Jazzmaster voice for Variax

[geoman]

I was wondering how many of you folks might play a Variax??

I have had several and enjoy them completely. Recently found a Jazzmaster voice download and using Workbench HD I installed it on a JTV69
It does have a pretty tone and does resemble a JM especially with some effects and subtle vibrato actions. I also made a fatter aluminum longer vibrato arm with no bends to feel more like a JM arm.

Love those open tuning s that a Variax can do. Use several in on one sitting sometimes.

Would love to put the Variax guts in a nice offset. Or maybe strip the JTV69 finish and reshape the body a little bit and have some fun!!

Let me know if you have ever played one or used it live. I backed a singer Songwriter for several years and the tunings worked great. You can pick say an open E and just bar the neck and play rhythm with anyone anytime. Or Open A,B,C,D etc..

[geoman]

Does Anyone here have a Variax??? I am thinking about a Jazzmaster transplant. Or just reshape my JTV-69 body and refinish it also. Love how a JM sits and plays. Love the versatility of the Variax. They just don't do much in the Class, Looks category. Its been said 300$ guitar with 600$ computer and electronics. Not far off from my experience.

Just so useful playing out but pedestrian in how it looks and plays. Hope some of You have some input!!

[burpgun]

Can you transplant the Variax guts into another guitar? That’s interesting although at that point aren’t there some modeling systems that would get you to the same point? I’m thinking of the Roland V guitar tech. I have an old and really awesome Roland guitar synth but have never used that unit.

[windmill]

When they came out there were pictures of the variax parts transplted into a telecaster.

Might need a bit of routing.

[geoman]

Transplants are old hat by now. I use the workbench software to set several guitars in various open tunings as well as baritones in several more. I think I will modify my existing JTV and reshape it from a generic super strat to more of an uneven horn offset. I was able to do it to a bronco bass I had that had cracked nd the results look great. If you get a chance to try or buy an older variax in the 300$ range I suggest you give them a try.

[Embenny]

Does Anyone here have a Variax???

I owned one, but gave up on the Variax around 2008 or so. I found the response to palm muting too unnatural to really use it for much of anything. Maybe they've fixed that since then, but my experience was that the modeling fundamentally couldn't change the transients produced by a piezo to make them feel and sound like the transients of a magnetic pickup.

[geoman]

The JTV units with HD brains seem to have cured a lot of that. I use one ALOT with a Singer who does a big variety of music.

[verbouge]

I have a new JTV Variax 69 and life would almost be complete with a Jazzmaster patch. It's kind of unbelievable that this sound is not included with the presets, or to be found in the workbench. I have searched ad nauseum for it, but so far have come up short. I have a PC, not a Mac. Don't know if that makes a difference.

Any help out there for an otherwise very enthusiastic new Variax owner?