Variax WOrkbenchHD

Pilot’s guide
Manuel de pilotage
Pilotenhandbuch
Pilotenhandboek
Manual del Piloto
取扱説明書

Rev A ©2013 Line 6, Inc.

VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Welcome
Welcome to VARIAX WORKBENCH HD, the world's only Virtual Custom Shop for Guitars - made possible by the
unique modeling technology in your James Tyler Variax! It lets you dive deep into your guitar's sonic potential
and build your own unique guitars by customizing the body and pickup combinations to your heart’s content.
Connected
Acoustic J12 Dread 12 Low D 400 Jumbo Finger Style
Download Upload Upload ALL
from Variax to Variax to Variax Body Acoustic J Pickups Strings Pots
Clean Mid

Electric 12 Volume: 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Semi
Semi Neck
Tuning Parallel Pitch

Semi 4

Semi Both Preset Save

Acoustic J12
Semi Solo
Semi Bridge Manage

Jazzbox Pitch +12 +12 +12 +12 0 0

Acoustic DADGAD *
Cents 0 0 0 0 -3 +3
Jazz Mid
Jazz Alt Mix 23% 23% 23% 23% 23% 23%
Jazz Solo
Jazz Bridge

Acoustic
Acoustic J12

Dread 12

Low D 200

Jumbo

Finger Style
R-Billy Jetliner
Reso
Reso 5
Preset Volume 0.0 dB Magnetics Blend Model
Reso Metal

Getting Started
Before you begin your first Workbench HD editing session, you’ll need the following:

• The Variax Digital Interface that came with your JTV (to connect your Variax to your computer via USB).
• A fully charged JTV battery and a 1/4 inch guitar cable (plug your cable into your JTV to power it up).
• Headphones, a guitar amp or a playback system (to monitor your guitar’s output).
• An internet connection (to complete the steps below).
Run The Monkey
With all the above set up and ready to go, your first order of business will be to run the Monkey, to make sure
your software and device firmware is up to date. Complete the following steps via the internet:

1. If you don’t already have it, download Line 6 Monkey from the Downloads page at LIne6.com.
2. Run the Monkey, download the latest Line 6 Audio/MIDI Driver, then connect your Line 6 device.
3. If Line 6 Monkey indicates you need the latest version of firmware for your Line 6 device, install it.
4. With your device up to date, plug in your JTV guitar and make sure it has the latest firmware installed.
5. Make sure you have the latest version of the Workbench HD software; if not, update it.
6. With your software and device firmware up to date, quit Line 6 Monkey and launch Workbench HD.

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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Overview
If you’d like to dive right into a Workbench HD editing session at this point (and bypass the fine details about
Workbench HD’s features and functionality for now), the following is a brief overview of your typical workflow.
In most cases, you’ll launch Workbench HD with your Variax connected, then edit the existing models in your
guitar, which will automatically be loaded into the Model List when you launch the application.

Your typical workflow will go something like this:

• Launch Workbench HD with your Variax connected; your guitar’s models will populate the Model List
automatically.
• Scoll the Model List and select a preset you’d like to edit, or one you’d like to use as the basis for a
new preset; double-click its name to load it into the Edit Window.
• Experiment with different pickups, and drag them into the desired position on the guitar body.
• Adjust Pickups settings, including your Pots values, Levels and Wiring options.
• Experiment with different guitar bodies using the Body Carousel or Body drop-down menu.
• When you find a combination of body and pickups that you like, explore various alternate tunings by
selecting the Strings tab and using the Tuning UI, or try some Parallel Pitch effects.
• Move your new preset to a new location in the Model List, or Save it to your computer for future recall.
• If you’ve created an alternate tuning you’d like to use often, transfer it to your JTV guitar by clicking the
Manage button under the Tuning tab and save the tuning to your JTV’s AlternateTuning Roller.
• End the session by replacing one or more models in your Variax with your newly edited Workbench HD
models; to do this, select them in the Model List, then click on the Upload to Variax button.
Of course, once you get familiar with Workbench HD, you’ll develop your own personal workflow. With all the
bodies, pickups, the ability to tweak your settings, create alternate tunings, and save your creations for future
recall, the possibilities are endless. For now, if you’d like to try building a model from scratch, here’s how:

