DIGITAL MODELING was an innovative and exciting technology when it was first introduced. Back then, just listening to a new modeling amp or processor was a thrill. Even if it only approximated the amp it was emulating, it could still bring goosebumps to all but the purest of tone snobs. But now modeling has been around for a while, and even though the technology sounds better than ever, the novelty has worn off a bit. To get the thrill back into it, a company would have to come up with a fresh approach.

Enter the Line 6 Variax, the first-ever digital-modeling guitar. (Roland's V-series processors offer guitar modeling, but not from the guitar itself.) Line 6 promotes the Variax as an “entire guitar collection in one instrument.” It offers models of 25 different instruments, including numerous electrics, several acoustics, a couple of resonator guitars, a banjo, and even a Coral electric sitar. Before analyzing how it sounds, let's take a closer look at the instrument itself.

The Variax is a basswood solidbody guitar that comes in three finishes: sunburst (with a tortoiseshell pickguard); black (with a gray pearloid pickguard); and red (with a white pickguard). Personally, I find the guitar's overall look to be a little pedestrian, but others who've seen it really like it.

The Variax has a 22-fret, bolt-on maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard and a 3-tuners-per-side headstock. When you first look at the guitar, you notice that it appears to have no pickups. Actually, it has piezo pickups built in to its bridge (a string-through bridge like a Strat's, in which the strings are fed through the bridge from the back of the guitar). The signal from each string has a separate input path into the guitar's internal digital processor, where the modeling algorithms are applied. According to Line 6, the Variax's software can be updated through an RJ-45 port on the jack plate, and additional modeling algorithms are likely to be available in the future.

The processor gets power from either six AA batteries or from the included XPS footswitch. (A 9V battery can be used in a pinch, but it will yield only 1 to 2 hours of life, compared to 12 hours with the AAs.) When you use the XPS with a ¼-inch TRS cable (included), it not only powers the Variax but functions as an A/B switch and a direct box, giving you the choice of either ¼-inch or XLR outputs. If you use a mono ¼-inch cable between the XPS and the Variax, you get the A/B function without the power. Having dual outputs is important because if you're using the Variax's acoustic models, you'll probably want to route them through the P.A. or an acoustic amp (see Fig. 1) rather than your regular guitar amp.

The Variax feels and plays like a quality guitar. The neck is comfortable, and the action is low. It has sealed tuners that have a smooth feel to them, and the intonation on my review model was right on. It does not have a whammy bar. According to Line 6, most of the guitars modeled in the Variax had no tremolo systems, so it would not have been consistent to design those capabilities into it. In addition, adding a whammy bar would have complicated the modeling process. The company does say that a whammy bar is possible in future Variax models. Also included with the Variax is a nice-quality padded gig bag with two large pockets.

The Variax has three knobs: Volume, Tone, and Model Select. The Model Select knob lets you choose from ten banks of five models, organized by guitar type. There are also two Custom banks, in which you can save a selection of your favorite sounds for easy access.

The T-Model bank has models that are based on a '60 Telecaster Custom, a '68 Telecaster, and a '68 Telecaster Thinline. Spank features models that were inspired by a 1959 Stratocaster. In the Lester bank, the models are based on a '58 Les Paul Standard, a '52 Goldtop, and a '61 Les Paul Custom.

The Special bank gives you Les Paul Special, Les Paul Junior, and reverse Firebird-based models. The sounds in the R-Billy bank are based on a '59 Gretsch 6120 and a '56 Gretsch Silver Jet. Chime gives you emulations of a '68 Rickenbacker 360 and a '66 Rickenbacker 360-12 12-string. The Semi bank features models of the semi-hollowbody '61 Gibson ES-335 and a '67 Epiphone Casino. Jazzbox offers models based on two hollowbody archtops: a '57 Gibson ES-175 and a '53 Gibson Super 400.

The Acoustic bank features models of three acoustic 6-strings — a '59 Martin D-28, a '67 Martin O-18, and a '95 Gibson J-200 — as well as two 12-strings — a '70 Martin D 12-28 and a '66 Guild F212. The most eclectic of the banks is Reso, which gives you models of a '35 Dobro Model 32 (a metal-body resonator guitar), a National Tricone resonator guitar, a '65 Danelectro 3021 electric, a Coral Sitar, and a Gibson Mastertone banjo.

