Line 6 Variax

Ok, in this department the Variax wins. It has tons of features, but could really use a trem and a nylon string sound. I think most guitarists out there would have much more use for a nylon string setting than a coral sitar.

Sounds a lot like a synth guitar. Yeah, I no its not a synth and doesn't have tracking issues, etc., but the sounds are like something you would find on a high end keyboard or sampler. It didn't sound bad through a PA, but it did not sound like a real acoustic, even on the highly touted J-200 setting. If you have a Parker, Brian Moore, or one of the Strats or Teles with a piezo bridge, then you already have the acoustic sounds of this instrument. To my highly trained and professional ear, the sounds were definately fake and can only be described as "guitar-like". This would probably work fine for most of you amatures out there, but it is not useable for a talented professional like myself. If you are some middle-aged doctor or lawyer who sits around in your basement rerecording songs by the Byrds, the Who, and Jimmy Buffet, then this will work fine for you.

Bad for a $1000 (average street price) guitar, but good for a $400 or lower import. You are paying for the electronics with this one. With hands like mine you can play anything (and make it sound good) so the setup seemed ok to me.

Hard to say as I'm putting it on ebay. There stuff holds up well enough, so I don't think the Variax will be an exception to the general rule. A lot of people have talked about unit failures, etc., but hey, it is the first run of these things. It felt solid enough if I kept in mind that it was really a $400 import.

I have a Pod and they answered my questions quickly and politely. I don't see why this would be any different.

I'll give this one slightly better than 5. To me a 5 means it works and might have appeal for the amature hour players out there. You have to understand that I am at a different level of playing than most of you are. For someone like myself, this instrument is nothing more than a toy. I can understand that at the playing level most of you are at that you cannot justify having over twenty guitars like I do. Hey, even with years of practice you will probably still never play or sound like me. My talent has to be from the Gods themselves. Its a good idea and a few years from now, they'll probably have a very kicking version of the Variax out there. Until then, its just something for the wanna be's.

2003 Black Variax with Pearloid scratch plate. 1 Volume control, 1 Tone. 1 Knob for selecting the model and storing models in the Custom banks. No pickups (no hum!). Not too heavy and balances well on a strap.
This is a modelling guitar. It replicates the sounds of a wide variety of classic electric guitars, acoustic guitars and a couple of other stringed instruments. This makes it very attractive to anybody who plays in a covers band or who needs more than one guitar at a gig.

I play in a covers band and this guitar is like a dream. I can get any sound need for Rock, Pop, Grunge, acoustic stuff, rock'n'roll, jazz, country....
Mostly we play rock so the models I will use will be the Les Pauls, Strat, Telecaster, Rickenbacker and the excellent acoustic models.
To my mind all the above are excellent sounds. You can switch from Tele to Les Paul in mid song!! The acoustics are brilliant through a PA or amp and there's no feedback!! There's no hum either because there is no pickups.
I don't know if it sounds exacly like a 1959 Fender Strat because I've never played one (and never will) but it does produce a great Strat tone (probably better than many new Fenders). It's the same for the other models too. What you get is a great sounding tool for playing pretty much anything.
I play through a Peavey Bandit and even the acoustics sound great on the clean channel.

I found the action to be good, maybe a little low but not a problem. It looks great in black. I've found no flaws or faults. Everything is fine.
There is also a Mystery Input next to the jack which hopefully will enable more models to be downloaded later on (Suggestions: some basses, Peavey Wolfgang, an Ibanez)

This will be my weapon of choice live from now on. My SG will be relegated to support slot. I always have a back-up and always will regardless of waht I play. Strap buttons are fine and it balances well. I see no reason why it shouldn't last.

The manual is cool. One year warranty.

I've been playing for a good few years now and this is the best guitar I've ever owned or played. The concept is brilliant and they have done an excellent job of replicating the sounds. I may never use some of the sounds but that doesn't matter, even if you only use 2 models you've got a bargain

2003 Black Variax (The rest of the feature have been listed here).
Whammy bar would have been a nice addition but I couldn't wait for that model.
Enough tones to drive most players nuts.

I play mainly blues but also anything from classical, jazz to Hard Rock (no metal !).

It's either bing used via a GuitarPort or POD and Behringer Blue Devil or VOX Pathfinder.

Noise ? Are you kidding me ?

