Members id-man Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Did anybody else get this email announcement from Fender? VG Stratocaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Promit Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 They basically stuck a Roland VG inside a Stratocaster with some piezos. This is pretty old news at this point, they were showing this thing off at NAMM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members id-man Posted March 28, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Really, it's a first for me. I did a search for VG Stratocaster on these forums and came up with nada. So have they been demo'd and heard somewhere? Clips? Vids? Popular opinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesclark Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members id-man Posted March 28, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Hmmm, I see.Actually I don't really see - that is you can't tell much from those demo videos. I'm still very skeptical this works well. Their claim "into any tube amp" surprised me. My tube amps really don't care much for modelers or digital stuff in front of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mnhhngbfs Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 yeah they were announced at the last namm i thinki'd rather have a warmoth strat body with variax guts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members szyroki Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 This is pretty old.I think they've made a mistake by eliminating the 13-pin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dumpling Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Awesome demo, how much is it going to cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tulk1 Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Awesome demo, how much is it going to cost? Just my guess, tho'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members szyroki Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Fender-VG-Stratocaster?sku=512881 $1,699.99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Edward Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 I saw this in the UK mag coverage of NAMM..... I wasn't clear though on how much of an advance it really is over the old "Roland Ready" model - unless it's an all-Fender product now, without using any outside proprietary tech? If I was buying a guitar for those options, I wouldn't really see the point of having the regular Strat pups and wiring in there (it's different than buying this as a retro fit for a regular guitar as used to happen - I seem to remember a lot of folks back then buying Squiers and the likes to fit one of these to as obviously the relative quality of the stock electrics wasn't that important if all you were gonig to use was the MIDI). Overall, I think I'd probably be more likely to stick with the regular Variax.... I do quite fancy a cheap Variax as something to play around with or take to a jam where I might want more sounds but can only take one guitar.... The Variax 600 looks really nice to me - I like the basic look (don't care for figured wood, the 700 was always too blingly for me), the maple board and the trem..... I don't think they did it lefty yet, though - the only lefty option I ever saw was the (now discontinued) 500. Interesting to see this sort of thing getting more prominence, though. I would expect that if Fender could bring out a model that would compete with the Variaxes on price - especially the entry level 300 - they would find themselves in a strong selling position if this palce is anything to go by. I lost count of the number of folks on here who said they would consider a Variax if only they'd put some dummy pickups or something on it to make it look more like a "normal" guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dumpling Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Just my guess, tho'. haha! So true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GothicLlama Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 They have one at the local Mom n' Pop here in town. I think I'm going to hit them up this weekend and give it a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members id-man Posted March 28, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 They have one at the local Mom n' Pop here in town. I think I'm going to hit them up this weekend and give it a shot.If you do that plug it into a nice tube amp like a DRRI and compare the dynamics and textures of the alnico pickups to the digital signal, and report back. I always thought the Variax deal was it had to be played into a proprietary digital amp or direct to a soundboard where everything is going to have that processed 'blanket' over it anyway - great for recording but blah for live in the room. ---------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frets99 Posted March 28, 2007 Share Posted March 28, 2007 I'm waiting for the Squier version.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members id-man Posted March 28, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Oh, believe me, we all know that Frets. ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bdegrande Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 If you do that plug it into a nice tube amp like a DRRI and compare the dynamics and textures of the alnico pickups to the digital signal, and report back. I always thought the Variax deal was it had to be played into a proprietary digital amp or direct to a soundboard where everything is going to have that processed 'blanket' over it anyway - great for recording but blah for live in the room. ---------------- No, the Variax can be played into any amp, it just does guitar modeling. I often play it through a tube amp. What you may be thinking of is that the acoustic models would sound more realistic running direct or through an acoustic/keyboard/bass amp, but even then you can spilt the signal and run the electric models through a tube amp if you want to. The VG Strat has fewer models and