I finally get it... (WARNING: VT Bass content inside)

[Simon Langley]

Third time is the charm right? Well that is how many VT bass pedals it took to finally get what this pedal is all about. Have owned two others and each time I sold them because I just could get a good sound out of them. Then I'd give in and buy another after reading the multitude of rave reviews of this pedal.

Well, tonight the V2 I recently acquired earned a permanent place on my pedalboard. So what changed? Not sure really. Think the mistake I was making was trying to use this pedal as my only distortion. I am now using it more as a preamp, as it was intended. Gives me a great Ampeg like tone, warm and tubey with just a little grit. Sounds great in a mix. Am also bypassing the sansamp circuit which I was unable to with the older style. Something always bugged me about running an amp simulator into a real amp. Sounds better to my ears with the sansamp bypassed.

Anyway, just my two cents on a pedal that the masses here already know is awesome. Now I just gotta find a good fuzz to run into it for my hi-gain/synth tone.

[Juan Count]

... good to hear... I too found that the subtle nuances of this pedal make the VT great and it is now an 'always on' member of my pedalboard... It really makes for a great preamp... I personally use it to... a) add a little vintage 'vibe' and b) add some extra 'crispness' to my highs...

[Von Felgenhauer]

Sanford andsonny bluebeard fuzz

[tech21nyc]

Originally Posted by Simon Langley

... Am also bypassing the sansamp circuit which I was unable to with the older style. Something always bugged me about running an amp simulator into a real amp...

Actually you are not bypassing the SansAmp circuit. You are referring to the speaker sim switch which disengages the speaker emulation portion of the SansAmp. You are still going through the tube amp emulation.This makes it a bit easier to use the pedal into the front end of certain amps that have an EQ curve that fights the EQ of the pedal.

[Simon Langley]

Good to know. Thanks for the clarification and the 411.

[Matt Dean]

Sure it's not Stockholm Syndrome?






Stockholm syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[woodyng]

Its absolutely indispensable to me now,just brings the right amount of grit and edge to my sound. I usually play through a markbass combo,but recently used the VT pedal with an ancient Peavey 1-15" combo,and it even made that amp sound superb. (it does have a great black widow speaker in it)

[pbasswil]

Originally Posted by tech21nyc

Actually you are not bypassing the SansAmp circuit. You are referring to the speaker sim switch which disengages the speaker emulation portion of the SansAmp. You are still going through the tube amp emulation.This makes it a bit easier to use the pedal into the front end of certain amps that have an EQ curve that fights the EQ of the pedal.

Correct me if I'm wrong (I haven't tried v.2), but unlike earlier SansAmps, isn't the Speaker Sim merely a LP filter (roll-off of highs)? Isn't it the variable Character module that takes care of all the mid-scooping?
Whereas, on earlier pedals mid-scoop was bundled with the treble roll-off, forming the overall Speaker Sim EQ curve, right?

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by pbasswil

Correct me if I'm wrong (I haven't tried v.2), but unlike earlier SansAmps, isn't the Speaker Sim merely a LP filter (roll-off of highs)? Isn't it the variable Character module that takes care of all the mid-scooping?
Whereas, on earlier pedals mid-scoop was bundled with the treble roll-off, forming the overall Speaker Sim EQ curve, right?

The speaker sim rolls off highs and lows both. And the character knob will both cut or boost mids. Have no idea what else it does, but I use it as more of a mid knob than the mid knob.

[Joe Gress]

Still one of the heaviest and nastiest fuzz tone I ever got was a SABDDI into a Messdrive fuzz pedal. Really mean sounding and super aggressive, but scooped in the mids and wouldn't work real well in a band setting. But I imagine the VT bass is a little clearer and more middy (huyk huyk!) enough to cut through.

[pbasswil]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

The speaker sim rolls off highs and lows both. And the character knob will both cut or boost mids. Have no idea what else it does, but I use it as more of a mid knob than the mid knob.

Thanks for that, Jimmy; I haven't received mine yet, so no experience with defeating it and comparing.

Curious: Where abouts do you figure the roll off in the lows is? Like, 50hz or something??

-- Peter

[ZanaZulu807]

I just got my VT today and my reaction is quite different from the OP's. I've been a BDDI advocate for years now, however, once I compared it with the VT I "thought" it was all over. I fell in love with the VT immediately with its gutsy, yet just the right kind of "in-yer-face!" raunch I love to hear; that was until I clicked back on the BDDI... The warm, dark, slightly overdriven tone of the BDDI made me fall in love again, I realize that I could probably find this tone on the VT but it just sounds so damn good on the BDDI. I have my BDDI listed for sale here but now I'm having crazy second thoughts.

