Vintage Variax! - Variax Acoustic 700

[@deanbibb3680]

I have one on layaway and can’t wait to pick it up!

[@musicafteroldage]

The one that got away… I got the electric V700 back in 2005 (best construction guitar I’ve ever owned) and a few years ago wife surprised me with the JTV89F, but that acoustic one, I was never able to get. Enjoy!

[@Ekoldr]

Hey Chad! Looks good my guy! Rock and Roll! 🤘🤘

[@ChadHuskey]

@@Ekoldr thanks man! 😎

[@ssiowi]

Thanks Chad; congrats on the V 700. Hope Yamaha does right by us Variax owners and lovers with future products. Love my JTV-69s. Would love trading my Taylor for a V 700. Appreciate all you do for all of us in the Line 6 world. Please carry on!

[@andrewbonica]

Missed ya, brotha!!! 🤘🥳

[@ChadHuskey]

@@andrewbonica it's been too long! Hope you're doing well brother 😎

[@seratone528]

I loved mine! I was in a really loud band at the time playing keys and acoustic guitar - I played it through my keyboard amp - it was fun when sound men would ask "who was playing the damn Banjo?" - years later I bought another - and realized it was more of an emotional memory of how good it was. All the sounds had a bit of a nasal banjo tone. I really wish Yamaha would produce another one of these with updated technology. The guitar itself was made by Samick and wasn't short on quality at all. but my first one developed a fluttery RF sound and I sold it before it got out of hand.

[@ChadHuskey]

I agree, I've never found the "different" instruments all that convincing. However with a good amount of EQ and compression you can get a lot closer. Literally the only thing I wanted this for was to have access to alt tunings live. So as long as I found one sound in it I liked I was good to go. There were a few that I liked, but settled on the dreadnought. One trick I've done with the JTV acoustic tones is record them straight into Ableton Live, play it on a loop, and use the parametric EQ to dial in the sound as best as possible. Then I'll add parametric EQ(s) into my patch in Helix using those settings and it makes a big difference. Of course you can do this directly on the Helix, but I find have the visual representation of the audio spectrum, as well as being able to drag around the frequency and Q, makes it much easier in Ableton (or your choice of DAW). I can get the banjo sound, as well as the dobro and sitar sounds, more convincing that way, but to be honest I rarely if ever need those tones. I'm THRILLED though with not having to worry about retuning a guitar live :)

[@stevemears2555]

I also have the same guitar. Always use it for acoustic live shows. I enjoy the electric feel combined with all of the acoustic sounds.

[@danfrankum6233]

I'm now looking for one. 🎸

[@stevedurrant8815]

Chad ,you should be able to run the Variax Workbench in at least Windows 10 ,I've ran all the old edit programs on Win 10 .On the shortcut ,right click and select Properties, then click the Compatibility tab ,check the Compatibility Mode, and select either Windows 7 or 8 and then Apply .Then you should be good to go .Great video.

[@danfrankum6233]

Thanks man 🎸

[@ChrisDaviMusic]

hello, I have a variax 700 but its pedal no longer works... Where can I buy a new one? thank you 1000 times for your response 🙏

[@jamminjaymn7675]

Chad I have the same guitar

[@MikaelLewisify]

Well shit. Now I guess I need to buy a helix. Lol

[@ChadHuskey]

@@MikaelLewisify buying a helix is never a bad plan! 😂

[@DAVEBLISS2007]

Variax 700 acoustic, needs upgrade to allow it to converse with Helix. Need to be able to change alternative tuning by a foot switch. Also needs stupid battery changed to JTV style. Sounds as acoustic are old and not great, new IR could fix this.

[@ChadHuskey]

The 700 acoustic was discontinued in 2010, so I can promise you they aren't going to update it. That's why I was so happy that I found a workaround to get Helix to change the alt tunings on it. I would love if it had the same level of control that the JTV line has with Helix, but it isn't going to happen. The last major firmware update for the JTV line was 2013 and went another 10 years without any meaningful updates. The only way that the acoustic would get an update is if they made a newer model. If they did anything it would be a new electric model based on which one sold more and had a longer production run, and I'm not holding my breath on that one either. It's truly unfortunate more people didn't get on board with the Variax. What they were/are capable of is such a game changer.