Line 6 Variax 700 Bass

When & Where?: 2006 Line6 Variax Bass, made in Korea.

Frets & Strings?: 21 frets - 34" scale, 4-String

Top?: I have the sunburst model - absolutely gorgeous. Body is Alder

Controls?: 4 knobs - volume, Pickup blend, dual-concentric High/Low eq, Model selector. There is also an LED that lets you know which "bank" you're in. The Volume knob and model knob double as switches by pushing them down.

Pups?: Piezo - under bridge.

Materials?: Body is Alder, Neck is Maple with Rosewood fingerboard.

Finish?: Tobbaco-burst, deep and luscious! Black Pick-guard and thumb-rest. Chrome hardware. Very Classy.

Body?: J/P-bass hybrid style

Bridge?: Fender-type.

Tuners?: Decent quality, not sure what brand. I like the peg heads, they're very ergonomic.

Neck/Scale?: Neck has a 10" Radius, 1.5" nut width, and 21 medium-profile frets. Scale is 34" Somewhere between a Jazz & a Precision - very playable, and fast.

Accessories?: Good quality Gig bag, TRS cable and external power supply/DI box, all adjustment tools, and pretty comprehensive manual.

A hard shell case option would have been nice...

Likes/Dislikes?: Love the tweakability. Hate the tweakability... Seriously, this thing allows one to get a good variety of tones, but you have to know when to stop turning the knobs!

Music Style?: I am a multi-instrumentalist type...Started on Piano as a kid, picked up Guitar when I was about 8, Bass at 14, Vocals, Harmonica, Banjo, Violin, Mandolin, Dobro, Drums, etc. Been playing a while, and have tried on many different styles. My heart lies somewhere between progressive hard rock and Jazz, though I hate pigeon-hole myself!

Amps/Effects?: I'm mainly using this in the studio, though I do have a Hartke 3500 head and 4/10 cab as my "live" bass rig. I also own a PA system (JBL Eons), and would be tempted to just run this bass through that with some pedals in front of it. (For a Full-Range sound.)

Noisy?: Absolutely not. Very quiet instrument.

Sound?: The variety of tones from this bass are amazing. Being primarily a guitar player, I did not have a strong opinion about the "ideal bass tone." With this instrument, I've got the ideal bass tone - FOR THE SONG - every time! It's friggin unbelievable!!

Variety?: There are 24 "patches" you can access, modify, and save...so the variety of tones is staggering. You can even move the position of pickups on basses that only have one pickup naturally. (Like an EB/MM Stingray) As the manual says, "Welcome to the future, my friend!"

Stage or Studio?: I am using mine primarily in the studio right now, but I wouldn't be hesitant to use it on stage. I would bring a back-up though... (It is a computer with strings, after all!)

Set-up?: I bought mine from Sweetwater Music, and it had to ship, so once I received it I immediately took it to my local guitar guru for a full set-up. It plays very well, and the intonation is mostly true. (Seems to vary a little with certain patches, and there is no "bypass circuit," so you can't test the sound of the instrument itself without going through the onboard processing...)

Pups?: The pups are piezo/underbridge, and are not easy to adjust for the non-tech. Certain patches seem out-of-balance, but perhaps it is just the nature of that modeled instrument? (Hyped mids, Lows, etc?) It isn't a problem, thus far, as I usually compress bass pretty hard in my mixes. (I want to hear it!)

Flaws?: There was one minor "divot" in the fretboard, but it's in an area that won't affect my playing, so it doesn't really concern me too much. Everything else on the bass is really well put together and solid.

As stated above, thus far I have only used this bass for recording. It is very solidly built, and I think it would do fine with live playing - but I would bring a back-up, just in case!

Have dealt with Line6 for my Vetta II amp, and they are responsive, but often busy... Don't expect quick turn-around times without making a stink first.

The Variax bass came with a 1-year manufacturers warranty.

I have been playing music for many years, and play several differnt instruments. Bass was always something I did out of neccessity, as quality bass players are hard to find. My criteria for bass players is that they have to at least be as good on bass as I am...

My main instrument is really the guitar. I have spent much time shaping my tonal preferences on that instrument. I have spent next to no time doing so with the bass...though I do know that I like to hear the bass in the mix. I tend to favor "busy, melodic" bass players like Geddy Lee, Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, J.P. Jones, Victor Wooten, Dave LaRue, etc. (In no particular order!)

I am currently working on an album of original music in my home studio, and found myself at a loss for what bass "sound" I wanted on my material. Just in the list I gave above of players, there are several "classic" tones represented, and I'm not sure if I would even want to emulate any of them! I crave clarity, above all. I want to hear nuance. I play with my fingers for most songs, and walk a lot. I also play a bit of "white-guy slap," and incorporate "stutters" into my fingering technique, as well.

