Line 6 Variax

I'll spare you the details (everyone else has mentioned these), Mine's black.

Playing through a Line 6 Spyder 112. My only gripe is that going from electric to acoustic via the footswitch gives a pretty good pop in my in ear monitors.

Action is a little high for electric, but dead on for acoustic. Remember what this thing is for. Variety.

No problem with mine. Have giged for the last 2 weekends without a problem.

I've been playing semi-pro for 25 years. I love this ax. I need the variety it offers, especially the acoustic to electric with the flip of a switch. This guitar is all about VARIETY (Simliar to the way a keyboard emulates diffferent instruments). The sounds are good, and very close to originals. _In a mix_, no can tell tell that they are not the real thing. Look at the pros that are playing the variax, and all those who have issues with the sounds can argue with them, not me. The real plus here is yet to be realized.... the "future jack" that will allow updates to sounds, meaning you are not stuck forever with the sounds that come stock.

I'm reviewing the Line 6 Variax playing experience. Will not get into specs, don't know that much about it and you can find that info elsewhere. Other than to say it 's a modeling guitar that models a variety of Pauls, Telecaster, Stratocaster, jazzboxes, dobros, Coral electric sitar, banjo (?),acoustics, and other goodies. For what it is it's a pretty cool toy/gigging tool if you need a wide variety of sounds on a budget.

I'm a working pro, i.e. my income is derived from playing guitar as well as teaching others how to play. I could see this being a useful gigging tool for cover/wedding gigs, I play everything from country to rock to jazz to blues and the guitar appears to cover the gamut. I played this thing split through a PA for acoustic sounds and a Line 6 Duoverb for electric. Plenty of variety obviously, that's this guitar's hook. Tele, Strat, Paul, acoustic, sitar, blah blah blah. Not noisy, but kind of a sterile sounding thing. None of the guitar sounds really sound like a guitar. I actually didn't detect that much of a difference between a lot of the sounds and I played it for a good hour and a half. The sitar sound was pretty cool, I hung with that for a while. Bottom line: if you need a decent backup guitar or want some off the path sounds buy this, but don't buy this expecting to replace the experience of playing any of the guitars modeled. People have preferences (Fender, Gibson, semi-hollow, hollow, solidbody) for a reason.

This guitar felt fine to me. No objectionable qualities as far as construction. Saw a lot of reviews slamming this area, but the one I checked out was fine. Feels like a good $500 guitar. Was pretty comfortable to play, and pretty light. For what it is I'd give it a high mark.

I think the main hook to buying this guitar would be the lack of need to change guitars on a cover/wedding gig (just like the hook of buying a Line 6 amp would be their light weight, variety of serviceable sounds, and one stop shopping features.)Seemed solidly built.

I've heard bad things about Line 6 customer support, but I don't really know.

Been playing 17 years. Have a Fender American Classic Strat and a Parker Nitefly, Boogie Mark IIa head and more recent cab, some stompboxes. What I dug about this guitar was the 12 string and sitar models. The wide variety of sounds would create a creative sitting around and fooling with ideas experience (kind of like my cheapo Boss ME50 processor.) I wouldn't buy this guitar, ever. The models just don't sound like guitars. Kind of like cheap Casio keyboards with different modeling sounds (my understanding is the levels of technology involved is similar), those models don't really sound like B-3 's do they? Feels like a guitar and works like one, but just isn't really. Buy it if you want some of those off the wall sounds like sitars and 12 strings in an electric format but do not expect to replace any of your beloved Strats, Teles, etc Line 6 does a great job of hyping their stuff but most of their of their products are underwhelming. Their stuff is very overpriced and just like computers, their stuff becomes obsolete overnight. Hopefully in a few years the technology will improve drastically (I think it will) but for now, beware.

If you are on this site, you know what the features are at this point.

The sounds are close enough that you know what the guitar is trying to emulate in most cases. The actual instruments would sound better but who has the kind of money to have all of these guitars?

What I like best is the tonal colors and flexibility that is available in one instrument notwithstanding what the guitar is mimicking.

I imagine that Line 6 will introduce a higher quality guitar in the future. The model I have plays like a mid level strat. It is definitely playable but there is a noticable difference when I pick up some of my higher end guitars.

I have had my Variax for about 3 months. There is a problem with the foot A/B switch. The xlr connection is apparently cutting out. It did this during a gig and was pretty annoying. There have also been a couple of times that the guitar I dialed up did not respond. I had to move the pickup switch to get the correct sound to kick in.

I am going tomorrow to get another foot switch.