Building A Custom Variax Model

Follow these simple steps to build a custom Variax model from scratch, combining any Workbench HD guitar
body with pickups, settings, and tunings of your choice. In this example, we’ll also set up an alternate tuning:

• Select a body from the Body Carousel (or the Body drop-down menu); Lester Flametop, for example.
• Click on the Pickups tab, then click the Bridge button; load Lester Bridge from the Pickup menu.
• On the guitar body, drag the pickup into various positions until you find a sound you like.
• Click on the Strings tab and enable the Tuning button; now set up a low B alternate tuning by clicking
the Pitch arrows to tune your strings to B F# B E A E (low to high).
• From the FIle menu, select Save Preset As... and name your Low B preset. If you want to load it into
your Variax, drag it to the desired location in the Model List, then click the Upload to Variax button.
Here’s an audio sample of the above model played thru a POD X3 high gain dual amp preset:

Note: Use Adobe Acrobat for interactive audio playback.

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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Offline Mode
When your JTV isn’t connected to your computer, you can still use Workbench HD in Offline Mode. All the
information in this Pilot’s Guide applies to Offline Mode, except for saving and loading to and from your JTV.

Simply launch the Workbench HD application, use the File menu to open a single Preset, a Bank of Presets,
or a full Bundle, then edit your Variax presets as usual. Of course you won’t hear them without your JTV.

Offline mode can be useful, however, for organizing your presets or setting up tunings for various models.
When you’re finished with your session, simply save the results to your computer for future recall.

Local Tones
When Workbench HD launches, it will pull a copy of the complete set of models from your JTV and show
them in a Model List on the left side of the app window. This list is essentially a "scratch pad" that tracks any
changes you make to the models or their order without altering the tones saved in your Variax.

A B C
A When you click the Download Download Upload Upload ALL D When a model has been
from Variax button, all models edited in some way, its name
from Variax to Variax to Variax

that are selected in the Model Clean Mid

is displayed in red text with an
List are downloaded from the
Electric 12 * D asterisk.
Semi
Variax.
Semi Neck
Semi 4
Semi Both E
Semi Solo
Semi Bridge
B The Upload to Variax button Jazzbox E The Model List consists of
updates the memory in the Acoustic DADGAD * 12 banks, matching the Variax
Variax for only the models that Jazz Mid Model Selector knob, with 5
are selected in the Model List. Jazz Alt models listed per bank.
Jazz Solo
Jazz Bridge

Acoustic

F
Dread
Dread 12

C The Upload ALL to Variax Low D 200 *

F Use the scroll bar to view all
Jumbo
button updates the memory Finger Style the models in the Model List.
in the Variax to match the Reso
Workbench HD scratch pad. Reso 5
Reso Metal *

Automatic Backups
When you first launch Workbench HD, it creates an automatic JTV Backup bundle of your JTV model set
and stores it on your computer in the Line 6/Tones/Workbench HD directory. That way, you’ll have a copy
of your pre-edited JTV model set in case you want to revisit one or more models in their pre-edited state.

Similarly, every time you press the Upload ALL to Variax button to upload the Workbench HD Model List
into your JTV, Workbench HD creates an automatic User Backup bundle of the Model List, which includes
all the edits you’ve made during your current edit session, and stores it in the same Workbench HD directory.

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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Organizing Your Model List

In the Model List you can copy and paste or drag and drop any model (or models) into any position in the list.
Here’s an overview of drag and drop how-tos when working with your presets in the Model List:

Single Preset:
• Reorder (within bank): drag source to target (highlight is automatically displayed between presets); other
presets reorder accordingly.
• Replace (within bank): Ctrl + drag source to target (Windows); Option + drag source to target (OS X);
target is replaced, source patch remains unchanged.
• Replace (in another bank): drag source to target; target is replaced, source patch remains unchanged.
• Transpose: Shift + drag source to target; target and source patches switch places.
Bank Of 5 Presets:
• Replace: drag source bank header to target bank header; replaces all patches in target bank with
source bank patches.
• Transpose: Shift + drag source bank to target bank; all patches within each bank switch places.

