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MGR/Brian Dotson « Line 6 Variax 500 »
Published on 11/25/03 at 15:00About to buy one through Sweetwater.com. Demoed the unit at Guitar Center for a total of three hours across several visits.
The impressive versatility of the sounds you can get - it's amazing. Unlike a few reviewers, I found the guitar quite comfortable in my hands and I'm no novice to guitar - more than a quarter century of playing here and the Variax felt exactly like what it is - a good middle of the road between the "baseball bat necks" of some vintage gear and the slimmer Paul necks that are more popular these days. Well balanced instrument also.
The acoustic twelve string sounds don't quite nail it yet. However, consider the complexities of that task - how CAN you model the octave strings so that they sound louder when played with an upstroke of the pick rather than a downstroke?
Well constructed instrument and I've owned some great gear - an original 1st year Jackson Rhoads (serial #1308), a LP Custom, amany, many a strat, Godins, etc. The Variax sits in that company well.
I find the black 500 VERY appealing visually but then again, a guitar is about tone to me, not eye candy. This thing sounds better than my old Paul and buzzless strats - wondferful!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
The impressive versatility of the sounds you can get - it's amazing. Unlike a few reviewers, I found the guitar quite comfortable in my hands and I'm no novice to guitar - more than a quarter century of playing here and the Variax felt exactly like what it is - a good middle of the road between the "baseball bat necks" of some vintage gear and the slimmer Paul necks that are more popular these days. Well balanced instrument also.
The acoustic twelve string sounds don't quite nail it yet. However, consider the complexities of that task - how CAN you model the octave strings so that they sound louder when played with an upstroke of the pick rather than a downstroke?
Well constructed instrument and I've owned some great gear - an original 1st year Jackson Rhoads (serial #1308), a LP Custom, amany, many a strat, Godins, etc. The Variax sits in that company well.
I find the black 500 VERY appealing visually but then again, a guitar is about tone to me, not eye candy. This thing sounds better than my old Paul and buzzless strats - wondferful!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com