LINE 6 VARIAX 705 5-STRING DIGITAL MODELING BASS GUITAR
Written: Mar 10 '06 (Updated Feb 16 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: There is no other bass available that has this range of sounds.
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: There is simply no other bass available today that has a wider sonic palate.
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| Dr.P's Full Review: Line 6 Variax Bass 705 |
LINE 6 VARIAX 705 5-STRING DIGITAL MODELING BASS GUITAR
Although the folks at Line 6 did not invent the concept of Digital Modeling of amps, speaker cabinets, and digital effects, their products are certainly respected, and their technology, especially in the form of the PODxt series, can be heard on many top notch professional recordings. A few years ago Line 6 turned their attention to a new concept, which was to produce a Digital Modeling Guitar. Digital Modeling of guitars was certainly not new concept, and the Roland did an excellent job of capturing different guitar sounds in their VG-88 Guitar System, which uses Roland’s COSM Technology to model some of the most popular guitars and amps used in rock music. Line 6’s unique contribution to the Digital Modeling of guitars was to create a free standing musical instrument, specifically the Variax Series of Guitars, which was capable of Digitally Modeling an entire collection of some of the most popular guitars used in rock music, as well as some rare vintage guitars, and unusual stringed instruments such as a sitar. An now, to the delight of Bass players, the folks at Line 6 have turned their sights on creating the world’s first 5-String Digital Modeling Bass, the Variax 705 Bass, and I can tell you with great delight, they have succeeded.
Although I have extensively described what Digital Modeling is and isn’t in my review of the Variax 700 4-String Bass, I feel I should say a few words about it here. The Variax is not a “midi bass guitar.” MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. A midi guitar, bass, or keyboard requires a MIDI connection to a digital source, such as synthesizer sound module or bank, in order to play it, and the sounds of the guitars that it produces are housed externally in that synthesizer module. The midi guitar or keyboard merely triggers the sound, it does not produce it. I have owned guitar synthesizers and guitars with midi-pickups, and there are still some problems inherent in the best of them. Although there has been much improvement in midi guitars, one is inevitably forced to frequently alter their playing style to accommodate the limitations of the midi guitar. For example, fast riffs, certain picking techniques, trills, etc. have to be either eliminated or minimized in order to avoid tracking errors and delays, and other related problems. That is not the case with the Variax 705 Bass. All the sounds of the two dozen basses are located inside of the Variax 705, and can be instantaneously be available with the turn of a dial. With the Variax 705 Bass, there are also none of the tracking errors inherent in midi guitars or guitar synthesizers. You can play the Variax 705 in any style, and be able to do so without having to alter what you would normally do on any other conventional bass guitar with conventional pickups. With the Variax 705 Bass, you can play all of the bends, slurs, trills, slaps, etc., that define your own unique individual playing style, without having to worry about tracking issues or problems in real time playing.
When first looking at the Variax 705 5-String Bass, one is immediately drawn to the fact that there are no discernable pickups between the bridge and the neck. That’s because there are none there. There are however Piezo pickups built into the bridge of the guitar, which are similar to the Piezo pickups used on many fine acoustic guitars. These pickups carry the impulses of the string vibrations to the internal electronic processors that are the heart of the Variax 705 Bass, and that is where the sounds of the various Digitally Modeled instruments are stored. Every subtlety of string picking, bending, rapid trills, etc., is faithfully reproduced, without the tracking errors or delays inherent in midi pickups.
The Variax 705 in made in Korea and it has an Alder body, which is a wood that is frequently used in many Fender bass guitars. The Variax 705 Bass weighs 10.8 pounds, but it is so well balanced, and is so ergonomically designed, that it felt very comfortable to play in either a seated or standing position. The neck is made with Maple, and the fingerboard is made with Rosewood. The Variax 705 has 21 medium profile frets, and a 10 inch fretboard radius, which is similar to the Variax 700 4-String Bass. The fret markers are pearl dots, and the scale length of the neck is 34 inches. The tuning pegs are chrome sealed tuners, with four on the top side, and the 5th or G-string on the bottom of the headstock. The appearance of the neck looks similar to a 5-string Fender Jazz Bass in this regard. If you are a person who likes the feel of a Fender Jazz Bass, well the Variax 705 feels very similar to a 5-string Fender Jazz bass like American Deluxe model. The width at the nut is 1.800 inches on the Variax 705 and it is 1.875 on the Fender Jazz Bass. Also, if you are a person who must have a specific type of neck to suit your playing needs, you are in luck. Warmouth Guitar Products makes custom Variax replacement necks, and you can chose from dozens of replacement necks in just about any size, wood, or style configuration to suit you own individual playing tastes and needs. The Variax 705 body is designed to accept just about any traditional 4-bolt neck replacement. Personally, I was very pleased with the neck that comes standard on the Variax 705. The neck feels good, slick, and smooth, and there were no discernable imperfections in either the finish, or the overall appearance of the guitar that I played. The Variax 705 is also available in Sunburst and Black. The Variax 705 has a standard ¼ inch guitar jack output which will work with any standard bass amp, as well as a Digital I/O RJ45 jack for use with a Line 6 Bass PODxt live, connection to the Line 6 Workbench, or connection to an amp with suitable inputs.
