Line 6 Variax 600 Electric Guitar

 

Line 6 Variax 600 reviewed using the new Epiphone Valve Special Guitar Amp  

As soon as I found out that Line 6 were adding another guitar to their already extensive Variax range, I was a bit dubious. That dubiousness died a bit when I first saw a picture of one and completely flew out of the window when I finally got to lay my hands on one.

The body is made of the same basswood as the Variax 500 and is actually lighter than most people might think it would be. The new body design for the Variax 600 has been contoured to fit your body perfectly and is certainly a very comfortable guitar to play. Line 6 have also brought out some new colours especially for the Variax 600. These are Antique White, Light Blue, Black and a rather beautiful Brown Sunburst. The off white scratchplate adds to the beauty of these guitars and complements the colours.

I have to say, the neck is just awesome. It has the same one piece North American maple neck that is found on the top of the range Variax 700 but this time has a maple fretboard instead of the usual rosewood which again only goes to complement the new colours even more. Once you get your hands around the neck, you know that it's going to be fast. Just looking at it, it has a slight amber tint to the lacquer and a skunk line down the back. According to Line 6, the radius is 9 1/2 " and the nut width 1 5/8" which is slightly thinner than the other Variax necks. With 22 medium frets, what you're left with is a neck that is extremely fast and playable whether your playing chords or bending strings.

The headstock is almost Fenderish with the 6 tuners all down one side, the same as the Variax 300, the Line 6 and Variax logos and an open truss rod adjuster screw hole just the same as my old Strat.

The bridge is actually a floating tremolo bridge similar to the Variax 700. The bridge is situated so that it doesn't actually touch the body of the guitar at all. It rests against the posts which means that you can pull up or down the same as the more expensive floating tremolo systems. I found that the guitar stayed in perfect tune even after giving the trem some serious abuse.

The Variax 600 has the same controls as the Variax 300, 500 and 700. A volume knob, tone control knob, five way selector switch and the all important Variax modelling knob. Turn this to the desired group of guitars that you want and then using the five way selector switch, select a guitar from that range. It may sound complicated but basically it means that you get 25 guitars in one body. The list of models can be found on the iMuso website. I sat and played this guitar for about 2 hours trying out all the different models and generally closing my eyes and imagining holding each guitar in my hands and imaging what it should sound like and I was very pleasantly surprised.
The Les Paul settings all had that nice warming humbucker sound and the Telecaster sounds were spot on. The five way selector switch can also be used on some models to switch between neck and bridge pickups and the difference again was on the button. The Gibson ES-335 was exactly the same as my own 335, which could be going on Ebay very soon. If you fancy something completely different for your band, try out the banjo and sitar sounds. They are guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
Once you have picked out your favourite sounds, you can use the Custom 1 and Custom 2 settings to pre-programme 5 of your favourites on each setting. The instruction book explains how to do this and with all Line 6 stuff, the instructions are simple and easy to follow.

The connections on all the Variax guitars are the same. You have the standard 1/4" jack or the Variax Digital Cable connection for connecting to the PODxt Live or Line 6 Vetta amp. I was using the lead supplied with the guitar. It looked a bit odd because it is a balanced /stereo jack. The reason was simple. One channel is for the power for the Variax. You can run it using batteries if you want. The power is supplied by a small footswitch which also controls the output if you want to put the signal straight into a PA system. I had it running through the new Epiphone Valve Special Amp on the cleanest channel there was so that I could hear what the actual guitar sounded like.

One last thing to mention is that the guitar also came in it's own Line 6 padded gigbag

Did I think the guitar sounds were accurate ?- Oh yes.
Is the Variax 600 worth the money ? - Yep.
In summary, would I buy a Line 6 Variax 600 ? - A big YES.

I really, really liked the Variax and will probably end up buying one over the coming weeks. I shall be keeping my Gibson purely for sentimental values but I can't imagine that it will get played much once I have my Variax 600. The Line 6 Variax guitars are in a group of their own. The future seems to be going more and more towards modelling guitars and amps and if they carry on sounding as good as the 600, then that's fine by me. The modelled sounds are very accurate, the physical guitar itself feels comfortable to play whether standing or sitting, the neck is fast and easy to play and I must admit they look good too. Line 6 seem to have taken all the best bits from the rest of the Variax range and mixed them up into the 600. Well done and thank you Line 6

The Line 6 Variax Modelling Guitars are available in Antique White, Black, Light Blue and Sunburst.

Reviewed by "Nobby Fingers"