Stomps and guitars

Quote from theplayer

In the Reference manual there's a list of used stomps and in the Rig Manager there's a folder for STOMPS. The folder is empty and the manaul only talks about kinds of stomps. Is there also a kind of Stomps manager for downloading certain stomps?

No, the folder if for presets of stomps that you tweak youtself.

Quote from theplayer

I'm looking for a Vox tone bender, but I assume that other players are looking too for specific (vintage) stomps. Is there such a folder with profiled stomps?

Nope.

Quote from theplayer

And maybe a odd question: I'm a Gibson Les Paul player because of playing on their wider necks than Fenders strats or telecasters. Is it possible to profile the tonal characteristics of guitars too? Playing on a Les Paul and hear the tonal characteristics of a Telecaster or Gretsch or whatever fine guitar? Then maybe you wouldn't have to buy that priceless Jimi Hendrix strat, that awesome Brian May's Red Special or that expensive Chet Atkins Gretsch...

Nope, no way to profile the characteristics of a guitar.

You might want to look into the Line6 Variax guitars. They have modeled all types of guitars and you can switch through them on one guitar. Les Pauls, 335's, 175's, Strats, Teles, acoustics, banjos, dobros etc.

It's pretty cool actually. I have one of the first versions and I use it for demos but it's not a great guitar as far as build quality.

If I were to buy a new one I would go for the James Tyler model. Much better build quality and it has regular magnetic pickups as well the on board DSP.

They make one that has a Gibson style neck.

Agreed.

The Tyler models also run the latest firmware, which contains far-superior models to those that, for example, the Variax500 and 700 (which I owned) featured.

The Tyler series' models are to my ears in a vastly different league. The palm-mute "plink" is now gone, and the acoustic models are the nearest to the real thing out there AFAICT.

@Monkey_Man How is the dynamic response of these newer Variaxes? My 500 always felt very compressed to me.

Yep, piezo...

I've owned them all, 500, 600, 700 and the JTV, and the piezo will still make you feel limited regarding dynamic response.
The modeling per se is not better in the JTV than in the 1st gen Variaxes, IMHO, but the JTV is actually a pretty decent guitar.
I finally sold it though because haptically it was not as pleasing as other guitars of mine, which is Important to me.
I'd like to try one of the Yamaha Pacifica based Variaxes though (the only one I have no experience with).

We'll have to disagree, Ingolf, which TBH isn't something I feel comfortable with 'cause I think you're such a nice guy!

IMHO the guitar models are in a different league altogether. Not quite chalk and cheese, but close.

The acoustic models are so radically better my dead grandmother could hear the difference... from her grave... whilst I play 3 blocks away... underwater... wearing leather gloves... using a feather pick... whilst taking a nap...

Quote from paults

@Monkey_Man How is the dynamic response of these newer Variaxes? My 500 always felt very compressed to me.

I can't say how much of this was due to the models themselves, Paul, but whether it's the improved resolution of the newer models (which are new, not just updated), more sensitive piezos or their mounting / positioning, to me it (the dynamic range) is clearly better.

As of FW 2.0 L6 called them HD models, if that means anything. It may imply greater dynamic-range and amplitude resolution, as well as a frequency-bandwidth improvement.

Quote from Monkey_Man

We'll have to disagree, Ingolf, which TBH isn't something I feel comfortable with 'cause I think you're such a nice guy!

I promise you we'll stay friends.

Quote from Monkey_Man

The acoustic models are so radically better my dead grandmother could hear the difference... from her grave... whilst I play 3 blocks away... underwater... wearing leather gloves... using a feather pick... whilst taking a nap...

I'm not sure you're in the majority here.
The best Acoustic models were in the .... ta-daaa.... Variax Acoustic which was also 1st gen and only had a limited run (which I also possessed back then).

Quote from Monkey_Man

As of FW 2.0 L6 called them HD models, if that means anything. It may imply greater dynamic-range and amplitude resolution, as well as a frequency-bandwidth improvement.

I may be wrong about this but FW 2.0 plus was not only limited to the newer JTV's, was it?
And I clearly remember quite a few people complain about some changes in FW 2.0 as well. So there weren't only improvements it seems.
What I certainly agree upon is the way better piezo bridge and palm muting handling in the JTV's.

Well, the Acoustic comparison isn't fair, Ingy. I thought we were talking about the (acoustic) models on the electric guitars, comparing the original Variax series with the JTVs. I tried to get that original acoustic, but due to unavailability had to settle for the Variax700 (electric) which I kept for 3 years.

The FW on the JTVs cannot be installed on the original series, which is why I sold the Variax700. I literally left Plink City™ for, if you'll forgive the phrase, a "more realler(!)" world. Due to quality-control issues, I owned a '59, '69, original '89, back to the '69, then two FL-equipped '69s and finally back to the '69 I'd spent years "fixing". Those 6 guitars, with all the setting up and fiddling around trying to fix a lot of stuff, which included extremely long waits for parts, cost me 5 or 6 years. I settled on the '69, which I managed to set up so that it chimed like Big Ben.

The complaints you refer to, all of which I read and which came down to personal preferences, were about changes brought about to the model tones, some of which were completely replaced as opposed to tweaked, when the FW left the 1.x realm and entered the 2.x, "HD" era. To most ears, some models sounded better, and some had lost some mojo but didn't necessarily sound bad.

All the hoopla you referred to pertains to this change in the JTV FW only; the 2.0 FW I mentioned only arrived several years after the JTVs hit the market, and the 1.8 (I think it was) FW most had installed by then was very good; many went back to it 'cause models critical to them felt less organic with the 2.0 update. IMHO the JTV 1.x FW models were in a league well above that of the original Variax series.

As for the 700 Acoustic vs the JTV acoustic models, I can't make a judgement as I haven't heard both. It's irrelevant to me anyway 'cause I'm super-impressed with the JTV ones. Honestly, I didn't expect them to be so very good considering that they're coming from an electric guitar. Even the string scratchiness and the way it feels on chord changes is astonishing. If you think it's crap, I strongly suggest you reassess it, just for the sake of general knowledge as I know you're already set for acoustic options. For me, of course, it's a no-brainer as I can't afford a decent acoustic guitar and had already committed to the L6 guitars.

Thank you for shedding some light to my blurred memories @Monkey_Man.
Frankly speaking my time with the JTV was fairly short because as I said, it wasn't happening to me haptically, and all the older Variaxes were long sold then. So I'm not really qualified for a direct comparison, only one by memory which is tricky anyway.
Long story short: the JTV I compared more against its real guitar counterparts and not against its predecessors.
And let me close by saying I sold it also because I found the modeling not radically improved over the 1st gen modeling.
Better?

I still love you, if that's any indication. LOL

Hey, I'd only half-written that post when I accidentally submitted it - you may want to read it now that I've finished. Sorry about that, bud.