I have been playing for about 20 years. I do some studio work but I primarily use the guitar for live purposes playing covers. I love the flexibility of the guitar and the ability to switch to an acoustic sound without changing guitars. My Takamine Garth Brooks model acoustic is significantly better but the Variax acoustic sound is not bad. For anyone who plays covers and enjoys trying to sound as accurate as possible, this guitar is exactly what you need.

Many specific guitars, including acoustic and 12 string models, plus some odd instruments like the banjo and sitar. The whole concept is amazing. Although I own some of these actual guitars, I would never have the need, or money for them all. This instrument gives me the opportunity to dabble with all the sounds for all the guitars.

Amazingly, many of the sounds are very close. I realize I am not an expert, and I do not own most of the guitars to campare with, I can tell you the sounds are very close to what I am familiar with. I run my variax through a Line 6 PODxt and a Barringher piano amp, and I am very impressed with the sound I get. I also get a very good sound through my fender amp. All the models may not be perfect, but they are very good.

Sort of a Fender feel to it, odd looking without pickups, but easy to hold and play. Action seems pretty good to me. I'm sure the more I use it, the more comfortable I will be with the feel.

No problems fo far, I've had mine for about four months. Although I do not gig, (i play only for my poor family, my pets and myself) the variax seems to hold up as well as any of my other guitars.

Haven't had to use it, but that is a good thing.

I'm a bit surprised at the bad ratings some people have given this instrument. I suspect they really haven't played the variax much, or may be tone snobs that have a need to impress people with their 'music ear'. For the price you really get a lot. It plays very well, and sounds as well or better than my Gibsons, Ric, Fender and Ephiphone. I have been playing for many years, and this is my favorite guitar (I seldom pick up any of my others anymore). I would recommend the variax to anybody wanting to play many different guitars, but not wanting to spend the money for the actual guitars.

Variax is to guitar what POD is to amp. Volume, Tone and guitar model knobs, and a five-way selector. Bridge pickup. String-thru body. Tuners are no-name, but they stay tuned OK. Comes w/ gig bag, TRX cable and special foot-switch.

The sounds are very cool. There are 21 different guitars, most of which have different pickup config options. When run thru a PODxt this guitar is really something. The models aren't perfect, but this guitar's sounds are unique. That's good.
I play rhythm, lead and acustic. This guitar is not an acustic, but the D-28 model could do in a pinch. For all else this guitar is great.
Oh yeah, and not having pickup noise is nice too.

Action was good out of the box. A little high for fast leads maybe, but perfect for rhythm and finger picking. Can be easily lowerd with the little alen key that came with it. Everything is tight, no loose fitting parts. Mine is black, and the finish is average or above average. Nothing fancy. Very practical. Not going to get oos and aahs when you open the case, but everything is shiny and clean.

I've only had the guitar for about three weeks, but the hardware seems durable enough, and the finish is not going to wear off any time soon. It's been reliable for me so far, and I would probably play without a backup as long as I had a spare set of strings handy.

A good axe.

I won't go into detail about spec as others have covered that.

I like it a lot. I see a lot of 'purists' railing against this instrument, and I just don't agree. I have a few guitars, but I don't have an electric 12 string, a good Jazzbox or a dobro. While I agree that the sounds aren't 100% perfect, I'd say they are 90% of what I'm after. This guitar is great for jams. You can turn a switch and change tones to differntiate yourself from other guitars in the mix.

It's fine. Nothing spectacular. I saw an early version that didn't have great fret dressing, but the one I bought was done well. The action could use a little adjusting, but that's true of my expensive guitars too. It feel like a medium priced American Strat or much like a Carvin I used to have.

I hope it's good, but I've just got mine and can't say as yet. I have to admit I worry about durability. Electronics can be fragile.

BEST EVER!! They have been so helpful, enthusiastic and pleasant. I'd love to work there! They sound like they're all very involved with the company and their products. I like that.

I worry about a waiter that won't eat at the restaurant where he works. I get the opinion that they use this stuff and that their enthusiasm comes from pride in their products.

I love this guitar. While I wouldn't sell the Heritage guitars I own, I did sell my Carvin to get the Variax. It's just so much more fun to switch tones and experiment when you aren't carting guitars out of cases and setting up. Great jam guitar. I plan to use it on stage whenever I need acoustic sounds (so much easier to get great sound without feedback!)

True modelling guitar. Features and sounds well documented elsewhere. I bought one without trying it mainly for the sitar which I wanted to use on recordings and a Coral, if you could find one, would be #1,800 up.

