cancelled orders don't look good. I can't see Line 6 wanting to invest any more time and effort into a product that they no longer support, anyway. I am just wondering why they even pushed it except to get existing Variax users to buy the Stadium. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VGK17 Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 Found some detailed info in a post from Eric Klein on July 31. Looks like the issue is with getting the firmware to work with Variax and Powercab. https://thegearforum.com/threads/digital-igloo-eric-klein-ygg.198/page-89#post-502365 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbehrens Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 Beats silence. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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