Editor
The editor consists of the main edit window, which displays the currently selected body and pickups, plus
tabs that display various controls for pickups, strings, pots, preset volume and magnetics blend level.

R-Billy DADGAD Jet Black 4 Jet Black Mid Jet Black 2 R-Billy Bridge

Body R-Billy Jetliner Pickups Strings Pots

Volume: 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Tuning Parallel Pitch

Preset DADGAD Save

Manage

-2 0 0 0 -2 -2
Pitch
D A D G A D

R-Billy Jetliner

Preset Volume 0.0 dB Magnetics Blend Model

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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

5-Way Position Indicator

You can select models within the current bank using the 5-way Position Indicator at the top of the
application. The currently selected model will be highlighted. Double-click the model’s name to change it.

R-Billy DADGAD Jet Black 4 Jet Black Mid Jet Black 2 R-Billy Bridge

Bank Link
Want to build a complete guitar across multiple positions of the 5-way switch? Use the Bank Link button
on the left side of the 5-Way Position Indicator to link all 5 models within the current bank. Any changes you
make to any of the 5 models in the current bank will be made to all models in the current bank.

Want to build a P90 strat? Navigate to the bank of your choice, link the bank, then choose your body, P90
pickups, pot values, etc. When you're ready to select which pickups are on for each position of the 5-way
switch, de-select the Bank Link button, then make your pickup selections for each of the 5 positions.

Note: see the Pickups section on the next page for details on selecting pickups and editing their settings.

Body
There are three ways to select your guitar Body type:

1. Use the Body drop-down menu above the edit window...

Body R-Billy Jetliner

R-Billy G-Brand

Click on a Body’s name R-Billy Jetliner

to load it into the edit Chime FullCircle Click and drag the scroll bar
window.
Chime FullCircle-12 to view all available Bodies.

2. Scroll the Body Carousel at the bottom of the app and select a Body type.

R-Billy Jetliner

Double-click the Body displayed in the center of the carousel to load it.

3. Scroll the Body Carousel and find the body you’d like to work with, and instead of double-clicking it, you
can click and drag the body into the edit window to load it.

With your body selected and loaded into the edit window, your next step will be to select your pickups.

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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Pickups
Select the Pickups tab, then click on the Neck, Middle or Bridge button. These buttons represent the 3
pickup positions on the guitar body. Choose your pickup for each position using the Pickup drop-down
menu. Enable the Standby switch to turn each pickup on. You can also tweak individual pickup’s Position
and Angle numerically, and adjust the Level of each pickup for just the right blend.
Pickups Strings Pots

Wiring switch Wiring Series Parallel Polarity Normal Reverse Polarity switch
Neck and Middle
Bridge button selected
buttons deselected; Neck Middle Bridge
and Standby switch is
Standby switch is off
highlighted, indicating
for both
Pickup drop-down Pickup Spank Single Coil Bridge
Bridge pickup is on
menu (Bridge pickup)
Position 7.0” Angle 0.0° Level 0.0dB Pickup Position, Angle
Reset Reset Reset and Level settings

When two pickups are active at the same time, you can choose to wire those pickups in series or parallel by
setting the Wiring switch. You can also reverse polarity for out-of-phase sounds with the Polarity switch.

Visual Editing
To visually edit the pickups on the virtual guitar body, use your mouse to move the pickups in the edit window.
Whenever you click on a pickup in this window, you’ll see its settings displayed in the Pickups tab UI.

A Click-drag the center of the B Click-drag the corner of the

Body R-Billy Jetliner
pickup to move it up or down pickup to change the pickup
between the neck and bridge. angle.

