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The worst part is, it didn't sound bad

mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
edited March 2004 in Musicians and Gearheads
So, I was at the local shop, asking for an update on the Squier Tele that I've been waiting to try. Damn Fender is back-ordered for at least a month. So I start talking to the guys, explaining my situation, and what I want...

Dude tells me I should try a Line 6 Variax. I try to not laugh out loud at him. He hands me the guitar, I plug it into a Hot Rod Deluxe. Warm up the tubes, start flipping through the manual. I select a 1957 Gibson LP Special P-90 model, give a few "Baba" chords. It sounds damned good. A Gibson ES-335? Damn good. Select the Strat model, 1959, put it in the "4" position and play a bit of "Ledbetter," a bit of "Hey Joe." Damn good. I try a Sitar, pull out a Mid-East scale. Not perfect, but it is through a guitar amp. Ditto a 12-string acoustic... Rick 12-string electric... I cycled through a few models, and everything I tried, sounded good. I want to plug the damn thing into a PA and try out the acoustic models, too.

Am I delusional? Should I run away from it screaming? I mean, for $799, it's not a great price, not even a hard case, and it looks like a freaking piece of crap. But is it wrong that I thought it sounded good? Maybe not the same as having an actual 1959 Strat, 1959 Les Paul, a Martin 00, a Gibson J-200... etc... but hell, it didn't sound terrible. Now I need to go back, get the A/B box out, plug it into a DI and a PA speaker, ditto into a good tube amp with a TS-9 in front, and try the damn thing out for real.

I know a few of you guys talk shit about this guitar, and I admit to giving Line 6 a hard time for this concept. But have many of you guys actually played one? Is the shit-talk all just bullshit? Or have you guys actually noticed areas where this guitar falls short of it's goals (looks aside)?
...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    and you bitched at me for my pod. haha.

    i haven't played one (no see-um left handed one) so i can't comment. i have heard of people switching out the neck for their favourite shape and getting long quite well with it.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    well, lets put it this way......You can buy a Toyota Corolla and it will get you there and back again reliably and accurately time and time again. It is a very good car. However you can do the same procedure in a Corvette but with a hell of a lot more style and look good doing it. No one will ever be accused of looking cool playing a variax and no matter of pleasentries you add to the corolla will make it anything more than a corolla The variax is a great studio guitar no doubt. But it's like the smart ugly kid. Yeah send it to nasa to go work underground and make stuff levitate.

    Guitars are supposed to appeal to all your senses except taste unless you just like playing with your teeth. Smell, Feel, Sound and most definately sight.

    Having all those models is useful but it's not as much fun as having all those cool looking guitars either even if they are only in your dreams.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • trappedinmyradiotrappedinmyradio Posts: 1,189
    pac - i see what you're saying - my friend struggles with this - he bought a nashville power tele deluxe because he could get a few different styles of sounds from it - but he has a nice acoustic and a strat - so why did he buy a guitar like that - he should have just bought a telecaster - he said he wants to be able to switch between sounds with just one guitar - oh well -

    the 500 series variax doesn't look bad - the 700 is AWFUL -

    i am with pac -
    I'll dig a tunnel
    from my window to yours
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    I can see what you're saying... I definitely ain't a fan of the Variax's looks. HOWEVER....

    I would play any guitar that sounded good, regardless of looks.

    I'm torn.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • trappedinmyradiotrappedinmyradio Posts: 1,189
    it would be a fun addition to any arsenal - that's for sure -
    I'll dig a tunnel
    from my window to yours
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    just A/B against whatever real examples of the instruments it models you can get your hands on.

    you'll probably find the models don't sound the same but, like the pod, they might be good in their own way.
  • trappedinmyradiotrappedinmyradio Posts: 1,189
    A/B? what is that?
    I'll dig a tunnel
    from my window to yours
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    Originally posted by trappedinmyradio
    A/B? what is that?

    head to head comparison.
  • trappedinmyradiotrappedinmyradio Posts: 1,189
    thanks
    I'll dig a tunnel
    from my window to yours
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Well, here's my second phase of thinking on the whole deal:

    If I got this one guitar, I could have many different tonal options at my disposal. Sure, they might not be the same vibe or the same tone, but what do we always say? If it's played in the right way, it doesn't matter what it was played on, through what, into what.

