Line 6 Variax 705 Bass

This is an update of my previous review. I had problems with the string balance and some fit and finish problems. Using the string balance procedure, I'd get the strings balanced, but the new calibration wouldn't save.

The problem was that the model knob wouldn't depress quite far enough. I put a small ball of tin foil on top of the shaft under the knob to raise the knob a little, and problem solved. I also had to do this to the volume knob.

Nit picking but there shouldn't be problems like this in a bass that lists for what this bass listed for.

I've had many gigs experience now and have a lot more knowledge under my belt.

At high volume playing, there is still a sort of piezo like attack to each note...a sort of "puh" quality. It's subtle but it's there.

I don't believe the low end copies the intended models close enough. It seems to have more sub frequencies than the real things had. The inductance of high impedance pickups limits the fundamental at low frequencies. This will vary depending on the amount of windings on the individual pickups. Below the low E the fundamental just isn't produced on high impedance pickups and it's even limited on the E and possibly higher if the pickup is very highly wound.

This isn't a problem with those basses as our ears hear the 2nd and 4th harmonics and create the fundamental in our heads.

But in the Line 6, there isn't that limiting of the fundamental frequencies which could be a plus if your equipment can deal with it, or a minus if your equipment is marginal. I blew an 18" speaker last gig, despite the use of limiting and factoring in that I didn't drive the preamp, amp or speaker to distortion. Too many sub freqs is the only explanation. I even had the 50Hz highpass filter clicked in on the QSC amp driving that speaker.

The variety of tones is incredible. Initially I used mostly the P bass model, but I'm switching around a lot these days and even use both the 8 string and 12 string models. They have their place.

I do get the resonances mentioned in a previous review and alas, I believe this to be due to the bass's construction and materials. I may consider getting a graphite neck or build a graphite reinforced neck and perhaps build a different body using different wood. We'll see if this remains a problem. The resonances jump out at certain notes. The G string bottom and decay is also much different than the other strings. I changed brands of strings from the stock D'Addarios to my favorites, Dean Markley SR2000's, but the condition persists.

I'm still a bit uncomfortable slapping and popping on this bass, but it's getting easier. This is a matter of reaction of the tones while playing and not one of string spacing.

Notes "jump out" of this bass with an immediacy and punch unlike conventional pickup basses. I've other basses with piezo pickups and don't have this "problem."

Overall though, this thing is a hoot.

Wavy neck with lots of dips and peaks...terrible fret sprout, and the grain of the wood in the body shows through the black paint, meaning the finish has "stripes" in it, and is not smooth. I leveled the frets, took off the sprouted ends, set the action and it is quite playable, but the fit and finish remains on a par with low end Chinese basses, not a $2k instrument made in Korea. By comparison, my Cort manufactured Squire Pro Tone V 5 strings from the mid 90's from Korea are nearly perfection.

The string balance was horrid, but once I got the string calibration working, I took care of that. The balance does change depending on how hard the notes are struck, so balanced at one playing level doesn't mean balanced at all playing levels.

This bass will hold up. If not, I know how to fix it, being an authorized Line 6 repair tech. The finish is tough enough. The knobs are a bit flimsy but they can be replaced. Line 6's customer support is good.

I deal with Line 6 often being one of their repair techs. No harder to reach than any other companies and the tech team is knowledgable and helpful. As a consumer it may get frustrating as repair stations are few and wait times for parts and info can vary.

The warranty is lifetime I believe.

I've been playing for 40 years and own over 30 guitars and basses and many amps, effects, speakers etc. If stolen, I'd try to replace it, or purchase the guts and build my own body and neck. I love the feel and versatility. I don't like the little quality problems. Korea can put out incredible quality instruments but this ain't one of them.

I chose this bass when they were being blown out for $499 (free shipping) after Line 6 discontinued them. No replacement is planned by Line 6. It wasn't worth the original price, but at $499, it was too compelling to pass up. It's not quite the "ultimate" bass I had hoped, but it's very enjoyable none the less.

I purchased this bass a couple months ago. Fretted, pretty wide spacing (same as a Lakland), and all other features have been covered in previous reviews. The included gig bag is very nice.