A B

Pickup Considerations:
• You can have only 2 pickups on at any one time. • Disabled pickups will appear transparent or invisible.
• Dragging a pickup into an adjacent pickup’s ‘zone’ will cause the pickups to swap their position labels.
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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Strings
Select the Strings tab to display the UI for individual String Volume, Tuning, and Parallel Pitch.

Pickups Strings Pots

Individual string Volume: 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Link button for string
Volume controls Volume controls
Tuning Parallel Pitch

Preset Save
String Volume
Individual string Volume controls enable you to adjust the level of each string
Manage per preset. To adjust volume

levels for all 6 strings at the same time, activate the Link button.
0 0 0 0 0 0
Pitch
You can also mute a string by adjusting
E itsAlevel down
D toG0%, for
B authentic
E 5 string banjo sounds, or open G
Keef tuning, for example.

Tuning Tab
When you select the Tuning tab, you can set up, store and recall alternate tunings.

Pickups Strings Pots

Volume: 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Tuning tab and Tuning Parallel Pitch

Standby switch
Tuning Preset Preset Save Buttons to Save
drop-down menu and Manage Tuning
Manage
Presets

Individual string Pitch

0 0 0 0 0 0
Link button for string
E A D G B E
Pitch settings Pitch settings

• The Standby switch indicates whether alt tuning is turned on or off (it’s ON when highlighted).
• The Preset drop-down menu can be used to store and recall alternate tunings within the Workbench
HD application.
• The Save button will store the current tuning to the drop-down list.
• The Manage button calls up a modal window that enables you to manage your alt tuning presets. See
the Managing Alt Tuning Presets section on the next page for more details regarding this feature.
• To adjust individual string Pitch settings, press the Up/Down Arrows to step up or down a semitone.
The note name and numerical note shift value will be displayed for each string (assuming your physical
guitar is tuned to standard).
• The Link button for string PItch settings will link all 6 strings and increase or decrease their offsets
together. It functions like an alt tuning capo.
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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Managing Alt Tuning Presets

The Manage button under the Tuning tab UI is a simple but powerful feature of Workbench HD. It enables
you to create alt tuning presets in the editor, save them to your computer locally, and send them to your Variax
where they can be stored as permanent presets on your JTV’s Alt Tuning Roller.

You can also send alt tuning presets from your Variax to Workbench HD, making them available for all your
Workbench HD editing sessions.

JTV Alt Tuning Presets User Alt Tuning Presets

POSITION PRESET NAME PRESET NAME
Standard Standard Em7+4
Drop D Drop D Lo B Joni
1/2 Down 1/2 Down DADGAD
Drop Db Drop Db
1 Down 1 Down
DADGAD DADGAD
Open D Open D
Blues G Blues G
Reso G Reso G
Open A Open A
Baritone Baritone

• Select a JTV Alt Tuning Preset on the left, press >> to save it to your computer Preset database.
• Select a User Alt Tuning Preset on the right, press << to save it to your JTV’s Alt Tuning Roller.
• You can also Rename or Delete Alt Tuning Presets, and use drag and drop to rearrange their order.

Creating An Alternate Tuning

It’s easy to create an alt tuning. Here’s an example of an open Em7+4 chord. Just follow these steps:

1. Select the guitar model you’d like to use as the basis for your alt tuning. Double-click to load it.
2. Click on the Tuning tab, then make sure the Standby switch is toggled on (it should be highlighted).
3. Keep the low E string at standard; click the Up Arrow for the A string twice to tune it to B (+2).
4. Keep the D and G strings at standard; click the Down Arrow for the B string twice to tune it to A (-2).
5. Click the high E string’s Down Arrow twice to tune it to D (-2).
6. Save the preset by pressing the Save button, which will open the modal Save window. Type Open
Em7+4 to name the preset, then press Save. You now have an Open Em7+4 tuning stored for recal.
Here’s an audio sample of a Jazz 75 with Semi 90 neck pickup, played thru a POD X3 dual amp preset:

Note: Use Adobe Acrobat for interactive audio playback.