In one hand, I have a bassy, warm as a blanket in the middle of winter tone that has filled out the sound in a band setting instead of cutting through. And in the other hand I have a mule kicking, sharp as a razor, biting distortion tone that just kicks ass, both are equally fantastic.

I know I've had the VT for a few hours now and tested it on a fairly crappy practice amp, but I absolutely love what I hear; it's simply awesome. Has anyone else bought and kept both the VT and BDDI, or does one has the "it" factor that the other doesn't (which I see quite often here on TB...). Thoughts?

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by pbasswil

Thanks for that, Jimmy; I haven't received mine yet, so no experience with defeating it and comparing.

Curious: Where abouts do you figure the roll off in the lows is? Like, 50hz or something??

-- Peter

I think 55hz but don't quote me on that.

[tech21nyc]

Originally Posted by pbasswil

Correct me if I'm wrong (I haven't tried v.2), but unlike earlier SansAmps, isn't the Speaker Sim merely a LP filter (roll-off of highs)? Isn't it the variable Character module that takes care of all the mid-scooping?
Whereas, on earlier pedals mid-scoop was bundled with the treble roll-off, forming the overall Speaker Sim EQ curve, right?

It's a custom tuned filter that is designed by ear to mimic what an actual speaker does. The mid-scoop has more to do with the amp emulation than the speaker emulation.

[pbasswil]

Originally Posted by tech21nyc

It's a custom tuned filter that is designed by ear to mimic what an actual speaker does. The mid-scoop has more to do with the amp emulation than the speaker emulation.

Ah, I hadn't even made the distinction between speaker sim and amp sim -- I was using the terms interchangeably.

I've seen the curves for the Character knob on a previous thread.
What I'd like to know now is: when you hit the Speaker Sim defeat button, are you just removing a high and low roll-off; or does its response curve also do something in the mids?

Thanks.

[Bart277]

Originally Posted by ZanaZulu807

I just got my VT today and my reaction is quite different from the OP's. I've been a BDDI advocate for years now, however, once I compared it with the VT I "thought" it was all over. I fell in love with the VT immediately with its gutsy, yet just the right kind of "in-yer-face!" raunch I love to hear; that was until I clicked back on the BDDI... The warm, dark, slightly overdriven tone of the BDDI made me fall in love again, I realize that I could probably find this tone on the VT but it just sounds so damn good on the BDDI. I have my BDDI listed for sale here but now I'm having crazy second thoughts.

In one hand, I have a bassy, warm as a blanket in the middle of winter tone that has filled out the sound in a band setting instead of cutting through. And in the other hand I have a mule kicking, sharp as a razor, biting distortion tone that just kicks ass, both are equally fantastic.

I know I've had the VT for a few hours now and tested it on a fairly crappy practice amp, but I absolutely love what I hear; it's simply awesome. Has anyone else bought and kept both the VT and BDDI, or does one has the "it" factor that the other doesn't (which I see quite often here on TB...). Thoughts?

I use both and love them

[kenstee]

Where do you guys have the VT in your pedal chain?

[Simon Langley]

Originally Posted by kenstee

Where do you guys have the VT in your pedal chain?

MIne is: Bass--->EBS Multi Comp--->MXR BOD--->VT Bass--->Devi Ever Bass Fuzz--->3Leaf GR--->Line 6 M5--->Amplifier

Wanted to put the Devi BF before the VT Bass but it did not like being after the MXR BOD.

[audiomitch]

Originally Posted by kenstee

Where do you guys have the VT in your pedal chain?

bass -> VT pedal -> amp

It's complicated, I know...

[cableguy]

Originally Posted by ZanaZulu807

I just got my VT today and my reaction is quite different from the OP's. I've been a BDDI advocate for years now, however, once I compared it with the VT I "thought" it was all over. I fell in love with the VT immediately with its gutsy, yet just the right kind of "in-yer-face!" raunch I love to hear; that was until I clicked back on the BDDI... The warm, dark, slightly overdriven tone of the BDDI made me fall in love again, I realize that I could probably find this tone on the VT but it just sounds so damn good on the BDDI. I have my BDDI listed for sale here but now I'm having crazy second thoughts.

In one hand, I have a bassy, warm as a blanket in the middle of winter tone that has filled out the sound in a band setting instead of cutting through. And in the other hand I have a mule kicking, sharp as a razor, biting distortion tone that just kicks ass, both are equally fantastic.

I know I've had the VT for a few hours now and tested it on a fairly crappy practice amp, but I absolutely love what I hear; it's simply awesome. Has anyone else bought and kept both the VT and BDDI, or does one has the "it" factor that the other doesn't (which I see quite often here on TB...). Thoughts?

I only have the BDDI now. I think I'm going to get a VT to put in front of it. But the VT Deluxe keeps calling........