Electric Guitars   Bass Guitars   Acoustic Guitars   Guitar Amps   Effects Pedals   Keyboards   Microphones   PA Systems   Mixing Desks   Studio   Software   Accessories   Books & DVDs   Home Contact Us FAQ Forums

Line 6 Variax Electric Guitar

 

Line 6 Variax reviewed by The Man in the Jar using a Line 6 Flextone III  

These rather unassuming planks are lauded as an entire guitar collection in one instrument. This seems on the face of it to be an impossible claim. But I do own a Flextone III combo, so I know what these Line 6 boys are capable of producing. I'm rather looking forward to this one! 

Features of the Line 6 Variax

(Note - for the purposes of the review I chose the mid-range Variax 600, the modelled sounds are the same across the range.)

Tuners - Sealed mini-tuners which are small and accurate.

Headstock - Compact 6-on-one-side design with a maple face and maple back and sides. There is no truss rod cover.

Nut - Neat white plastic nut which is tidily cut.

Neck - Medium slim bolt-on maple profile, very comfortable to play.

Fretboard - Smooth maple board with traditional dot markers in black.

Frets - Medium small frets make for great playability.

Action - Good action out of the box. Slapping on my favourite strings brings it right up to par. 

Body - The basswood body has a rather unremarkable shape. It's quite thick and therefore the deep contouring on the back is a welcome feature. There's also deep contouring on the upper bout and behind the lower horn, the latter being cosmetic as it doesn't seem to improve the already good upper fret access. The back gives access to the battery compartment which takes 6 AA batteries (not needed if you connect via the output switching gizmo provided with the guitar using the lead that's also supplied).

Bridge - Basic six saddle with two keys per saddle for height adjustment and one per saddle for intonation, the strings carry on through the body. The bridge is equipped with a basic and pleasingly familiar Strat-style vibrato unit.

Pickups - Nobody here but us chickens!  That's not strictly true... the bridge houses something called a Hexophonic pickup. This device takes the vibrations of the strings and converts them to digital signals. It is this signal that goes into the Magic Mincer inside the guitar to be shaped into the sounds of guitars about which you could hitherto only dream. It is then converted back to analogue and re-enters the real world via your guitar lead. All clear? Good.   

Controls - At first sight the Variax 600 has the same compliment of controls as a good ol' Strat. But take a closer look. Yes, there's a volume and a tone knob and a five-way selector, but it's the third knob that makes this instrument so very, very different from anything you've played before. It's a twelve position rotary switch that allows you to select a modelled guitar or a related group of modelled guitars. The five-way selector then switches between guitars in that group and in some cases between pickup configurations of particular guitars within the group.
Pay attention because there'll be questions later.  

Pickguard - Three-ply retro stylie. Firmly attached to the back of the scratchplate is all the electronic gubbins that powers this beast. Adding a custom pickguard at a later date is not an option with the Variax 300 or 600. 

Strap-buttons - These are large and safe and can be found in the usual positions (which at this stage in these strange proceedings is a bit of a relief).

Output Jack - There's a normal jack socket and a digital jack output. The latter is to connect interactively with other Line 6 wizardry. Today we'll stick with the standard output.

Finish - The model I tried has a lovely sky blue finish. The finish across the range is very good.

Sound of the Line 6 Variax

The first notch on the Magic Knob says...

T-Model
This is the Telecaster selection and here are found models of a 1960 Fender Telecaster Custom (bridge pickup only and neck pickup only), 1968 Fender Telecaster Thinline (bridge and neck, neck only) and a 1968 Fender Telecaster (both pickups wired in series).
I ran these through the Fender Deluxe channel on the Flextone. The 60's bridge pickup had a particularly lovely chiming, bright Tele sound. The Thinline produced excellent spunky country tones. The 68 wired in series was a totally new Tele sound on me but brought to mind the Broadcaster tones now being reproduced by the likes of Kinman.

Spank
This channel is dedicated to one guitar - a 1959 Fender Stratocaster. This means that the 5-way selector is programmed to work just the way it does on a Strat. I ran this through the Fender Deluxe and spent a long time luxuriating in deep, soft Stratocaster heaven.

Lester
Here you will find a 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard (bridge only, bridge and neck, neck only), a 1952 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop (bridge P-90 only) and a 1961 Gibson Les Paul Custom (bridge and middle).
I ran these through the Marshall JCM800 channel. The '58 gave a wide range of classic rock tones across the spread of the pickups, The Goldtop delivered a characteristic brightness while the '61 Custom was darker and more mellow.

Special
Living here are the 1956 Gibson Les Paul Junior, a 1955 Les Paul Special (bridge and neck, neck only) and the 1976 Gibson Firebird V (bridge only, neck only).
I put this group through AC30 Top Boost channel. The '56 Junior immediately coughed out a fantastic indie rock sound that instantly became my favourite noise so far (against very stiff competition). The '55 special produced a more complex tone, but the lack of a bridge only position option meant I was seduced back to the Junior. The Firebird is the mellow older brother of the three delivering laid back rock and dangerous blues sounds.