The five-position pickup selector switch varies in operation depending on which guitar is being modeled. For instance, when you select the Spank bank (featuring the '59 Strat models), the five-position switch acts just the way it does on a real Strat. In the Lester bank, however, you get the three possible positions for the '58 Les Paul Standard, as well as the bridge position of the Goldtop Les Paul's P-90 pickup, and the bridge/middle position of the Les Paul Custom. The choices vary from model to model, but you get a lot of variety.

I tried the Variax out in several situations: through a Music Man 210 HD, a Fender Blues Deluxe, and a Fender Acoustisonic Pro. I also auditioned it direct, through studio monitors (both Genelecs and Yamaha NS-10Ms). Into the board I used a Line 6 Pod XT for the electric sounds and also went straight in through the XPS footswitch's XLR output when auditioning the acoustic, banjo, and resonator guitar models.

To get some other perspectives on the Variax's sound, I brought it to a producer and a guitarist whose opinions I trust. We compared the Variax to several guitars, including Fender, ESP, and Schecter Strats; a '70s Les Paul Custom; a Japanese Fender Tele with Joe Barden pickups; and a Taylor acoustic/electric.

The overall consensus was that the Variax did a good job of emulating the essential tonal characteristics of the guitar types it was modeling. The Strat sounded “stratty,” the Teles sounded “Tele-esque,” the Les Pauls were fat and gritty, and so forth. Although the Variax models lacked some of the presence on top and heft on the bottom of the guitars I compared them with, the Variax models had a more even frequency response that seemed almost equalized. That can be a useful quality, especially in the studio.

I was impressed by most of the electric models, with the exception of the two hollowbodies (models of a '57 Gibson ES-175 and '53 Gibson Super 400), which didn't have the roundness and bass response I would have expected. On the other hand, the '66 Rickenbacker 360-12 electric model was both authentic sounding and a lot of fun to play. (It was impossible to resist playing the intro to “Mr. Tambourine Man.”)

The acoustic models reminded me of how acoustic guitars sound through piezo pickups. Their degree of authenticity depended a lot on what material was being played. For example, I found that fingerpicking on the '67 Martin O-18 model sounded surprisingly authentic. I recorded some of it to my multitrack, and it sounded liked a miked acoustic. When I tried some bluegrass flatpicking runs on the same model, however, its response seemed less realistic — especially on the low E string, which was weak in volume compared with the other strings.

I liked the Gibson J-200 model a lot; it had the beefiest bottom-end response of all the acoustic models. I also liked the Guild F212 12-string model but found that the Martin D12-28 sounded somewhat processed.

The resonator models both did a pretty good job of capturing the essence of those instruments. I didn't have a metal-body resonator to compare the Variax to, but I did have a solo recording of a 1936 National guitar, which gave me a good basis for comparison.

The banjo model, which emulates a Gibson Mastertone banjo, did a good job of capturing a banjo tone. Although it's pretty hard to play convincing bluegrass banjo parts on a guitar (without the banjo's droning fifth string), the banjo model was very effective for tenor banjo-style parts: that sound would be handy to have if you were playing Broadway-type shows or Dixieland.

That brings up an important point about the Variax: its models sound a lot more convincing when you play them in a style that's authentic for the instrument being emulated. For instance, the ES-335 model came to life when playing some B. B. King licks.

I must admit that I began the review process with a healthy degree of skepticism. I'm no tone purist, but I still wondered whether it would be possible to get so many authentic-sounding emulations from a single guitar.

After using the Variax in a number of situations, however, I've become a believer. Does it exactly nail the tone of the guitars it models, down to the last nuance? No. But it does a remarkable job, in most cases, of capturing the essential qualities of their tones. When you consider that you're getting the sounds of a huge collection of electrics, acoustics, 12-strings, resonator guitars, and even an electric sitar, all in one instrument, it's pretty mind-blowing. And the Variax is no toy. It's a quality instrument with good action, a comfortable neck, and good intonation. For a performing guitarist who needs to get a huge variety of sounds, the Variax would be a godsend. In the studio, it could also be a tremendously useful tool.

Once again, Line 6 has upped the ante in the field of digital modeling. What's more, they've made it exciting again.