REVIEW

LINE 6 VARIAX GUITAR

Want a vintage guitar collection but don’t have 20 grand?
If that’s the case you only have one option:
Text: Simon Leadley

You can pretty much count the innovations the computer certainly tell that the 700 is the more ‘crafted’ instrument
revolution has imparted to the guitar on one hand. There’s of the two.)
been the Midi guitar (which at best is glitchy and slow),
The 600 has a 22-fret, maple neck with a rosewood
amp simulations and sophisticated FX pedal boards, all of
fingerboard, narrow frets and a three-machine-heads-
which have increased a guitarist’s musical palate, but the
per-side headstock. Out of the box I immediately felt that
humble electric guitar has stayed pretty much the same for
the guitar needed to be setup by a professional; there was
the last 60 years. Sure, pickups are better – arguably – but
some buzzing on the top E string on the third fret that was
the basic guitar hasn’t changed much at all.
largely fixed by raising the bridge. Having said that, to its
However, the Variax Guitar, which I recently ‘discovered’ credit, Line6 includes the two hex keys for the bridge and
while looking at the new Line6 PodXT pedal board neck adjustments. I also felt that the frets could do with a
changes all that. ‘What is this?’ I thought to myself – the shave on the edge to make them less ‘catchy’ but intonation
Variax Guitar seemed to have a way to create and then was superb with the tuning very bright and clean all the
store (via a simple software interface for Mac/PC) guitar way up to the 12th fret.
patches for performance purposes. I was gobsmacked. I
The Variax employs piezo pickups that connect to the
quickly hooked it up to an amp and tried it out. It played
bridge, translating the string resonances of the instrument
pretty well straight out of the box, and although I figured
to the modelling system. There are two connectors: one a
I’d have to get a luthier to set it up correctly, I loved the
standard jack that connects via the switch box and power
sounds and purchased the Variax on the spot. I hurriedly
supply, the other a supplied XLR which allows you to go
took it ‘back to the ranch’ to give it a proper going over
direct to the PA, bypassing the amp. The small wallwart
both in the studio and live.
power supply also connects to this footswitch, and then
SIMULATION OR STIMULATION to the guitar via a TRS guitar lead that supplies power
The Variax has no conventional pickups, but, rather, a to the guitar. You can also use four AA batteries for 12
modelling system that simulates a variety of classic guitar hours of continuous use (with no need for a special cable
tones at the flick of a switch… which it does remarkably to the amp) or, in an emergency, a 9V battery will supply
well right off the bat. But this is tricky, subjective (and enough power for one hour (these guys have thought of
highly contentious) territory. Most guitarists would be everything!).
mortified at even the prospect of their favourite guitar So, that’s it really. Put in some batteries (or connect to the
being ‘modelled’ let alone believe that the results could power pedal as supplied), connect the Variax to an amp
possibly sound any good. I can hear the purists piping up and you’re ready to rock… or folk, or metal, or whatever,
already: “Give me a Les Paul Custom any day”. Well, that’s which is the whole ‘raison d’etre’ of the Variax design, of
all very well but this simply may not be practical for a course.
The Variax 700 model.
number of reasons.
POD-ELLING
The biggest of these ‘practical’ barriers is usually cost.
To embark on the Variax design the folks at Line6 tested,
Owning a ‘classic’ guitar can be an expensive outlay at
poked and prodded just about every famous guitar on
the best of times – collecting them can put you seriously
the market (and some esoteric models as well) to see what
in debt. What’s more, even if you’re lucky enough to own
made them tick. Analysing guitars in this way can’t have
that Les Paul Custom, it’s only ever going to sound like
been easy but somehow the secrets to each of these guitar
one guitar. But as we all know, gigging and studio work
sounds has been modelled in software and stored in a piece
often requires you to have a rack of guitars, strung and
of circuitry that fits inside the body of the Variax. This
tuned for ‘that particular sound’. To that end the Variax is
allows you to change from the ‘bridge pickup on a Strat’ to
a chameleon, simulating classic guitars in the same way the
a ‘neck pickup of a Les Paul’ at the flick of a switch. More
Line6 Pod does amps. With the Variax you certainly won’t
look like the guy with 10 classic guitars, but you’ll go a long
way towards sounding like him.
BACK AT THE STUDIO
The Variax 600 I purchased from the shop is black, with
a mother of pearl plate that holds the five-position ‘pickup
switch’ (for want of a better word), the volume and tone
controls and the modelling selector (which changes the
model of the guitar). Consequently, there are no obvious
pickups on the guitar, so it looks a little empty, but I like
that; it immediately distinguishes the Variax from the rest
of the pack. (I was also sent the more expensive Variax 700
for comparison while writing this review. The 700 has a
Pedalling like fury: The POD XT Live allows you to build comprehensive
better neck and a fully-moulded body but the electronics setups: amps, effects and Variax guitar patches all rolled into one.
are the same. I liked the feel of both guitars, but you can