Playing at home, I was quite impressed. I play a wide variety of music and this bass should be a dream. The string balance is poor, with a loud G, low volume A and slightly low volume B, and the string calibration won't lock in, so I have some troubleshooting to do (I am a Line 6 authorized tech.)

It is hissy on many models. On my first gig I found myself constantly returning to the P bass model. The flatwound models, both J, P and Ricky basses are just muddy, lacking the presence of real flatwounds. The upright bass is strange. It sounds GREAT in some rigs and terrible in others. The amp and speakers used make a huge difference.

At high volume playing, I became aware of a "piezo" component in the tone...sort of a "puh!" tone at the attack of a note, regardless of the model. With fingers this was very noticable. With a pick, not so much. I did use the 8 string model quite a bit. The 12 string was a bit too clanky and metallic, and I usually like bright and metallic..

I ended up using most models set flat with minor tweaks to the blend. On all my other basses, which are all active, I tweak the tone controls a lot. I missed not having a mid control on the Line 6.

Action is fine, despite a less than even fingerboard and/or frets. Quite wavey around the 12th fret when sighting up and down the neck. Truss rod adjustments did not correct the ripples. (I do bass setups often at the shop.)

The frets stuck WAY out the fingerboard and were extremely sharp. It was quite a job taking them down as this was far worse than any other bass I've worked on over the last 35 years of doing bass and guitar work.

The string balance is awful and the string calibration procedure doesn't work. I will either have to fix or replace the model control, which has the switch to lock in calibration, or get a replacement circuit board.

The center detent for the blend control is non-existent. I'll have to replace this control.

The wood grain, or at least the seams in the wood show through the finish, which otherwise is OK.

There are a LOT of quality issues for a bass that retails for $2k, and even for the closeout price Line 6 is blowing these out for.

Once I got the frets and neck adjustments done, it plays fine, although the string balance is still bad...until I repair that. Will it hold up? Who knows. I expect it will, although I think the unstable nature of this neck may become an issue, and already, parts need to be replaced.

I'm an authorized Line 6 tech. They are an easy company to work with, but often, getting parts takes weeks, with no warning or explanation. Lots of menues and hold time trying to get through to someone, but no worse than with other companies.

The particular bass I bought should never have gotten past quality control, if only for the neck issues, but the electronics problems should have been caught as well.

I've been playing bass since 1967. I've been an amp, effects, speaker, guitar and bass tech for decades, and also design and build guitars, amps and effects too.

I own tons of equipment. I gigged with this bass alone a few weeks ago, and by the end of the first set, could have kicked myself for not having my other basses along. I would never gig with only this bass again.

The string balance is maddening. The spacing is a bit wide for me, although fairly comfortable. I bought this bass mostly for the multi-string models and variety. My well tweaked, 11 year old Peavey Axcelerator 5 string is still more comfortable and versatile (due to some electronics modding) and I'll not leave home without that bass again.

The weaknesses of this bass came out during high volume playing, which at my age (54) isn't as comfortable for me as it was 30 years ago.

The Variax 5 is heavy, but well balanced. I happen to like heavy guitars and basses.

I'm not sure why Line 6 blew these out and have discontinued them. They sure aren't worth the original prices, but for $499 (shipping included) they are worth it...IF you have someone to set them up and get one without the problems mine has.

I wish it had a mid control. I wish it could be tweaked with "Workbench" as the guitars can be. Mixing models and/or pickups would be a great feature.

Features...Mmmm...On this bass? I believe it's not really a question to ask. There's just plenty.

Well, for a 1st generation of modeling basses, I must say that it's pretty amazing what can come out of it. People need to know that production basses from any well known manufacturers don't even sound the same from one to another. But comparing "in general" gives you a good idea. So...