Tonewise it really depends on the model some are superb some are just good. Even the strange 12 string acoustic is usable.
Maybe nothing beats an original instrument being modeled by the Variax but who cares. I cannot afford them and if I am being asked wouldn't I rather have one good american Strat for the same price there is only one answer for me: Hell No !!.
Varaiety is THE word here and the is nothing that comes close to it with 6 strings on it. MOTHING !

I love the feel of the guitar body, the neck is good. Some parts could have been better selected but at the price I paid I have nothing to complain.

The set-up was good. Maybe a bit more attention to the action would have made me happier but I assume this is a matter of style and what you are used to. It took a few minutes to sort it out to my liking.

The only problem I found was the stain finishing on the neck that left a large brighter patch along 3-4 frets. Not a major problem, but ...

Still didn't get a chance to gig it (two weeks to go) but I will not be without a backup. It seems solid but working with computers all my life I wouldn't count on anything with chips in it without a backup.
I wish I could afford a second Variax as a backup. Maybe in the next couple of years when the next model will come out with other models, whammy bar and other goodies this guitar will become a backup.

I never had problem with Line6 gear so far. I have been waiting for my Variax for 5 months and they should recognise my voice from hundreds of nagging phone calls (sorry mates). They have been as helpful as they could and I believe you do have someone to talk to in Line6 Europe.

I have been playing for 4-5 years now and own quite a bit of gear now (way too much for not being at least a semi-pro). 8 Guitars, 3 amps, DP200 multi, Loads of stomp like the great Boss AW10, Marshall Bluesbreaker and so on (got GAS !).

I loved the concept of the variax ever since I read about it (Guitarist Mag Dec 2002 issue) and pre-ordered one immediately.
I love this guitar. Some people complains that it tacks the "va va voom" factor and it is just too much of mix of others. I believe the problem here is just having too much. Just stick to one model for two weeks and you'll understand what I'm on about. Maybe what you need is to play with your eyes closed, put a jazz box on and flow with it for a while. Maybe it's the freaking fact that while the tone is great the feel of it is so different from the original instrument.
I don't care. This guitars suits me and my needs just fine and I'll stick to it and the next models from Line6 until someone will come with all these feature (and more) in a better quality box for the same price. When it happens phone me to pre-order the next generation.

Too many features to list go to the website.

Anyone who tells you that these guitars sound like the real Mcoy is probably foolish enough to tell you that the Line6 amps sound like real fenders and marshalls. That being said these guitars can get a usable, slightly rich tone through a nice sounding amp. I demoed this model thru new fender and marshall tube amps.

played fine, found my way around with no problems. Flailing caused it to go out of tune so minus a point for being kind of wimpy, make that 4 points.

don't know I'm not going to buy this guitar.

don't know, nice website.

I like gimmick guitars and the variax is a gimmick. I really feel for the boneheads that gloat over this thing and gladly pay the retail price. If this guitar falls to $250-300 I'll buy it because its different and fun if your not afraid to try something besides fenders or gibsons. My hats off to Line6 for an innovative product. However not all its hyped to be by a longshot and far too expensive. For this kind of dinero I'm going with a Jerry Jones 12 string or barritone guitar.

The only modeling guitar on the planet..

If you want the anorak's details check other reviews or the Line 6
website.

More features than any Gibson, PRS or Fender. Maybe a roland syth guitar could out do it on the no. features.

Sound. This is where everything boils down to opinion.
The twelve strings are the least realistics as they sound more heavily chorused rather. All the other sounds are what they are supposed to be, close approximations of the modeled instruments. If you want the actual take you 12 grand a buy a 57 Strat or 40 grand for a 58 Les Paul. How many people know what a 58 Les Paul actually sounds like in the raw, they may knowthe sound after it has been recorded and put through another 40 grands worth of outboard gear.

As for the many people who put this off as a toy have totally missed the point. This is a tool, a sonic pallet that can produce a vast array of tones from the flick of a switch. Once recorded it can be eq'd and nobody would know the difference and even that is if it is necessary, which on some of the models it isn't.

reso sounds, especially Sitar are out of this world. Perfect for adding that extra spice to recordings.

It's getting a 9 because although not all sounds are perfects there are so many goods sounds that the few bad ones don't really matter.

Pinch harmonics and good sustain are there in bundles.

Came straight out the box set up better than the one i had reviewed in the shop that had been setup by a pro. Not nito finished or Gotoh tuners. But most of the hardwear is actually good and performes spot on.

