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(More customer reviews)Let me preface this review by saying that I owned a first generation Variax for about a month before selling it because it sounded thin and synthetic in comparison to a typical "real guitar." Not the case with the JTV... Even though the sounds are not perfect, they are enough to raise an eyebrow. A major factor contributing to the experience of this guitar is the wonderful neck. The strings are far enough apart to comfortably fingerpick or play lead, and the radius fits in the hand like a glove with a nice substantial feel. So, when I dial in an acoustic, the combination of feel and sound actually makes me forget that I'm playing an electric, and this really goes for any of the models. My main electric before this was a Gibson ES-335 through a Vox AC30, and I often found the tone to bee too fat and limiting. The new Variax has breathed new life into the Vox and opened up a world of possibilities and fun! I will say, however, that the 12 string models sounded very synthetic when I first played them, and to be frank, I was confused as to why Line 6 included them with otherwise very impressive guitar models. Though I have found that careful playing technique can alleviate the syntheticness of the 12-strings, I will say that this guitar is no replacement for a real 12-string, nor does it even come close. However, if you don't have a 12-string, it is a great window into that magical world. Additionally, I don't think a lot of pro players will be using the drop-D tuning switch. It makes the E string sound wobbley and not natural. Actually, that goes for all of the alt tunings. If you are just changing one strings tuning, I wouldn't be lazy and use the knob, but if you are going crazy with tunings, I would say that it sounds good enough given the convenience factor. While the models are very nice, especially clean, I still prefer my "real guitar" for overdriven rhythm. I went back and forth between the variax and the Gibson to see what the difference is, and the best way I can describe it is that it sounds more like wood, strings, and magnets... aka magic. Though, without a direct A-B comparison, it's hard to tell. The difference is like hearing music through good speakers vs world class speakers -- there is a little more detail and character with the real guitar. The real pickups on the variax are excellently shielded and sound very straty. The humbucker sounds like a cheap les paul, and the single coils sound very edgy and crisp. The middle pickup in particular is very rockin and sounds absolutely excellent with overdrive on the AC30. Almost like a telecaster's middle position in that snarly aggressiveness -- I love it. The set up from the factory was hands down, utterly and inexcusably terrible... The intonation was so far off on the low E that many of the models were not tracking properly, nor were the alt tuning working properly. I actually thought the guitar was defective because I have never heard this effect before. The pickup output was wack, as mentioned earlier, and there was a visible bow in the neck along with a lot of fret buzz. W.t.f. on a guitar costing over 1k, or on any guitar for that matter. Also, there was a chunk of glue at the truss rod recess, careless, and an indentation on the headstock caused by someone using an allen wrench in the wrong orientation to set up the truss rod, which they then proceeded to do poorly. That being said, I brought the guitar to a proper luthier and had the above issues remedied for $80, and because I purchased through musicians friend, all I had to do is fax them a receipt along with my complaint reference number and they credited me for the setup and repairs :-) So, at this point, I am a very happy customer. Considering the American version? I wouldn't, unless I was a pro and want to take advantage of the customization they allow. I think a flame maple neck would be cool and maybe a custom paint job, but these things are rather nit-picky. As far as color goes, I like black because the electronic plates on the back blend in and there is no difference in color between the humbucker and the single coils. I play mine with a black strap which has a white stripe going down it and it looks very nice, bringing out the trim of the pickguard. You may also want to consider replacing the pickguard with a tortoise shell one, which is a very classy look as can be seen by doing an image search for "black strat tortoise." If you need to sell your current guitar in order to get this, I would say that the Variax is finally a suitable main guitar, in fact, I think they will become quite common. One last thought that I will leave you with... This guitar has inspired a sense of wonder in me that I didn't realize was absent. I am now experimenting with alt tunings and playing out of my "normal" style with the large palette of unique guitar tones. The versatility of the guitar really does open up new doors and provide countless hours of enjoyment. Enjoyment which you may not have gotten if you had to constantly keep a large number of guitars in tune, accessibly stored, and in some cases properly mic'd. Enjoyment that you may not have gotten out of the first generation Variax if you couldn't get past the poor sound quality. Line 6 is on to something here.
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