Like any other electric Bass guitar, the Variax 705 has a knob for volume and tone. You will notice that when you set the Variax 705 to model a specific Bass, lets say a Fender Precision Bass, that the volume and tone controls have the same response as they would on the bass that they are modeling. For instance, varying the tone control on a bass guitar that is modeling a bass with single coil pickups will sound different than on a Gibson Bass with Humbuckers. There is simply not the range of tone variation with a single coil pickup as compared to Humbuckers, and thus a greater amount of turning of the tone knob would be required to noticeably alter the tone of the single coil as compared to the Humbuckers. Simply put, the Variax 705 really models the responsivity of the volume and tone controls of the electric bass guitar that it is set to model. Besides the familiar Volume and Tone Controls, the Variax 705 Bass also has a Blend and Model Select Control. I will discuss the functions of each of these other controls in a moment, but first allow me to discuss the Volume and Tone Controls in a bit more depth.
Like the Volume Control on any other traditional electric bass, turning the Volume control on the Variax 705 Bass clockwise will increase the volume. However, that is where the similarity ends. When you press down on the Volume Control Knob, you will notice that the light adjacent to the Model Select Knob will change in color from Green to Red. When the Green light is illuminated, the first variation of that particular bass model is activated. By pressing down on the Volume Control Knob, the light will change to Red, and you will have now activated the second variation of that particular bass model, and in some cases a completely different one, depending on of course on the position of the Model Selector Knob. Think of the possibilities of instantaneously switching from a hollow bodied bass like a Gibson EB-2D (think of Glenn Cornick from Jethro Tull) to a 1961 Fretless Fender Jazz Bass for a searing bass solo (think of Jaco Pastorius). This feature alone makes this bass incredibly useful.
The Tone Control on the Variax 705 Bass is actually two separate knobs stacked on top of each other. The smaller or top knob functions as a treble control, and the large bottom knob controls the level of the bass that is available. But here is where things get really interesting. When a bass model is selected that is a traditional electric bass with “passive electronics,” like a standard Fender Precision Bass, the center “detent” on the Treble or top knob responds like the full setting or 㥶” on a traditional bass guitar. Turning the treble knob down or counterclockwise will still produce the same response as turning down the tone knob on that particular bass. However, if you were to turn the top knob clockwise past the center “detent,” the resulting effect would be like adding a “treble boost” on the particular bass being selected. But that is not all folks. The passive basses modeled by the Variax 705 Bass do not have a separate specific bass tone control, and thus when the Bass Tone Control or bottom knob is in the center detent, the bass tone control is inactive, and does not affect the sound of the modeled instrument. However, by rotating this knob counterclockwise, it acts as a bass boost, and rotating it past the center detent in the counterclockwise direction, the knob will function to cut out bass frequencies. For models based on instruments with “active electronics” such as the 2004 Fender Deluxe Jazz Bass, which has active EQ, the function of the Tone Control faithfully responds like the tone of the modeled instrument.
In between the Volume and Tone Controls lies the Blend Control. The features of this Blend Control are simply incredible, and you will soon see why I say that. Most of the electric basses modeled by the Variax 705 Bass are two pickup instruments. Rather than having a separate Volume and Tone Control for each pickup, the Variax 705 Bass approaches this situation by using a Master Volume and Blend. When the Blend Control is in the full clockwise position, only the bridge pickup on the selected model is engaged. When the Blend Knob is in the full counterclockwise position, only the neck pickup is activated. At the center “detent” of the Blend Knob, both pickups are equally activated or blended, and every other position other than the ones just described, represents a different blend of both pickups.
But that is just the start of the amazing things that the Blend Control is capable of. For instance, several of the modeled basses, such as the 1958 Fender Precision Bass, have only one pickup, which obviously limits the spectrum of your sound palate. However, through the miracle of modern digital technology, the Variax 705 Bass provides the player with an incredible power. Allow me to elaborate. At the center detent, you have the option of having the single pickup in the stock position that is found on that particular bass being modeled. However, if you rotate the Blend Knob clockwise, you get the magical effect of moving the pickup closer to the bridge for a snappier biting punch. By rotating the Blend knob counterclockwise, you get the simulated sound of the pickup being moved closer to the neck position, resulting in a fuller, richer, mellower sound. This affords the player an amazing power to shape the sound of the modeled instrument in ways that would be impossible outside of the digital realm.
But that is not all that the Blend Knob is capable of doing. For the acoustic modeled instruments, such as the 2003 Tacoma Thunderchief, the Blend control gives you the power to simulate changing the location of the position of the microphone picking up the sound of the bass. By rotating the Blend Control in the clockwise direction, the sound simulates the sound derived by moving the position of the microphone closer to the instrument. By turning the Blend Knob in the counterclockwise direction, the resulting sound simulates positioning the microphone further away from, the acoustic instrument being modeled. The Blend Control simulates the various tones that might be derived by different mic placements used in picking up the sound of an acoustic bass. As anyone who has ever tried to capture the sound of an acoustic bass with a microphone knows, different placement of the mic in relation to the instrument will produce different sounds (i.e., fatter, thinner, richer, fuller, etc.). The Variax 705 permits this subtle tweaking, which is very important when trying to make a believable recording.
