Bassists can finally stop their hootin' and a-hollerin'. After debuting the VG-99 at Summer NAMM 2007, Roland has finally deemed bassists worthy the same treatment. Winter NAMM 2009 finally saw the release of the Roland VB-99 V-Bass system, and it just might be worth the wait.

The VB-99 makes the most of the recent advances in Roland's COSM-powered string modeling engine (employed in their new and breathtaking V-Piano). There's a bevy of new amplifier models (yes, I consider amplifier models to be female), powerful polyphonic effects, dual independent signal paths for blending sounds and more in this "three times" more powerful bass processor (not that I checked Roland's math).

Just like the VG-99, the VB-99 offers bassists several different methods for real-time manipulation. Both D-Beam and Ribbon controllers can be assigned to control either pitch, filter or any other parameter in a patch, with pitch and filter assignable via dedicated, top-mounted buttons. Other top-mounted controls include instant patch recall, master volume, parameter 1-6 adjustment, signal path selection and V-Link on/off (yes, you can use the VB-99 to control video effects in conjunction with the EDIROL PR-80).

The generous output options include balanced XLR, stereo TRS 1/4", MIDI, SP/DIF and USB -- the VB-99 provides a handy Bass-to-MIDI output as well as streaming audio via USB, turning the unit into a DAW controller / interface for bass.

Pricing and availability are, predictably, TBA. HOW LONG MUST WE BASSISTS WAIT, ROLAND?