My Variax

[boomtap]

All my worst fears from the board have come true. The Variax that I love so much is stinking broke after 3 months.

The Cat5 jack on the guitar is plastic and it broke. That stinks.

 

[KEVIN1600]

That sucks ,those things look neat but I'm leary of the electronics breaking.GOOD LUCK ON SERVICE.

 

[ibanezrocks]

http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=166867&page=1

 

[Monsterpop]

oh nooooooooooo

i just bought a 500 on Ebay ! ;-0

All my worst fears from the board have come true. The Variax that I love so much is stinking broke after 3 months.

The Cat5 jack on the guitar is plastic and it broke. That stinks.

 

[boomtap]

Looks like I will be able to get a replacement part and install myself. If so, I will be very happy because this has become my favorite guitar.

 

[ibanezrocks]

Looks like I will be able to get a replacement part and install myself. If so, I will be very happy because this has become my favorite guitar.

What was your favorite guitar before?

 

[boomtap]

I have a newer (2 years old) American Strat Standard that I play more than anything else.

 

[Ed Dixon]

Were you using the Line 6 cable connector for CAT5 jack, or some other kind of cable?

Ed

 

[philboyd studge]

Yeah I've had problems too but still like it.

As far as ebay Variax's go, I'd treat them like any other electronic gear, with suspicion. Unless they're new.

 

[Ed Dixon]

Line 6 has been very sepcific about using anything but a small number of cables with the CAT5 connector. Because of the stress involved, it's very easy to damage the connector without the right connector/cable.

Ed

 

[boomtap]

I actually went to Guitar Center when the guitar was new, and told them I wanted one of the Line 6 cables, and they told me not to bother, that I could use a regular cat5. I reluctantly took thier advice, and now the connector is broke. I wish I would have forced them to order the cable for me. Since breaking it, I did buy a cable, so hopefully this won't happen again.

 

[Ed Dixon]

That is the problem. Standard CAT5 cables are not designed for stress operation. Computers don't move, and CAT5 works fine there. Guitar players move, and the special connector helps avoid problems in that case.

The guys at GC were uninformed at best.

Ed

 

[Ed Dixon]

Furthermore only a handful of such cables are approved by Line 6 for use. Many are still not rigid enough to prevent damage. There are lower cost cables from other firms that Line 6 says will work just fine.

Ed

 

[boomtap]

Lessoned learned.

 

[tonyoci]

These are some great cables recommended on the Line6 site. They are flexible but sturdy at the end. Much better than the line 6 cable in my opinion.

Regarding GC, my local center told me there was no such cable so you're one step improved from that

http://best-tronics.com/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=BMI&Category_Code=ETHERCON1-XX

 

[boomtap]

SWEET! Those are great, and about $15 cheaper. Thanks a bunch for following up on that.