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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Parallel Pitch Tab

Parallel Pitch is where you can create 12 strings, Nashville tunings, etc. Once you've created these tunings,
you can alt tune them using the Tuning UI. Here’s the Parallel Pitch UI with an Electric 12 string loaded.

Tuning Parallel Pitch Parallel Pitch tab and

Standby switch
Parallel Pitch Preset Electric 12 Save
Preset menu Save and Manage
Manage
Parallel Pitch Presets
Set Parallel Pitch Pitch +12 +12 +12 +12 0 0

Adjust Fine-tuning Cents 0 0 0 0 -3 +3 Link fine-tuning

adjustments
Adjust Parallel Mix 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% Link Parallel Pitch Mix
Pitch Mix settings levels

• Similar to the Tuning UI, the Standby switch will indicate if Parallel Pitch is on or off.
• The Preset drop-down menu enables you to store and recall parallel pitch presets within the app.
• The Save button will store the current parallel pitch effect to the drop-down list.
• The Manage button opens a modal window that enables you to manage your Parallel Pitch presets.
• Pitch sets the parallel pitch semitone offset. The value defaults to +12.
• Cents is a fine-tuning adjustment, offsetting the parallel pitch in cents. Enable the Link button to adjust
all 6 strings at once.
• Mix sets the level of the parallel string effect for each string. Enable the Link button to adjust mix levels
for all 6 strings at once.

Creating A Custom 12 String Tuning

There are three different ways to create a custom 12 string tuning, as follows:
Option 1: Use a factory 12 string model and customize it.
• Double-click one of the factory 12 string models in the Model List to use as your starting point.
• If electric, replace the body and pickups as desired; if acoustic, select an acoustic body of your choice.
• Adjust Fine-tuning and Mix for each string until you’re happy with the sound, then Save your preset.

Option 2: Use one of your favorite 6 string models and enable 12 string Parallel Pitch for that model.
• Load one of your favorite 6 string models into the editor to use as your starting point.
• Select the Strings tab and the Parallel PItch tab; make sure the Standby switch is highlighted.
• For the low E, A, D and G strings, click the numerical 0 in the Pitch row to set them all to +12.
• Adjust Fine-tuning and Mix for each string until you’re happy with the sound, then Save your preset.

Option 3: Select or build a 6 string model then load a 12 string tuning from the Preset menu.
• Select one of your favorite 6 string models as your starting point, or build a new one.
• When your 6 string model is sounding right, load a 12 string Preset from the drop-down menu.
• Adjust Fine-tuning and Mix for each string until you’re happy with the sound, then Save your preset.
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 VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Pots
Click on the Pots tab to access the UI for choosing the electronic component values for your Variax models.

Pickups Strings Pots

Load tone and volume defaults for

Pickup Defaults Spank Single Coil Bridge

drop-down menu
Volume Control Volume Control
settings
Resistance 250 kΩ Taper Audio

Tone Control Tone Control

settings
Resistance 250 kΩ Capacitance 22 nF

Tone Knob Knob Position 10.0 Save w/ preset

Position settings

You can either load a pickup’s default settings from the main drop-down menu, or dial in your own custom
settings for the Volume and Tone Controls. Simply select values from the drop-down menus for Resistance
and Taper (for the Volume Control), or Resistance and Capacitance (for the Tone Control),

You can also save your Tone Control Knob Position for the current model by selecting "Save w/preset".
When your Variax loads a model with this selection, it will ignore the physical position of your tone knob and
recall the stored setting. That is, until you move the tone knob again...then the physical tone knob takes
priority.

Preset Volume
Use the Preset Volume control to balance the level of the current model versus the level of other models.

Preset Volume 0.0 dB Magnetics Blend

If the pickups and other settings you've chosen have created a particularly loud model, you'll probably want
to turn it down a bit here to be more consistent with the level of your other models.

Magnetics Blend
Use the Magnetics Blend control to blend in the magnetic pickups on your JTV guitar with your model.

lume 0.0 dB Magnetics Blend Model

Our magnetic pickups are hardwired to the 5-way/3-way switch in your Variax, so whatever pickups you have
selected on your guitar will get blended in here. You could select an Acoustic 12 String model, for example,
and mix in your magnetic pickups for a rich electric/acoustic blend.

