Behringer VT999 => GAS attack

paganjack · #1 06-09-2008, 01:40 PM

i saw this on ebay, and i had an acute GAS attack. my amp is solid state, but i find myself wishing i had a tube amp sometimes, and this just struck me as a potentially sweet, economical way to assuage my tubelust.
i believe this is modeled after the Ibanez Tube King.

http://behringer.com/VT999/index.cfm?lang=ENG

its got a real tube in it! its got a gain, master volume, and a 3-band eq! adjustable noise gate! true hard-wire bypass! its got METAL housing! ive read that the stock tube is crap, so im probably going to open it up and put in a Tung Sol 12ax7, but I'm open to suggestions there. any strong opinions on that choice?

i saw a new one on ebay for $62 with shipping, power supply and a warranty included. i had to buy it...right?

flakeh · #2 06-09-2008, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paganjack

i saw this on ebay, and i had an acute GAS attack. my amp is solid state, but i find myself wishing i had a tube amp sometimes, and this just struck me as a potentially sweet, economical way to assuage my tubelust.
i believe this is modeled after the Ibanez Tube King.

http://behringer.com/VT999/index.cfm?lang=ENG

its got a real tube in it! its got a gain, master volume, and a 3-band eq! adjustable noise gate! true hard-wire bypass! its got METAL housing! ive read that the stock tube is crap, so im probably going to open it up and put in a Tung Sol 12ax7, but I'm open to suggestions there. any strong opinions on that choice?

i saw a new one on ebay for $62 with shipping, power supply and a warranty included. i had to buy it...right?

I was actually very close to buying this pedal. I was about to order it, but instead I got racing boots. Ha. Its still on the list, it sounds real good from what I have heard.

paganjack · #3 07-02-2008, 07:33 AM

i'm really starting to like this pedal. i've done some small tweaks to it that really improved the sound.
First off, I put in a Tung Sol 12ax7, and that made a huge difference. Much cleaner tone, better sounding OD, the changes you would expect from a higher quality tube.
Second, I switched out the input capacitor from a 47 nF to a .1uF Metal Film Capacitor. Now its suited for BASS- bye bye bass suck.
Later this week, I am going to put in an EH 12at7 to see if I can't get a little bit of a cleaner tone out of it. It still distorts a little on the low B, although much less than before I switched the cap.

The only caveat I've found is that since I switched the cap, it doesn't sound as good with guitar. I haven't cared that much since i have a hybrid guitar amp and the tube preamp gain on that has always sounded better anyway.

dannybuoy · #4 07-02-2008, 07:38 AM

You could always fit a toggle switch for the cap! English Muff'n uses 12AY7s, it might be worth giving those a try too.

paganjack · #5 07-02-2008, 07:48 AM

both good ideas- if the 12at7 doesn't cut it, i'll be trying the 12ay7 next.
i wonder how hard it would be to put an extra tube circuit in there to make it more like an EHX clone...

LzeroKI · #6 07-02-2008, 12:00 PM

anyway you could record some clips? I have to admit Im a little interested in this pedal

paganjack · #7 07-02-2008, 12:03 PM

yeah ill be doing that this weekend- i've been meaning to, but haven't really had a lot of time.

LzeroKI · #8 07-02-2008, 12:16 PM

sweet.

LzeroKI · #9 07-03-2008, 01:00 AM

also, if its not too much to ask, could you get a pic of the vt999 next to a standard boss size pedal, or some other pedal, just for size reference?

...come to think of it, it may just be easier for you to just eyeball the dimensions of the footprint and post that lol.

mbw82 · #10 07-03-2008, 01:03 AM

as a general rule, behringer makes terrible products

LzeroKI · #11 07-03-2008, 01:19 AM

Ive got no complaints with the two products of theirs I already have. Are they as good as the "brand name" or boutique gear? No. Do I have the money for the "brande name" or boutique gear? No.

...also just looking at the gear you endorse, you're most likley used to (and probably require) a higher quality product than I need lol

paganjack · #12 07-04-2008, 12:31 PM

its way bigger than i expected- about 3x the size of a boss pedal. about 8" x 6". clips will be up later this weekend.

paganjack · #13 07-16-2008, 01:09 PM

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/7/...6254/vt999.mp3

finally. its been a super busy couple of weeks. sadly, i don't have a nice recording setup, so this is all done with the internal mic on my powerbook [which ive actually been surprised with]. the pedal doesnt normally sound so reverb-y.

I have the EQ settings on the pedal as follows.
Bass 10
Mid 7
Treble 5
anyway i played roughly the same line 4 times, with different settings-
1st - control/pedal off [atk305>GK700rb-ii>GKneo212]
2nd - Gain=0 Vol=10
3rd - Gain 4 Vol 6
4th - Gain 10 Vol 3
hopefully this gives you an idea what it sounds like, i apologize for the delay.

LzeroKI · #14 07-16-2008, 02:48 PM

thank you for the clips

EddieG · #15 07-16-2008, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbw82

as a general rule, behringer makes terrible products

*sigh*

Without fail.....

paganjack · #16 07-16-2008, 03:55 PM

i wish i had a better recording setup- it sounds way better in person...o well

CamiloDíaz · #17 07-17-2008, 12:09 AM

sweeeeet!!!

the tube seems to really be there, sounding...

paganjack · #18 08-28-2008, 10:18 PM

i have an improved home recording studio now, with proper mics and a direct line in and a mixer and all that. i decided to redo this little clip.

apologies for poor playing, just wanted to demo the pedal- it actually sounds quite pleasant to my ears- definitely a vintage tube sound.

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/7/...254/BVT999.mp3

i got some compliments at a show about this pedal- some of my gear-heads friends thought it was really cool.

my setup for this recording here was- ATK305 (EQ'd slight mid hump) ->VT999 -> Computer Line In
EDIT: settings on clip:
1: Bypass
global settings MASTER: 5, B:10 ,M:7, T:5
2: Gain @0
3: Gain @2
4: Gain @5
5: Gain @10