Does anyone on here use a Variax bass as their main axe ?

[tauzero]

The Variax doesn't use MIDI, it's a DSP system (digital signal processing, same as you find in multieffects). It's slightly frustrating that they've missed the opportunity to include a feed for a 13-pin lead from the individual bridge saddles, it means I've had to put a MIDI pickup on too so I can go mad with silly sounds.

[EdwardHimself]

I always got the impression that a variax could do a lot of sounds and was great if you needed versatility but for me I only need 1 or 2 really good sounds so it's not something i'm interested in.

[BigRedX]

Has anyone done a side-by-side comparison of the Variax and the Roland V System?

[Lfalex v1.1]

I tried a Variax with a view to buying one. It felt ok, I suppose. The sounds were alright, but didn't seem to have much of a depth of tone (I'm struggling to find precise words to define what it lacked sonically). The 8 and 12 String modelling was fun for a quick blast of "Jeremy" which made everyone in the shop turn around and look .
I then made the mistake of A/B comparing it with a 2EQ Stingray, MIA S-1 Jazz and a Corvette 5 (ash, J/J) with the Variax on the closest settings and then some others. It got mugged, which was a pity, as I'd wanted to like it.
I bought the Fender evetually, as it bettered both the 'Ray and th Warwick at their own games. Wasn't expecting that, but when you get a good 'un turn from Fullerton/Corona up, it's silly not to buy it.

I'd like to see someone with some "proper" manufacturing ability;
Gus
Status
Vigier
Basslab
Even Ritter (!)

team up with a company with some serious electronic know-how;
Roland
Akai
Korg

And make a serious (If expensve) stab at this concept. Might be interesting to move away from piezo-based technologies and try lightwave or a collecion of multi-element magnetic pick-ups...

[dc2009]

[quote name='J.R.Bass' post='1324222' date='Aug 2 2011, 01:37 PM'][url="http://www.exit45.com/VaxIV"]http://www.exit45.com/VaxIV[/url]

Just in case anyones interested, this is a great site about someone who transferred the guts.[/quote]

[MacDaddy]

when they first came out I considered one. Thought the neck was great but the bass is a bit heavy and you can't go wireless.

Some of the models weren't quite there, but faffing about with the sound was part of the fun.

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='dc2009' post='1334936' date='Aug 10 2011, 01:11 PM'][/quote]

I'm not sure what that means, but I thought he'd done quite a good job.
Shame about the lack of sound samples or comments on the results.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1334860' date='Aug 10 2011, 12:31 PM']I'd like to see someone with some "proper" manufacturing ability;
Gus
Status
Vigier
Basslab
Even Ritter (!)

team up with a company with some serious electronic know-how;
Roland
Akai
Korg

And make a serious (If expensve) stab at this concept. Might be interesting to move away from piezo-based technologies and try lightwave or a collecion of multi-element magnetic pick-ups...[/quote]
Unfortunately unless it sounded fantastic and was dirt cheap it'll only ever sell to a couple of weirdos on here like you and me and that would be it.

Just look at the [url="http://www.industrialradio.com.au/index.php"]Industrial Radio MIDI bass[/url] a more boring looking instrument you'd be hard pushed to find.

A Lightwave-based instrument would be a better start from the PoV of capturing as pure a signal as possible, but IMO they still need to make the bridge units more user friendly. I think until that happens a piezo based system which can be unobtrusively fitted to you base design of choice is still going to be the best.

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1335179' date='Aug 10 2011, 03:31 PM']Unfortunately unless it sounded fantastic and was dirt cheap it'll only ever sell to a couple of weirdos on here like you and me and that would be it.[/quote]

I'll take that as a compliment!!
[quote]A Lightwave-based instrument would be a better start from the PoV of capturing as pure a signal as possible, but IMO they still need to make the bridge units more user friendly. I think until that happens a piezo based system which can be unobtrusively fitted to your base design of choice is still going to be the best.[/quote]

That's why I listed manufacturers who specialise in composite technologies who could "tune" their designs to give the desired result, namely, as clear and uncoloured a signal for the DSP as possible....