All in all, the basses are pretty accurate. The J-Basses give you that snappy/quacky tone when using the bridge pickup, exactly like the original. I must say that the fretless just suck. The upright bass might also dissapoint purists. But for me, having the possibility to have that sound on my palette is like icing on a cake. The one that amazed me the most is probably the Warwick model. The MM is probably modeled after those old pre-EB line. I would've like to have the later models sound. But that's my opinion. The synths track amazingly. Like any other synth and or midi guitar/bass rig, you need to clean up your playing. You cannot cheat with pull offs. But it tracks as fast as you play. And you can play chords too! The 8 and 12 string model (would have been 10 and 15 on a regular 5 string bass) is a bit synthetic. But in a mix, nobody can make a difference. I assure you. I recorded tracks with the 12 string model and I've been asked by friends where I got the bass from since they know I don't own one.

Here's where the bass looses some major credibility. As for the wood parts, - neck/body - it looks and feel pretty much like a good quality bass. The paint job is nice and looks durable. The action wasn't that bad but I lowered it to my playing and taste. The neck was as straight as an arrow. But for the hardware, they could've put better knobs, tuning machines and pickguard. The battery compartment on the back of the bass looks like they took it from a cheap toy store. The pickguard is very thin and flexes a lot when you push on it. The volume and balance knobs are made of plastic (plastic core with chromed plastic covers) and they got loose from their inner core. I had to put some superglue to prevent them from slipping.

I've had the bass for a little less than a year now and played over 30 gigs with it. No problems so far and it plays as good as when I just got it. If it's still in that shape after what it went through, it'll stay that way for a long time. I banged the headstock a couple of times, dropped it on the floor, and nothing harmed the bass enough to not being able to play with it. Actually, it only made little dents in the finish. Nothing more.

I just hope your musical instrument store can help you out. 'Cause Line 6 won't.

I've heard and read so many comments about this bass. Yes it sounds a bit digital. No it's not 100% accurate to the "real thing". But it's the one and only bass that can do it all in a very good package. I even had a soundman insult me asking me to use a "real bass" for the soundcheck. But after hearing it for 3 sets, asked me if he could try it. I compare this bass to the era when the 1st synthesizers came out. The purists stayed with their pianos and organs, having basically just 1 sound. But keyboard players could sound like everything they wanted to. Their keyboards didn't sound like the "real thing", but they could sound like LOTS of instruments. This bass is simply amazing. I found myself neglecting my custom made bass for it. I can dial any bass I want at the flick of a switch. I play in cover bands and an in sessions. People always grin when they see me with this axe. But hit me with tons of questions after they hear it. It is a very good and versatile bass. I can either sound like any basses in tunes you've heard on the radio, or have a taylored sound that gives me a signature of my own. Beside the low mark I gave for the fit and finish, I just love it.

By the way, get the POD xt Live with the Bass Pack (or the Bass POD xt Live). You will even be able to switch basses within songs just by stepping on a pedal.

I won't repeat other posts here....

I play mainly in Big-bands, some Theatre work, some occasional work with 'Soul/Blues' type functions bands.

The majority of the sounds seem very good. The Jazz & Precision sounds are very good, with that kind of compressed feel that you get with these basses. I now own a Fender US Jazz Deluxe & wouldn't say there was any major difference in the tones. They have done a very godd modelling job. I couldn't really comment on the authenticity of the other models (apart from the double bass) as I have never played those instruments. Synth models notwithstanding (see later), I didn't notice any of the 'tracking/delay' issues that other reviewers have mentioned - it feels like a 'real' bass to play, not at all like a MIDI bass.

The double bass model is a joke. As a double bass player I hoped that this might be useful alternative for gigs where taking the doghouse would be a pain. But there is no way I would want to use this - it sounds nothing like a real double bass to me. Not even close, sadly. This model has a lower volume level than the other models and also has an annoying 'feature' in that the volume level randomly goes up and down as you play; even if you are playing with an even pressure. Most disconcerting! Maybe this is an attempt to capture some of the organic/tempermental nature of the real thing, but it didn't float my boat! The tone itself sounds like a bass with an excessive amount of warbly chorus effect added - probably as an attempt to try to simulate the intonation errors brought about by the lack of frets on a double bass!

The Bass synth models are also unusable in my opinion. Not because of the sounds; which are fine - just the tracking isn't fast or accurate enough. It reminds me of the time I spent several years ago struggling with MIDI guitar!