Note: The magnetic pickups on your Variax are not alt tuned by the Variax DSP, so best results can be
obtained by blending your magnetics with standard or harmonically compatible tunings only.

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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Application Menu Commands

Application Menu Commands are available in the top menu bar of the Workbench HD application. On the
far left is the Variax Workbench HD menu, which features standard operating system menu commands
that include About, Services (Mac OS), Show, Hide and Quit. To the right are the menus for File, Edit,
Transfer and Help. The Mac OS X version is illustrated below. Windows is different in appearance only.

File Edit Transfer Help

Open Preset... ⌘O Open a Workbench HD Preset
Save Preset As... ⌘S Save and name a Workbench HD Preset

Open Bank... ⌃O Open a Workbench HD Bank

Save Bank As... ⌃S Save and name a Workbench HD Bank

Open Bundle... ⇧⌘O Open a Workbench HD Bundle

Save Bundle As... ⇧⌘S Save and name a Workbench HD Bundle

Open Recent ▶ Open the most recent Workbench HD Preset

Open Preset Folder Open the Workbench HD Preset Folder

Edit Transfer Help

Opens a modal window that enables you to adjust the level of each
Global String Levels...
string on your Variax; the resulting levels are saved globally
Revert to Original Revert Preset to original state
Undo ⌘Z Undo last action
Redo ⇧⌘Z Redo last action

Copy Preset ⌘C Copy selected Preset to clipboard

Paste Preset ⌘V Paste copied Preset to selected location
Select All ⌘A Select all Presets in the Model List

Special Characters... ⌥⌘T Open the O.S. special characters window (Mac OS X only)

Transfer Help
Download From Variax Download selected Presets from the Variax to the editor
Upload To Variax Upload selected Presets from the editor to the Variax

Download All From Variax Download all Presets from the Variax to the editor
Upload All To Variax Upload all Presets from the editor to the Variax

Help
Search Type in a key word to search
Workbench HD Help Open the Workbench HD Pilot’s Guide PDF
Online Help Go to the Online Help at Line6.com

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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Adjusting Global String Levels

Under the Edit Menu Command at the top of the application you’ll see a command labeled Global String
Levels. Selecting it will open a modal window that enables you to adjust the output level of each of the 6
strings on your Variax. The purpose of this is to ensure that you have the ultimate string to string balance.
And if you want to customize your string balance, making your two high strings slightly louder, for example,
you can achieve that here. Keep in mind that 0 dB is the max, so use attenuation to achieve the right balance.

Global String Levels

Lo E A D G B Hi E

0.0 dB 0.0 dB 0.0 dB 0.0 dB 0.0 dB 0.0 dB

OK Cancel

• Adjust the output level of each string by clicking on the Up/Down Arrows (0 dB is the max).
• When you achieve a balance you’re happy with, click the OK button (changes are saved immediately).
Your new string balance will be retained in your guitar permanently, until you balance the strings again.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following is a list of frequently asked questions and how-to items, to help you better understand
Workbench HD’s feature set and workflow.

What is a Bundle?
A Bundle is a set of 60 presets, equal to the total number of presets stored in your Variax or listed in the
Workbench HD Model List. You can save Bundles to your local computer using the File/Save Bundle As...
menu command.

You can also open a Bundle from your computer and load it into Workbench HD for offline or online editing
using the File/Open Bundle... menu command.

How do I save a Workbench HD Preset for future recall, without saving it to my Variax?
Open the File menu and select the Save Preset As... menu command. You can then save your preset to
your computer. It will be stored in the Line 6/Tones/Workbench HD directory.

Can I alt tune a 12 string model?

Yes. With your 12 String tuning set up, click on the Strings tab and select the Tuning button. Enable the
alt tuning Standby switch and select an alt tuning from the Preset drop-down menu, or create one from
scratch by adjusting the Pitch settings. Your alt tuning settings will be applied to your 12 String model.

