Gig Gear Reviews

[p90jr]

I believe it was Scott that asked for a review of the Variaxe Standard guitar after some live use, so here it is...

 

I mentioned that I bought it as a "universal backup" for gigs where I have to play 6 and 12 string acoustic and electric guitars.

 

First off, the acoustic sounds need an acoustic guitar or keyboard amp (or in a pinch a bass amp) or to go direct in order to sound good as you will not be happy with the sounds going through most guitar amps. On that gig, I have a separate acoustic rig... a BBE Acoustimaxx preamp into an Ashdown Acoustic amp. The 6 and 12 string acoustic sounds are pretty good through that set-up, with a little tweaking. More than good enough to get through the rest of the gig if I break a string. So why use it as a back up and not save myself trouble? 1) My bandmates - while impressed with the Variaxe - think it's a bit aesthetically cheesy to use if having actual acoustics or acoustic-electrics is possible as the primary thing. 2) I kind of miss the feel of acoustics... But as I've gotten frustrated with lugging around full-sized acoustics as far as space in the vans and they don't like the heat and humidity and all of that stuff I ended up buying a Godin A12 solidbody acoustic and a 6 string Michael Kelly/Rick Turner S6, both of which are fantastic sounding and slim, bolt-on necks, easy to deal with and very cool. They serve as the primary acoustics in that act. I have used the Variaxe onstage substituting for each of the guitars just as a test, and the only one I'm not really raving about is the electric 12 string sound... it might not be as good as my Mosiac 12 string sim pedal. Granted, I haven't yet loaded the Variaxe software into a computer and tweaked or created my own models, which other users swear is the way to get the most out of it... so maybe creating a Rickenbacker or Danelectro 12 string model patch of my own is the key.

 

But a gig popped up subbing with a wedding band I play with when needed, and I took the Variaxe and my main Strat and the Blackstar HT Club 40 MK1 amp I bought a while back that's been sitting in a corner other than when I let a buddy use it for a month or so. I usually don't like channel switching amps... but I find both channels on this amp (and both of the variations within those channels) to sound great IMO... I also usually don't use an effects loop but for this, I used the Blackstar's effects loop for the modulation and delay effects. I was very happy... the Variaxe as a guitar without using the modeling engine is good. I had concerns about the plainsawn neck but it feels good and solid and not "cheap" as I'd feared it would. The critique from many about the Standard is that "for $900 you get $800 worth of modeling electronics in a $100 Indonesian Yamaha Pacifica..." but I guess I like $100 Indonesian Yamaha Pacificas just fine (and I bought a "scratch and dent" model for $599, which I think is just a return and had no scratches or dents... until my clumsy butt put them on there, so I figure I'm already ahead). It was fun to dial in various electric models to fit the song list... Teles and Les Pauls and "Semis".. I also brought along the acoustic guitar amp and had an A/B switch at the front of the board, so I could use acoustic sounds for some songs. The guys in the band would laugh when I could hit the volume knob to engage the modeling engine and play the sitar riff for "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" then hit it again and have regular guitar. Switching to the baritone tuning for "Chain of Fools" with a tremolo pedal on was fun (the baritone tuning is in B, I capo'ed it at the first fret to do it in C. My actual baritone Jazzmaster came tuned to A), or switching to "Blues G" tuning for The Stones' "Brown Sugar" but being able to switch quickly to standard to play a solo is awesome. Having the option of lowering the tuning on the guitar by a half or whole step is great for transposing for singers on the fly if riffs depend on open or low strings. The tuning part of the modeling engine is great and works wonderfully, and - again - if you use the software you can create and save your own tunings to the guitar... they've left two spots in both the tuning and guitar model controls labeled "custom" for you to use yourself, though I believe you can tweak or replace any of the others if you wish. Those options (along with availability and the bargain I got) are why I went with the Variaxe over the VG Strat. The Variaxe did come nicely set up with 010s... and I use 008s on Strat-scale guitars, usually... but before changing them I looked through user groups and saw people complaining that lower gauge strings mess a bit with the piezo string saddles that trigger the modeling engine so I'll stay with 10s, and honestly, on that guitar I don't feel that much of a difference. No problems with tuning pegs or tremolo... I'm happy with it.

