VT Bass Deluxe as preamp for QSC PLX1602

[amos]

Has anyone done this?
Does the VT Bass have enough gain to power the PLX1602 when bridged?
Is adjusting volume in the fly is difficult as it's been made out to be?

I have not checked the voltages on the VT Bass deluxe yet.

I normally run a BBE Bmax-T preamp, but my new project will be based around overdrive tones, think the dude from Russian Circles the way he uses his big muff, so using a VT Bass deluxe as a preamp makes a lot of sense, in this case.

If anyone has any experience with this, I'd love to hear from you. Second to that, I'd like to hear how well you think this would work. As always, I appreciate your collective insight!

[amos]

Just read this in the manual:

PARALLEL OUTPUT: 1/4-inch buffered, unbalanced direct output. Instrument signal passes through, Uneffected, to the input of your stage amplification system or tuner.

1/4” OUTPUT: Unbalanced 1KOhm low Z output. Sends effected or
bypassed signal to amp rig or power amp.

1/4” Out Boost Switch: +10dB boost to match the output to equipment with different
input level requirements. In the instrument level (up) position, the nominal output is -10dB. In
the line level (down) position, the output is 0dB

Anyone who is running the VT Bass Deluxe straight to the power amp, do you find yourself having to use the output boost switch?

This so perfect for my setup, it's ridiculous. The unaffected parallel out is perfect for running to my guitar combo for distortion. The second input will accommodate my analog synth. All I need is an on/off pedal between the parallel out and the guitar amp, so that I can turn it off for quieter stuff. I'm sold.

[rpsands]

Adjusting volume on the fly with the VT can be a pain. I spent a lot of time dialing in the relative volume on my three main tones and getting the volume right. Then I use my compressor or my bass knob to control volume if I need to. I could see the use for a volume pedal after the VT for sure.

That said, it's not *impossible*. You fiddle with the volume knob until it flashes and then stops, so you know where you're at on that channel, then turn it up a little. It's VERY touchy about volume changes though. So be careful.

The Deluxe is definitely a tool that takes some time working on each patch.

* I leave mine in line level I think most of the time but I can't recall.

[amos]

Cool thanks for that. The manual says to use the power amp master volume to control overall stage volume. I have never done this in the past, makes me a bit nervous running 1600 watts and adjusting my stage volume with the power amp dial. I'm thinking I would set my poweramp up right next to the VT Bass deluxe in front of me on the floor.

Edit: I am mostly likely not going to need to adjust much on the fly now that I think about it. Set up a few patches that are at the same volume level, lock them in, and the only pedal effecting my volume is going to be my volume. The only real thing I'll be doing on the fly is switching my guitar amp (distortion) on and off, and if I need more of that I just use the post-gain knob on the guitar amp.

[rpsands]

Yeah, the way I do it is at the amp level (course, I use a shuttle 9). That should be fine actually. duh. Adjusting the volume settings on the pedal is a pain, but of course your amp is a fine place to do it.

[amos]

was my response was confusing? Anyway, just to clarify, I use two amps. With the VT Bass as my preamp, I will have to use my power amp to adjust amp #1, and the post-gain on amp #2. Should be fine.

[RC52]

Vt bass pedal thru the QSC 1602 is awesome!

I ran it into my custom built 1 15" eminence kappa pro 15lf. , 4 ohm .

It sounds great with a p and a j bass !