Anybody ever tried the Tech 21 British pedal for bass?

[snowblinder]

Lately I've been dying to get my hands on a 70's 100 watt Marshall Super Bass or Super Lead head to use for bass (could have something to do with the excessive amount of Motorhead I've been listening to recently). However, the prices they are commanding makes the possibility of that happening anytime soon nothing more than a dream. However, I was wondering if any of you had any experience using the Tech 21 Character series "British" pedal for bass and, if so, how you felt about it. I've had a VT Bass pedal for over a year now and, having an actual vintage SVT at my disposal to compare it to, I can say with all certainty that it totally nails that tone. Just wondering if the British pedal does as good of a job copping the vintage Marshall tone.

Any opinions or thoughts are much appreciated. Thanks!

[silky smoove]

JimmyM uses one. In fact, Mike Putnam performs a mod to the British pedal named after Jimmy!

[BillyB_from_LZ]

I love the British pedal...it's a (as the English might say) great piece of kit.

I'd recommend that you simply buy one (from Musician's Friend or similar) and try it out for 44 days and decide for yourself... Worst case is that you'd have to pay for return shipping.

[ga_edwards]

Originally Posted by BillyB_from_LZ

I love the British pedal...it's a (as the English might say) great piece of kit.

I think you'll find that us English would say it's the dogs bo****ks. Or perhaps, the mutts nuts.

[Webtroll]

How is it different from the SVT version? Aside from the graphics that is. Also does the mod make it less guitar capable?

[BruceBass3901]

AFAIK, the mod just adds another knob that allows you to have the stock sound when at 12:00, adds more lows as you sweep it clockwise, and then adds lows and changes the mid sweep when turned anti-clockwise. This shouldn't make it any less guitar capable; it just makes it a bit more 'tweakable'

[JimmyM]

imho, the mod is necessary to use the british pedal to play bass. like marshall guitar amps, there is not much low end to speak of. once you get the mod, it becomes a much better pedal for bass. it does have a different sound from the vt, definitely a marshall type flavor, but with eq you can get them close. or not.

[RCCollins]

But is there a mod to make the VTBass useable on bass? It sounds like a bright high-end clank machine to me!

[JimmyM]

yes there is, rc. it's called "talent."

[Handyman]

Originally Posted by RCCollins

But is there a mod to make the VTBass useable on bass? It sounds like a bright high-end clank machine to me!

There is, but its very, very difficult. It involves turning down the VTBass treble knob.

[snowblinder]

I'm kind of curious about the Leeds pedal as well, as I love John Entwistle's tone on Live At Leeds (who doesn't?). I guess I'll just have to go try them both out and decide for myself.

Not to further shift this thread into another VT Bass discussion, but I have to say I don't find it to be a "bright high-end clank machine" at all. Using any of the recommended settings from the manual, I think it sounds amazing. I start with the SVT settings, boosting the Midrange and Character knobs ever so slightly, and it sounds perfect to me. Sounds like a vintage SVT mixed with a hint of Traynor TS-50B. I know because I own both and have compared side by side.

Anyway...thanks for the input thus far regarding the British pedal. As I said, I think the only true way to find out how it'll work for me is to go play through one myself. Luckily there is a Tech 21 dealer in town.

[RCCollins]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

yes there is, rc. it's called "talent."

but Jimmy, this is the EFFECTS forum!

Originally Posted by Handyman

There is, but its very, very difficult. It involves turning down the VTBass treble knob.

I can't imagine running a VT with the treble control anywhere past ten o'clock. that leaves precious little range for fine adjustment - this is a design flaw IMO, albeit one that is based on the assumption that all bass-oriented pedals should be built with my taste and needs in mind

I'd love to try a modded British though!

[newbold]

I tried the british the same day as the VT and I must say that the British probably needs the mod to be even close to being interesting to 99% of bassists out there.

Blended with the VT it would be awesome, but seems to me that there are a huge range of marshall clones out there that will get you where you probably want to be with bass through a bass rig.

For guitar I can figure that pedal being amazing.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by newbold

I tried the british the same day as the VT and I must say that the British probably needs the mod to be even close to being interesting to 99% of bassists out there.

Blended with the VT it would be awesome, but seems to me that there are a huge range of marshall clones out there that will get you where you probably want to be with bass through a bass rig.

For guitar I can figure that pedal being amazing.

it is. i think it's pretty amazing for bass, too. i'm not using it often except for road work, but the low end knob mod made it a lot more useful. it actually adds back the frequencies you're missing.

[Waterpilot]

I have it with the mod and like Jimmy has said... It's a much better bass pedal with it.