James Holt - Line 6 Variax 700 Pod X3 Live Palm Muting Demo

[TVRobot1]

I was wondering if the bridge is a flat mount and if it plays an important role in making the little Variax system works. If I wanted to take all of the guts out of a Variax guitar and stick it in one of my guitars with mags (some routing would of course have to happen) then would I need the bridge or would I be able to use just whatever TOM or locking trem I already have on that guitar?

[tarfin]

Well this is not a very good comparison because Strats (and mapple freetboards) are not the best for palm muting so both guitars are averege at the task.

[BartazOZ]

Anyone know why the screen is shakin?

[jasonbrianmerrill]

Sorry, mate -

I have had this issue with the variax's for years - ever since I first got one back in 2005.

you can hear it in your vid - the mud and the plink noise at the very beginning. I did a straight on comparison to a non variax here:

line6.com/community/thread/573­35?tstart=0

and this is with the NEW model, the JTV-69... they improved the "plink" but it's still quite muddy. There are clean and dry examples for use with your own processors.

[TimANDTony32]

u got some dinosaur computers lol

[dagothur666]

i feel that the strat sounded better the variax was wierd sounding good but wierd idk ha

[TheSoundOfWolves]

Hi I'm Daniel I just want to say thanks for the demo... palm muting was one of the things I was worried about the line 6 variax.

[ShukonDeeshnutz]

I find your choice of the Les Paul tone on the Variax interesting, as I did pretty extensive testing with palm muting on the Variax and found that the Les Paul tone was the only tone to represent palm mutes halfway decently (and only in certain pickup configurations). EVERY OTHER TONE PRODUCED MUDDY OR DEAD MUTES. Your mutes on the Variax are definitely muddy and hard to differentiate from each other compared to the other guitar, where the rhythm of the picking (the chug) is heard clearly.

[maowcat]

those palm mute sound like muddy pieces of shit :/

[Targaxel]

The Variaxe humilates that piece of shit Fender.

[zonie9872]

I went back and forth on the corresponding parts of the video and with your production the Variax actually sounds better! I'm not really biased one way or the other and it sounds like the high end Line 6 products have really nailed it. I have a Line 6 Spyder III and it doesn't sound so hot, but it's a $100 amp and obviously can't be used as a comparison. Nice job!

[zonie9872]

This technology is absolutely AMAZING!

[megrad1000]

great vid,I use variax 600 through an xt live DI to a stage P.A. Best rig ever, I only use the one guitar now both on stage and studio.NO more analog guitars for me!

[bluesilverworks]

BITCHING man your a legend thank you thank you thank you heh heh

[777olk]

I still think the palm mutes suck! I got a Variax and it des not rock at all. It is a good Top 40 Axe though.

[Harrysound]

OMG get a new monitor!

[guitarguy5154]

where the fuck are the pick-ups!!!!!!

[shaada100]

@guitarguy5154 There is a single piezo pickup in each of the bridge nuts so there are infact 6 pickups in this guitar!

[brandon9271]

@guitarguy5154 They're up your ass! lol j/k They're in the bridge.. just like an electric acoustic.

[donkelleymusic]

I actually hear the same high pitched thing with the real strat that I hear from the modeled one.

nothing wrong wtih the variax here - the playing and amp combo bring out the high pitched attack, and it comes through the same on both guitars.

I'd be interested (absolutely no offence to the player intended) to hear a really great palm muter/shredder type of guy playing on teh variax - I suspect that any high pitched noise would be completely inaudible.

[donkelleymusic]

I actually hear the same high pitched thing with the real strat that I hear from the modeled one.

nothing wrong wtih the variax here - the playing and amp combo bring out the high pitched attack, and it comes through the same on both guitars.

I'd be interested (absolutely no offence to the player intended) to hear a really great palm muter/shredder type of guy playing on teh variax - I suspect that any high pitched noise would be completely inaudible.

[4713756]

which was that metal track playing i mean was it a song or u just made that guitar riff and backing track for tutorials.?frm whom u learned plaing guitar .i ma guitarist too from pakitsan..and wht the price of ur line 6 variax and pod x3 live.?and does that guitr varix only work with line 6 products?i knoe i have asked many question bt u have to rpely :D

[MaxAntihero11]

the fender seems to have a little more of a roar to it

[felphero]

well your variax and your fender sound exactly the same if you ask me

[brt927]

@felphero that is the point...

[radhazzard]

Hey I work for Line 6 doing the guitar setups for the MAG, Variax 500, 600, and 700. The 600 and 700 custom will be going on sale at guitar center next month. Also they will be unvailing a new line 6 Variax that is sure to break the bank. Let me know if you want any of the specs for the guitar as far as string height, action, sress relief, and what not.

[greenlanterone]

Great vid...I plan on getting this as I play genres from all over the place with Tunings from Drop B to Stand E.

Question: Can it do drop tunings?

And suggestion: CRT's are awesome but time to invest in a LCD bro!

Great playin' keep rocking

[greenlanterone]

Sorry you already answered this in the vid...I'm just a bad listener!

[Zerohour1967]

Thanks Green, yeah I have an LCD on my other PC, but hey.. I'd rather spend money on music gear than a monitor :)

Yes it can do drop tunings. You can program to electronically repitch each string up or down a whole octave. Would have to say though it doesn't always sound that great. You can get away with it at hi gain if you drop the top E to D for metal, and you could do alternate tunings for low gain clean sounds, but when you tune too far, and specially on hi gain it starts to sound nasty.

