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New Tech 21 VT Bass 300 Head!

#143
aledeville said:
Why drop the speaker emulation? This is part of the VT sound... it's not like guitarstuff, where the direct signal is unusable. The VT simulates a miked 810 (closed), that's why there is a rolloff in the deep bass and the high frequencies.
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Yes, I agree the emulation is fine for going direct- live or studio, and as I said in my post-I can understand it being available on the DI out of the amp- but when you're going to use the amp with a bass cab, why would you need speaker emulation?

I can understand if someone is playing through a very neutral sounding cab and they want to add some character. But I would assume that some folks might actually want to use this amp with an 8x10 cab, why emulate what you've already got?

I noticed Tech 21 has a button on the Leeds pedal to turn the emulation on/off- so the user can choose to engage the effect.
I also read somewhere that the emulation is voiced to work best with 10" speakers- it might be nice to be able to experiment with the emulation on/off through different cabs.

Not a deal breaker by any means :bassist:- I figured if we were all making a wish list for this amp Mk II, I would chime in- I have no complaints about my VT pedal, BDI, or original Sansamp. Tech 21 builds excellent products.

I would also +1 to the idea of a blend knob- for the same reason- expanding the tonal options available.
 
#144
Kirkowitz said:
Yes, I agree the emulation is fine for going direct- live or studio, and as I said in my post-I can understand it being available on the DI out of the amp- but when you're going to use the amp with a bass cab, why would you need speaker emulation?

I can understand if someone is playing through a very neutral sounding cab and they want to add some character. But I would assume that some folks might actually want to use this amp with an 8x10 cab, why emulate what you've already got?
Click to expand...
doesn't hurt anything.
 
#146
Kirkowitz said:
Yes, I agree the emulation is fine for going direct- live or studio, and as I said in my post-I can understand it being available on the DI out of the amp- but when you're going to use the amp with a bass cab, why would you need speaker emulation?

I can understand if someone is playing through a very neutral sounding cab and they want to add some character. But I would assume that some folks might actually want to use this amp with an 8x10 cab, why emulate what you've already got?

I noticed Tech 21 has a button on the Leeds pedal to turn the emulation on/off- so the user can choose to engage the effect.
I also read somewhere that the emulation is voiced to work best with 10" speakers- it might be nice to be able to experiment with the emulation on/off through different cabs.

Not a deal breaker by any means :bassist:- I figured if we were all making a wish list for this amp Mk II, I would chime in- I have no complaints about my VT pedal, BDI, or original Sansamp. Tech 21 builds excellent products.

I would also +1 to the idea of a blend knob- for the same reason- expanding the tonal options available.
Click to expand...

well, it's 8x10 speaker emulation (as opposed to some other arbitrary type of speaker emulation, i suppose). if you're running through a hi-fi rig, or something much brighter or 'flatter', the 810 emulation could still be very useful for getting into that ampeg territory. I've run my VT bass pedal into both bright and dark rigs and never really noticed it making the dark rigs noticeably darker, though it helps with the bright-bright rigs.
 
#147
dmusic148 said:
Agree. Not many foks think an SVT or an 800RB aren't loud enough. C'mon already! Pretty sure most of the mega-power folks are trying to produce really huge low-end. For that, you do need big numbers. For the rest of us......300 is just fine thanks.
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I don't pump out huge low end and could live with 300W @ 4ohms for most gigs, but sometimes I run a single 8ohm 12" cab when I'm traveling light. The output of this amp at 8ohms isn't going to cut it in many instances.
 
#148
ishouldbeking said:
well, it's 8x10 speaker emulation (as opposed to some other arbitrary type of speaker emulation, i suppose). if you're running through a hi-fi rig, or something much brighter or 'flatter', the 810 emulation could still be very useful for getting into that ampeg territory. I've run my VT bass pedal into both bright and dark rigs and never really noticed it making the dark rigs noticeably darker, though it helps with the bright-bright rigs.
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That's good to hear. I've wondered if anyone has encountered a speaker cab that the 8x10 emulation produced undesirable results. Big difference for me between features expected on a $150 pedal vs an amp costing $500-$???.
That being said, I've only run my VT pedal with a couple of cabs, and it always sounds great.
I've been blowing dust out of an Acoustic 370 and a Sunn Sceptre lately, so no VT pedal necessary.
 
#149
tech21nyc said:
Allow me to respond to some of your questions and comments.

The 300 watt analog power amp in the VT Bass 300 can actually exceed it's rated output and even if it starts to clip it will do so in a musical way much like a tube amp.It was meant to be as loud as an SVT without the weight. This amp will more than hang with any loud drummer and like most bass amps is meant to be your onstage monitor or your primary sound in the average club or venue. If you are playing on a concert stage you will more than likely be using a bigger rig and be pumped through the PA as well.

The difference between an analog amp and a digital amp in terms of power is that a digital amp cannot exceed it's rated output as digital distortion is completely unusable. This is why digital amps have built in limiters. They also don't produce transients in the same way a well designed analog amp can. The benefit of digital just like analog solid state is lighter weight and a smaller amp. We all know how much an SVT head weighs.

As for our amps not offering a 2 ohm output, just remember that although many amp manufactures rate the maximum power of their amps at 2 ohm's (hence the big output ratings) this is not the safest way to run any amp as the amp can easily over heat and short out.

We chose to use conventional 1/4" speaker outs rather than speakons for a couple of reasons. One is convenience. Most cabs have 1/4" jacks and 1/4" speaker cables can be found in most music stores. The other reason was that we felt there was no need for the speakons as they are designed for higher current applications which is why we used them in our Landmark 600 amp.
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This is dissapointing in regards to categorizing all so called digital amps as having some kind of problem. Class-d is often called "Digital" but they are not. There are many manufacturers using Class-D and SMPS and they sound and perform wonderfully. Even when clipping.

You can say you picked the amp you did because you in your own listening tests thought it gave you the best sound for your preamp, but you can't really generalize all so called "digital" amps as being bad. You can try out a few of the competitive heads and amps and hear for yourself.
 
#155
Like many others before me, I'm interested. Higher wattage and Speakons would definitely make it more attractive... but I'll still give it a spin.

I don't understand the gripes about the lack of a mute... just get a tuner pedal! You should have a tuner with your live rig anyways ;)
 
#156
I think it would be o.k at jam but for a bigger gig it may struggle on its own without p.a assistance.Ive been jamming with guys that use JCM 800 heads & cabs & the drummers miked up just for jamming so it might not even cut it for pratice,
we have a hall that we can jam as loud as we want when we want` so we crank it !!
Somebody said its just the first of many new amps for Tech21,they will bring out more & stronger amps somewhere around the 1200watt region id say.... going on this amps sales.If they do bring out a more powerfull VT Amp it should be at least 1200watts @ 4ohms & have to have speakon outputs....This would be more up my alley !
 

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