http://www.line6.com/vari.../demo.html

Oh man. I would love one of these. Stupid I know, but, man, it would be the bomb.

the reviews that I've heard are not so good.

Wouldn't the bass pod do the same thing? Sorta? How much are these things anyway?

artist08 said:

The bass pod is the amp simulator. The Variax Bass is the guitar that plays 30 different bass types, from upright to Fender Jazz, Stingray, etc.

The reviews of the original Variax were pretty mixed, but I think it's because people don't really know their purpose. If you go in and listen to any of these, looking for them to sound just like the real thing, you're going to be sorely disappointed. But if you mix them in with a whole band, then, it's a different scenario entirely. That's all I'm sayin.

This thing has a DIRECT BOX built into it. How cool is that?

How much are these things? What kind of bass do you have?

otan said:

I agree. I think if you mix it up, it's barely noticed that it isn't the real thing. No one, except bass players who know their instruments, will notice it. And I think it doesn't really matter either, since if it sounds good, that's all that matters.
But...the reviews I read are that it doesn't sound that good.

Basically, IMO, the sound comes from the player. fingering, techtique, style and so on. I'm not sure how that mixes up with simulations though.