Tech 21 RPM
 

The RPM I just bought of some gentleman in Indy came, great shape...and I must admit it's a whole different animal than the RBI I sold.

I'm on the waiting list for the rackmount VT, and I think I'm going to put that off for awhile.

I like this thing. The word "darker" has been used to describe the difference between the RBI and RPM, I think that's accurate.

I'm currently running a 2XRBI rig for a clean/dirty mix but have been toying with the idea of swapping one RBI for an RPM so I can get a bit of a dirtier tone out of my rig. Super happy with the 2XRBI but my Gas is back and its time to start messing with things some more!


How do you feel that the clean tone of the RBI would blend with a nice OD from the RPM?

I chose an RPM over the RBI for one reason...the mid sweep ability. I don't understand what you mean by the RPM being darker. Could you explain that?

The RBI and RPM are not the same thing with different features. The RPM is voiced darker than the RBI. In other words, if you put all the controls at noon on both and compare them, the RPM will be darker.

I used to have an RBI that I replaced with an RPM and am much happier now. The RBI was an excellent unit with a good sound, but only one sound which was very mid scooped. I wanted a preamp that would be a good circuit for my Jazz basses and the RPM seems to fit the bill nicely. It also sounds good with my Precisions, but I already had some preamps that worked well with them (read:Ampeg). I also have a Tech 21 VT Bass Pedal V2. I was really hoping that they'd come out with a rack mount version of it and got very excited about it when the rack version was announced at the most recent NAMM show. However, my hopes were dashed when I found out that they neglected to include the 10" speaker emulation defeat switch on the rack version. Tech 21 saw fit to include the 10" speaker emulation defeat switch on their new VT Bass DI pedal along with some other features not included on the rack version. It's a bit baffling why the more expensive rack model would not include useful features offered on the less expensive DI pedal version. Maybe they'll rectify it down the road ... I'll just have to keep hoping and praying. ;)

As far as a VT which I've owned loved and got me on this whole tech21 fetish, I'd love to see the VT rack with a mid sweep, or a 5 position mid switch like the SVT/PFs have

The VT Bass Rack which shares the same form factor as our RBI and RPM products is a preamp obviously. The idea being that it will be your main preamp. The speaker sim defeat switch that was added to the pedal format was added because many players were plugging the pedal into the front end of their bass amp's preamp and using it as a typical stomp box so we added the feature.

The VT Bass Rack has internal jumpers that allow you to change the center frequency of the EQ. Also the Character control is in essence changing the EQ (and drive characteristics) as well.

Can the center frequency of the EQ be set as low as 40hz or 50hz or 60hz ? I ask because I'd like to get a very deep and clean tone from the VT Bass Rack.
Thanks

Important note: the Presence control on the RBI is boost only, so if you set it to noon you'll get a big treble boost. The flat setting for Presence is fully counter-clockwise ("off").

Some folks say that the RBI is way too bright -- my hunch is that they are setting Presence to noon rather than flat. But I think the RPM is a little darker even when Presence is off on the RBI (it's been too long since I've done a direct A/B).

The RPM midrange sweep goes all the way to 3K (w/12dB boost and cut) and the treble control is centered at 3.2K so I still don't understand how an RPM CAN'T get as bright as an RBI. Yeah, maybe with all controls centered, but that's what tone controls are for, I assume.

No one said that it can't.

bass
 

I've owned both and it can't get as bright because the rpm rolls off the highs lower than the rbi.

Apparently someone has come forward and said it can't.

No, people are just saying that it's voiced darker than the RBI. There's nothing that says you can't start cranking knobs to get either into the territory of the other.

I for one swear by the RPM, nothing dark about it at all, it's way more flexible than the RBI and i had one, then got rid of it, just waiting now for the VT rack mount and the VT BASS DI and will then decide which one of those gets added to the rig.
Current rig, Tech21 RPM into a Crest CA9.
It can kill most living creatures, not that i want to.
It truly is my dream rig, it's simple. A little heavy yes, but weight was never an issue for me.

Internal jumper on the vt? Explain please

The RPM and RBI are different circuits. The presence control in the RBI not only adds treble but upper harmonic content and attack like the presence control on vintage amps. You would probably need to adjust the midrange control in the RPM to a higher frequency to get close to the sound though the RPM would still sound a bit cleaner.

As Fuzzbass mentioned, the presence control is boost only and this is important to note. I find that "mid-scoop" sound becomes more noticeable when the presence is turned up.

On the VT Bass Rack, the internal jumpers change the Bass control center frequency from 80Hz, 100Hz and 120Hz. The jumpers for the mid control change the center frequency from 750Hz to 1kHz to 1.2kHz.

There is also a jumper to disengage the sub sonic filter which will give you full range on the low end if desired.

bass
 

Nice move on the jumpers.

I had a RBI into my CA-9 and it was awesome.

I think it's great that Tech 21 has "boots on the ground" like you monitoring what's going on with your products out in the real world. I'm certainly no high profile player or anywhere near the last word on these matters, but I think you guys would be well advised to add a 10" speaker emulation defeat switch to your VT Bass Rack and here's why ...

1) There are a lot of options out there to get the Ampeg SVT sound, but precious few to get the B-15 fliptop sound and the forced 10" speaker emulation detracts from the authenticity of that sound by making it have less roundness and warmth.

2) What if you are already playing through a 4x10 with a tweeter or some other bright sounding cabinet? ... You could easily end up with an overly bright top end that isn't readily EQ'd out.

I understand that Tech 21 is a for profit enterprise and that is makes good business sense for you to reuse the same face plate design for all three of your rack mount preamps. However, you could put the 10" speaker emulation defeat switch on the back of the unit.