Variax Acoustic 700: You Gotta Get One of These
Written: Feb 24 '06 (Updated Sep 22 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Wide variety of sounds and superb alternate tuning capability.
Cons: Some models are unconvincing and subtle delays when using alternate tunings.
The Bottom Line: The Variax Acoustic 700 is an extremely versatile guitar that produces a wide variety of tones and is ideal for the gigging or recording guitarist.
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| buffoonery's Full Review: Variax 700 |
Important Note: Since writing this review, I have come across some posted complaints that the electronics in this guitar degrade substantially over time. Please email me if you have that problem as I am unable to confirm or deny.
The bevy of techno-geeks, quant-dorks, and vectorheads who inhabit the environs of Line 6 raised the collective eyebrows of the guitar industry a couple of years ago when the firm released its first Variax electric modeling guitar, which simulated thirty or something guitars in one fell swoop. Described by some naysayers as a “four hundred and fifty dollar guitar with four hundred and fifty dollars worth of software”, the Variax nonetheless delivered a very impressive variety of tones that sounded good enough for government work, anyway, and that’s good enough for me.
And I’ll be honest: I like these guys. I own a Vetta II modeling amp (see my review, http://www.epinions.com/content_148710395524 ) and think it does a great job at what it’s designed to do and, for my money, is superior in modeling to some of the multi-effects box competition such as the Boss GT-6 (which I also own) and some of the other boxes I’ve played.
Since then, Line 6 has produced several more modeling guitars, including the Variax Acoustic 700 under review here. This very interesting box simulates sixteen different guitars and whatnot with generally a high degree of accuracy and is worthy of serious consideration for the target audience. See more herein.
Playing the Korean-made thin-body 700 is more like playing a Les Paul than an acoustic guitar. Even though there are some hollow chambers (like right under the sound hole), these are intended to reduce weight rather than contribute to the sound. Played acoustically, it isn’t much louder than a semi-hollow electric. Technical specs are immediately below and I won’t repeat them here. The guitar plays well up and down the neck but feels, well, a little alien. There 22 full frets and an extension on the higher two strings that will take you to 24. The neck is single-cutaway on the bottom.
· Thin comfortable mahogany body with spruce top
· Mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard and pearl snowflake position markers
· 24 medium profile frets
· 25 1/2" scale length
· 17" fingerboard radius
· Standard 1/4" guitar output jack
· Digital I/O jack for Vetta™ II connectivity
· Included direct box provides power plus 1/4" standard guitar and XLR balanced outputs
· Can also be powered by on-board batteries or Line 6's Vetta II amplifier
· Includes custom 1/4" TRS cable
· Custom-fitted heavy duty gig bag
· Available in Natural, Black and Sunburst finish
The sixteen models simulated are immediately below. The guitar does its best job on the twelve traditional acoustics. I don’t pretend to have played all of the guitars modeled here. I do own a 1950 Martin D-28 and I’m pleased to say that this guitar doesn’t duplicate it; otherwise I would be out six or eight grand. The other four—the Sitar, Dobro, Shamisen, and Mandola—sound a little piezo-ey, if you know what I mean. Artificial, in other words, at least if you’re playing by yourself. In a performance situation, a different thing. But the thing is damned versatile—and it doesn’t feedback like other acoustics, even at high volumes.
· 1941 Martin® 5-17
· 1946 Martin® 000-28
· 1960 Martin® D-21
· 1954 Gibson® J45®
· 1951 Gibson® SJ®-200
· 1933 Selmer® Maccaferri
· 1951 D'Angelico New Yorker
· 1958 Manuel Velazquez
· 1973 Guild® F412
· 1935 Stella® Auditorium
· 1939 National Reso-Phonic Style "O"
· 1937 Dobro® Model 27
· Gibson® Mastertone
· Mandola
· Japanese Shamisen
· Indian Sitar
You choose a guitar by twisting a knob on the top of the body; an LED shows you what you’ve selected. A piezo pickup is located beneath each string at the saddle.
These modeling capabilities of the guitar, however, are only the tip of the iceberg, and what’s coming up are in my view the coolest and most important offerings of the 700. These are contained in the three sliders located near the selector knob. First, there is a mic selector switch. Line 6 recorded the guitars with two mics, so you can pan between the mics with this slider and select a more distant mic or closer one. Effectively, this is a tone control.
Second, a compression switch lets you, well, compress the sound as desired. Very useful. Third, there is a volume control.
Unquestionably, though, is what you can do by transforming the sliders via twisting the model selector. This permits you to change the tuning on the guitar from a number of standard presets to your own bizarre tunings. Included are open E, A and D, drop D, low and high G, and DADGAD. You can individually tune any string a full octave down or a fifth up. You can use artificial capos up and below the neck. You can change the tuning on each of the twelve-strings individually, use Nashville tuning, whatever, all at the turn of a knob. This is extraordinarily useful for obvious reasons, both in the studio and especially in performance.
Of course, what you’re doing is only changing the tuning as it comes out of your amp. The strings themselves are unaffected. So you’re going to get schizophrenic unless you put your amp volume above your guitar volume, or practice with headphones. There is also a subtle but detectable delay produced because of the calculation time required to produce the sound. You’ll have to live with that.
The 700 comes with ¼ inch and XLR outputs. There is a battery chamber for six AA batteries (10-12 hours) and a nine-volt battery (1-2 hours) can be plugged in for emergencies. You can also connect to the XPS direct box or, via the forty-dollar connector, to your Vetta amp. This last is extremely cool because you can save all sorts of presets that you can access with the tap of a foot pedal. The Vetta II also comes with amp setting specially designed for the Vetta acoustic so you will get a better high end than using a standard non-acoustic guitar amp. Finally, you can hook up to the Variax Workbench computer modeler and create a whole bunch of new guitars (see http://www.line6.com/variaxWorkbench/ for more).
One question: with all this computer power hanging around, why isn't there an onboard tuner?
I like this guitar a whole lot. I’m a little down on the playability—it doesn’t feel like an acoustic. It also can be a little piezo-like and one can’t avoid the nanosecond delay engendered when you use the alternate tuning capabilities. I wouldn’t buy this as my first acoustic because, well, I already own a great acoustic. But here’s who should look seriously at the 700:
1) Guitarists who do a lot of home recording and need a large palette of acoustic sounds;
2) Guitarists who gig either solo or in bands and need that palette as well (this thing beats dragging a 12-string, Dobro, and acoustic six-string around besides your electrics);
3) Guitarists who employ a variety of alternate tunings; and
4) Guitarists who like to goof around a lot. Like me.
If I had twelve hundred samolians hanging around and looking for a home, no question I would invest in one of these babies.
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Recommended:
Yes
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