    Also, it did sound pretty good. Not the same as having all 32 guitars, but pretty damn close. And while I still want my Tele twins, the more I think about it, the more I want them built right. And that may necessitate the services of the Fender Custom Shop... who wouldn't want my dream Teles from the hands of the Fender kings? But we're talking probably $2500-3000 per guitar here, right? So I get the Variax for $800, and sit on it a while, keep it around for shits and giggles. Hell, it might be a collector's item someday...

    I was thinking about the whole deal, especially with the cosmetics... here's my idea... Get a black Variax, replace the neck with a Warmoth maple Strat neck, and get Warmoth to cut me a black-white-black pickguard. It won't be the prettiest guitar ever, but it'd be about the prettiest Variax out there.

    I'm going in tomorrow to play it again, see what I think after a few day's thought... what say you now?
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    BUMP

    Apparently nobody else has seen my last reply...
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    I say do that which makes thou happy. I don't have any experience with the Variax. Maybe I'm too much of a fan of visible magnetic pickups over hexaphonic. Either way, that's a lot of options in one package. The only thing is because it's not sexy selling it might be difficult in a few years.

    No matter what Freddie Prinze Jr says an ugly smart girl is still a tougher sell than a sexy dumb girl.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    Originally posted by Pacomc79
    I say do that which makes thou happy. I don't have any experience with the Variax. Maybe I'm too much of a fan of visible magnetic pickups over hexaphonic. Either way, that's a lot of options in one package. The only thing is because it's not sexy selling it might be difficult in a few years.

    as with all computers, it will be worthless down the road.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Originally posted by exhausted
    as with all computers, it will be worthless down the road.

    *cough* moog *cough*
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    Originally posted by mccreadyisgod
    *cough* moog *cough*

    *cough*unique sound*cough*
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Originally posted by exhausted
    *cough*unique sound*cough*

    Touche.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    *Cough*486*cough*
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    *cough* you guys are self-righteous pricks sometimes, you know that?







    *cough*
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    *Narf* indeed *Narf*

    It's probably a cool sounding guitar man the warmouth neck would make it more playable and you could do whatever with the pickguard I'm just teasing you. 6'0 is a long way to fall.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Originally posted by Pacomc79
    *Narf* indeed *Narf*

    It's probably a cool sounding guitar man the warmouth neck would make it more playable and you could do whatever with the pickguard I'm just teasing you. 6'0 is a long way to fall.

    Oh, go drive your Honda. Leave me alone.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    Originally posted by mccreadyisgod
    Oh, go drive your Honda. Leave me alone.


    my boring dirty green honda with broken motor mounts and a squeaky AC belt. Still almost 200,000 miles and still going strong.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    Originally posted by mccreadyisgod
    *cough* you guys are self-righteous pricks sometimes, you know that?

    *cough*

    dude, if the guitar feels and sounds good to you. do it. someone just brought up the point of resale and so i commented on it. who knows, maybe the variax with reach cult status and be worth tons some day who knows.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Originally posted by exhausted
    dude, if the guitar feels and sounds good to you. do it. someone just brought up the point of resale and so i commented on it. who knows, maybe the variax with reach cult status and be worth tons some day who knows.

    If Michael Jackson can do it, so can the Variax.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • exhaustedexhausted Posts: 6,638
    hell, the head of gibson wants to put an ethernet outlet on the les paul. there are no rules.

    the variax may end up getting that kind of vibe that old, thousand switch japanese guitars do.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Quick update: Found one on eBay, picked it up for $624 total. Should have it next week. Modifications will probably wait until summer, but I'll try to post photos when I get a chance. It won't ever be the same as having all the guitars in the collection, or even two or three of them, but at $624, it's more affordable than any single model it emulates, and I can use it as my beater practice guitar for years. I WILL eventually own my Tele bastard twins, but I want to have them done right... anyways...

    Flame away, anyone who cares to...
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    A cool paint job would be neat. Know any art students?
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
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