“The Variax 700 looks like a guitar at first glance, but it's a lot more than that.”
- Phil Selman
Summary Info
Manufacturer:
Line 6
Product Name:
Variax 700
Retail Price:
$2099.99
Your Price:
$1499.99
Line 6 Variax 700 Review - Reviewed By Phil Selman
The Variax 700 looks like a guitar at first glance, but it's a lot more than that. On my first tour of the sounds of Line 6's modeling, I was amazed by the distinct differences between each of the settings. The plethora of electric guitar sounds range from classic solid bodies, to semi-hollow, and even bold resonating acoustics. This is why the Variax 700 is ideal for playing smaller venues where you don't want to keep many instruments but would like to have something versatile on hand. Studios too can benefit in a similar manner by simply have one on hand to give recording guitarists another option.
For the guitar enthusiast it may be an excellent addition to an already overwhelming collection; and for someone who wishes to have a guitar collection the Variax covers all the bases. I was even more impressed by the other instruments the Variax offers. With a flick of your pinky you can harness the sound of Dobro or a banjo or a sitar without changing from your comfortable playing style. This allows the guitarist to assume some of the flexibility of a keyboardist without having to attach a thirteen pin hex pickup and run through a special outboard converter.
Another application I quickly recognized for the Variax was onstage for live performances. For the performing guitarist who doesn't have or want to cart around several guitars and hire a backline crew to attend to him, he can make the switch from his Strat to his Les Paul, and then break out a D28 for that acoustic ballad at the end of the set.
The two banks of five custom configurations are simple to set, use, and operate on the fly in performance situations. All you do is turn the model knob to one extreme or the other (the ones marked "Custom 1" and "Custom 2"), moving the five-way selector normally associated with the pickup configuration. With the addition of Line 6's Vetta II amp or Workbench software, you can further configure your tone, amp style, and even tunings, and recall them the same way. It's really just up to your creativity to build your own unique tones and use them.
