Line 6 Variax 700... Good Deal???

[danger5oh]

Hey...

I just wanted to see if anyone here has had any experience with one of these...



Line 6 Variax 700... which was at one time Line 6's top o' the line modeling guitar... before James Tyler took over the operation.  The original msrp was $2,099.99... still sells new online for $1,499.99...

... but I found a brand spankin' new one at a local shop for $399.99!!!  I guess they've had it in the shop ever since they first were released and they're no longer a Line 6 dealer, so it's on ultra clearance.

I was thinking the modeling options might be fun to play with, both for fun and on stage.  I know Dustin Kensrue from Thrice plays a guitar with Variax guts so that he's not having to constantly switch guitars on stage.  Also, if worse came to worse, it still looks like a very well built MIJ guitar that I could route a little humbucker cavity in for a BKP Aftermath!

Thoughts please...

[viking]

I tried one,a few years back ...It's a good guitar even though the modeling options didn't sound like they should have..I remember it was a bit frustrating but i ended up using only one position but that one was nice  :).It's nothing like the Line6 Bass which i do like...

[Telerocker]

For this money certainly worth to examen.

[Zaned]

I used to own one, black and with a mahogany body.

The number 1 problem I had with it, were the piezos. One, they interfere with the palm muting. Second, they had a certain 'chirping' (for a lack of a better word) sound in the initial attack, more pronounced on some models than the others, and mostly heard with distortion. That combined with the palm muting thing makes it a bit unsuitable for say, hard rock :? In my hands at least.

If the guitar sounds good acoustically, it's not a bad deal. Like you said, you can route it for a humbucker, and you CAN get many different sounds from it.

Mine wasn't that great acoustically though. A bit dull and lifeless.

-Zaned

[Telerocker]

Sure, the sounds are not the real deal. You buy this axe for versatility. I personally prefer some good guitars on stage, with a tele, superstrat and mahagonysetneck guitar you cover everything.

[Zaned]

Just remembered something! Not a big deal, but a fun example.

Most who have owned/own a typical stratocaster with single coil pickups, know that the 5th fret harmonic is silent on the neck pickup, as one of the dead spots occurs right there. They have modelled that thing on the Variax, if you choose the stratocaster model on it  8)

-Zaned