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New: Tech 21 VT-500 Bass Amp

#421
WANTMTD said:
Good thought. I'll get a good power conditioner on order and hopefully have it for this weekends gig.
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Don't waste your money. Most "power conditioners" do nothing to regulate voltage, and those that do often make the problem worse by overshooting and hunting.
 
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#424
WANTMTD said:
I recently have had my VT500 cut out on me a couple of times while gigging. It reset itself almost immediately most of the time but the other night I had to do a manual on/off to reset and it wasn't immediate as it seemed to take multiple resets and maybe some drive reduction to get it to stay on but its hard to say as I'm sure as you know when the bass drops out you panic and try everything at blistering pace to get it back. I play mostly passive bass and the other night when it went I was playing passive. I was wondering could I be driving the input to hard at time with my compressor as that's usually all I run in front. I try to make sure the output is the same when the compressor is on or off. I cant duplicate this problem while practicing. Should I engage the Pad while using a compressor or any other pedals ? Another thing is I'm in Florida and play some outdoor gigs always out of direct sunlight but with varying amounts of humidity but some of these dropouts have happened in air conditioned venues. Any thoughts ? Could I have a sensitive unit ?
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What cabs were you using and how were they connected?
 
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#426
WANTMTD said:
Im using two Avatar 12" 8 ohm cabs and connecting them using speakon cables w/14 awg wire. Im cabling from the back of the amp to the one speakers then cabled from speaker one to speaker two. Should I drop to 12 awg ?
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I'll assume you're running in parallel at 4 ohms. 14 gauge should be fine. Was the amp unobstructed? What were the settings? In hot direct sunlight that would cause the amp to go into thermal protection. It's kind of like a car in bumper to bumper traffic on a hot day. The temperature keeps rising. Always best to put it in the shade or shield it. Inside in the AC shouldn't happen though. Same settings?
 
#427
tech21nyc said:
I'll assume you're running in parallel at 4 ohms. 14 gauge should be fine. Was the amp unobstructed? What were the settings? In hot direct sunlight that would cause the amp to go into thermal protection. It's kind of like a car in bumper to bumper traffic on a hot day. The temperature keeps rising. Always best to put it in the shade or shield it. Inside in the AC shouldn't happen though. Same settings?
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Yes I am running in parallel. I haven't found any consistency yet except it only happens at gigging volumes. I play in two bands one being fairly loud classic rock the other being 60-70 Pop R&B but not to loud. It has cutout during both gigs but only for a second or so. The last time was was for around 10-12 seconds but that was with the louder band in humid conditions. It has happened in both air conditioned and hot but shaded outdoor venues. I plan on spending some quality time with it between now and my next gig to see if I can narrow it down but Ill sure to bring my Eden as a backup although it is a little under powered but it will get me by.
 
#428
Something sounds off. How long have you had it? It might be best to send it in for evaluation. If you're still within the return period with the dealer you purchased it from I suggest just sending it back and getting a new one. If it's past that point you should contact out support team.

Tech 21 USA, Inc.
Tel: 973-777-6996
Fax: 973-777-9899
email: [email protected]
 
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#431
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#433
I just got my VT-500 after months of waiting. I am using it with a bass fly rig and the B112- VT cabinet. So far I love it and the sounds are exactly what I was looking for. I do have one question has anyone noticed excessive fan noise or am I just being nit picky? On my amp the fan turns on 5-10 minutes in and stays on. Granted I am in my home in a quite room so it could just be the lack of background noise, but I just haven't thought that I have pushed the amp enough to cause the fan to engage. Other than that I cant wait to try it with my band and get another 112 cabinet.
 
#436
tech21nyc said:
Something sounds off. How long have you had it? It might be best to send it in for evaluation. If you're still within the return period with the dealer you purchased it from I suggest just sending it back and getting a new one. If it's past that point you should contact out support team.

Tech 21 USA, Inc.
Tel: 973-777-6996
Fax: 973-777-9899
email: [email protected]
Click to expand...
So after a couple of more gigs I think I have figured out the problem. It seems to only go into protect with my Jazz bass. I was playing an outdoor gig at fairly high volume and had the amp go to protect a half dozen times but only for a second or so. I thought my compressor maybe sending a too hot signal to the amp so I checked to see if it was set at unity and it was so I unplugged and went straight in with a couple of more cutouts. I then pressed the Pad button and everything was fine for the rest of the night. I guess the Jazz output is just to hot for the input. I have a Carvin active bass and a Reverend Passive P that do not present the same problem. The Carvin output when set flat is quieter then the Jazz so I have never had to Pad the amp for that bass. Any experience this with the VT500 or any other amps with a Jazz. I guess with a clip light or some sort of metering I would have figured this out quicker..
 
#439
hi, is there any way to mount this amp to a board/rack, other than the rack mount kit (it's not available in europe).
are there threads/windings hidden under the rubber feet of this amp?
i also thought about drilling my own brackets to attach to the side of the amp, but then again the threads on the side of the amp seem really small. does anyone know which size screws i would need?

edit:
just found this:
https://www.thomann.de/de/markbass_rack_mount.htm

the markbass amps are just 0.6cm wider than the vt500, maybe the dimensions of the 3 holes are standardized and this could fit on the vt500 as well? any experience?
 
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