it is way too loud. unity is really difficult to acheive.
for those of us that dont leave it on, its a real bummer..
for those of us that dont leave it on, its a real bummer..
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Help please VT Bass pedal TOO LOUD!!!
- Thread starter Jjango
- Start date
Wow, very helpful thread thanks for all the great responses! 
. I like a setting where the signal starts to break up when you dig in.
I guess what I'm trying to express here is a matter of scale. I was expecting a volume boost, but not one that made the Level knob almost impossibly finicky to set it probably has a millimeter of usable travel. If the "clock" on the pedal goes from 7:00 to 5:00, my unity setting is around 7:05 it's really hard to set the Level correctly, like dialing in a distant radio station.
God forbid I ever accidentally nudge the Level knob on a gig
I'd probably blow out the PA, my amp, and every eardrum in the audience. As bassman1185 mentioned, I might actually put duct tape over the Level knob to secure it in place.
I love the overdriven kind of sounds you can get out of this pedal. You can get some fantastic grit out of this box. But even the clean-ish settings are still very, very loud.
Just to be clear, I only used the "SVT" setting as an example, to show people that I'm not dialing in crazy, all-knobs-maxed-out, "this one goes to eleven" settings. I never even tried the suggested settings until I started this thread. Oddly enough though, the setting that I came up with on my own is pretty close to the "SVT" setting, with some of the knobs only an "hour" different than those in the preset. Of course, my version has the volume knob all the way down.
Agreed, and it's pretty cool, and fun too
. I like a setting where the signal starts to break up when you dig in.Quite the contrary, on all counts: as previously noted, I knew the pedal was supposed to be sensitive, but couldn't believe it was that sensitive.
I guess what I'm trying to express here is a matter of scale. I was expecting a volume boost, but not one that made the Level knob almost impossibly finicky to set it probably has a millimeter of usable travel. If the "clock" on the pedal goes from 7:00 to 5:00, my unity setting is around 7:05 it's really hard to set the Level correctly, like dialing in a distant radio station.
God forbid I ever accidentally nudge the Level knob on a gig
I'd probably blow out the PA, my amp, and every eardrum in the audience. As bassman1185 mentioned, I might actually put duct tape over the Level knob to secure it in place.
It could also be suggested that it's that versatile....almost that dang useless?!?
It's not all that hard...try putting the level at somewhere between 8:00 and 9:00. Most people have found unity somewhere in that area.
I had wanted to check one out until this thread. I like to have the output of my pedals pretty much at unity with the bypassed signal. While the tones may be great, that strikes me as poor design IMO. What's the point in a level knob if it's almost that dang useless?!?
Don't write it off until you've tried it. Sure the volume knob is very sensitive, but it's pretty easy to set it to unity gain with a bit of fine tuning. Sure if you kick the knob on a gig you could be in trouble but you could say that about any pedal (that isn't an Ibanez!).
i have it around there. its just that, its set to the point where its off, then once i turn it up enough to hear anything, its at unity- sometimes more, depending on the gain. its so delicate.. unity really should be somewhere near noon, or atleast around 10-11 o'clock. they had to have known it was such a hott signal..but whyd they do it like that? perhaps it needs to be to run straight into a power amp?
I use this pedal every rehearsal and every gig and sometimes even at home, for recordings (guitar or bass) and my band, we are stoner rock / thrash metal, used that pedal for both guitar and bass recordings, for me it's an amazing pedal.
I also agree that the volume knob is very sensitive, I use mine in the 8-9 o'clock setting most people described here, you also have to counter the 'drive' knob, cause if it is too high, you have to lower your volume even more.
However this pedal is pretty much my tone, without it, i'd just be playing a jazz bass, but now I have a ballsy tone
another thing that might help, I do a little mid scoop, but if you do it, you shouldn't lower the mids too much, for me it makes my lower notes (low E for example) to sound distorted like I had a fuzz connected
my settings are the following (just if you want to know):
Level - 8/9:00
Bass - 12/13:00
Mid - 11:00
Treble - 13/14:00
Character - 9:00
Drive - 11/12:00
I also agree that the volume knob is very sensitive, I use mine in the 8-9 o'clock setting most people described here, you also have to counter the 'drive' knob, cause if it is too high, you have to lower your volume even more.