It really feels that Line 6 have tainted an otherwise good instrument with a couple of 'bad apple' sounds. I personally think they should have waited until they had got closer with the Double bass & Synth sounds before releasing them in an instrument. I understand you don't have to use them if you don't want, but it is more of an emotional reaction - like I said, it just taints the instrument. Don't forget - as per the Line 6 guitars, you can't actually change the fundamental sounds of the models by firmware upgrades or Workbench tweaks. So even if they do improve on the sounds you will need to buy the Variax 705 Mark II (when it inevitably appears in 18 months or so) to get these new sounds; at which point the re-sale value of Mark I 705's will plummet! The Line 6 stuff is only upgradeable to a point and, like any high-technology, will be obsolete sooner than you would like!

I did have a problem with string balance. A call to Line 6 support got me the details on the 'hidden' method of balancing the volume of the piezo transducers (which inherently have variable output levels) to get the levels consistent across all strings. This may need doing each time you change string brand or type or gauge (in a similar way that the intonation would need resetting too).

I had a strange phenomenon with 'wolf-notes'. The 'C' notes on 'G' string 5 fret & 'D' string 10th fret seemed to speak louder than all the others in my studio. At first I thought it was a room resonance - but none of my other basses played through the same equipment etc. behaved in the same way. It wasn't noticeable through headphones though. Very strange, but may be worth looking out for. Could it be something to do with resonant frequencies of the piezos?

One big plus with the pickup-less system is no mains hum when close to PC monitors etc.

The ability to store your tone and pickup selection settings for each 'instrument' is a useful feature - but this can lead to confusion. When you change to a different 'patch/instrument' the knobs do not move (i.e. they are not motorised - which would have been nice but expensive). Therefore your 'new' sound may have been stored with the pickup selection full to the bridge; but your pickup blend pot will still be were you left it. So you can never rely on your knobs to indicate your current tone/balance settings. This also means that when you change 'patch'instrument' your tone/blend settings change too.

The bass has a fairly low output for an 'active' instrument. I was expecting a hotter output, but then maybe they were just trying to model the low output of the vintage/passive models and kept the level of the modern/active models similar to stop volume jumps when switching sounds (apart from double bass which gets even quieter for some reason).

I use Euphonic Audio amps & speakers.

I think that Line 6 may have some production quality issues at the moment. I had two brand-new 705's shipped to me. The first had a fairly large chip on the end of the headstock that looked like someone had tried to varnish over it. The second had a poor (rough) finish around the edge of the edge of the fingerboard and what initially appeared liked the fingerboard lifting from the neck near the neck body joint. The latter wasn't actually that bad - both were mainly cosmetic - but it's not something you expect on a #850 instrument. Apart from that the finish was pretty good - although the quality stakes have been rising over the years and expectations on even low-end instruments are fairly high nowadays.

The neck is very similar to a Fender Jazz. String spacing @ bridge is 18mm. Span at nut is 45.5mm. Neck depth (thickness, not width) at 7th fret is 23.5mm. It feels fairly chunky but *not* as baseball bat-esque as most Warwicks.

Balance is average for a 5 string, some neck dive; more noticeable when sitting.

The second bass I was shipped worked OK from the Line 6 power supply, but was dead when trying to run from batteries (yes, new batteries and a mono lead). I'm sure it was probably just a wire loose inside that could be easily fixed, but it raises the more worrying question of reliability. If that kind of fault can get through QA what else is lurking? The battery compartment and door is well engineered, but then they spoil it by using a very flimsy 99p plastic battery holder, connected to the innards by a pair of equally flimsy thin wires. I wouldn't expect many battery changes, if that is how you choose to run it, before attention with a soldering iron is needed.

Mechanically, as in woodwork-wise, it feels solid enough - the 'wood' faults were all cosmetic.

In summary I would not feel very confident in the reliablity of this bass. I may have been plain unlucky but it has shaken my confidence. I think another reviewer said it felt like a #350 bass with #500 worth of electronics in it. I would tend to agree.