Most of he sounds are successful. The Teles, 58 LP, 335 and Gretsches have the wow factor, the big disappointment is the Strat especially played clean, it has no real depth. The 12 string acoustics seem to 'implode' as well. I can now do complete demos using many different guitars without getting off my chair. Hopefully, Line 6 will do some improvements and give us all an upgrade, a nylon strung would be nice. I've done a demo ( through a POD MK1 ) using all my fave sounds and everybody I've played it to has been knocked out.The difference in output that people have complained about is silly, a Les Paul is louder than a Tele. There is a slight piezo quality to the acoustics which is a shame but I have gotten good results by using a studio quality compressor and a Aphex Acoustic Xciter.

I was pleasantly surprised by the finish, ( sunburst ) and the neck, chunky at first but I soon had that tamed. The neck and action will put a lot of more inexperienced players off but it is obviously a compromise between electric and acoustic shapes/sizes etc. Can't really fault the build quality and finish, you're not buying a PRS so stop whining. Only fault was a fretting out at the 12th top E but his is easily rectified. Gig bag was high quality and the switch box is well thought out. Good quality cable.

Only used it for recording. No pickup noise is a real plus. Yes, I would take it on a gig no problem but don't rely on the batteries.

Not had cause to use it

I have been playing since 1965 and have many of the guitars modelled but find it totally convenient for laying down demo tracks quickly, it's a must for any project or even pro studio and it's perfectly matched with the Pod. I expect to hear the sitar on some hit records very soon, it's irresistable. Fave sound has to be that and the middle and neck positions on the Les Paul and ES335.

This is a new guitar, and I'm not going to go into a detailed explanation of how it works, etc, as that stuff can be found in the guitar magazines. The guitar itself is Fenderish, (25 1/2 scale)but with a wide nut and 3 on a side tuning pegs. The nut is a little wide for my taste, but if it gets to be a drag, I'll rplace it with something more like a standard Strat. There is a volume knob, a tone knob, and a five way selector swith, and this other knob that lists each guitar model and two "CustoM" settings you gan rpgram for a different sound in each of the five positions. Like you could have an "accousitc", a "banjo" a "Les Paul", a "Gretsch", and a "Tele" all on one position of the knob, and switchable from that five way switch.The overall quality of the the Korean made guitar is about what one would expect from a nice $400 to $500 Strat Tele Clone

Well, I'll get right to the point. I'm not going to run out and sell my Tele, Strat, Les Paul and Ibanez AS-100, nor my Martin. They all sound better than the models in this guitar. Not by much, in some cases. But, it is close enough and one could play one on stage, and no one in the audience would have a clue, sound wise. But, there are some modles on here of guitars that I would never play enough to justify buying. Coral Sitar, a Jazzbox, A couple of Gretsches, an acoustic resonator, a Dobro, a six string banjo, etc etc. The "accoustic" sounds are pretty close to what one gets with a piezo equipped accoustic, and better than most of the systmes that you can get built into a solid body. This would be a great guitar to take to a Jam session, as well. No matter what tune gets called, you can make the correct sound for it. It's got to be a great ax for a cover band guitarist that wants a certain degree of authentic sounding tone, but doesn't want the stage cluttered with guitars.

The action was set a little high for my taste, and I'm going to take it to a good set up guy I know, but really it was pretty good considering the price. No complaints, no rough frets, and the finish was really quite good.

Who knows? If I gig with it, this will be the "backup" guitar, in fact it probably is the ultimate backup guitar for a musician, as it can sub for about any guitar, and add a lot of versatility on top of it. How long the electronics work is the ultimate question.

Line 6 has a website, and toher products I've had ffrom them have always worked. I had a pod and was abnle to update it to 2.0 status for a reasonable cost. They are supposedly going to offer updates, and other things for this guitar

I'm not currently gigging, but that never lasts for long, I'll be out there again. I've got a 63 Tele Custom, a 52 goldtop, An Ibanez AS-100, and a Bandmaster Reverb converted to a 2 x 10". I've been playing since 1965. I bought this to be able to make a lot of different sounds, as a guitar to take to jam sessions, and something to have fun with. I've owned a few "specialty" (Fender Electric 12, Dano Baritone, Washburn jazzbox) guitars but I usualy sell them after I realize I don't play them a lot. with this one, I can have a guitar to use for tones I don't use too often, but would like to be able to make from time to time.

Lots of different sounds. average hardware.