[greenlanterone]

I know you can de tune with the workbench or whatever it's called. But I have experimented with actually detuning? And then just using workbench to tune up...my main tunings are drop b, drop c, drop d, standard d, and standard e...so if I bought some 12 or something and tuned to drop C like a normal person (ie: tune) then used the software to tune to drop b or up to the others...I wonder if that would make a difference?

[Zerohour1967]

That's an Interesting idea, I'll try that when I get time, for the test I'll drop the whole tuning a full note and then tune back to concert pitch in Workbench and see how that sound. I'll report back when I get a chance. Cheers

[greenlanterone]

Cool...I find it funny when you say "purists". As if there's really a difference all and in.  Anyone who knows the tiniest bit of physics knows that it's all just electrical signals running through metal conductors of various forms....whatever the setup...

[mtsn]

@greenlanterone The people at Line 6 say that when you need to use a Variax in a different tuning (up or down) you should always use the guitar in standard tuning then use the Workbench to change the tunings, as the modeling is based on the sound of the guitar in the concert tuning captured by the piezos and it can be affected, the more it's detuned the more problems. OTOH, you can detune a preset in Workbench up to its limits. Try to think on the path of the signal to understand this better.

[YiannicL]

@greenlanterone get a new pc:)

[ironchimpo]

i own variax 700 in gold. played it live for 2 years and when band got more popular I had to get a guitar with magnetic pickups because we were playing much larger venues and the digital artifacts were very audible in the loud volume. i now play schecter c-1 hellraiser and love it. MUCH much better for live playing. occasionally I will play some direct plugged acoustic or some odd type sounds with the variax, but it is never in high gain. I'll answe questions for those interested in variax.

[ironchimpo]

recording situation is different than live play. do you hear that high pitched percussive sound when you palm mute on the variax? i can hear it through your video. Now try with a high gain amp. that high pitched percussive sound gets much louder. Also when dropping a string in workbench you get delay which you have to compensate for. A variax "dropped" string(s) emit a high pitched all the time through high gain amp. those models are only sopmewhat useful at very low gain.

[ironchimpo]

what i meant was high gain tube amp (not model).

[senn416]

Thanks for the very convincing demo of palm muting. I'm getting ready to buy the Variax - and this is an issue I wanted to learn more about. I hear no problem with it! It's probably more of a "feel" thing than anything.

[edominant7add9]

how about it's tremolo. does it stay in tune, is it two way or dive only ?

If it's trem is good I might buy it :D

[Zerohour1967]

Nah.. tremlo is really dodgy. I had the it setup my Cagil recently and it's better with a nut file, but really, I'm scared to use it for fear of needing to retune. Its not good. Maybe better machine heads would help. I don't do much with a whammy bar anyway so don't think I'll worry about trying to improve it. Stays in tune well as long as the tremlo isn't used.

[Anorag]

@Zerohour1967 I use my tremolo all the time with my Variax 600 and it stays perfectly in tune

[mtsn]

@Anorag mine too!

[alaeth]

I enjoyed that!

uberr

[Zerohour1967]

Where have you been.. I miss you xo

[Drope934]

your tempo is a bit off :s :s

[Zerohour1967]

Yeah, might be a bit of me, but was also having some problems with Audio Sync on Sonar, so playback was a bit dodgy. Think I've fixed that now with different driver settings

[nickunicorn]

can you explain the variax to me

where are the pickups

[Zerohour1967]

There are no pickups. The string sound us turned to an electronic signal via Piezo Pickups at the bridge. The sound is then DSP converted by the onboard electroncs to sound like a real pickup. Advantage.. do hum at all! Disadvantage, sounds 100% like a real guitar on strum and finger picking, but only 90 - 95% on hi-gain metal sounds. Still a fantastic guitar and only guitar I use these days.

[JeffRai]

Thanks for posting this. I'm doing a little personal research on the Variax because I'm wondering where to drop some money on a serious versatile electric. You make a good case for comparative sounds, but considering their similarity for the direct recording, I find it odd that you selected the Les Paul setting for the Variax (though I'm sure you jsut found it worked best.)

Anyway thanks again - I wonder what they'd sound like through real cabs turned up to 11. ;)

Thanks again, mate!

[dmarins]

cool sound man

[Ieovip]

Dude wayyy less talking, get to the playing, most of the video is you talking and talking and talking....boring

[nookie077]

How did you manage to get a thumbs up for an out of order comment like that? Why don't you setup, film and then edit some footage to show us how to do a less "boring" video. By the way, how many videos have you done?

[x3vanG21x]

this sounds nothing like my rectifier. not that its terrible. i'm a tube purist, but i have an appreciation for some modeling stuff, line 6 has a very unique sound to me, it doesn't really do a good job "modeling" but it does create its own unique tone, which is what all companies should do anyways!

[Baijidoom]

If you're a purist you should get an amp that actually uses power tube saturation. ;)

[x3vanG21x]

...i do. i run el34's now and crank get poweramp saturation.

[golgoth667]

Thanks a lot for the video !

I read about a lot about this issue on various forums, even owned a 300 for a while, but never got to play it that much. Eventually sold it (the power box shorted out, and the batteries were too much of a hassle). So, not because I didn't like it, is what I mean.

Now, crazy as it may sound, after doing some back and forth, quick A/B'ing, I like the variax sound better.

[nolem78]

hi 0hr, I own a Variax 500, and I must say that palm muting on a Variax isn't like the real thing, but you just showed how you can obtain a cool sound anyway, btw imho even better than the ones showcased on L6 website... Variax weaknesses (like say "strange sounding" really fast phrases or harmonics on a detuned-model) are absolutely nothing facing the potential and the quality of the instrument (of mine at least!). Seriously thinking about getting an X3 live. Cool video, gonna C D others!