The last knob on the Variax 705 Bass is the Model Select knob. The Model Select Knob permits you to switch from any one of the modeled basses to another with ease. There are also ways to save and recall your own custom guitar settings with the Variax 705 Bass, but I will not go into them here as I have already covered this in my review of the Variax 700 Bass, and the technique is the same.
Versatility is the best word to describe the Variax 705, as it permits a guitarist to have access to the sound of 24 different basses. At this point I would like to list the instruments that the Variax 705 Bass Digitally Models:
1) 1961 Fender Jazz Bass.
2) 1960 Fender Jazz Bass with flatwound strings.
3) 2004 Fender Deluxe Bass with active EQ.
4) 1961 Fender Fretless Jazz Bass.
5) 1963 Fender Precision Bass.
6) 1958 Fender Precision Bass with flatwound strings.
7) 1971 Music Man Sting Ray with active electronics.
8) 2003 Modulus Flea Bass with carbon fiber composite neck.
9) 1971 Rickenbacker 4001 Bass.
10) 1963 Rickenbacker 4001 Bass with flatwound strings.
11) 1966 Danelectro Longhorn Bass.
12) 1963 Hofner Model 500/1 Beatle Bass.
13) 1963 Gibson Thunderbird Bass.
14) 1966 Gibson EB-2D with flatwound strings.
15) 2002 MTD 535 with active electronics (created by Michael Tobias).
16) 2003 Warwick Thumb Bass.
17) 1978 Alembic Long Scale Bass with active electronics.
18) 1984 Steinberger XL2.
19) 1968 Hagstrom H8 (the first 8-string bass, occasionally used by Noel Redding of the Jimi Hendrix Experience).
20) 1994 Hamer B12A (the first 12-string bass, occasionally used by Pearl Jam and Cheap Trick).
21) 2003 Tacoma Thunderchief (an acoustic hollow body bass guitar).
22) 1949 Kay M-1 (an upright classical bass used by Willie Dixon & Bill Black)
23) Moog MiniMoog Bass (based on the sounds available from this synthesizer).
24) Synth (based on the sound of modern bass synthesizer sounds).
Because the Variax 705 5-String Bass does not have conventional guitar pickups, the onboard electronics must be powered. This can be accomplished by using 6 AA batteries or a 9-Volt battery, either of which can be connected internally on the guitar. When the Variax is powered with 6 AA batteries one can get about 12 to 14 hours of playing time, and a 9-Volt battery will give you about 90 minutes or so. The Variax 705 can also be powered with the included XPS-DI footswitch. This requires the use of a stereo guitar cable, or as it is sometimes called a Tip-Ring-Sleeve (TRS) cable, which is connected to the output of the Variax 705 and then to the input of the XPS footswitch. A standard mono guitar cable can then be connected to the output of the XPS footswitch to the input of any stomp box or bass guitar amp you choose to use.
A wonderful bonus feature of the XPS-DI footswitch is that it also serves as a direct box for recording purposes, as it has a balanced XLR output and a ¼ inch output.
By using the XPS-DI’s XLR output, you can plug directly into any balanced source, such as directly into a recording console. There are even Level and Ground Lift switches on the XPS-DI which can be adjusted to match the input requirements of the device that you are feeding the signal of the Variax 705 directly into. This is a great feature for recording purposes, or for those times when you might want to run the Variax 705 through a mixing console of a good PA system. This is especially useful when you want to get a good sound on the acoustic models, especially the upright bass.
While we are on the topic of the different sounds that the Variax can produce, I think it only fair to discuss some of the pros and cons. One of the incredible pros is that you can, with the Variax 705, simulate the sound of a 5-string bass that may never have existed in the real world. You can have a 5-string Hofner Beatle Bass, a 5-string upright bass, etc. The sound possibilities are incredible. Take for example the synthesized bass sounds. You can, if you so desire, play notes that would only have been possible in the register of a keyboard synthesizer. The sound of the upright bass played directly into a recording console is so lifelike it is simply amazing. Think of what you could do with this instrument, and the possibilities for creative expression that would by yours to explore. No Bass I have ever played, or even read about, can offer the sonic possibilities of the Variax 705 5-String Bass. However, a problem that I have with the Variax 705 Bass is that it only comes with a custom fitted heavy duty gig bag. Personally, I strongly prefer a hard shell case. My cousin, who owns the Variax 705 Bass I was playing, has no problem with this issue, but it is one that bothers me.
I could go on all day about how much I like the Variax series of basses and related musical products. I also own a Variax 700 6-string electric, and it is simply a fabulous guitar. Try a Line 6 Variax 705 5-string Bass for yourself, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
I would like to thank you for reading my review, but now I must get back to my practicing.
Recommended:
Yes
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