How do people stand this thing? The strat, tele, and paul sounds are total crap. They sound about 75% accurate. That would be acceptable If the feel of playing this guitar was anything like playing the actual thing. The sitar and banjo are hardly recognizable. There is no way to get the effect of changing p'up heighth. Muting and harmonics are extremely subpar. Unless your in a wedding band or a cover band that has to switch from boston to bon jovi I could see no reason for not just buying the actual guitars. The price is woth it. Also the level difference in settings makes it impractical for live use. It's more accurate to the actual guitars but there should be an option to have even levels. Switching mid-song could create bad level problems. I would give it a one but there is huge variety in the sounds you can get.

This is the main reason to save up and buy the more expensive real guitars. If you cut out its guts and installed it in a squier strat the playability would be about the same. If you are used to playing a gibson or an american fender you will hate this.

As far as I can tell it is very reliable.

I own a fender strat,tele and gibson explorer and flying v. I play through a peavey duel 212(very nice, hard to find). The variax does not compare with my other guitars.

Year: 2003
Price: $999.00
Frets: 22
Controls: Vol / Tone / Model Selector Knobs, 5-way pickup selector switch
Jacks: one 1/4" trs output / power in jack, one (future) digital in/out ethernet jack for loading new models and connecting digitally to Vetta II or your computer.
Pickup: Baggs X-Bridge Bridge Pickup
Electronics: Active computer processor unit, rear battery box for 6 AA batteries(12 hrs.), or 1 9-volt (2 hrs.), if you're in a pinch.
Neck: Maple with Rosewood Fingerboard
Body: Maple (not sure)
Finish: Black
Body Style: Strat-like
Bridge: Adjustable Individual Saddles
Includes: Powered Footpedal with A/B Switching, Heavy Duty Gig Bag, Planet Waves High-Quality Stereo Cable.

Great for the studio -- no complaints at all. All the models are dead-on. One of the previous reviews states the Strat model doesn't sound as good as someone's "real strat". Let me just say that you have to compare apples to apples to really judge this axe. You can't compare the Variax Strat to a Ritchie Sambora model with hot pickups and a mid-boost circuit and expect the two to sound close to each other. That being said, I have used many of the models on pro recordings, and have been thrilled with the outcome (Ah those jazzboxes!). The banjo is a little weird because you have to play it with a guitar voicing. I haven't really figured out a good way around that yet, but for light texture it's good.
This guitar does fine live, especially with the addition of a POD or PODxt. With that combination, you have a ridiculous arsenal of sounds. Just make sure your monitor mix is good. If you're playing the acoustic models through the front of the house (as theyre meant to be plugged in), and you can't hear yourself, you'll have a tendency to overplay, and the acoustic models will "bottom out". I have noticed that I have to alter my playing style slightly for the acoustic models, for strummimg especially. I hit a real acoustic pretty hard, and you just can't do that with this axe. Ideally, it would be great to have a Variax with heavier strings on it for the acoustic models, and just use this one for electrics -- but who's got that kind of cash? Maybe next year. But make the right playing adjustments, and it's a great live axe. I've also read references to the differences in volumes between the models (Strat and Les Paul, for example). Well, a real Les Paul is louder than a real Strat, so it stands to reason. I found a fix, though -- it's called a volume pedal.

My Variax had pretty good action straight out of the box. Overall setup was good. I did exchange the first model I received for another one due to a bent tone knob. This may have happened in shipping, I'm not sure. The frets could have been a little better dressed at the edges. The neck is not going to please everyone. It's about the best midpoint for all neck styles and playing styles. The string spacing is good for different picking styles. The Variax plays very easily. I'm not sure I won't replace this neck at some point with a more standard Strat or Tele neck, but I'll have to give it some nore time. A friend of mine had a shop shave the back of his neck so that it wasn't quite so chunky, and that seemed to work pretty well (gave it kind of a soft V feel). I'll probably replace the nut at some point soon.

This guitar is built very well, and seems like it will stand up to wear and tear for a long time. Line 6 set out to build a solid axe, and they have.

Line 6 has always been good with me -- if you call them. They don't answer their emails. Answer your emails, folks! As a quick side note Sam Ash, whom I ordered the guitar from, was a huge pain in the ass to deal with, had rotten customer service, and delivered my replacement model to someone else's house! In addition, they accepted no responsibility whatsoever -- ***holes. I'll never buy from Sam Ash again. Line 6 is good though. Sorry for the sidebar.

I have been playing since 1979, and have a lot of other guitars. This guitar is truly a breakthrough, and will definitely revolutionize the electric guitar. Outstanding. If you're on a budget and don't have a lot of different guitars, go get this one. You couldn't own even one of the modeled guitars for the price you pay for this instrument. We're seeing history in the making, and just like they were with the POD, Line 6 is once again at the head of the pack.