Durability probably the same as any other guitar.
Reliability to soon to say but expect it to be good for what
I will be using it for.

Never tried them/Hopefully wont need to.

I have been playing for 18 Years and have had countless guitars over the years. I am fortunate to have a PRS Custom 24 Artist Pack. A 2002 Gibson Les Paul. A '65 Customs shop Strat. (no. 10 of 12. A Customs Shop Telecaster. And a Gibson J45.

I think there are two types of guitarist.

One who can take a Plank with steels strings and produce some of the most wonderfull music in the world. The other is the gear snob. If its not got a name and made in the US then it's not good.

Wrong.. A good intrument is a good instrument and the Variax is a great instrument. Individually my other instruments may be better at the one thing that they do. And the point is they ondly do one thing and that is be themselves.

I like to collect these guitars because the made history and are so famous. They are great Guitars and i am privaledged to be in the position of owning them. The Line 6 has made history it is unique and I would advise anybody to who cannot decide which instrument to buy if they can only have one to try this guitar. It may not say Les Paul, Tele or Strat but close your eye's and you could be playing all them, and more!! without changing you strap.

Basic features are already covered here so I'll get to my opinions. i must first say that I've tried out this guitar on 4 separate occasions in different music stores. In most cases, the guitar was located next to Line6 amplifier products so naturally, these are what you'll plug it into. One one occasion, I dragged it across the store and plugged it into a Crate tube amp.

This guitar has no pickups . Instead it models the sound of several other electric and acoustic guitars by processing the signal from a piezo equipped hardtail bridge. Some esoteric instruments such as banjo and electric sitar are also modelled. Output is compatible with standard guitar amps and effects.

All in all, the guitar porion was rather average. What obviously makes this axe stand out is that it's supposed to give you the sounds of many other axes. This sounds awesome in theory, but the actual execution wasn't as thrilling as I'd hoped as I'll soon go into. Still, the sheer concept is groundbreaking and deserves credit.

I play different kinds of music from blues to rock to metal as well as a lot of jazz and some classical. I've owned over a dozen good guitars (and countless other bad ones) in the 25 years I've been playing. I'm no great guitar master, but I do know what a good guitar sounds should sound like for all of these musical styles. I should also say that I own and use a P.O.D. and though I also use tube amps, I love the Line6 amp modelling and the POD is my #1 thing to plug into.

When I first plugged a Variax into a Flextone amp, I immediately noticed how dull and lifeless it sounded. I have, on occasion, noticed a digital quality to all of Line6's amp modelling products that I've tried, but usually, this wasn't so objectionable with a great guitar plugged in as the instrument's soul still would shine through. This time, however, I was put off by the fake-plus-fake combination. It totally lacked soul, vibe, chime, spank, twang, ... you name it. On the one time that I did plug the Variax into a tube amp, it sounded much better. Still, I noticed some things were missing. Plucking or strumming the strings pretty much yielded the expected tones as the modelling algorithms were clearly designed to process these inputs. But the guitar fell short when processing other types of input such as hammer-ons, pull-offs and especially harmonics. A real guitar responds in a many complex ways to these techniques and the Variax interpretations of them seemed dull and lifeless. It lacked the complexity and interactiveness that even a cheap guitar could deliver.

As for the sounds themselves, many are good approximations of the originals. Despite some of the crticisms below, I found the acoustic sounds quite usable and in many cases more authentic than the sound of a piezo-equipped acoustic plugged direct. With an acoustic processor like a Zoom 504, I think these sounds might fool some die hards.

A lot of people are going to fall into the Strat/Les Paul/Tele mold. The Variax has only one variation of each of these instruments. It would have been nice to have more of these; e.g., a classic strat, a blues strat, etc.

The jazzbox and hollow-body models are very similar and to those who don't use these instruments (or don't want to), they're a waste of presets. Ditto for some of the other models. Hopefully a future version will allow user-loadable models.

Clearly, there's a lot of growing up to do here.

The guitar portion of the Variax is a Korean made wood body and neck and it is typical of instruments made there: think Squier. Not a whole lot of complexity in the unplugged sound and not much sustain. the finish looks good, but I find this to be the case with other asian-made instruments these days. The Variax played in tune and stayed that way. The neck was comfortable and straight and there were no intonation problems I could find.

