as a novelty they're pretty cool... but they're definitely not tone machines. your best bet would be to buy a cheap one off ebay... i think there's some place that sells them for a couple hundred bucks and just put some money into here and there.... such as pickups and electronics. i wouldn't spend a bunch of money on something that isn't going to soudn good right out of the box...

they're cool none the less... saw dave grohl use one a couple times.