TAXI.com

I'm NOT a very good guitar player, but sometimes I've got to put a part in myself, for various reasons, and need a really good sounding and versatile guitar. If I practice a part long enough, I can do it....here's my dilemma.Right now I have a 1971 Gibson SG, which needs some work... it goes out of tune a lot, and the G string just doesn't sound right, no matter what type of strings I use....I'm not sure which way to go...I can either buy a Line 6 Variax guitar that'll emulate a bunch of different guitars/sounds just by turning a knob on the guitar for around $800....or get my SG up to snuff and buy a software program like Guitar Rig 3....Anyone have a Variax, or Guitar Rig type of software they'd like to give their opinions about???

Hey dgnats,In my opinion, I would fix up the 71 SG. I absolutely hate Gibson guitars, but I think that investing some money into it and some software will be your best bet and here is why:1. I've played a variax and honestly, its nothing more than a toy to me. Its kind of like the keyboards you see at target in the electronics section: fun to play with for a few minutes while you're waiting for your girlfriend to finish shopping but thats about it. I don't think they do a good enough job emulating the different sounds. Not good enough to record pitch-able tracks anyways. I personally would spend $800 bucks building a guitar or on kick ass sample libraries before I would spend it on a variax. I'm a serious guitar player, so maybe that is swaying my opinion a little...but even strictly from a composing standpoint I just don't think a lot of the sounds are all that usable.2. A 71 SG is worth money. Probably a couple grand if its in good shape and all original. It would behoove you from an investment standpoint to get her playing again. The tuning issue really isn't a hard fix at all. Well, kind of...it is a Gibson and those damn things were never designed right in the first place . The strings have nothing to do with it...most tuning issues are usually caused by problems with the nut. A good guitar tech could take care of it for less than 200 bucks unless he has to replace tuners or the bridge. Don't take it to Guitar Center or any other big chain like that by the way. Every tech that has worked at my local guitar center has been "not good" to put it very politely. I've seen quite a few hack jobs come out of there and a hack job on a 71 SG is the last thing you want.3. To get an authentic guitar sound, its best if you are playing an authentic guitar. A variax to me is not an authentic guitar. The tone is a bit lacking and, like I mentioned earlier, the sounds it emulates aren't all that great either. If you are going to spend 800 bucks I would use that to fix the SG, get some guitar type software, and buy sample libraries. You could probably do all of that for $800.-Steve

heres an option, I would check it out first, but I bought one of those podxt lives the floor models, with all the sounds (hell of alot compared to guitar rig, imho better sounds too) and like guitar rig, its passable but something is definitely lacking, so I ended up buying a marshal amp, just a little one, and running the pod to that, total price tag is 450 not including the guitar, now with just those two peices, and micing, I can emulate some MONSTER sounds, I mean there was a few forums, where people where swearing up and down that i had like 9 amps, because you can use the spacial effects in the pod, to feed into the amp, to emulate size and grain and other stuff, instead of using them like pedal effects, takes some math and figuring, but yeah, i have a telecaster custom, a jackson kelly custom (both from a pawn shop abandoned, both for under 200 bucks, crazy right?) and an ibanez gax, between those three guitars and that set up, I havent thought up a guitar line yet that i couldnt reproduce, including ones in my head, and im frequency and tone trained, so I am saying this with engineer calliber ears

Thanks Steve and MILF for the input. For my recording purposes, an amp just opens up a whole other set of issues. I need something that I can play through my studio monitors or headphones in the evenings. Steve, I am thinking about getting the SG up to snuff. I have an old friend who's a well known luthier. Although he's a good hour and a half drive away, I should probably take it to him. He did some work on my bass a few years ago and did a great job with it.Of course there is one other option. I sell the SG, which is in very good shape, and buy both the Variax and Guitar Rig, and still have quite a bit of $$$ left over for???Hate to part with my SG though....Tough choice indeed....Harry

If you want to sell the SG, EMAIL ME!!! I am looking for one.Wodinlord

Hi dgnatsit sounds like you have a problem with the intonation on the SG. Every well-assorted music shop can fix this. Normally they first has to adjust the screws on the saddle but also the differences in the strings mass, tension, length and fretting stretch all effect the notes pitch. There are also other factors that can affect the instruments ability to play in tune. Check it out at a shop of your choice. I suggest to keep the guitar and purchase a good amp sim like Amplitube 2 on www.ikmultimedia.com (my favorite)An insider tip would be Revalver MK II at www.alienconnections.com (very nice, Sweden rocks )I used Guitar Rig 2 view years ago and I wasn't pleased with it. A lot of presets but the distorted sound is not worth mentioning. (they might fixed it in version 3?)Hope this helpsregardsFrank

Hey Frank,I will have to look into Amplitude. I'm keeping my options open at this point.Wodinlord...if I do decide to sell it, I'll let you know...Harry

Thanks for the link Frank...it gave me an idea. I'm going to download the demo of Amplitude and Guitar Rig. This will show me first hand what they both are capable of....even with my SG the way it is, it's not a bad guitar overall...but it should help me decided which way to go...Harry

I've got Guitar Rig 3 and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I'm working on a project right now where the artist isn't 100% settled on some of the tones that they want. So I record a direct line and then apply Guitar Rig to it as an RTAS in Pro Tools. I can sample several tones for the client as the song is playing. It's so easy to change a tone if you decide you want a different sound, plus the sounds they give are very authentic IMHO.

Just my two cents, but I think the Variax line is way cool...I use the bass guitar all the time, I like the acoustic and use it often and am about to purchase a 600 series electric. I find with Line 6 that the low end stuff is kind of "toy" like, but the high end stuff is great. The sounds might not be exact, but they sound great and are definitely of pitchable quality.Just my opinion!Dan