Bottom line - I've found some unbelievable tones in this instrument that exactly match what I was hearing in my head. The Tobias, Alembic, Danelectro Longhorn, and Stingray models are worth the price of admission alone! I've even made good (to my ears) use of the Kay Double-Bass. I've never owned one, so I don't know the difference, but it sits well in my mix...I don't think anyone else would be able to tell either - if I didn't solo that track.

I have no idea why Line6 discontinued this bass, but I sure am glad I got one, and that I waited. For the price I paid, it was an absolute steal. If you see one used (or better yet, new) buy it now! If it's anything like mine, you will not be dissapointed!

Lots and lots of stuff to play with here, probably more than anyone needs. The details of the features are well established elsewhere. Only 21 frets, J-Bassey (narrow at the nut) neck.

Certainly this does not sound exactly like the basses that it's modeling, and even if it did I'd have no way of knowing. If you go into it expecting that it exactly reproduces all those other basses you'll be disappointed (and foolish). But if you're looking for a versatile bass with lots of really interesting and useful sounds then it's great. I've seen criticism on other forums that the Ric model doesn't sound like the Ric model, or the J-Bass doesn't sound J-Bassey enough, but I really don't care. If I wanted a J-Bass I would have bought one. This has lots of good useful bass tones, and I'm sure that any situation I find my self I can find a tone that will be appropriate.
Since it's got piezo pickups it responds particularly strongly to vibrations of the strings that are perpendicular to the piezo element. That is to say that plucking a string outwards (a pop) produces more dynamic response than plucking a string up or down, this can make it sound a bit unbalanced at times (nothing a decent compressor probably can't fix).

Plays nice, solidly built. I've got the black one and the finish if pretty rippley in spots, it'd be unacceptable if I'd payed anywhere near the MSRP. Also the neck is a bit glossy and sticky for my taste, though a combination of playwear and steel wool will take care of that. Other than that, fret work is good, tuners are good, bridge seems solid, neck fits neatly into the neck pocket. Overall quality seems pretty good. The gig bag is nice enough and useful, though I'd have preferred a hard shell.

Seems solid enough, as long as those fancy pants electronics hold up.

I love it. For the price that these things are going for now, I mean I paid $350 new, I really can't think of much to complain about. I wouldn't say that the fit and finish are commensurate with what I imagine an instrument with a $1679 MSRP to be, but then again a lot of what you're paying for is the electronics. For the price you may be able to find a bass with similar fit and finish, but not with this versatility. That's not to say that the fit and finish is bad, but certainly not custom shop level. If you can pick one up at a clearance price it's a killer deal.

I was pretty impressed knowing this was a company that focused on technology. The bass was solid. Maple neck, rosewood board, the body was a little larger than a p-bass or j-bass, but the weight was nice and light. Pickups are in the bridge (I don't know if that makes them piezio or not). The hardware was good and it felt like a nice bass. I like to anchor my thumb on the pickups so Line 6 put a thumbrest in place so that you can anchor your thumb like there is a neck and bridge pickup. It came with a gig bag, one of the best I've seen, with lots of padding and big pockets.

This bass is a jack of all trades. So many options and so many sounds. this is not a bass where you will hear the true sound of the wood. The sound is created by the string vibration in the bridge. While it is a piece of technology it does create a lot of intersting and diverse sounds. It does take a lot of playing around to get distinctive sounds for each bass. The sounds you get on the web site include their bass pod, so don't buy it thinking you will get all of those distinct sounds right out of the bag. You need to put in a lot of time to find the right sound. I am still searching for that Chris Squire Rick sound. The flexability of soounds is amazing.

This was the most surprising to me. I bought this as a way to record on to my hardrive and thought it would be nice to alter my tone dramatically with the trun of a button. That is absolutely the case. However, the bass feels and plays like an american precision or jazz. The body and neck style is very much a hybrid of the two famous fender designs. It seemed like they tried to find a happy medium to make all those fender owners out there happy. This is not a boutique bass with exotic woods, but it is a very solid bass. NO adjustments needed.

NO issues yet.

NO need at this point but the web site does provide a lot of info and downloads.

