The Variax 700 bass I purchased was the current priced, black model. The paint finish is not very good, out of the box there are blemish-like streaks on the top. The dual tone knob is a bit loose as is the volume control / selector. Beyond these issues the bass is exceptionally well designed with a thin neck with medium frets. The models are anywhere from excellent to useful. The Hohner and synth models are unconvincing though this is more than made up for by the Fender, Warwick and Musicman models.

As noted elsewhere, there is a degree of high-end hiss on a few models, mostly modern designs, but nothing that can't easily be fixed with a compressor/gate or simply rolling off the treble.

I'm very pleased with the playability and quality put into the neck. It is like a mixture of a thin Jazz bass and an almost Ibanez-like narrow neck.

I don't know what some people expect for the price and sheer capability of tonal ranges, but unless you are really committed to a specific type of bass with a very specific sound there is plenty here to work with. Get 'em while you still can.

This is the first bass that i have actually paid for, i used to play my friends ibanez. I got this bass out of the box and it was definetely worth the money. The sounds dont seem to realistic so normally i just play under the Earnie Ball bass setting. I played a recorded gig with this bass and it had the most clangy sound, i wasnt very happy. the recording system was good too. The batery station is a pain and i havent tried batteries yet. I've had the bass for 7 months and everything is still working. overall this is a good bass.

I had been eying it for a very long time. Then, finally bought it. It is probably the last bass I will every buy, as it can play pretty much anything. The worst part about it is the upright bass, but that would be incredibly hard to pull off. I like the synth tones, but they are not very useful. The most realistic sounding ones are probably the 8 string and the vintage jazz bass. The others are great, but those 2 stand out among the rest.

I purchased this bass on sale and couldn't be happier with it. I play a lot of acoustic gigs and the setting for the Thunderchief is the same as the one I own. I may sell that one and keep this to use all the time. Neck plays great. The modeling sounds are spot on and the quality of construction is outstanding. I recommend this bass to any and all! You can't go wrong.

It's been exactly 3 hours and 29 minutes since my Variax 700 arrived. I just put it down and I must say I am impressed. It is not perfect as there are some faults. It's a bit heavier than I imagined, though not too much, and some of the sounds might not be the best but.......overall a great bass I will definitly enjoy in my arsenal.

First off I checked it out without plugging it up. The contruction is nice. It's a decent bass to begin with. It is a good quality Korean made bass. Either Samick or Cort, I am not sure but definitly well made and finished. I used to be a total snob only liking and owning USA and some Japanese guitars. Korea has come a looooong way and make some really nice guitars at a decent price. If this were a typical bass with typical pickups it would probably be in the 4-$600 range street. The electronics is what sets this bass apart. Five knobs. 1 Vol, 1 "pickup blend" i each stacked bass and treble and the selector switch. The vol is just that a volume. The blend works on 2 pickup bass models (Jazz, Rick, TBird etc..) by panning between neck and bridge pickups. It has a center detent for both on equaly. On one pickup model basses (Pbass, Stingray, Modulus etc..) this blend acts as a pickup mover. It's as if you had a movable pickup on say a PBass. Move one was the pickup moves towards the bridge. The other way towards the neck. The stacked bass and treble give you more control over your sound. The each have a center detent as well. Sound wise I like the mods. Jazz. Precision, Stingray, Rick 4001, Thunderbird, Longhorn these are the dreams of every vintage bass owner. All classics. Combined with the modern P, J, Modulus,MTD, Warwick, Alembic, Steinberger etc... and you have almost everyones dream bass covered. In addition you have some cool effect basses. 8 string Hagstrom, 12 string Hamer, Tacoma Thundercheif acoustic, Kay upright and 2 synth bass choices. All in all cool useable sounds except the 8 and 12 strings sound a bit "processed" and they have a tendancy to warble a bit without a perfect slow attack. These are useless for any speed runs but cool if you wanna play Jeremy or Dream Police. The Acoustic Tacoma sound is OK but the Kat upright is really cool. On this the blend know acts as a mic placement. Moving this knob brigns the virtual mic in closer or out further. This is a really cool sound. Overall this is a great tool for an active musician, studio guy or a beginner. People may complain about some of the models being not totaly accurate but think of how you sound playing by yourself versus playing with a band in a live situation. There is a BIG difference on how the sound comes across. I think the coolest thing is you have mutiple options to switch to easily to find whats best for the mix. I love the idea of mutiple sounds for a gig but typically do ine with one main bass and a backup(usually 2 70'sJazz bases) I remember one gig I played with my new Epiphone Jack Cassidy which is a great classic bass in it's own right, but it sucked in the mix and I was miserable all night. Another gig with My Gibson T-Bird sounded ok half the time. The freedom of turning the knob for a whole new pallate of sound is great! If you seek a cool instrument filled with many useable sounds, GET ONE NOW!! The price they are at now is crazy. CHEAP FUN FOR ALL!