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Let me conclude by saying that the last time I auditioned a Variax, I had to wait for the guy at the store to dig up the power adapter. While I waited, I plugged a Mexican strat I pulled from the wall into a line6 Spider amp and was wailing away for a few minutes in a quiet audition room. When the dude arrived, I plugged the Variax into the same amp and listened carefully to all the sounds over a thirty minute period. When I had finished, I handed the guitar back to the sales guy and said, "I actually had more fun with the Mexican strat."

The Variax represents a radical new way of thinking and an important first step. Where it will eventually take us is anyone's guess. For right now, I'm going to wait and see ... and listen carefully.

Guitar is built okay. Good balance both standing and seated. Great feeling neck with a satin finish. The frets could have been seated better on the one that I have, but definitely no worse than any other guitar in it's price range.

This is the category that makes all of the difference. I want to be sure that I'm very clear on this point. I wanted to hate this guitar! It sounds bad, I know, but the guitar is a sacred thing. Each one is special in its own way, and the idea of being able to get a lot of the subtleties of particular guitars out of electronics alone seemed a little taboo.

With that said, I've been playing it daily for over 2 weeks now and am no closer to hating it. In fact, it's becoming the guitar I reach for first.

The Les Paul sounds are smooth and creamy, the Strat sounds sparkle (they even quack in the notch positions), the Tele sounds are better than both of the Tele's I currently own (sad).

Where I find myself spending most of my time is on the acoustic settings. I love the J200 and the banjo sounds (my drummer almost stopped playing to see where the banjo was).

The only reason I'm giving this instrument a 10 is because there was nothing higher on the menu.

The factory set up was quite standard. The action was uneven and the nut was cut too high. Once again, not uncommon on Korean guitars. A little fussing brought everything together.

The only complaint I have is the color. Don't get me wrong, the finish is immaculate, and I can't complain out loud because it was a gift.....But, I'm sure that this particular red should only be available on mid 70's Chevy's and should come with a free set of Foster Grant's complete with State Trooper mustache. Ewww!

So far so good. I've got years of playing to do on it before I can tell you if there are any time related hic-ups, but as it stands, nothing in my normal use seems to phase it.

What's to call customer support on. Plug in, turn switch. Simple as it gets.

I've been playing for well over 20 years and have a sizable collection of instruments to choose from, including many that are modeled here. The only reason I go back to other guitars at this time is to use a whammy bar.

As soon as they come out with one with a whammy, I'll have to buy it too.

Guitar is built very well. I have a hard time with the upper frets in the 21 and 22nd range. It seems like the body could have been cut out a little more, but that's just me. Overall I love it!!

This was the selling point for me. I am a music director for a church, and I can't keep switching from piano to guitar, to acoustic. So the acoustic models were going to be very important to me. And I now can say that they are incredible, even just run direct to the sound board. The 1st position and the 5th position on the pick up selector are my favorites, they have a very deep and full sound. The 12 string models aren't great, but I don't need them all that much. Actually the one sounds very much like something from Boston, "More Than a Feelin". The Les Paul's and the Fender stuff is great. I am not the best at hearing minor differences even when dealing with the real thing, so I am a very happy man.

The action is a little high, but I am willing to make this my main guitar, so I can live with it, and get used to it.

Don't know yet, but I did buy an extended warranty, just incase. Any time I deal with software and something so new, I try to cover my self.

Haven't had the need

I have been playig for about 17 years, and I am a new gear maniac. But this purchase was not made on a whim, I put alot of thught and time into it, and I could not be more satisfied. I am so afriad of scratching it or banging it. This is the first guitar I have bought that I have felt like that. Maybe because I put so much time in researching it.

Features....well this thing has enough features to get the job done (and then some) but without too many things to clutter up the guitar or your mind. It has your basic master volume control, master tone control, a 12 position rotary bank (mode) switch, a 5-way Strat-style selector switch, a standard 1/4" TRS output jack, a battery compartment, an electronics compartment, and a "mystery" jack for future software upgrades. This guitar has no pickups in the traditional electric guitar sense but a piezo sensor, for each string, located in the bridge saddles.The bridge itself is a typical non-trem, through-the-body string arrangement. The double cut away body is solid basswood....mine is black with a black pearl pickguard and is somewhat roughly shaped like a Strat. The fairly chunky, bolt-on Fender scale neck is maple with a rosewood fingerboard and the frets I would call medium-jumbos. The tuners are the non-locking type and seem pretty stable but there's no indication as to who actually manufactured them. The coolest thing about this guitar are the very convincing, modeled, traditional stringed instrument sounds that are available with just the flick of a couple of switches, such as: Telecaster, Stratocaster, Les Paul, Gretch, Rickenbacker, semi-hollow, acoustic, jazzbox, 12 string, banjo, dobro, sitar, and a few others. Also available are two, five slot Custom banks that allow you to store your favorite sounds, in any order, for quicker access. Accessories, include a good quality gig bag, trussrod & bridge wrenches, a foot pedal/AC power supply with footswitchable XLR & standard 1/4" outputs w/LED's, a good quality 1/4" TRS interconnect cable, and a fairly easy to understand owners manual. In the event of failure of the included power/switching pedal, the guitar can also run on 6 AA batteries or, in a real pinch, a 9 volt battery (for 2 hours). I gave the guitar a 9 for features because it isn't currently available with a trem.

