I Totally Rule (another Variax thread)

[chrisharris]

Sure, but how much better?

A whole bunch. To me, it's the difference between something that sounds like an acoustic guitar and everything else in the world...that doesn't.

The cost to get the Variax just for a small tone advantage in a live show (where most of the audience doesn't notice or care) is quite a lot more. Unless you need the other instrument sounds, I don't see how it is cost effective.

Again, I think your premise about there being only a "small tone advantage" is severely flawed, but I'm the same guy who can't really hear the difference between a severely distorted guitar signal source...is it coming from an LP or a Strat? I just don't know, because it's not MY thing, but I think I can relate to the guys that CAN hear the difference.

But the cost difference between a Vax Ac. 300 and a "normal" acoustic/electric is no difference at all. $600 street. Plus, you can record with it from the output jack and sound better than most people who try to record their acoustic guitars. If you can pay the same price and get a sound that you like "1000%" better, why wouldn't you do that? My point in this thread is that you really should if this is what you do.

 

[chrisharris]

So Chris, tell me your opinion of the Variax?

Sure Mike, thanks for asking:

1. It's very controversial;
2. It sounds horrible when you record it;
3. It must sound horrible live, although nobody here seems to have heard one live; and
4. I'm a dick

I think that about covers the thread, lol.

 

[zacanger]

Just when I didn't think this thread could possibly be anymore annoying to read, you quoted me, HAHAHAHA.

I feel pretty safe in typing anything after this point...I'm the only one who will ever see it.

Yeah, I figured this thread's kind of a joke now anyway, why not?

I'm still not convinced.

You need to hear something like a Trance Audio piezo before dismissing that entire concept outright.

The Fishman/Hot Dots/etc don't really do piezo justice.




Oh, and there's nothing wrong with just playing music for the sake of playing. It's like a meditation for me. I love having a bunch of instruments to pick around on and the real-live stuff I remember from being a kid and wanting to play and rock out.

One of these days I'll post something. It's not a priority to me. The bigger priority has been getting everything here, figuring it all out (work-in-progress ), and rocking out.

Tube amps are busting my ass lately. I've got two that are down at the moment. A totally fried 1970 Twin and a Rivera with a cap going out that hisses like a bitch.

But the Leslie is rockin'!

Oh, and the 12ax7 in my what---- 3-week-old Brick went tits up too.

So analog has it's downside no doubt.

But nothing sounds like those pieces when the are in top form, either.

Yeah. The key is that last sentence.

AGE: 17

...yes, I am 17. This has been said before. Get over my age, k? Pretend I'm middle-aged like you, and all will be well.

Yeah, but once got your nose far enough away from your boyfriend's anus so you could properly position a mic...

I'm not sure whether that's suppost to insult me or him, but for the record, if it's me, it's not my boyfriend's anus, it's my fiancee's crotch, but okay.

Sure, but how much better? It's a given a player who wants to record, or simply play in his room without amplification is gonna have an acoustic. The cost to add a piezo or other system to that guitar is pretty low. The cost to get the Variax just for a small tone advantage in a live show (where most of the audience doesn't notice or care) is quite a lot more. Unless you need the other instrument sounds, I don't see how it is cost effective.

The guitarist in my church (who is quite good) used to have one of the nicer Ovations, in the last year she traded up for a guitar made out of actual wood, still with some sort of direct system. Even though our church has a REAL PA system--by that I mean a 70V paging system built into a 20ft ceiling --the new guitar (sorry, don't know the model) sounds 1,000% better. I guarantee you she and I are the only two people in the sanctuary who realize that.

Hey, I've got a nice Limited Edition Ovation that looks gorgeous. So she sounds horrible, but the best looking and feeling acoustic I've ever played, so I keep her for that.

I am the man.



It's a Fishman Rare Earth humbucking sound hole pickup. I can't stand the boinginess of piezos.

Cheers to that.

Sure Mike, thanks for asking:

1. It's very controversial;
2. It sounds horrible when you record it;
3. It must sound horrible live, although nobody here seems to have heard one live; and
4. I'm a dick

I think that about covers the thread, lol.

Correct!

-Zac

 

[mrsanger]

Please don't talk about my crotch in a public forum.
Thanks, bye.

 

[zacanger]

Please don't talk about my crotch in a public forum.
Thanks, bye.

Oh, k, sorry. Nevermore.

 

[apl]

...yes, I am 17. This has been said before. Get over my age, k? Pretend I'm middle-aged like you, and all will be well.

Then you're chuckling, too, when a 17yo writes, "Over the years..."

Yeah, but once got your nose far enough away from your boyfriend's anus so you could properly position a mic...

I'm not sure whether that's suppost to insult me or him, but for the record, if it's me, it's not my boyfriend's anus, it's my fiancee's crotch, but okay.

The esteemed chrisharris, esq, wrote that he couldn't record a fart when he was seventeen, and I posited the most plausible theory. Nothing to do with you, master z.

 

[mshilarious]

Wow, this thread just got lots more interesting

 

[zacanger]

Then you're chuckling, too, when a 17yo writes, "Over the years..."



The esteemed chrisharris, esq, wrote that he couldn't record a fart when he was seventeen, and I posited the most plausible theory. Nothing to do with you, master z.

Ah, k then. Over the years meaning the past five that I've been going from forum to forum.

 

[apl]

Ah, k then. Over the years meaning the past five that I've been going from forum to forum.

When you consider it as a fraction of your lifetime, it is ponderous.