What is the purpose of the Neutral Body?

The neutral body adds no Body characteristics to your model, so you’ll hear just the sound of the pickups.
For example, you could replicate the sound of your JTV-89 pickups and not have a body color the sound.

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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Why won’t my computer see my Line 6 device? I’m plugged into my computer.
You probably don’t have the latest Line 6 Audio/MIDI Driver installed on your computer. Run the Line 6
Monkey and install the latest Line 6 Audio/MIDI Driver, then your device should appear as expected.

Why can’t I adjust my 12 string fine-tuning to a postive value?

The upward limit of pitch shift for Workbench HD is +12. So if parallel pitch for a given string is already set to
+12, you can only use negative values to fine-tune that string, since the parallel pitch setting is already at the
upward limit.

Why do I see only 2 pickups on some bodies, and 3 pickups on others (with 1 being transparent)?
True to the original guitars we modeled, the number of pickups you see will be appropriate to the source
guitar. In other words, on a 2 pickup guitar, when a Workbench HD middle pickup is de-activated, it will
become invisible, but on a 3 pickup guitar, a de-activated middle pickup will be translucent.

For all electric bodies, however, you can toggle any 1 of the 3 available pickups ON in the Pickups tab, and
you’ll see the respective Neck, Middle or Bridge pickup appear on the body.

Why do the Neck and Middle pickups change labels while I’m dragging them on the body?
The Neck, Middle and Bridge position labels are based on their positional relationship on the guitar body. So
all 3 pickups are subject to this rule, including the Bridge pickup.

For example, if you drag the bridge pickup further toward the neck than the neck pickup, the bridge pickup
will be labeled neck (since it’s closest to the neck). The former neck pickup will then become the middle
pickup, since it would be in the middle position, and the former middle pickup, which would end up closest
to the bridge, will be labeled bridge.

What do the Wiring and Polarity switches do?

These switches behave the same as they would on a physical guitar. When two Workbench HD pickups are
turned on and the WIring switch is set to Series, the output of the second pickup is summed with the output
of the first, which results in a louder, fatter tone. When set to Parallel, the pickups are blended together in
parallel, resulting in a cleaner sound, at a volume similar to having only one of the pickups on.

Regarding the Polarity switch, when it’s set to Reverse, the second pickup’s waveform sonically cancels
out the waveform of the first pickup to a degree, resulting in a hollow, comb filtered out-of-phase sound.

Which Line 6 devices will work as a computer interface with my Tyler Variax and Workbench HD?
The Variax Digital Interface that came with your Tyler Variax is the best interface to use with Workbench
HD. You’ll need a fully charged battery and a 1/4 inch guitar cable plugged in to power up your Variax.

Any other Line 6 device with a VDI input will also work. This includes the POD HD Pro, POD HD 500, POD
X3 Live, POD X3 Pro and Vetta II. Those devices, when connected to your Variax with a Line 6 VDI cable, will
also provide power to your Variax.

Why doesn’t the alt-tuning sound right when I blend in my magnetics with a Workbench HD model?
The magnetic pickups on your physical guitar are not alt tuned by the DSP. So when you turn up the
Magnetics Blend level on an alt tuned model, you may hear dissonance. You can blend in the magnetics
with 12 string models, however, which will be harmonically compatible.

You might want to experiment with other harmonically related tunings as well. For example, try alt tuning a
model to +5 for all 6 strings and set the Magnetics Blend value to 100%. You’ll hear a harmonic blend of
your magnetics and 5ths that sounds really fat and musical.

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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Body Reference
The following is a list of electric and acoustic instrument Bodies available in the Workbench HD application.

