A few days ago David Martín, the magazine's editor, mentioned the possibility of doing an article on the Line 6 Variax guitar, focusing on its possibilities in the "home studio." Despite not having much time to write the article, it was hard for me to say no, considering that I've been working with this guitar nonstop for more than a year and that when I read David's email, I had the guitar in my hands.

My experience with this instrument is very positive, and I openly declare myself a supporter of what it represents: a genuine evolution, if not a revolution, in the field of technology applied to music.

In the studio
In the recording studio I find it really convenient to have such a wide range of sounds and tones at my disposal, considering that we can go from a Fender Stratocaster to a Gibson Les Paul, from an Epiphone Casino to a Martin D-28 acoustic in a matter of seconds and without having to get up from our chair.

Generally speaking, it's reasonable to come across the occasional detractor of this kind of instrument. Obviously it's hard to accept that a guitar like this could sound the same as a 1960 Fender Telecaster, like the ones used by Jeff Beck, Albert Collins, Danny Gatton or Keith Richards. In fact, I don't think any guitar made today, despite having similar components, can sound like those guitars. For starters, the woods of 50 and 60 years ago have little or nothing to do with today's, especially considering that, due to the demand for instruments, the curing and drying time for wood keeps getting shorter.
During the time I've been working with the Variax, guitars from all sorts of brands have passed through my studio: Gibson, Fender, Paul Reed Smith... Making various comparisons, I can say I've found a greater difference in sound between guitars of the same brand, even of the same model, than with respect to the imitation Line 6 offers us. Which one sounded better? Well, I imagine everyone will have their own taste, but personally my preferences have kept leaning toward the Variax.
If I have to find fault with it, it's certainly not the sound, which, after all, should be the most critical issue.

Some of the problems that come up when recording stem from noise in its many forms: on the one hand, the noise generated by our own instrument through static electricity, noise from cable interference, amps, etc.; and on the other, ambient sound, which, if like me you live in the city, means you're surrounded by those annoying saboteurs. With the Variax system we largely avoid noise, since for starters the guitar itself is completely silent, and we also manage to get rid of single-coil pickup noise. This problem is no minor evil, since we often find ourselves having to sacrifice a beautiful sound because of the noise that comes with it when we select a single-coil pickup. As for acoustic sounds, it almost goes without saying that not everyone has a studio set up to record through a microphone, and of course if the preamp and mic we're using aren't good enough, almost any other solution is better than settling for a "plasticky" mic sound.

Good sounds in simulation
Let me tell you my preferences as far as which guitars to choose.
Mainly, for clean recordings I go for Fender Stratocaster tones, in this case an imitation of the 1959 model. Of these, the classic in-between pickup sound is fantastic, as is the bridge position. I also find the bridge position on the 1968 Fender Telecaster Thinline and the 1960 Fender Telecaster Custom extraordinary, again for clean sounds. For somewhat jazzier clean sounds I use the 1961 Gibson ES-335 imitation. On this point, I can tell you that for twenty years I've owned a 1959 Gibson 335 Dot model; it's one of the first ones made and is a true relic. Well, as you can imagine, the Variax doesn't sound exactly the same, but it doesn't fall too far short either. What's more, with a medium-distortion sound you get a creamy, very expressive and organic tone.

In general, for distorted sounds I use the Gibson Les Paul simulations based on 1958 and 1951 models. The sitar sound is also very interesting; it doesn't sound like an acoustic sitar but like a Coral Sitar. In some productions, whenever I've seen the right space, I've tried to add a touch of this sound, either playing fills or doubling a melodic line.

At first I was somewhat skeptical about the acoustic guitars as far as their use in the recording studio. My first impressions led me to think it didn't make much sense to use them when you could have a good real acoustic guitar sound. If it's a matter of playing a solo piece, I prefer to use my old Taylor with a good mic. But when it came to using the acoustic guitar in a context with more instruments, the result was better than I'd imagined in every respect.