 

The Blackstar amp was great, too... from the cleanest chorusy Strat sounds for funk or country ballads to some classic rock overdrive to modern rock crunch tones, it was great and had a nice bottom end. I used my Crowther Hotcake, Lovepedal Eternity Burst and Lizard Leg Flying Dragon clean boost through both the clean and overdrive channels, and I'd reach back on the amp to hit the switch that gives more gain/less headroom within each of those channels... I can see why the MK II has those buttons on the footswitch by popular demand. Also handy is their ISF control knob that shifts the EQ to resemble "American" or "British" amps in the overdrive channel. Pretty neat. I've seen some snobby dismissals of this amp online, but I count it as probably the best $260 I've spent (openbox model - that seemed unopened to me - discounted further from closeout when the MK IIs were released)... the keyboardist in the wedding band is a guitarist, too, and is picky about amps and he said he loved the sounds I was getting out of it.

 

[desertbluesman]

Cool amigo, thanks for the review. I do believe in tweaking any modeling gear to your own taste, put the editor on your computer, and that makes it way easier to do your tweaking. Plus you can save your presets for reloading later if needed.

[Danzilla]

My question to you is in regards to the pitch change programming. Whenever I've fooled around with Variaxes for that, I get thrown off because I still hear (and maybe feel?) the actual strings' pitch, then the amp is putting out the re-tuned pitches. Are you playing loud enough that the guitar itself can't be heard by you? Or have you just overcome it?

[p90jr]

My question to you is in regards to the pitch change programming. Whenever I've fooled around with Variaxes for that, I get thrown off because I still hear (and maybe feel?) the actual strings' pitch, then the amp is putting out the re-tuned pitches. Are you playing loud enough that the guitar itself can't be heard by you? Or have you just overcome it?

 

I noticed that at home when I was playing it quietly and it drove me nuts... being a Strat-style guitar with a cavity for the trem that acts as an acoustic chamber of sorts, you can hear the natural acoustic pitch of the strings if you play quietly enough... so I wear headphones or ear buds at home if I'm playing it THAT quietly, since I have a few amps with that option, though even at my usual not too loud practice level it's not a problem. That natural pitch is not transmitted through the electronics at all. Onstage and in practice, with the guys I play with... though I'm a devotee to "not TOO loud" it is more than loud enough to mask that when using the tunings.

 

By the way, this reminds me of decades ago playing stuff for a friend of mine who was a mad scientist home 4 track type... and he had me play an acoustic guitar strummy part on his Strat, which he'd taped a Radio Shack boundary microphone inside the cover of the trem cavity and then he ran that part through some delays and stuff... sounded cool and weird as a percussive thing that he put lots of distorted guitar over.

[p90jr]

Cool amigo, thanks for the review. I do believe in tweaking any modeling gear to your own taste, put the editor on your computer, and that makes it way easier to do your tweaking. Plus you can save your presets for reloading later if needed.

 

I was angrily boycotting Apple because of a second laptop purchase that had issues come up... but I foolishly persist and just got in another, so when I get a few minutes...

[Scott Fraser]

Great review, vastly more meaningful to me than a magazine review, which is primarily an extension of the company's advertising. Sounds like any of the issues which would concern me about the Variax are not really issues. Thanks so much, P90, for the truly comprehensive rundown on the instrument.

[Delta]

My studio amp is a Blackstar HTR1. I have an extensive pedal board fed into it. The amp is on the clean setting, full volume, 50% EQ, 40% gain, 40% reverb. Fed from the speaker emulation output directly into my DAW. Priceless!