Body Name Based On

T-Model Custom 1960 Fender® Telecaster® Custom
Spank 1959 Fender® Stratocaster® (Rosewood)
Lester Flametop 1959 Les Paul® Standard
Special Bird 1976 Gibson® Firebird
Special Special 1955 Les Paul® Special
Resonator Biscuit Bridge 1935 Dobro® Model 32 aluminum metal body
Electric Sitar 1966 Coral Sitar®
Masonite Plank 1999 Jerry Jones Shorthorn®
Lester’s Banjo Gibson® Mastertone Banjo
Tricone Resonator 1928 National® TriCone metal body
Chime FullCircle 1966 Rickenbacker® 370
Chime FullCircle-12 1966 Rickenbacker® 370-12 String
Jazz Seventy Five 1954 Gibson® ES®-175
Jazz Super Four 1953 Gibson® Super 400
R-Billy G-Brand 1959 Gretsch® 6120
R-Billy Jetliner 1959 Gretsch® Duo Jet
Semi BluesKing 1961 Gibson® ES®-335
Semi Pokerface 1964 Epiphone® Casino
Acoustic D 1959 Martin® D28
Acoustic D12 1970 Martin® D12-28 12-string
Acoustic 0 1967 Martin® 0-18
Acoustic G12 1966 Guild® 12-String
Acoustic J 1995 Gibson® J200
Neutral Neutral Body

All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names and descriptions are provided
for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development. Fender®, Stratocaster®, Tele®, Telecaster®, Guild®
and DeArmond® are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Gibson®, Les Paul®, ES®, Epiphone®, and Dobro® are registered trademarks
of Gibson Guitar Corp. Coral Sitar® and Jerry Jones Shorthorn® are registered trademarks of Jerry Jones. National® is a registered trademark of Kaman Music
Corporation. Martin® is a registered trademark of Dreadnought, Inc. Rickenbacker® is a registered trademark of Rickenbacker International Corporation. Gretsch® is a
registered trademark of Fred W. Gretsch Enterprises, Ltd.

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VARIAX WORKBENCH HD Pilot’s Guide

Pickup Reference
The following is a list of electric Pickups available in the Workbench HD application.

Pickup Name Based On

T-Model Neck Tele® Lipstick
T-Model Bridge Tele® Bridge
T-Model WideRange Tele® Wide Range Humbucker
Spank Single Coil Bridge Stratocaster® Bridge
Spank Single Coil Middle Stratocaster® Middle
Spank Single Coil Neck Stratocaster® Neck
Lester Neck Les Paul® PAF Neck
Lester Bridge Les Paul® PAF Bridge
Special 90 Neck Les Paul® Special P90 Neck
Special 90 Bridge Les Paul® Special P90 Bridge
Mini Humbucker Neck Firebird Neck Mini-Humbucker
Mini Humbucker Bridge Firebird Bridge Mini-Humbucker
R-Billy Tron Neck 6120 Neck Filtertron
R-Billy Tron Bridge 6120 Bridge Filtertron
R-Billy D'Almond Neck Duo Jet Neck DeArmond®
R-Billy D'Almond Bridge Duo Jet Bridge DeArmond®
Toaster Neck Rickenbacker® 12 Neck Toaster
Toaster Bridge Rickenbacker® 12 Bridge Toaster
Semi Humbucker Neck ES®-335 Neck Humbucker
Semi Humbucker Bridge ES®-335 Bridge Humbucker
Dogear 90 Neck Casino Neck P90 Dogear
Dogear 90 Bridge Casino Bridge P90 Dogear
Semi 90 Neck ES®-175 P90 Neck
Semi 90 Bridge ES®-175 P90 Bridge
Jazz 90 Neck Super 400 P90 Neck
Jazz 90 Bridge Super 400 P90 Bridge
89 Neck JTV-89 Neck
89 Bridge JTV-89 Bridge
Lipgloss Neck Jerry Jones Neck
Lipgloss Bridge Jerry Jones Bridge
Sitar Coral Sitar® Lipstick Tube
All product names are trademarks of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6. These product names and descriptions are provided
for the sole purpose of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development. Stratocaster®, Tele®, and DeArmond® are
registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Les Paul® and ES® are registered trademarks of Gibson Guitar Corp. Coral Sitar® and Jerry Jones
Shorthorn® are registered trademarks of Jerry Jones. Rickenbacker® is a registered trademark of Rickenbacker International Corporation.

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