Sound....this is where this guitar gets very interesting because, to my ears, it can very convincingly mimic many other stringed instrument sounds, such as: electric guitars, acoustic guitars, and a few other specialized instruments. Bank #1 is a Custom bank for storing your presonal favorites, Bank #2 has 5 Telecaster sounds, bank #3 has 5 Strat sounds, Bank #4 has 5 Les Paul sounds, Bank #5 has 5 Les Paul Jr., Special, & Firebird sounds, Bank #6 has 5 Gretsch sounds, Bank #7 has 5 Rickenbacker sounds, Bank #8 has 5 semi-hollow sounds, Bank #9 has 5 jazzbox sounds, Bank #10 has 5 acoustic sounds, Bank #11 has 5 "Reso" sounds (dobro, sitar, Dano, banjo, tricone), and Bank #12 is a second Custom storage bank. And, not only are the sounds convincing, they are also set up level wise so they drive your amp just like the original guitar. Also, without magnetic pickups, single coil sounds are no more noisy that humbucker sounds. However, while some sounds are more accurate than others, I honestly couldn't find a bad sound in this thing....all are VERY useable.

Action, Fit & finish....all things considered not too bad. My only complaint is that the nut wasen't cut quite deep enough making a barred F chord rather difficult. However, 10 minutes with my nut files solved that problem. Fretwork is very good but they aren't polished to a mirror finish like on a high end guitar, and there are no apparent sharp edges or sprout. Finish is smooth, the neck is tight & straight, and after my nut fix & setup, the guitar plays about as good as any of my other higher priced guitars. The stock strings were pretty crappy so those came off immediately.

The guitar seems built pretty solid, but one never knows when electronics are going to crap out....which would make this guitar dead in the water.

No warranty issues yet so I'm not sure how helpful they would be with a warranty related problem. The warranty on the instrument itself is said to be lifetime, except for the electronics, which are warranteed for one year.

Overall....for the purists out there yes, some of the modeled sounds are probably more accurate than others....but I wouldn't call any of them poor as they are very convincing, especially in a gigging context where some of the subtle nuances are typically lost. Do the models nail the sound of the holy grail vintage instruments we often talk about? Probably not, but I think the sounds are within the range of variation of what one would expect from the original guitar. Will the Variax make you want to go out and sell some of your favorite guitars? Maybe, maybe not....but, as a tool, this thing has great value. Personally, my #1 gigging guitar is a good Strat with my guitar of choice being a Melancon Pro Artist. And, while I love the sound of my current rig with my Komet amp, sometimes a Strat-style guitar just won't cover all the bases very well.... and, occasionally, it would be nice to add an acoustic, a 12 string, or a Les Paul passage to a song....and this is the strength of the Variax. Without spending $10,000 and tripping over a half dozen guitars on stage, I can have my favorite #1 guitar and cover the rest of the bases easily & inexpensively with the Variax. And, keep in mind, this is coming from a guy with 35 years experience and who has hated every modeling amp that he's ever tried. In my humble opinion, if you can get by the looks & feel of the Variax, the sounds are there.

Basically the most versatile guitar I ever played. If it had a tremolo it would be complete.

Some sounds come close to the original, some don't, but consider: no guitar sounds like another, even it is the same model and year of construction. In total the Variax represents the first approch to capture the sounds of the most important and sought after guitar models in one axe.

I play rock guitar since 1968 I and testing this guitar was one of the most disappointing experiences I had in the last years. Despite the high gloss commercial presentation, in reality the Variax looks cheap, it feels cheap, action is very unconfortable and from the optical point of view I would never use such a guitar on stage.