I had played these in the store and felt that 1,200 for a toy was a bit steep. When I saw it on line for $500 I jumped at the chance. I have not played it on stage but I get the feeling it would be difficult to get the sounds on stage that you hear in your head. I know that is a constant struggle for any musician but if you are covering Cheap Trick and you want that 8 string sound I am not sure how it would translate in a club. Reocording and playing at home can be a lot of fun trying to squeeze unique sounds out of one bass, from p-bass to Alembic, but make no mistake, trying to get those famous sounds from Gedy Lee to Mark King will take a lot of tweaking and searching

Made in Korea (don't let this scare you, it's VERY well built!) 24 frets and strung with D'Addario longscale medium strings. Black with a black pearloid pickguard. Unique thumbrest, piezo pickup, 4 knobs (volume, pickup selector, tone-bass & treble, instrument selector and light indicator.) massive bridge, unique tuning keys, thick strap buttons, rosewood neck on a maple back, Direct line out built into the bass (it's right next to the cable jack.) battery compartment in the back. It comes with: a gig bag, Planet Waves bass cable, battery adapter, owners manual, and tuning tools.

It's suits ALL my music styles because it can morph into any bass and then some with the ability to change the pickup position (Ex: The p-bass position is set in the center, but you can rotate the knob to move it to the neck or bridge. Go to the Line 6 website for more details.)
It has 24 bass sounds all together, 12 (when the green light is on) and ANOTHER 12 (when the red light in on) all you have to do is push the volume knob down to switch to select the other set of 12 (see the website for more details, you'll need to)...it's awesome! It also has a feature where you can SAVE your sound settings by pressing in the volume knob for 10 seconds.

It's well balanced (slightly thicker body to make room for the electronics underneath the pickguard & smaller tummy cut!), fast neck, perfect action, and AWESOME thumb rest (i never realized how much it helps my playing & it's designed very well.) nice & well made tuning keys, heavy bridge and very nice finish. Seriously, Line 6 REALLY REALLY did their homework on this one...it's so beautiful & unique.

I haven't had it long enough to tell if it's reliable. However the construction is top notch, the woods are nice, the neck is perfect (somewhere between a P and a Jazz neck, perfect!) Thick and sturdy strap buttons. It's all good to me so far.

I've never dealt with them...but i HAVE heard some horror stories about their customer service from sales people and customers alike! I've also heard a million rumors about WHY the price has dropped and rumors about their guitars not being made anymore.

I'm 32 and i've been playing since i was 16. This is everything i've ever wanted in a versital bass! It's unique and well designed. I honestly didn't like the way it looked at first, but then i played it and it grew on me! This will be my studio bass only. I'm an Ampeg and Fender kinda guy so this was a nice change for me. I love the thumbrest and the balance of the bass, the fast neck is incredible and the tone variations are endless! I did compare this to other basses, this is up there with the big boy's in my opinion. I think this bass will go down as a significant achievement in the bass instrument world, seriously. You'll own a piece of history if you buy this bass.

Other reviewers have pretty much covered the features of this bass...

Extremely versatile bass. tones modelled on vintage/modern classic basses - 24 in total including some pretty useless synth sounds and a double bass that doesn't track too well. No-one can realistically expect any bass apart from the originals to sound exactly like they do BUT this bass gets close, and most of the sounds are useable and very good - versatility is the keyword here. The active tone controls and 'pickup blender are really useful. The ability to save eq settings on the modelled sounds is also really handy. i use it with the supplied mains powered DI box. It eats batteries. Its not been used in a stage environment yet, but I'd imagine it would be a blast to use.

I've read some comments that this bass looks cheap. I'd disagree. the fit and finish is really good, and the materials used - alder body, maple neck, are high quality. The neck I have found to be more playable than many Jazz Basses I've used. I use this as a reference point because the neck is very J bass - its slim and fast and comfortable to play. I can achieve a low action with little fret buzz as long as I don't dig too hard, but hey relax and let the piezo pickups built into the bridge saddles do the work. The factory set up was fine - no problems with it, but of course everyone has their own preferences so it was easy to adjust to my liking. I might forthe sake of aesthetics change the machine heads for Schaller fender types, simply because looks wis, although they do the job, the fitted machine heads look a bit cheapo.

Seems really well made and i wouldn't have any hesitation gigging with it. I haven't had it long enough to assess how the hardware etc. will hold up.

I've never needed to contact Line 6, but the website answers most questions well. The Variax 700 bass comes with a 1 yr. warranty.

Been playing a long time off and on - about 30 yrs total. I have played/owned most basses of note. I can honestly say that this is one well put together bass which offers a fairly radical innovation for bass players. I bought this after extensively trying it out at the local music emporium, and was impressed enough to buy it new. It'll never beat any of the bass it models on a side by side comparison, but where else can you get this tonal variety onboard combined with great playability? Try one at least - it might the thing you've been looking for.