Two of the imitations are twelve-string guitars, the 1970 Martin D12-28 and the 1966 Guild F2 12. Personally I prefer the latter, since it has a very clear, open sound. On the other hand, the Martin O-18 model is very well suited to fingerpicking rather than playing with a pick. The end result in the mix is surprising. On the subject of acoustic colors and sounds, Line 6 has released a new model, the Variax Acoustic 700. In this respect, if what you're looking for is variety within acoustic sounds, it's without a doubt the model to choose, better than the other electric models, the 700 and the 500.
On the Variax Acoustic 700 we find 16 models of acoustic instruments. The good thing about this system for home recording is that we don't need a mic, and we get rid of the whole feedback problem in one fell swoop. At the same time, we have multiple alternate tunings available.

This instrument has a mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard and pearl white position markers. The top is cedar. It has 24 medium frets.

The guitar output is a standard 1/4" jack, plus a digital I/O for connecting to the Vetta II amplifier. The included DI box provides power as well as a standard 1/4" guitar output and balanced XLR outputs. It can also be powered by the built-in batteries or by the Line 6 Vetta II amplifier.
It's available in a natural or black finish.

Guitar models imitated by the Variax Acoustic 700
- 1941 Martin® 5-17
- 1946 Martin® 000-28
- 1960 Martin® D-21]
- 1954 Gibson® J-45®
- 1951 Gibson® SJ®-200
- 1933 Selmer® Maccaferri
- 1951 DAngelico™ New Yorker
- 958 Manuel Velazquez™
- 973 Guild® F412
- 1935 Stella® Auditorium
- 1939 National Reso-Phonic™ Style "O"]
- 1937 Dobro® Model 27
- Gibson® Mastertone
- Mandola
- Japanese Shamisen
- Indian Sitar

Construction and technical features
Below are some of the technical features of the Variax 700, which is actually the guitar I use most.

The top is carved ash with a mahogany body (translucent colors), or a solid mahogany body with a carved top (black only).

The neck is one-piece maple with a rosewood fingerboard and pearloid inlays, and the nut is bone. The tuners are Gotoh. It has a total of 22 medium frets. The bridge is a custom Baggs (tremolo or hardtail).

It has two output jacks, one standard 1/4-inch guitar output and the other a digital I/O for Vetta II connectivity. There's also an A/B footswitch that selects between the two outputs: the standard 1/4-inch guitar output for connection to any guitar amp, and a balanced XLR output for sending acoustic sounds elsewhere.
The available colors are black, blue, red or translucent amber.

The guitar models it imitates are the following
1960 Fender Telecaster Custom
1968 Fender Telecaster
1968 Fender Telecaster Thinline
1959 Fender Stratocaster
1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard
1952 Gibson Les Paul "Goldtop"
1961 Gibson Les Paul Custom
1956 Gibson Les Paul Junior
1976 Gibson Firebird V
1955 Gibson Les Paul Special
1959 Gretsch 6120
1956 Gretsch Silver Jet
1968 Rickenbacker 360
1966 Rickenbacker 360-12
1961 Gibson ES-335
1967 Epiphone Casino
1957 Gibson ES-175
1953 Gibson Super 400
1959 Martin D-28
1970 Martin D 12-28
1967 Martin O-18
1966 Guild F212
1995 Gibson J-200
1935 Dobro Alumilite
Danelectro 3021
Coral/Dano Electric Sitar
Gibson Mastertone Banjo
1928 National Style 2 "Tricone"

Conclusions
In conclusion, I can say that with a view to the home recording studio, and especially for those who don't have much space or a big budget, choosing Variax guitars, whichever model you pick, is in my view a very smart choice. The price of these guitars is reasonable, around a thousand euros give or take, and compared with what guitars currently cost, these Line 6 instruments are much more accessible than other options. As you can probably imagine, the best thing you can do is go to a store you trust and have them let you try one out for a good while; choosing an instrument is an extremely personal matter, as is my own view, which is, in any case, what I've tried to share with you in this article.