However this pedal is pretty much my tone, without it, i'd just be playing a jazz bass, but now I have a ballsy tone
another thing that might help, I do a little mid scoop, but if you do it, you shouldn't lower the mids too much, for me it makes my lower notes (low E for example) to sound distorted like I had a fuzz connected
my settings are the following (just if you want to know):
Level - 8/9:00
Bass - 12/13:00
Mid - 11:00
Treble - 13/14:00
Character - 9:00
Drive - 11/12:00
That doesn't strike me as versatile, not what the OP is saying with his... In his case, there's an unreasonably (in my opinion) tiny, itsy bitsy spot in the level knob's travel where the pedal is at unity and a hair's turn lower makes the sound all but go away while a hair's turn higher makes it way too loud. Yeah, any pedal's settings can get knocked out of whack with a misplaced kick, but here we're talking a volume difference that would require around a good quarter turn or more of many other level knobs. That's not versatile. Versatile would be if unity were somewhere closer to noon, had the range to go significantly above and below unity, but not so much range that a teeny tiny twist would send it out of whack. I'm not saying it's not a good pedal (I haven't been able to hear one yet, and clearly many people here love it), I'm just saying that I think they went the wrong way with the level knob on this one.
You just have to turn your amp down, nothing else you can do. Or do not use the pedal if it doesn't work for you.
If what you described in my quote occurs even when you set the Drive knob to absolutely zero then there is something "funny" in your setup. Depending on the bass I'm using, I sometimes have to set the Level knob to 12 o'clock to achieve equal volume levels.
Although this pedal has a lot of output I wouldn't exclude the option that there is something wrong with your pedal. Regarding to your description I'd say it is pretty extreme in your case.
As could the SansAmp BDDI, and neither of the two I had (one before the extra switches, one with) had that issue...
Two quick questions.
Is the level pot pc mounted or connected with leads?
Is the level pot a linier taper?
Maybe switching to an audio taper pot and/or of lesser value (250k vs 500k) may make the pedal more usable for you.
MM
Is the level pot pc mounted or connected with leads?
Is the level pot a linier taper?
Maybe switching to an audio taper pot and/or of lesser value (250k vs 500k) may make the pedal more usable for you.
MM
Can anyone with direct experience with both the VT Bass and the BDDI (Programmable, Deluxe, or standard with boost) comment on how the output of the two compares? I've used a Deluxe and a BDDI to drive a power amp, both with the boost button engaged, and neither had a super-hot output in my experience.
Thanks,
-jb
Thanks,
-jb
its rocknroll if its loud
I dunno... the solution is pretty simple.... Just turn the level control down (probably below 9:00). Yes, there's likely more gain there than necessary, which makes the control a bit touchy, but it's really not that big an issue.
you little girly boys make me sick! waaaaaahhh! it's too loud! waaaaaahhhhh!
there is a reason it's that loud when using heavy distortion. if you will notice, the vt does not only overdriven sounds but it also does clean sounds. its clean tones are just as impressive as its dirty tones. and sansamp wanted people to also use it as a clean boost. so when you make it clean and turn it up all the way, you get a clean boost. so to be able to go all the way clean to all the way dirty, you have to work the volume control so you don't blow up your amp. big deal. if it's THAT sensitive, you probably have it up too far to sound good anyway
there is a reason it's that loud when using heavy distortion. if you will notice, the vt does not only overdriven sounds but it also does clean sounds. its clean tones are just as impressive as its dirty tones. and sansamp wanted people to also use it as a clean boost. so when you make it clean and turn it up all the way, you get a clean boost. so to be able to go all the way clean to all the way dirty, you have to work the volume control so you don't blow up your amp. big deal. if it's THAT sensitive, you probably have it up too far to sound good anyway
you little girly boys make me sick! waaaaaahhh! it's too loud! waaaaaahhhhh!
there is a reason it's that loud when using heavy distortion. if you will notice, the vt does not only overdriven sounds but it also does clean sounds. its clean tones are just as impressive as its dirty tones. and sansamp wanted people to also use it as a clean boost. so when you make it clean and turn it up all the way, you get a clean boost. so to be able to go all the way clean to all the way dirty, you have to work the volume control so you don't blow up your amp. big deal. if it's THAT sensitive, you probably have it up too far to sound good anyway
agreed. i love mine- sure it takes a bit to get acquainted with how the knobs interact, but it's not impossible to get unity gain out of it or anything. ignore the bogus suggested settings, just play with it until you find tones (and volumes) you like.
