OD/Dist HELP! VT-Bass =(

slapstick13 · #1 04-13-2010, 07:03 AM

So heres my problem; Ive been G.A.S'ing the hell out of the vt bass for the majority of the winter. I wanted something to shape my tone a little more and provide me with some crunch/OD/Distortion.

I finally had an extra $150 kicking around and bought one. Got it a few days ago and overall Im kind of disappointed. It does do the 'amp modelling' thing very well, however, I play through an ampeg svt-3-pro and prefer its tone over the vt bass. For some reason, on any setting, the vt bass flubs my E string, making it sound kind of muddy and flubby. I could see this pedal being excellent on a non ampeg amp for acheiving ampeg tone. Enjoyed the fliptop setting. But wasnt really impressed when pushing the character knob past 12(which I thought Id love as I was hoping for a nice overdrive/dist) but in a band setting the pedal just wasn't cutting it for me.

Anyone have any suggestions for a really transparent OD/ Distortion. I was thinking about a fulltone bass drive because I loved the transparency of the OCD pedal I used to have for guitar. Im most likley going to sell the VT bass so money is not really an issue as Im willing to spend around $250 for a good pedal. Thanks.

dmusic148 · #2 04-13-2010, 07:10 AM

Are you sure the pedal isn't overdriving the input on your amp? Lots of gain from that pedal when bringing up the Drive knob- this would show up first on the E string. I have no such complaint with my VT Bass but I do watch the gain.

ShowKing · #3 04-13-2010, 07:16 AM

i know what u mean about liking ur true ampeg tone than the added vt bass on the ampeg.
i prefer my natural ampeg amp tone as well.

regarding the overdrive, what i usually do is crank the drive somewhere around 2 oclock to max and control the output volume with the level on as low as possible.

i find that i prefer the character knob below 12. anything past 12 gets too crazy for me.

also note, the flat eq on the vt bass is more like a bass boost, treble boost, and mid cut so u might wanna try cutting some bass and treble and mayb a slight mid boost if u wanna go for something bit more neutral. it might help with the wobbly sounds ur getting.

Floridabwoy · #4 04-13-2010, 07:20 AM

yeah... never past 12 for me either. Why would you, between the character & drive there are a ton of different sounds. Personally, I keep my character at 9 or 12 (depends on the rig I am playing on) and the drive at around 11 for that hot tubey pissed off 70's svt sound

dannybuoy · #5 04-13-2010, 07:48 AM

The VT does indeed 'flub' with bass heavy notes. 2 things I found to improve things:

- Turn the character up past 12 and lower your gain slightly. This boosts the midrange and reduces bass into the clipping section where the flubbery happens. Decrease the mid control to compensate and boost the bass a little to suit. Try mids at 10 o'clock, character 2, bass 1, treble 10.

- Put another OD in front of it. I don't know how, but even with a BB Preamp set to boost the bass slightly, the VT sounds so much better down in the low end.

I've not tried it, but I think something like the Mossapotamus Parablender would work well, a crossover that keeps your deep lows clean, sending everything above the lowest mids into the VT. Same concept as the Fender Sublime Bass Fuzz, which unlike most muffs, can handle really hot bassy signals with ease.

faceinbass · #6 04-13-2010, 10:37 AM

Get an SFT.

The most dynamic OD pedal available imo.

Ric5 · #7 04-13-2010, 10:39 AM

I find the vt bass pedal to be an excellent character pedal but not a good distortion pedal. I run it parallel with other effect to round out my sound.

alirazz · #8 04-13-2010, 10:40 AM

Personally, I like TS clones the best..
I would recommend you check out the xotic bb bass preamp, a jacques tube blower (which I use), or this http://www.robertkeeley.com/product.php?id=36
I believe you can order the ts9dx with better bass response if you ask for it to be modded.

edit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by slapstick13

Anyone have any suggestions for a really transparent OD/ Distortion. I was thinking about a fulltone bass drive because I loved the transparency of the OCD pedal I used to have for guitar.

I didnt realize you were looking for a "transparent" OD.
Now I would say either an xotic bb or an analogman ts9dx with the silver mod

dannybuoy · #9 04-13-2010, 11:03 AM

Or a Barber LTD SR!

slapstick13 · #10 04-15-2010, 07:24 AM

Going to pick up the EHX Bass Big Muff tonight. I should put this pedal before the Vt, correct? Anyone have experience with the BBM into the VT Bass??? Hoping for the big muff to acheive what the VT cannot. Also, I got rid of some of my flubbyness with both Bannybouy and showking's advice. Thanks yall!!!