tunings, and no digitial interface (the customization you can do in Workbench with the Variax can't be done on the VG). It also runs only off batteries and drains them fast. One advantage is that, if your batteries go out, you can use it as a conventional Strat with the magnetic pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members id-man Posted March 28, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Yep, I had gotten some of that bdegrande, thanks, but I always assumed Variax would kill anything good a tube amp had going on, and vice-versa the tube amp would overly color or alter anything good the Variax had going on. What I am mostly thinking of is how I dislike and distrust running anything 'modeling' into my DRRI and how it seems like a weird place for Fender to be going - but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've got this preconceived notion of them as a bastion of traditional purity or some bull{censored} but then they've got the Cyber series amps and little goodies like the GDEC. Maybe I'm getting too old to embrace this new direction, it just feels wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bdegrande Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Yep, I got all that bdegrande.What I am thinking of is how I dislike and distrust running anything 'modeling' into my DRRI. It seems like a weird place for Fender to be going but I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I've got this preconceived notion of them as a bastion of traditional purity or some bull{censored} but then they've got the Cyber series amps and little goodies like the GDEC. Maybe I'm getting too old to embrace this new direction, it just feels wrong. Whatever gear works for you is fine (there's all sorts of gear that others love that I can't stand, and I, sadly, am a geezer as well - 54). My attitude is that a tube amp will warm up whatever sound is fed into it, whether it's from a Variax, pedals, whatever. You don't need an entire tube signal path, and in some ways this gives you the best of both worlds (tube modelers like the Vox ToneLab operate on a similar idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JC777 Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 I played one at a local shop. I thought it was awesome. I like the pickupguitar modes but the alternate tunings were what hooked me.I wish it had a couple more but great never the less.Right now I would make it my next purchase. by the time I am ready to buy again.....who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members id-man Posted March 28, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 My attitude is that a tube amp will warm up whatever sound is fed into it, whether it's from . . . .I admit my exposure is limited to a few multiFX and a Tech21 Tri-OD simulator, but my results have always been disappointing compared to running my guitars straight in or with only analog overdrive pedals before the amp. But I'll try to keep an open mind - if I run across a VG strat in a music store I'll head right for the nearest DRRI to test it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tulk1 Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 Haha, you win that contest by one year. Hey!! Enough of that!! 54 isn't geezer-hood. You can see it from there, but not quite yet!! 55 ... now THAT is geezer territory. (uh ...... 54 in April) Edit: Wow!! my 400th post. I've really got to get something to do at work!!! Ugh!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrockbridge Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 I owned a Variax and a PODxt Live. I have used a Roland VG system. They are a lot of fun to play around with, but seem to lack the full warmth and playing dynamic of the real thing. The feel of the virtual guitars is always a bit more distant and disconnected in comparison to the real thing. As for sound, I think in the end it may come down to the same odd order vs even order harmonics limitation that makes the sound lack some of the magic. Of course, a lot of Piano players had similar complaints about early keyboards. Ultimately, I think virtual/digital guitars and amps are here to stay. I'm all for digital guitar technology as long as it keeps improving. It wasn't for me at this point, but I will give it another shot in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members germanicus2112 Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 The VG strat is much more limited and WAY overpriced. The beauty of the Variax lies in its robust editing. Any tuning (+/- 12 semitone on each string) can be applied to any model except the 12 string and sitar models. For the price of the VG, you can buy a variax for 299, strip out the guts and stick it into a strat for less, and end up with alot more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members szyroki Posted March 28, 2007 Members Share Posted March 28, 2007 I saw this in the UK mag coverage of NAMM..... I wasn't clear though on how much of an advance it really is over the old "Roland Ready" model - unless it's an all-Fender product now, without using any outside proprietary tech? No, this is something different that a Roland-ready Strat. It uses Roland GTK-3 pickup, though.Roland-ready Strat was made to drive Roland Virtual Guitar systems (VG-8, VG-88 and VG-99 soon) and guitar synths (GR-series) or MIDI interfaces. So it has a GTK-3 pickup hooked into a special preamp and a 13-pin Roland output.VG Stratocaster has some of the Virtual Guitar features onboard. A few guitar types and alternate tunings. It doesn't have the 13-pin output which I consider to be it's biggest flaw (you could use it to do all the things that Roland-ready Strat can do) and it doesn't have software workbech -- here it loses against Variax.So either you're happy with what you have onboard or not -- you can't change it. Added the 13-pin (not obligatory to use the onboard sounds) and a software control it could've been a Variax killer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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