Anyone using a Line6 Variax in a gigging situation?

Ignatius · January 3rd, 2006, 01:08 PM

The cover band I play with does everything from 80's pop to Zeppelin to Patsy Cline, modern country, No Doubt, and everything in between. Our lead vocalist plays acoustic or keys on about 1/3 of the tunes, but otherwise it's just me and the bass and drums. Recently I've thought that one of these Variaxes could cover a whole lot of fun territory and make my job easier. It will never replace my Teles, but I'm wondering what experiences any of you have had with using the Variax as a main or semi-main axe in a gigging situation. How does it sound? How does it feel? Are they reliable?

Scotland · January 3rd, 2006, 01:40 PM

One night I left my main guitars at home and just took the V300. Good sounds but not very accurate, particularly the Strat, it sounds like a cheap Strat copy. I liked some of the other sounds and they did a passable impression of most. What I liked most about it was that I could go from an ES335 to a 12 string Rickenbacker to an accoustic...all in one song.
To answer your question, yes it is giggable (I play mine through a Line 6 Pod XTL and a '76 Twin) and reliable. Does it sound exactly like the guitars you are emulating..no.

Dana · January 3rd, 2006, 02:19 PM

I don't use one, but I've seen a couple of bands use them live.

My $.02. The sound didn't cut through like a tube amp does. I remember back in the 80's when everyone was switching to rack gear, ADA's and stuff like that. I found that for bedroom playing they sounded cool, and were very versatile, but on a gig with drums, etc, the guitar lost it's definition. Just my opinion.

Mr. Sparkle · January 3rd, 2006, 03:17 PM

I saw a guy playing one in a little lounge trio in Cinnci a year or so ago. It was him, a lady singer and another fellow on acoustic. In that setting--which was samll and intimate like a bedroom-- it worked quite well. He got good jangle, acoustic and jazzbox tones. Mind you, thyere was almost no noise competition--no drummer, no crowd noise.

Tim Armstrong · January 3rd, 2006, 03:24 PM

I play in a 3-piece band in a resort town, and we cover a really REALLY wide range of songs and styles, and after experimenting with a number of different swiss army knife amps and effects, my brother (our guitarist) finally settled on a Deluxe Reverb and a simple pedal board (wah, tubescreamer, RAT, and Danecho). He can get an extremely wide variety of great tones with his Strat and that rig.

Great tone beats trying to sound just like the record, every day!

Cheers, Tim

Bill · January 3rd, 2006, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

Great tone beats trying to sound just like the record, every day!

I think everyone should have that tattooed on the back of their picking hand.

Ben Harmless · January 3rd, 2006, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

Great tone beats trying to sound just like the record, every day!

I think everyone should have that tattooed on the back of their picking hand.

Yep. I wanna see that etched into the PCB of Fender's next amp.

Dana · January 3rd, 2006, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Harmless

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

Great tone beats trying to sound just like the record, every day!

I think everyone should have that tattooed on the back of their picking hand.

Yep. I wanna see that etched into the PCB of Fender's next amp.

You guys are too funny. :D

sequencepro · January 4th, 2006, 07:25 PM

Check out www.guitaristjeffmiller.com

January 3rd, 2006, 01:08 PM	#1 (permalink)
Ignatius Tele-Holic Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 751 1 Photos	Anyone using a Line6 Variax in a gigging situation? The cover band I play with does everything from 80's pop to Zeppelin to Patsy Cline, modern country, No Doubt, and everything in between. Our lead vocalist plays acoustic or keys on about 1/3 of the tunes, but otherwise it's just me and the bass and drums. Recently I've thought that one of these Variaxes could cover a whole lot of fun territory and make my job easier. It will never replace my Teles, but I'm wondering what experiences any of you have had with using the Variax as a main or semi-main axe in a gigging situation. How does it sound? How does it feel? Are they reliable?

January 3rd, 2006, 01:40 PM	#2 (permalink)
Scotland Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland, Yewrup Age: 54 Posts: 6,502 3 Photos	One night I left my main guitars at home and just took the V300. Good sounds but not very accurate, particularly the Strat, it sounds like a cheap Strat copy. I liked some of the other sounds and they did a passable impression of most. What I liked most about it was that I could go from an ES335 to a 12 string Rickenbacker to an accoustic...all in one song. To answer your question, yes it is giggable (I play mine through a Line 6 Pod XTL and a '76 Twin) and reliable. Does it sound exactly like the guitars you are emulating..no. __________________ All those who believe in psycho-kinesis, raise my hand !

January 3rd, 2006, 02:19 PM	#3 (permalink)
Dana Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ashland, Ma Posts: 1,695 11 Photos	I don't use one, but I've seen a couple of bands use them live. My $.02. The sound didn't cut through like a tube amp does. I remember back in the 80's when everyone was switching to rack gear, ADA's and stuff like that. I found that for bedroom playing they sounded cool, and were very versatile, but on a gig with drums, etc, the guitar lost it's definition. Just my opinion. __________________ www.good-ear.com www.miles.be Study music and not the musicians who play it. - Lincoln Goines

January 3rd, 2006, 03:24 PM	#5 (permalink)
Tim Armstrong Moderator Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Berlin, Maryland, USA Age: 49 Posts: 9,714	I play in a 3-piece band in a resort town, and we cover a really REALLY wide range of songs and styles, and after experimenting with a number of different swiss army knife amps and effects, my brother (our guitarist) finally settled on a Deluxe Reverb and a simple pedal board (wah, tubescreamer, RAT, and Danecho). He can get an extremely wide variety of great tones with his Strat and that rig. Great tone beats trying to sound just like the record, every day! Cheers, Tim __________________ http://www.moodswingers.org

January 4th, 2006, 07:25 PM	#9 (permalink)
sequencepro TDPRI Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: North Augusta, South Carolina Posts: 96	Variax Check out www.guitaristjeffmiller.com

January 3rd, 2006, 03:17 PM	#4 (permalink)
Mr. Sparkle Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Carlsbad, CA Age: 40 Posts: 1,309 4 Photos	I saw a guy playing one in a little lounge trio in Cinnci a year or so ago. It was him, a lady singer and another fellow on acoustic. In that setting--which was samll and intimate like a bedroom-- it worked quite well. He got good jangle, acoustic and jazzbox tones. Mind you, thyere was almost no noise competition--no drummer, no crowd noise.