Line 6 Variax 700 Bass

[Adee]

Now these basses have been around for a while
I was wondering if anyone uses one and how they are getting on with it

Have you had any reliability problems

Is it really all your answers in one bass?
Not everyones taste, but especially in the covers band market could be ideal !?

Heres a question thats been niggling, as its a modeling bass does it make any difference
to the sound if you have new strings or old strings on the bass ?

Cheers
Ade

[Toasted]

Different strings do sound different... IME.

Also, play the variax before you buy... I find them unconvincing as instruments.

[Lee-Man]

Dave at Electro music has one in for £300 I belive, bargin if it's what you want

Edited July 19, 2007 by Lee-Man

[Machines]

I don't think they're any substitute for any of the models it tries to emulate. However if you're a recording artist and need lots of tones in one piece of wood (and silicon chips) then it's unbeatable.

[Steve Rickwood]

I haven't tried one, and welcome innovative ideas, but I find it hard to believe it it going to be that impressive; think how the graphite affects a status, how brass hardware can affect, string guage, woods, etc ; basically all the attributes that create individuality amongst instruments, and then wonder how this can be done. I'm guessing it's all down to eq - In my experience of line 6, a lot of it sounds ok (ish) on its own (ie, in the shop...) but the end result becomes apparant in a live situation.

[kingofthestuntmen]

Dunno 'bout the bass, but I have a Variax 600 g*itar and it's feckin awesome. So it doesn't sound exactly like the real thing, but when the 'real thing' that it's modelled on is a '55 Strat or a '58 LP and the Vax costs £400 it's close enough. I finally bought mine after A-B'ing a friends using the 335 model against my Washburn HB-35. The only differences - the Vax was easier to play, quieter and worked 'better' with FX.

Since then I've had the opportunity to compare it with an LP Standard, LP Junior & Strat, and in a blind test, in the context of a mix, it's almost impossible to tell apart.

Never used it live as yet, but in the studio I choose it over my Godin LGX more & more often these days.

As far as the guage, quality of strings etc, yes they have an effect as they would on any instrument. And reliability..? No problems on that score in any way shape or form.

[i] 'Wait a minute, HB-35, LGX & Vax..? I reckon this guys a GUITARIST..!?'[/i]

Anyway, perhaps not totally relevant but there you go...

You gonna let us know what you do..?

[warwickhunt]

I have one and it will approximate most of the things it says it will and the fact you can vary where the pup on a Musicman might be positioned or pan the pups of a Ricky make it quite versatile. However, I never got on with the 'bass' but that means nothing as I feel the same about a USA P bass deluxe that I had and a USA Jazz that I've just got!

TBH you will find a handful of sounds in it that you like; with a bit of tweaking I could get most of the sounds that I liked out of my PJ equipped Warwick!

The synth sound is a joke and the 12 string will mean you needn't buy an octave pedal.

However at £300 you'd be daft not to at least try it. They aren't all bad and if you are into Fender style basses I'd give one a blast.

[MythSte]

i guess it makes sense to have a fenderish bosy though, well, from Mr. X's point of view "So johnny, youve done your research? We're making a bass that does everything, whats everyone playing these days? that must be what "fits" " aha. see other thread

[peted]

I too have been tempted to get one of these for my covers band. The sounds are very convincing. I play a Warwick Thumb bolt-on and the Thumb sound on this bass brought a big smile to my face. The bass itself doesn't feel too great to play. Just like any other Far East knock off.

Sounds like a bass £1000+, feels like a £200- bass in your hands.

[tuss]

[quote name='peted' post='34446' date='Jul 20 2007, 07:10 AM']Sounds like a bass £1000+, feels like a £200- bass in your hands.[/quote]


That's a fair synopsis I reckon. I do keep persevering with it as there are some good sounds on it all of which can be saved, but not the nicest bass to play, and not having a pick up to rest upon feels odd!!

[tredders]

[quote name='Lee-Man' post='34249' date='Jul 19 2007, 06:00 PM']Dave at Electro music has one in for £300 I belive, bargin if it's what you want[/quote]

They haven't any more - I just ordered it

Thanks for the heads-up - been considering one of these for a while, and £300 seems very reasonable.

Cheers

Mark.

[tuss]

Sounds like a good deal to me!! I really like the flexibility of sounds on offer and don't regret buying mine at all even if it was a bit more than £300. Good luck with it p.s. the 8 string sound with overdrive and a bit of octave sounds awesome.

[quote name='tredders' post='43393' date='Aug 9 2007, 05:32 PM']They haven't any more - I just ordered it

Thanks for the heads-up - been considering one of these for a while, and £300 seems very reasonable.

Cheers

Mark.[/quote]

[tredders]

[quote name='tuss' post='43397' date='Aug 9 2007, 05:40 PM']Sounds like a good deal to me!! I really like the flexibility of sounds on offer and don't regret buying mine at all even if it was a bit more than £300. Good luck with it p.s. the 8 string sound with overdrive and a bit of octave sounds awesome.[/quote]

Sounds good - aah, the times I've been crying out for an 8 string bass with overdrive and a bit of octave

The standard sounds all seem quite impressive from the website, and I'm not too bothered about the bass itself being a bit 'plain' - I'm only planning on using it to play around with at home. Have to say that the lack of a pup to rest my hand on is going to be strange though!