By the way, I also own a Line 6 Variax 600 guitar which I have had no problems with - I even used it for a theatre production a few months ago without a back-up, so this critiscism is aimed more at my experience with the 2 Variax basses than Line 6 products generally.

Line 6 support were fairly quick in getting back to me re: the string volume issue so I can't fault them there. I get the feeling that unfortunately due to the QA issues mentioned earlier and the general 'techie' nature of Line 6 products in general - they probably get more than their fair share of 'have you plugged it in' type issues which get in the way of 'real' support issues. But they responded quickly so high marks there.

I've played guitar now for 20 years, bass for about 10 years.

Experience has taught me that it's nearly impossible to evaluate any instrument/amplifier etc. in a shop. You need to get it home and try it with your own equipment and in the live/studio etc. environment that you intend to use it. For example one of my Yamaha basses sounds great per se, but, as it has single coil pickups, hums when played near to an amp (which made it a no-goer for use in theatre pits when you tend to be in close proximity to your amp). I would never have picked up on this in a shop. Second random example: some basses have a thin body cross section where you might rest your forearm. I find my arm aches after playing on basses with this body shape for any length of time as it tends to cut off the blood supply - something that would not be noticed in a shop, playing for only a short time.

I suppose my point is that you can read all the reviews under the sun & certainly weed out a few instruments that definitely have features or shortcomings that make them a no-no for you; but, until you actually get one in your hands & use it for real for at least a few weeks, you won't know whether it's what suits you individually. Get an instrument second-hand if you're not sure. At least that way you won't lose as much if you need to sell it on.

Anyway, I digress. Going back to the 705 I think you have to ask yourself do you really need all those different tones? Can you get enough variation with a conventional twin pickup bass and vary picking position etc. etc.? Is there one sound that you would use 90% of the time? In my case it is probably yes to all of these. So, if nothing else, the fact that the Variax bass made it so easy for me to switch between all these different make/models of instrument actually made me think "I really think I would only ever need to use the Fender Jazz sound" - which begged the question - "Do I really need a Variax bass after all". Especially with the shortcomings I found.

Conclusion: I traded this in & upgraded to a Fender US Jazz Deluxe - which isn't perfect either - but suits my needs more closely.

2005 korean made Line 6 Variax 705
21 frets
5 strings
volume, blend, bass, treble, model select
piezo bridge saddles
Active
came with Planet Waves TRS Cable, padded gig bag, and XPS-DI box

The first thing i noticed about this bass was when i first plugged it in, it was completely silent... no hum at all! This fits my style perfectly, i play classic rock, jazz and punk and this bass models everything i have needed. All 24 models on the bass have some use, even if they aren't what the company most likely intended. For example, the fretless model on mine either doesnt work, or is just a bad modeling job, but it still sounds a little bit different than the vintage jazz models and is usefull as another jazz tone. All of the other models are outstanding! having played many models on this bass or models very similar to them i know what they should sound like and line 6 did a great job in recreating them. Pretty much any kind of sound can be dialed in on this bass. I would think this bass mostly usefull for studio work simply because it is all digital and i would feel a little bit scared using only it on stage. One dislike is on different amps the A string can become almost silent and no matter what is done on the amp or bass that string does not come out louder... but this only seems to happen on lower quality or older amps.

The bass was set up pretty well from the factory, the action was a little bit low for my taste but that was quickly fixed. The bass even arrived exactly in tune, so that was a nice suprise.

This is the one category that i was worried about. As i said before the bass is completely digital and i can only wonder what would happen if it got hit in the wrong spot or if it could just stop working. Also what if one of the knobs stops working... looking inside this bass it doesnt appear to be very user servicable. I dont think i would gig without a backup just because i worry about these things too much

havent dealt with line 6, no real problems with the bass so far

I've been playing for 8 years now and also own a peavey t-40 and a few other cheap but amazing basses. This was the first bass that i thought actually beat out my t-40 and i just had to have it. If it were ever stolen i would replace it as soon as i could. The only thing i wish this bass had was a simple way to fix any problems that might come up instead of having to take it into a shop, since there are none around here that are liscensed to fix this kind of bass.