 

[mshilarious]

When you consider it as a fraction of your lifetime, it is ponderous.

I liked it better in 1983, when you couldn't chat with anybody unless the BBS owner was home

 

[MULEFAN]

Hi there, horsefucker. Lemme' guess...you've never played one, and your last gig involved somebody getting married, right? A close relative, I assume. Possibly your sister/ex-wife?

If you have actual experience with these instruments, then I'll just call you a tonedeaf dumbfuck and tell you that you need more experience...or a hearing aid. If you have (as I suspect) no experience whatsoever with them beyond reading about them on the internet, then I'll let your opinion stand on its own terms.

Nice- at least you didn't get all personal and insulting. I have played a Variax acoustic at GC. Don't know which model. It sounded good, but a bit "digitally" for my taste. I suppose it's easy to get a good sound for your live gigs. I guess my biggest complaint with anything that "models" is that they don't sound "exactly" like what they claim. They can get some great sounds but NOT EXACTLY like a Boogie Mk. II into a 4x10 Marshall cab w/ greenback celestions, or whatever they claim. Not even close. But what do I know- I'm just a tonedeaf dumb-*** !!
My original post was in reply to the tone of your's which I didn't recognize as being humorous. Now I know- you're just an asshole that everybody loves.
Every board has 'em.
One more thing- if you're really concerned about your tone, maybe you shouldn't plaster stickers all over the front of your axe. Or is that just your good one "fer gittin' yer pitcher took" ?

 

[apl]

Now I know- you're just an asshole that everybody loves.

Close. He's a really nice guy who enjoys the occasional mutual flame-fest.

 

[hixmix]

Now I know- you're just an asshole that everybody loves.

You nailed it!

 

[zacanger]

Nice- at least you didn't get all personal and insulting. I have played a Variax acoustic at GC. Don't know which model. It sounded good, but a bit "digitally" for my taste. I suppose it's easy to get a good sound for your live gigs. I guess my biggest complaint with anything that "models" is that they don't sound "exactly" like what they claim. They can get some great sounds but NOT EXACTLY like a Boogie Mk. II into a 4x10 Marshall cab w/ greenback celestions, or whatever they claim. Not even close. But what do I know- I'm just a tonedeaf dumb-*** !!
My original post was in reply to the tone of your's which I didn't recognize as being humorous. Now I know- you're just an asshole that everybody loves.
Every board has 'em.
One more thing- if you're really concerned about your tone, maybe you shouldn't plaster stickers all over the front of your axe. Or is that just your good one "fer gittin' yer pitcher took" ?

You know, I was wondering about that too. If you're all up on your Variax, why are you playing a Takamine straight from the crappy electronics & piezo... covered in stickers? Was there an explanation? Did I miss a post?

 

[mshilarious]

You know, I was wondering about that too. If you're all up on your Variax, why are you playing a Takamine straight from the crappy electronics & piezo... covered in stickers? Was there an explanation? Did I miss a post?

Woody Guthrie played a Martin with "This Machine Kills Fascists" painted on it

 

[c7sus]

Fiances' crotch?????

Kid, yer 17!!!!!!!!

Don't marry anybody you went to high school with, or that is old enough to attend while you are attending.

I'm on my 3rd wife so I know what I'm talking about here.

 

[chrisharris]

Hi, Mulefan. Let's start over.

My name's chris, and let's face it...humor is a lot easier to spot when it's actually funny, right? Mine wasn't remotely funny unless you happen to have had the great displeasure to "know" me for awhile,...and even then, it's not all that funny.

And I do work on trying to be less of an asshole, but I don't really work hard enough at it. My problem's not so much one of being bitter and angry, because I'm really not...my problem is that I'm really really arrogant. It's pointed out to me a lot, and I usually agree. Anyway, most people here are cooler, so enjoy the place!!

 

[chrisharris]

Don't marry anybody you went to high school with, or that is old enough to attend while you are attending.

I'm on my 3rd wife so I know what I'm talking about here.

Hey c7...he didn't make fun of my 16 year old, so quit making fun of his.






































c'mon, nothing? Not even a grin for that one? Phuck...tough room.

Hey, FWIW, I married my high school girlfriend SOLELY because she got pregnant 17 years ago and we're still married. However, each and every day is a living hell for us, and the only reason I spend so much of my freetime online is because I can't stand that f*&^ing bitch, so BOTH of you angry kids should listen closely to c7's advice.

 

[zacanger]

Fiances' crotch?????

Kid, yer 17!!!!!!!!

Don't marry anybody you went to high school with, or that is old enough to attend while you are attending.

I'm on my 3rd wife so I know what I'm talking about here.

Hah... sorry, I'm kind of decided on this one. I love my girl.

 

[c7sus]

You're gonna be so sorry later.

Do yourself a HUGE FAVOR and DO NOT KNOCK HER UP EVER!!!!!!!!!

I mean it.

You can thank me later.




When your 17 everything seems like it takes forever. You're too old to really be under anybody's thumb, but still too young to make it on your own.

We married at 19 so we could both move out and start a life together.

But we found out pretty quickly that marriage ain't playing house.

And all that stuff about playing the field and sowing your oats will come into play at some point.

Trust me, you don't want to be 19 years old with a 6-month-old baby to be responsible for.

Can it be done???? Sure. But you would be so much better off PLANNING to have a family WHEN YOU HAVE THE WAYS AND MEANS TO SUPPORT ONE!!!