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 THE POD XT LIVE &
THE COMPUTER
There’s too little space to review
the Pod XT Live here, but let me
tell you it’s also a brilliant piece
of kit that really extracts the full
potential out of the Variax. As
mentioned above, it’s great for
calling up patches on the guitar,
but further than that, the Pod
is an interface between your
computer and the software.
I used it with my Mac, the Line6
Monkey software installed all the
necessary drivers for the Mac and
updated all the apps to the latest
version (after I’d registered). I was
then able to use the Pod as an
audio I/O to my computer, as an
input to any Core Audio app like
Garage Band and as a front-end
for the guitar. The Gearbox
app allows you to easily edit all
the patches on the Pod and to
save them to disk, download
user patches from the web and
generally makes programming
the Pod a dream. All the Line6
apps are well written and very
self-explanatory, with no need
to wade through long manuals.
Within a couple of hours I’d made
patches on the guitar and coupled
them with patches on the Pod,
and they sounded great. It’s a very
powerful setup: the Variax, Pod
XT and a computer. My only gripe
was that the Gearbox software
doesn’t allow you to choose the
Variax Guitar model and include
that with the Pod Patch. To do this
you have to edit the Pod from the
GUI on the unit, which is a very
simple matter, but for simplicity’s
sake I would liked to have seen
that in Gearbox as well.

importantly, what’s amazing is that the sonic changes are
actually convincing! Now I can have that Gibson ES-355
semi acoustic sound I’ve always wanted, if not the guitar
itself. I can also have acoustic guitars (6- and 12-string
varieties) resonators like the Dobro and banjo, and all the
classic guitars that you could hope for like Telecasters,
Strats, Les Pauls, semi acoustics, Rickenbackers and a host
of others.
Now I know the obvious question is: how well does it work
and how convincing are the emulations? And, of course,
I know many readers are tearing their hair out in dismay
right about now because the Variax obviously doesn’t give
you the experience of having these classic guitars in your
hot little hands. But what can I say? These emulations
work very well and the Variax makes no apologies for
being an emulation. It sounds like you’re playing the guitar
selected, there’s no lag, and the Variax tracks things like
bends perfectly. One aspect I have noticed, however, is that
the Variax doesn’t feedback like a conventional guitar,
but in every other respect it behaves like a conventional
instrument… with one exception: the Variax is noiseless!
Guitar and pickup noises – particularly buzzes from
single coil pickups – are completely eradicated. What’s
more, when you pull the volume down on the guitar you
also don’t lose the top end; it’s simply quieter. This is a
revelation.
I have to confess at this point to being a weekend guitarist.
I’m no Steve Vai or Joe Satriani; I do this for work and for
fun, so the Variax is the perfect axe for someone like me. I
don’t need to have a genuine Les Paul slung round my neck
(the mere thought of the insurance makes me blanche).
With the Variax I can have one guitar for recording and
playing live that will do a pretty good emulation of pretty
much any guitar I want or need – I can even switch from
acoustic to electric for a lead break during a song if I so
desire! Try doing that with a conventional guitar mid song.
SUPERMODELS
As I mentioned earlier there are two connectors on
the guitar and it’s the second of these that’s the most
interesting. The VDI cable connector allows the guitar to
be linked to one of the Line6 USB interfaces or the POD
XT Live, which has a dedicated Variax input as well as a
USB port for connecting to your Mac or PC. You can then
run the Workbench software to create your own guitar
models and alternate tunings and store these in the guitar
for later use. The software further allows you to choose NEED TO KNOW
whichever pickups you fancy and ‘position’ them wherever Price
you like – even rotate them for unusual configurations 300 Series: $1199 (Sunburst:
$1299)
that would be impossible in the real world. Pickups can 600 Series: $1799
be in and out of phase, impedances can be changed… the 700 Series: $3299 (Black:
possibilities are almost endless. You can also use the POD $2999)
XT Live to control the Variax, so now building guitar Contact
patches extends beyond amp models and effects to the Music Link
(03) 9765 6565
guitar itself, which is an amazing advantage live. info@musiclink.com.au
www.musiclink.com.au
IN CONCLUSION YOUR HONOUR... Pros
Some time ago Gibson unveiled its digital guitar, which Modelling of several guitars
suggests a mainstream revolution is rapidly brewing, but in one.
Quality sound.
Line 6 definitely has the jump on the competition. My Versatility with applications
only observation would be that the guitars could be made both live and in the studio.
slightly better, but they’re pretty damn good to play and Cons
the intonation is excellent. To that end the more expensive Guitar setup could be a little
more refined.
700 is the better guitar but it will cost you more than
Digital cable absent and
twice as much as the lower end of the Variax range. Better protective cap is easily lost.
tuners and a better nut would also help. The electronics are Can’t feed back.
amazing though, with no perceptible lag, and the models Summary
are pretty faithful to the originals. For studio and live use, Having a guitar that can simulate
different classic electric and
and coupled with the Pod XT Live and a computer for acoustic guitars, drop tunings
programming, the system is absolutely brilliant. and virtual capos at the flick of
a switch is simply mind blowing.
I’ve spent more time having fun and playing guitar with To say the Variax is well worth a
the Variax than I’ve had for a very, very long time. And let’s look is a gross understatement.
It’s not going to replace your
face it, that’s really what it’s all about. Technology for geek’s setup if the ‘look’ of a Gibson
sake is simply not enough. The Variax range of simulated Les Paul is important to you, but
guitars work well and offer you things not possible with sonically the Variax’s versatility
and tuning options are extraor-
an analogue guitar. I should also mention that there are
dinary. Several guitars in one
bass and acoustic models of the Variax too [to check out the can’t be a bad thing!
complete product range go to; www.line6.com/products/
instruments/].
While there will undoubtedly always be a place for a classic
Gibson or Fender, now there’s a way to put all those guitars
in one gig bag for a very reasonable price that will expand
the horizons for most guitarists. In the land of modelling
Line6 rules, first with the Pod and now the Variax. As
Molly Meldrum used to be fond of saying; “Do yourself a
favour...”

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