James Tyler Variax?

Larry, I didn't know that James Tyler was making those....

[Blocked Image: http://variac.com/images/Staco/3pndvam1.jpg]

I have one of the Korean ones.
My verdict ......
Magnetic pickups very good
Acoustic models very good
Electric models....meh. They tend to get very muddy, in particular the Les Paul models
Doesnt like palm muting on the models. Just a symptom of the piezo pickups being on the opposite side of your palm to the pick itself so no matter how much you change technique or try to eq it 'chugga chugga' just aint happening on the modelled sounds. Fine on the mag pickups though.

I own the 'Gibson Style' one - and found the same

Magnetic pickups very good
Acoustic models very good
Electric models - all Fender stuff sounds very bad (all the high end missing) - Gibson guitar models sounds ok.
All electric models create not hum (that's great) - but the guitar creates some background noise/hiss (not so great).

Build quality is good.

I've one of the earlier ones and if you want to marry guitar and amp in say a covers band then being able to quickly match them works pretty well. Neil

I have sold my JTV-69 because haptically ist wasn't working for me, and soundwise was much inferior to my Strats and Teles that I normally play.
Modeling- wise it's a good step up from the previous Variax 500, 700, and 600 which I all owned.

In the long run, after having seen the development of guitar modeling since 2003 (the year when the original Variax 500 appeared), I don't think that it will play a major role in the future, unlike amp Profiling, which IS the future.

Let's say it like this:
The Variax sounds a little bit closer to the real guitar then the POD's sound to the real amps.

It works to fake some guitar sounds - but is not the real thing.

As mentioned the Gibson simulations sound quite good - I like this guitar - give it a try to find out if it works for you.

I own the earlier Variax 300 from which i tranplanted the electronic in a good Warmoth guitar and while I can't speak for the JTV workmanship i can give my 2 cents about the modeling side. First, If I have a gig where I will use a strat all the way then I'll bring my Strat and that's it. The Variax models will not replace a VERY GOOD Tele or Lespaul. BUT if I need a lot of different guitars in one gig then the Variax becomes the weapon of choice! The strat model is not so bad and can be convincing even if it does not chime as the real deal and the Gibson side is really good especially the ES335 model IMHO. Add to this the tuning goodness, the acoustic instruments and I personnaly think that those Variax well worth the money spent.

The trick as ever is to match guitar to amp to player..

Zappledan,

If you want I could create soundclip and A/B Variax models against a Gibson Les Paul and a Strat if that would help?

Neil

The JTV69 is my main guitar. Most of the guitarmodels don't feel and sound like the real thing, ok, some are decent. I needed to tweak everything new with the work bench, to get more highs and less bass and get them all balanced well. Even though most of the time I don't use the models and use the mag PU, they are still more natural to me. The cause why this is my most important guitar is the quality of the acoustic models. This is not just another average solution, for stage use this is the best solution I ever had. I f I didn't need to play acoustic sounds I would also think about the music man game changer or the firebird-x or something alike.

I own the korean JTV-69 as well.

- Build quality is good. Hardware is ok, but chroom is already showing some wear after one year. Pick-ups are very decent. Bridge is avarage. Already had to file a saddle because of string wear. Laquer is so-so. Prone to scratches especially on the back.
- Electric modelling: Ok, but needs some tweaking. Never as the real thing, but close enough to be usefull. And indeed the humbucking models are the best. Palm muting on models is difficult to achieve, but with a little practise "kind off" possible..
- Acoustic modeling: Best. Works really good with Kemper. Better live sound then my second guitarist Takamine. And plays like a dream of course
- Alternative tuning: Great and very usefull with normal, not too exotic tunings. Very little delay which is worse (for obvious reasons, its all just sience) on the lower tunings.
- Playability: Great
- Weight: Great, not as heavy as Les Paul
- Electrics: Great, used the most
- No case incuded =

So in general I think it is a fine guitar. As it is korean the hardware could be better and also the finish could be better.
I'm using it a lot and it tends to be my major guitar next to a strat or my prs ce. I'm loving it!

btw it is far, far better construction wise than the strat model imho.

My 2 cents..

I tried one a few months ago ( the Korean start shaped version) and ended up returning it. I felt for the price, the build quality wasn't up to snuff.

I'd echo what the other posters have said about the modeling- it's ok but none are as good as the real guitar.

The alternate tuning was the main reason I wanted it, but it proved frustrating to me. Unless you have on headphones or have the volume WAY up you still get a bit of the standard tuning bleeding through the simulated tuning sound.

My hope was for a streamlined system with just a Variax and a Kemper, but the Variax half of the equation was a big letdown.

I'm sure in the next 5-10 years someone (Kemper maybe?) will get this sorted.

Until then I'm sticking with my guitars.

Quote from Zappledan

Thanks Neil. I'd love to hear some A/B

But you need the same Fender guitar - e.g. 1959 Fender Stratocaster

I own 3 real Strats and 3 Teles - each one sounds different.

None of them sounds like the Variax model - the Fender guitars sound not this great in the Variax.
This was true for the first Variax and is true for the latest one.

The LesPauls in the Variax is good - I compared with a friends R8 - and both sound VERY similar - my own LesPauls sounds different (but it's not a R8 ).

I believe the wood is also important - so I bought the JTV59 (LesPauls) and all Gibson guitars sound quite good - the Fender ones poor.

It would be interesting to hear the difference between a JTV59 (LesPauls) / JTV69 (Strat) when both guitars use the Fender settings - maybe the JTV69 sounds better.

So in general I like the Variax (JTV59) very much - it's a great 'normal' guitar - with some nice Gibson sounds, great acoustic guitars and useable Fender ones.

Two things annoying in the Variax is the strange tone knob behavior and the background noise.
Great is - no (single coil) hum, transpose feature, all the acoustic sounds - and so many options (e.g. via the included workbench software to customize the guitar)

As I said, for my taste the JTV-69 doesn't shine on the Fender guitars either.
Only somewhat in the ballpark.

I tried both, the 69 and the 59. To me te strat sounds are worse on the 59, the les pauls are worse on the 69. No surprise. I even considered about buying the 59 too, but the main reason to buy a variax is to have one guitar for all purposes, so playing a 69 and a 59 would make no sense.

Zappledan,
I've made a quick A/B test with my old Variax 500 using standard rig exchange amps and recorded straight into DAW. All middle pickups.

Tele with Cornell Romany RT20 Clean +
soundclip 1 - Squier Vintage Modified Thinline with SD pickups ( need to sort out that noise )
soundclip 2 - Variax '68 Thinline

Strat with Mesa TA30 Crunch TB
soundclip 3 - 90's Jap Strat with Kinman pickups
soundclip 4 - Variax '59 Strat

Les Paul with JTM45 HW OD1
soundclip 5 Gibson JB Les Paul Studio - with Burstbuckers
soundclip 6 Variax '59 Les Paul Standard
soundclip 7 Variax '61 Les Paul Custom

Its not an absolute A/B as I haven't got the exact models that Line 6 used but to me the Tele sounds good, the Strat doesn't sing enough and well I like the Variax Les Paul especially the Custom - although that may be something to do the BB pickups on my Gibson?

http://soundcloud.com/neilconnor-2/variax-ab-oct-2012

Neil

Quote

Gibson side is really good especially the ES335 model

+1. There's something about the open, airy "ping" of the piezos that lends itself well to semi-hollow and jazzbox models, whereas it tends to be a giveaway for the solid body guitars.