[dc2009]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1335133' date='Aug 10 2011, 03:05 PM']I'm not sure what that means, but I thought he'd done quite a good job.
Shame about the lack of sound samples or comments on the results.[/quote]

It was a wow/I am in awe smiley

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='krazy_olie' post='1324287' date='Aug 2 2011, 02:20 PM']I think DSP (Digital signal processing) has big potential for future guitars.[/quote]

Much as I love the concept I cant get on with any digital processing in my signal chain because of the delays involved. That 5ms really messes me up which I'm trying to lock in with a bass/snare drum.

Wierly I dont find it a problem on the guitar but I guess I'm less concious of the precise timing.

[Jacqueslemac]

I wanted one when they came out but had to wait until last year to pick up a second hand (but "as new") one from here.

I'll agree with a comment I once read - "Feel horrid, sound great".

For me, the back of the neck is too sticky and I don't really get on with it. I used it for a few practices and had fun switching between the flat/roundwound setting for a few songs, but I've not gigged it.

As with many owners (apparently), I spent time working through all the sounds before deciding which one I liked best - and then decided to buy the real thing. Unfortunately for me, I discovered my favourite sound was the Rickenbacker one. Bugger.

At this year's local Bass Bass we did a direct comparison with a Ricky and it sounded pretty spot on. Still can't afford one, though!

As others have said, in a gig I doubt very much many people in the crowd would notice the subtle differences between the sounds, so it comes down to which bass is the most comfortable to play.

[Radioface]

[size=3][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif]I know I'm a bit late to join the party, but I've only just signed-up to Basschat and as I have a Variax I thought this would be an appropriate place for a first post![/font][/size]

[size=3][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif]I use either my Variax or Fender for gigs and I find that the Variax is able to hold it's own sonically. As plenty of people have pointed out, it doesn't feel as nice as my jazz bass, but I was never expecting it to. I got my nearly-new for just over half the RRP at the time, I certainly wouldn't have paid full price for it. It feels like a £400 bass. I'm into gadgets and so the Variax was too much for me to resist! I think the real strength of it is for recording and I've used it straight into the desk on many occasions. I do find that it can sound a little artificial if the EQ is set to the extremes, but otherwise it's awesome.[/font][/size]

[size=3][font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif] [/font][/size]

[Tripehound]

Another late arrival at the Variax Ball. I intermittently use one in our covers band because it's nice to be able to swap basses to suit the song. In practice this usually means a Precision, a fretless jazz, an Alembic and a Gibson EB-2D. However, it all begs the question as to whether the audience perceives this attention to detail or whether it would sound just as good using a more conventional guitar.

If not then the question is, do I think it's a decent instrument in its own right? Yes - terrific fun to play (ooh - look 12 string etc) but as I own a couple of basses this is meant to emulate I can say it's not a match for the real thing but then how could it be? Downsides - heavy, eats batteries and so means using extra power supply, anonymous looks. Upside - very good neck, low action, some solid sounds, great for recording.

[Jacqueslemac]

At last year's East Anglia Bass Bash we compared the Ricky sound on mine with a real Ricky and couldn't tell them apart (once we'd spent a few minutes setting up the Variax so the pickups were in the right place etc).

Personally, I dislike the feel of the neck on mine, which shows how it's all down to personal taste!

[Tripehound]

I bought mine ex-demo at a seriously reduced price (in top nick it has to be said) together with the Bass Pod I'd actually set out to buy, I'm not sure how many tonal variations that actually offers up but, after spending an hour in the shop (with a pair of headphones on so I could ditch the crippling self-conciousness that grips me whenever I go guitar shopping and want to try something out) I was completely seduced by all these possibilities. At the time I was mostly engaged in recording , these days it's live stuff so priorities have shifted.

Have to wonder though - flog off the Variax and it's most of the cash towards that Eastwood EEB I keep looking at - or maybe that Hofner Club - or maybe..... etc

It's a curse.