R-Billy
Enter, if you will, Gretsch-land with the 1959 Gretsch 6120 (bridge only, bridge and neck, neck only) and the 1956 Gretsch Silver Jet (bridge only, neck only).
For these I selected the Fender Twin Reverb channel. The 6120 was a semi-acoustic used by such luminaries as Duane Eddy and Pete Townsend. I found the sounds to be quite mellow and sweet. The Silver Jet was a solid-bodied guitar with internal hollow chambers giving it darker and more moody tones.

Chime
The Rickenbacker stable. Here reside a 1968 Rickenbacker 360 (bridge only, bridge and neck, neck only) and a 1966 Rickenbacker 360-12 twelve string (bridge only, neck only).
I fed the Rickies through the Fender Twin Reverb channel. And familiar territory it was too. I've owned a 330 for nearly 25 years and I've got the Ricky soundscape firmly in my head. The '68 360 hit the bullseye. The '66 12-string had the same Ricky chime but the Variax's magic innards added the harmonising string sound. Earlier problems with the 12-string modelling seems to have been overcome and the 12-stringers on current models can cope with whatever you throw at them.

Semi
A mixed bag with a 1961 Gibson ES-335 (bridge only, bridge and neck, neck only) and a 1967 Epiphone Casino (bridge only, neck only). These little lovelies went through the Roland JC-120 channel.
I've always been a big fan of the semi-acoustic sound and a 335 is always going to be somewhere on my shopping list. The 335 model on the Variax delivered those lovely woody blues sounds with alacrity. Switching over to the Casino's bridge position and adding a little drive I was suddenly in "I Feel Fine" territory - marvellous.

Jazzbox
Open the box and we find a 1957 Gibson ES-175 (bridge only, bridge and neck, neck only) and a 1953 Gibson Super 400 (bridge only, neck only).
I stayed with the Roland JC-120 channel and really enjoyed the shades and variations of clean tones I was able to squeeze from these two models. The early P-90's of the Super 400 were particularly interesting.

Acoustic
This is the magic of digital modelling at its most obvious, convincing acoustic noises from an electric guitar. Plugged through the Line 6 Clean channel we have a 1959 Martin D-28, a 1970 Martin D12-28, a 1967 Martin O-18, a 1966 Guild F212 and a 1995 Gibson J-200. My favourite was the Gibson J-200 (me and Elvis both apparently).

Reso
This is where it all gets a bit bonkers - choose from a 1935 Dobro, 1928 National Tricone, a 1965 Danelectro, a Gibson Mastertone Banjo or a Sitar (yes, a Sitar).
Ironically it is the authenticity of these off-the-wall models that force you to go back and evaluate the famous Gibbos and Fenders presented in previous settings - "If they can make it sound like a banjo then that must be a '52 Goldtop!"

Custom
There are two custom channels where you can duplicate your favourite models in any order. This facility means that you can use 10 different guitars in a live set without having to remember the switch settings. Custom 1 is at one end of the knob's rotation. Simply flick through five of your chosen models in your chosen order using the five-way-selector. Then rotate the knob to its other extreme where the other Custom 2 is located (easy on even the darkest of stages) and flick through the other five selections. This is a really useful and well thought out feature that removes any objection about the complexity of the Variax controls in a live setting.

Overall Impressions of the Line 6 Variax

Frankly, I'm overwhelmed. I am a great fan (and enthusiastic user) of the Flextone amp. This in my mind is extremely useful technology. Very few of us would want to own 32 different amplifiers so it makes perfect sense to digitally model them into one box. But...due to GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) most of us would cheerfully fill the nursery with as many planks as would fit. So on the face of it should we resist guitar modelling? Well, look back across the vintage guitar sounds on offer, then look at the pricing of the Variax range. If anyone was ever able to assemble all of those guitars in one room they'd charge you more than £500 just to look at them.
The Variax is an absolute must for recording studios of all sizes and a tempting ensemble of fantastic guitar sounds for any guitarist interested in fully exploring the tonal landscapes of modern music. The two banks of five custom settings mean that you can take this guitar on the road without the manual and a torch. Teaming the Variax with the Flextone III gives a bewildering array of sonic combinations. Indeed, this is the guitar Mr Benn would play!
So face it, you're running out of excuses.

Just one thing, can I have one in a Telecaster shape?   Please?   

Visit the iMuso Guitar Forum

What our customers say

Resources

Track TNT Parcel   Reviews of Electric Guitars   Other Equipment Reviews   Learning Resources 
Other Shopping   Bands to See   Studios to Use  

Resource and Learning 

Copyright Musik Produktiv MMV - Home of Electric Guitars Online