2005 - Made in Korea, 4 string, Piezo pickup for each string, embedded in bridge saddles. Active electronics. Meck is maple, fretboard rosewood. Top of body very similar to Fender J bass, but lower body a little wider with slightly fatter shape. Unsure what kinds of tuners these are, but they are quite nice - love the shape and feel. Typical J bass feeling neck, nice and thin, gloss finish which I don't appreciate. 34" scale. All controls work great. Sturdy thumb rest very welcome.

I play mostly progrock/rock and can't imagine this bass being unsuitable for just about anything. Mostly used for studio applications and recording. It is dead quiet! 24 modelled bass sounds, most of them quite excellent. The bass would work fine onstage use but is heavy. Recording with it is heavenly. And having real great vintage/modern bass tones so easily on-board is a huge kick.

Setup out of the box was good. Playability on this ax is much like a Fender J or P bass. Take that to mean "quite good". Wound up lowering string action and swapping to light Roto Solos. Plays quite fast except for gloss neck - would have preferred a natural or satin finish on it. This bass is really nicely executed with a great finish, pick guard and controls. One exception (at least on mine) - the G side frets are not finished off properly and can be painful during fast runs up the neck. Not in character for a $1000+ instrument. This is the only real beef I have.

No reason why this bass should NOT be used live. In fact, what it can do for your sound will thrill audiences, producers and engineers alike. No neck adjustments have been required. Have had this bass now for about 2 months. I pick it up often for it's playability and tone/sounds. It's a real hoot and so damn versatile.

Requested some info from Line 6 and got back an answer within 24 hours.

IMHO the cons on this bass are: weight, fret finishing, and the extra cabling needed (due to XPS/DI box).

I've owned quite a few basses including Conklin, Fender, Schecter, US Peaveys, Ric, Ibanez, Yamaha. So far the US Peaveys and Conklin are may favorites for pure playability. But this Line 6 is a also a favorite weapon due to it's very respectable playability, it's excellent sound quality, sound versatility, and overall build quality.

I think you know the features if you are checking reviews.
It's incredible.

It suits my music style quite well, with 24 bass models to choose from you have a good variety of sounds.

I run it through the XPS-DI, to PA mixer and get signal back through active monitor or in-ear. I have both alternatives. I am very happy with the in-ear sound.

No background noise at all. It's noiseless.
It's most suitable for the studio, but will beat any bass on stage!

I have no dislikes to this bass.

The action was a bit high, so I lowered it myself. Worked out great.
The default strings were a bit to thin for me, so I replaced them. But good quality on them.

The bass is flawless. A bass for those who appreciate quality.

Well, the dealer forgot to deliever the powersupply at first shipment, so I had to use batteries. It's sucks 6 AAA batteries empty in about 8 hours, or one 9V in 3 hours.
If you are planning to use this with a wireless system, you must use batteries in it. Kinda stupid.
But for us who use wired system, we get power from the XPS-DI.

The finish is good.
It is very dependable. Don't need a backup bass, at least not when you get power from the XPS-DI.

I called the customer support some months ago, concerning a Pod 2.0 that I own... They were very helpful.
Their website is also very good, with all the demos, movies, forum and customer support.
They give out 2 years warranty, so I feel safe.

I have played bass for 3 years.
I own a Fender USA model Jazzbass standard, with Bartolini preamp and pickups that I put in.
I also own a Yamaha RBX170 (my first bass) that I modified to a fretless. A crap instrument.
I have owned a Spector NS-2A, European version.

I have a SWR Bass 350 top with a 4x10 Eminence cab + a 2x10 SWR workingman cab.

I run the Variax straight to PA, don't want to carry around the amp and the cabs because I play on alot of different places.

I will receive a BassPODxt Live soon, then I will have digital connection between the variax and the POD.

If it was stolen, I would call the insurance company and have them fix me a new one :-)

Has it all. Just take time to figure out which ones suit you.

Had to make minor adjustments. Action a little high for my taste, adjusted truss rod and saddles. No pickup adjustments. No pickups to adjust.

I've been playing it for past three months every Friday and Saturday.No backups. Just keep fresh batteries in it. I use a wireless setup.

I have been playing guitar, bass and drums for 27 years.Gear I own too much to include. Right now I have been Line 6ed. Variax 700 bass and Guitar. Pod xt live for guitar and waiting for the bass model.I would by again. The unlimited number of combinations are enough to keep you busy till you die. I wish the cable to the Xt live would power the guitars w/o the di/power supply box. Same with the digital interface cable. Can't go wrong as of yet.