[ArgyEll]

I've had my 5 string Variax bass for a couple of years now and have enjoyed it a lot. I've never done a one to one comparison with the basses it models, but there's no doubt that when you hear it play a particular sound you just think "Wow, that sounds like a Hofner/Fender Jazz/etc/etc/".

While all that variety was impressive, my main reason for buying it was to get an upright bass sound, which it does pretty well, but for the band I'm in now, I need to invest in a real upright bass. Paying for that means letting one of my basses go, and I'm afraid to say that in a head-to-head with my Status Graphite 5-String, the Variax lost out, so I'm having to sell it (any takers?).

Overall I'd say that if you need that range of sounds in one bass, then the Variax is for you, but if you just want to plug and play and have a bass you're comfortable with, stick with it.

[Jazz Bass 65]

I fancied one but none of our stores had one for me to try.

[Rich]

[quote name='JakeBrownBass' timestamp='1312288621' post='1324222']
[url="http://www.exit45.com/VaxIV"]http://www.exit45.com/VaxIV[/url]
Just in case anyones interested, this is a great site about someone who transferred the guts.
[/quote]

This is a stunning piece of work. Not too keen on the lack of body contours but the craftsmanship is superb. If I had the readies I could quite fancy having some Variax guts built into a Shukerjazz or the like.

[JTUK]

Our gtr looked into them...and I thought it was very promising, but at £2600, it wasn't really the whole deal.
Plus they wouldn't give him the part exchange deal that he wanted..or could accept on a gr bought from the same shop 4 or so weeks earlier.

so.... close, but no cigar.

[Leon Transaxle]

I bought a used Variax 600 a couple of years ago for home recording work and I am really impressed.
The acoustic sounds really record well (but just sound wrong with the wammy arm!). The jazzboxes are very tonefull and, strumming away in the ackground the 12 string Ric is a nice filler (a bit too obviously synthetic if too well up in the mix however.
For me the neck is a bit chunky. I appear to be developing OA in the base of my left thumb and sometimes playing can be painful depending on the chords played ( I tend to use the basic beginner's open chords mostly). Reading on the 'net it appears strat necks are a direct swap so I might look into that soon.
Palm muting is possible but usually anything that does require palm muting gets done on the trusty Yamaha Pacifica (which has a fantastic neck and is pain free to use).
Now if anyone knows if a Pacifica neck will fit nicely on Variax....
I would do it myself but I don't really want to mess up the Pacifica only to find it doesn't work.

Edited February 17, 2012 by Leon Transaxle

[Ancient Mariner]

Just measure the pacifica neck width (if it's the same then it should more-or-less drop in (you might need to create some new pilot holes for neck bolts too).

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

I am 'watching' the 5 string version on fleabay at the moment. Am considering offloading a couple of basses and effects to make way for it if I bid.
Decisions decisions ..

[bertbass]

I'd like one but I'm left handed, oh well.

[Maude]

I use mine as my main bass for gigs.
Power supply is no problem as I run it through an X3 Live which powers it and you can then assign the bass models to different patches.
Assignable basses, amps, cabs and stompboxes at the press of a footswitch, what's not to like? Unless you don't like emulations .
No they'll never be the 'real thing' but who cares? It's a bass with a massive amount of tone options. If I want an aggressive punky tone then I'll select the Ricky setting, if I want a similar tone but a sore forearm and ribs then I'll buy a real Ricky .
I like the changes in sustain between different models, particularly the Hofner.
I really like the neck on mine, I've slightly scalloped it and it's really comfortable. It could be lighter but I've learnt to man up .
Looks wise it was horrible so I changed it, it may not be to every ones taste but I now love it.

[url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/Varicaster_zps4a9900c2.jpg.html"][/url]



And silly proof it's not to heavy to chuck around

[url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/10477399_10152311789030686_1495338755161775032_n_zpsd094dc11.jpg.html"][/url]