Variax technology in a steel?

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 20 Mar 2003 11:20 am

Elsewhere in this section there is a thread about the line 6 variax.

As it turns out, I have an old friend- a highly talented luthier, who was recently employed by Line 6, and specifically put in charge of the variax.

We've been talking about installing the system in a steel. There are some pretty big obsticals that need to be overcome in order to do this, but my friend thinks it can be done.

I'm pretty excited about the possibilities. If this works, it could prove to be the most significant improvement to our instrument since the introduction of pedals.

Stay tuned.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 20 Mar 2003 11:49 am

The pickup/saddles require a wider string spacing than we're used to. I doubt that Line6 has the resources or inclination to develop narrower ones. Actually, they outsourced that aspect of the technology.

It would require twice the internal computer to process a single 12. Also, the R&D devoted to modeling the most desirable steel guitars would be very expensive. For that reason, I think it would have to be a fairly small set of models, like:
<ul>[*]Emmons push-pull[*]Sho-Bud LDG[*]Fender 1000[*]Rickenbacher[*]Dobro[*]Non-resonator Acoustic[*]sitar[/list]Some of the standard guitar models would sound interesting to rock players, but they wouldn't appeal to most steel players.

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<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9), Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax

Larry Bell · Post by **Larry Bell** » 20 Mar 2003 1:12 pm

b0b,
How could you leave out the Bigsby?

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Mike Perlowin · Post by **Mike Perlowin** » 20 Mar 2003 1:59 pm

The pickup/saddles require a wider string spacing than we're used to. I doubt that Line6 has the resources or inclination to develop narrower ones.

This is indeed one of the obsticals that needs to be over come. However Line 6 does not make the pickup/saddles. They are made by L.R. Baggs.

Inserting the pickups into smaller saddles that would fit on a steel would not be a major problem. It just hasn't been done because nobody ever asked for it before.

However, the REAL problems are

1- Unless the pickups could be somehow inserted into the changer fingers, (which would be very difficult), it would be necessary to put a seperate bridge with the pickups in front of the changer, where the pickup now located, and this would throw off the scale. It would be necessary to either put on a new fretboard with a shorter scale (which nobody wants) or redesign the instrument with a longer body. The one guitar that I'm aware of that could be adapted relatively easy is the Sierra Gearless. Since it has a 25 scale, putting on a new fretboard with 24 inches would not be a problem, and with it's interchangable pickup, a bridge with saddle pickups would be easy to install.

2- Any kind of transducer pickup (which the variax uses) will pick up and amplify all the mechanical noise of the pedals. The on board computer will somehow have to filter this out. This might not be possible.

3- We don't know what the effect of having a string pulled across a saddle with a transducer might be. There could be additional surface noise (especially on the woulnd strings) that could not be filtered out.

My friend at the company is not sure if it will work, but he's going to try. I'm going to loan him my white MSA which has the Sierra interchangable pickup system to experiment with.

This may all come to naught, but if it works................

BTW, there is software being developed for the guitar that will allow people to program in any guitar they like. This won't be available for several years, but assuming the bugs can be worked out and we see a steel with this system, it willeventually be possible to program in the sounds of a P/P, a wood body, a Ricky fry pan, a mica body/aluminum neck etc.

Like I said earlier, stay tuned.
[This message was edited by Mike Perlowin on 20 March 2003 at 04:20 PM.]

Chris Bauer · Post by **Chris Bauer** » 20 Mar 2003 3:10 pm

What - no zither model???

Chris Walke · Post by **Chris Walke** » 20 Mar 2003 3:41 pm

Ah heck, just put an extension nut on the Variax and then you've got all those guitar models lap style. Good 'nough fer me!! Then again, I'm a-scared of pedals and knee levers.

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 20 Mar 2003 4:17 pm

A very interesting idea. I love everything Line 6 has put out that ever got in my hands or computer.
Good Luck