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  #16  
Old 12-17-2014, 09:32 AM
s2y s2y is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eatswodo View Post
There were actually several people who did just that back with the earlier models. You couldn't just buy the electronics, but a 300 model was a relatively cheap donor. Retrofitting it into another guitar was not a trivial exercise - the piezo bridge is an integral part of the system, and the electronics module itself was pretty hefty.

And, of course, what you ended up with was functionally what Line 6 offers now.

Sweetwater has a couple of scratch'n'dents for under $700 right now. That's a lot of guitar for the money.
I suppose I could try something like that. I'm very accustomed to playing luthier made instruments.
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  #17  
Old 12-17-2014, 01:00 PM
DavidE DavidE is offline
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Originally Posted by s2y View Post
I suppose I could try something like that. I'm very accustomed to playing luthier made instruments.
The 300 series electronics are not the same as the 500/600/700 or the current electronics. Go at least with the 500.


And if bless are under 700, buy one before 12/31 and get a 150 rebate on top of that from Line 6.
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  #18  
Old 12-17-2014, 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Kip Carter View Post
okay it sounds like it might be an okay buy... but i'm not hearing if I need that pedal setup or not sure what it is called... big honkin pedal I guess. I'm gonna want to be able to do instrument switches and virtual capo for this to be justified. Otherwise I'll go buy a cheap lil import and wack on that a bit...

Anyone compare this to the Peavy AT 200? That might be an alternative too but my impression on that was that it was pretty cheaply built. Yall are the electronic crew so clue me in where needed.
The current version doesn't need the big honking floor switch, but it will work with one for power. I like the new rechargeable battery they include and picked up a Fender micro ABY switch and a DI box to to send the signal to an acoustic amp or pa if I'm on an acoustic model. DI is optional, but it also has an amp sim.
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  #19  
Old 12-17-2014, 01:04 PM
DavidE DavidE is offline
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Virtual Capo on a Variax:


http://youtu.be/3wmc7TP_uEY
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  #20  
Old 12-17-2014, 01:56 PM
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David Eastwood David Eastwood is offline
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The 300 series electronics are not the same as the 500/600/700 or the current electronics. Go at least with the 500.
Actually - and please correct me if I'm wrong - the 300 and 600 shared the same electronics. These were the successors to the 500 and 700, which, in turn, had their own set of electronics.
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  #21  
Old 12-18-2014, 07:09 PM
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I had a variax 300 that I was very pleased with (including the workbench software), until the electronics just plain crapped out after a year. Like all computers with integrated circuit boards, there are failures that are simply not repairable or cost effective.
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  #22  
Old 12-19-2014, 09:58 AM
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Originally Posted by MBE View Post
I had a variax 300 that I was very pleased with (including the workbench software), until the electronics just plain crapped out after a year. Like all computers with integrated circuit boards, there are failures that are simply not repairable or cost effective.
My Variax 500 lasted longer than a year but I used it for recording (liked its versatility!) only so it got minimal use. When the electronics did fail I found the same situation for repairs--no one could fix it locally and the cost to send it away was simply prohibitive.
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  #23  
Old 12-19-2014, 10:05 AM
Kip Carter Kip Carter is offline
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My Variax 500 lasted longer than a year but I used it for recording (liked its versatility!) only so it got minimal use. When the electronics did fail I found the same situation for repairs--no one could fix it locally and the cost to send it away was simply prohibitive.
Hmmmmmm not boding well for the Variax then... maybe I should go with the less expensive Peavy AT200 then.
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  #24  
Old 12-19-2014, 11:15 AM
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I know that the original question is about the Variax. There are two members that have reported electronic failures and there are very few of these around, it would be of concern for me. My suggestion to Kip would be to seriously look at Roland GR 20 or GR 55 Guitar synth and install the GK30 on an existing guitar. It is a quality synth and does many things, more than most could use. I set one up about 4 years ago and the lead guitar player in our band picked it up from me and uses it all the time. If the electronics in the Variax fails, what you have left for a guitar would be my thoughts. I know it doesn't answer the Variax question but look at where the Fender VG Strat has gone. -- Darwin
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  #25  
Old 12-19-2014, 07:36 PM
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Variax parts are available through Full Compass
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  #26  
Old 12-19-2014, 08:00 PM
Kip Carter Kip Carter is offline
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Variax parts are available through Full Compass
Sure enough... so if something went south could just order the parts and fix it.

Okay... takes the worry out of that... How do you tell the 500's from the 700's then? I'm liking the 59 body style in the tobacco burst. but see nothing that tells me if that is a 500 or 700.
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  #27  
Old 12-20-2014, 05:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Kip Carter View Post
Sure enough... so if something went south could just order the parts and fix it.

Okay... takes the worry out of that... How do you tell the 500's from the 700's then? I'm liking the 59 body style in the tobacco burst. but see nothing that tells me if that is a 500 or 700.
It's neither

The Variax 500 and 700 were the original models - the 700 just being a blingier version of the 500. They shared the same electronics.

The 300 and the 600 were the second generation, again sharing their own variation on the electronics, updated from the 500/700. The 300 was a pretty average instrument; the 600 much better, roughly on a par with a MIM Strat

The functionality of both series was identical - they used piezo pickups in the bridge to feed signal to the electronics, where all the magic happened. No conventional pickups.

The current JTV models are the third generation. They add magnetic pickups, in various configurations, to an updated version of the piezo-driven modeling technology. Magnetic pickups, and the ability to adjust tunings on the fly (rather than have to tie a tuning to a custom model) were the two most-frequently requested enhancements (I was an active member of the support forums back then), along with the ability to use Workbench (the software for tweaking models) without an external interface, and better onboard power. The current series of guitars includes all of these.

Hope that helps.

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  #28  
Old 12-20-2014, 06:00 PM
Kip Carter Kip Carter is offline
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Yes it does... a LOT... I'm back on the Variax path... Maybe some time around the first of the year one of these will show up in my stocking:
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  #29  
Old 12-20-2014, 09:21 PM
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You have to buy by 12/31 to get the rebate and I don't think there's much time to mail in the form in January.
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