Mark.

[Geddys nose]

I had one but sold it mostly because of a very small lag from when you play it to the sound coming out I felt disconnected from it somewhat and it got lost in the mix easily.

[stingrayfan]

Have played both the guitar version and the bass version and found the guitar one easier to hear the difference between setting. Also saw a guy gigging one the other night and it worked well for him - he switched between LP style lead, Fender Tele, acoustic & 12 string.

Think bass guitars though are a bit more subtly different and you'd prob not notice if you changed settings in a live situation. Someone might add a reply now to prove me wrong, mind!

Edited August 9, 2007 by stingrayfan

[tredders]

An update on my Variax.... it was ordered 2 days ago, with next day shipping, and hadn't arrived this morning, so I called ElectroMusic.

"Oh sorry mate, I think it's already been sold - I'll go and check...", so chappie trundles off for 5 minutes then comes back and confirms that the Variax has indeed already been sold, despite me having a receipt with my payment and a nice message saying "thank you for your purchase". Nice.

He then said "We were thinking of sending you a brand new one we had in stock as a replacement, but didn't.". Well, thanks for telling me that - I feel a whole lot better now!

Anyway, long and short of it is, I'll be keeping my eyes open for a cheap Variax - if anyone sees one on their travels, drop me a PM?

Cheers

Mark.

[barneythedog]

Two on the Bay at the moment, 375 and 380 BIN

item numbers :

330154124209

290148513193

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='tredders' post='44132' date='Aug 11 2007, 10:29 AM']An update on my Variax.... it was ordered 2 days ago, with next day shipping, and hadn't arrived this morning, so I called ElectroMusic.

"Oh sorry mate, I think it's already been sold - I'll go and check...", so chappie trundles off for 5 minutes then comes back and confirms that the Variax has indeed already been sold, despite me having a receipt with my payment and a nice message saying "thank you for your purchase". Nice.

He then said "We were thinking of sending you a brand new one we had in stock as a replacement, but didn't.". Well, thanks for telling me that - I feel a whole lot better now!

Anyway, long and short of it is, I'll be keeping my eyes open for a cheap Variax - if anyone sees one on their travels, drop me a PM?

Cheers

Mark.[/quote]

WTF... You paid a deposit for a particular bass, they then go and sell to someone else! I'd be kicking up such a stink that they'd be begging me to take a new one.

[tredders]

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='44155' date='Aug 11 2007, 12:00 PM']WTF... You paid a deposit for a particular bass, they then go and sell to someone else! I'd be kicking up such a stink that they'd be begging me to take a new one.[/quote]

Well, they're insistent that no payment was taken from my card (despite the confirmation of order), so I'm waiting to check with my credit card company whether this is true or not. If they did take payment, then I'll kick up a fuss, regardless of whether they subsequently refunded it. If they didn't take payment, there's not really a huge amount I can do, unfortunately.

Mark.

[tredders]

[quote name='barneythedog' post='44150' date='Aug 11 2007, 11:50 AM']Two on the Bay at the moment, 375 and 380 BIN

item numbers :

330154124209

290148513193

[/quote]

Cheers Barney - I did notice those. £300 was nearer what I was hoping to pay, although £375 is still a good price.

Mark.

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='tredders' post='44198' date='Aug 11 2007, 02:37 PM']Well, they're insistent that no payment was taken from my card (despite the confirmation of order), so I'm waiting to check with my credit card company whether this is true or not. If they did take payment, then I'll kick up a fuss, regardless of whether they subsequently refunded it. If they didn't take payment, there's not really a huge amount I can do, unfortunately.

Mark.[/quote]

You're being pretty generous considering you had a contract with them regardless of whether they took funds from you. However, we each view things differently. I have to admit that anything sub £400 has got to be cheap if it comes with all the bits!

[LordAvon]

I've got the variax 700 electric (in red), and it's a GREAT guitar, fantastic action and superb sounds.
But, for a bass, I dunno, I tried the variax bass and to be honest I wasn't impressed.
It played ok, and sounded ok, but it didn't 'do it' for me.

Also, aesthetically, I think they look pants, but that's just my opinion.

[charic]

I do believe the fella's obligated to send you a variax.... end of story. Just do the american act, "ill call my lawyer!"

[Rich]

[quote name='finnbass' post='34334' date='Jul 19 2007, 09:01 PM']I've just bought one. You can read about it here:

[url="http://www.finnbass.com/showthread.php?t=936"]http://www.finnbass.com/showthread.php?t=936[/url][/quote]
Are you still reasonably happy with it, a month down the line (or maybe that should be "line6")?

[bumnote]

[quote name='tredders' post='44198' date='Aug 11 2007, 02:37 PM']Well, they're insistent that no payment was taken from my card (despite the confirmation of order), so I'm waiting to check with my credit card company whether this is true or not. If they did take payment, then I'll kick up a fuss, regardless of whether they subsequently refunded it. If they didn't take payment, there's not really a huge amount I can do, unfortunately.

Mark.[/quote]

I work in mail order and most e commerce systems dont complete the transaction until either the goods are despatched, or untill a transaction complete entry is made manually

It would be unusual to take the money before processing the order.