can somebody explain what this is and how it works

Your question is disturbingly lacking in question marks.

 

This has to be one of the most ridiculous products I've ever seen.
"It will help build your endurance, your speed and your technique..."
Hopefully it will also help you escape from the straight jacket they strap you up in because if someone sees you playing this in public they'll be calling Bellevue.
If you want to be a better player, practice with a real bass, even a hundred dollar, second-hand bass you find in a yard sale, or a regular travel bass...as long as it's in playable shape.

SHREDNECK BASS - Practice everywhere!


And you hold it upside down?
$119...black, white and trans red!
What, no sunburst?
Sure, it's portable, so's a ukulele.
I still haven't stopped laughing!

 

This product is an answer to a question that nobody asked...

 

...or, other punctuation...?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

 

Isn't that half of the "headless, bodyless, double neck from another thread?
Or maybe a quarter.

 

Ha pretty silly that it has strap buttons. I could see leaving this somewhere convenient and practicing where you couldn't otherwise get away playing a real bass, like on you're lunch break at work, or various waiting situations. Not worth $119 though.

 

Not even enough of a neck to practice on, really. Sad that people buy these things, imho.

 

I would use one to work my left hand while watching tv. But only if it was handed to me for free. And probably not more than a few times. I doubt these are huge sellers.

 

Of you're up a creek without a paddle...there ya go.

 

There are both guitar and bass versions of the Shredneck. The great CT based guitarist Jimi Bell invented these. He played in Geezer Butler's short lived band as well as House of Lords and was also A serious candidate to be Ozzy Osborne's guitar player before Zakk Wylde got the gig.

All that said, he got his chops by working hard and spending a lot of time on a real, functioning guitar......

 

Might look ridiculous, but it's not a bad idea. I've been wanting to build something that's got strings with the correct tension similar to this, and mount it on the side of my chair at work so I can do some 16th finger drills. All I need is the string spacing and the thumb placement to be right.
If I had to go offshore again and had limited bag space, something like that would be nice to be able to work on scales on the widest frets. I've been getting a lot more serious about my playing lately, and if I were stuck somewhere for several weeks at a time with ZERO access to my normal gear and I wanted for my progress to not come to a screeching halt, a stupid product like this might be a little less stupid.

Sure it might seem stupid to everyone else, but there's obviously SOME kind of market for it. I have no need for a product like this, but I can see how some people would want a small tool like this at times.

 

Question marks or not, I would think that your questions are clear enough and formatted well enough that people could just answer them rather than lecture you on grammar. It is just a practice tool. As such it might have a place, it will not replace a normal bass guitar however. If you want something to take easily on a plane, actually play on a plane, or have handy to practice with at work, on the train, or anywhere else you can't reasonably take a normal bass guitar then it might be ok. To be honest it looks a little too small to be useful so I would have to try one before I would be interested in buying one. But I can certainly see where a small practice bass could be useful for some folks. Personally I would be more interested in a true small bass that one could travel and perform with. Something like the basses sold by Traveler Guitar and others.

Yeah, whether this attempt to meet the need is a hit or miss I think there is some need/market for this.

 

Needs a pickup........

 

I'd get something like this with a B3 and headphones or this before I would bother with that silly thing. It would cost substantially more.. but I just can't see doing much shredding on that thing. The Hofner is actually 24 frets.

 

That is the silliest thing I have ever seen. And totally pointless. PLEASE EVERYONE DO NOT BUY THIS

 

You're completely missing the point. It doesn't even have to be in tune to practice. I'd just do scales and modes up and down that thing.