New Tech 21 VT Bass 300 Head!

[Son of Bovril]

I think Tech 21 would be wise to take a read through this thread before proceeding with any new amps, there are some great ideas and good points raised by some of the posters

if only more manufacturers would do some R&D on TB before releasing their products

 

[MIJ-VI]

"New for 2011"

 

[hover]

I just can't believe some people are complaining about a 20 lb head. It's ridiculous. Throw it in a rack bag and throw it on your shoulder. Suck it up.

I'm still not sold on these 5 pound heads. Not a naysayer, but comparative to a 90+ pound vintage SVT I'd been hauling around for over a decade, I'll take this beastly 20 pounder in a heartbeat. I have a Hartke LH500 which is comparable weight, and will put one of these VT Amps in my stable too. I for one am excited about it.

Makes me wonder what y'all did 5 years ago before the mini-amp craze. Eesh.

 

[MIJ-VI]

One 4 lb. amp delivers 900 Watts RMS @ 4 ohms...

 

[Wes Whitmore]

These were mini amps 3 years ago (Yamaha 500, Portabass, Walkabouts, etc) ...this could still be the main amp because it offers things other amps dont offer. 20 pounds wont kill me. I think about racking my 3 pound GKs all the time anyhow...

 

[ninepoundjammer]

great idea. what would they call it?

"Pedal of the future" has a nice ring to it...

 

[hover]

One 4 lb. amp delivers 900 Watts RMS @ 4 ohms...

ok, well I get what you're saying, and that certainly is attractive, but in all my years of playing / touring have never needed anywhere close to 900 watts, nor a need to stow my amp in my gig bag. All I'm sayin. Whatever works for ya, more power to ya and all that.

But to Me, with all the reported problems I see with switching amp failures, and the semi-questionnable long-term reliability of the design (not only in this application, mind you) I will continue to lug around my 20 pound boat anchor.

 

[JimmyM]

I just can't believe some people are complaining about a 20 lb head. It's ridiculous. Throw it in a rack bag and throw it on your shoulder. Suck it up.

I'm still not sold on these 5 pound heads. Not a naysayer, but comparative to a 90+ pound vintage SVT I'd been hauling around for over a decade, I'll take this beastly 20 pounder in a heartbeat. I have a Hartke LH500 which is comparable weight, and will put one of these VT Amps in my stable too. I for one am excited about it.

Makes me wonder what y'all did 5 years ago before the mini-amp craze. Eesh.

either brought an svt or suffered along with inferior sound the best we could.

um, it occurs to me you were talking about weight, not tone. well i can't blame folks for wanting a 5 lb amp but sometimes i think they get ridiculous about it...

 

[cableguy]

I already have a RBI-600W power amp and a Tech 21 bass driver DI for back up/reheasal stuff. This looks very cool though and 20 lbs is nothing. My rack is around 40lbs. Remember when it was about sound and not weight? ***! Suck it up! You're bass players not singers. But the MBfusion/210Neo sounds good to unload at 2AM.

 

[cableguy]

Also hats off to Tech 21 for being Made in the USA. All my gear is and I don't mind paying a little more for that. I have never had a problem with any of my tech 21 gear in over 10 years of using it. Rock solid! Tech support is awesome as well.

 

[CharlieC]

Folks, not to be a troll here

I love Tech 21 and have purchased and used their guitar + bass products for the past 20-years

We all know that Tech 21 has a TalkBass account and I will almost guarantee you that they remain active in reading each and every post, good or bad, regarding their products

They must know about Mike Putnam's mods, they must know about what we ask for, ad-nauseum, like blend knobs

This is America and you are free to choose and buy whatever is within your means, but to me, this product is a little bit of a disappointment in the sense that it is almost like no one listens to us

You would think that as a manufacturer, every time you release a product you know people will complain. In the old days, unless you held comprehensive and costly focus groups or invested in other market research, you would not know of any complaints until release. Even still, the next generation of the same product would most likely address these complaints for the better.

TalkBass has been here talking, I think they have been here reading, but is anyone listening?

Here we are on the 3rd product in the awesome VT Bass family and we're still complaining :-(

Blend knob = $5
Finger-friendly, front-panel mute switch (specific complaint) = $5
Speakon out (a new complaint) = $5
Releasing a killer product that would have every previous customer and complainer scrambling for cash? = Priceless

Again, I love Tech 21 and hope they read this

... and if you like this product, please buy and enjoy it -- and THEN have it modded

Seriously though, wouldn't it be great if Tech 21 made a VT Bass product in a special TalkBass Edition? It would be revolutionary!

 

[JimmyM]

TalkBass has been here talking, I think they have been here reading, but is anyone listening?

i don't know...i told lloyd schwartz i'd love a programmable version of the vt and a year later they had one. i guess they only listen to me

Here we are on the 3rd product in the awesome VT Bass family and we're still complaining :-(

we are? i'm pretty happy.

Blend knob = $5
Finger-friendly, front-panel mute switch (specific complaint) = $5
Speakon out (a new complaint) = $5
Releasing a killer product that would have every previous customer and complainer scrambling for cash? = Priceless

Again, I love Tech 21 and hope they read this

... and if you like this product, please buy and enjoy it -- and THEN have it modded

svt's don't have blend knobs or front panel mutes. i'd rather have a stripped down model and the ability to mod it the way i want rather than pay extra for a lot of stuff i don't need. mike's a good guy and his prices are reasonable.

Seriously though, wouldn't it be great if Tech 21 made a VT Bass product in a special TalkBass Edition? It would be revolutionary!

i probably wouldn't get one. unless it looked real cool.

 

[seamonkey]

...

But to Me, with all the reported problems I see with switching amp failures, and the semi-questionnable long-term reliability of the design (not only in this application, mind you) I will continue to lug around my 20 pound boat anchor.

Maybe some early adopters had problems, but we are well past this stage. The technology is solid and reliable. It will prove out longer life as less heat is generated. That is less stress on the components.

 

[CharlieC]

i don't know...i told lloyd schwartz i'd love a programmable version of the vt and a year later they had one. i guess they only listen to me


we are? i'm pretty happy.


svt's don't have blend knobs or front panel mutes. i'd rather have a stripped down model and the ability to mod it the way i want rather than pay extra for a lot of stuff i don't need. mike's a good guy and his prices are reasonable.


i probably wouldn't get one. unless it looked real cool.

I think a special TalkBass Edition of the VT Bass should feature custom red hat knobs on it like James Brown on JimmyM's avatar!

He talks to Lloyd Schwartz and gets his wish for programmability, it's no wonder he's pretty happy

But wait, does an actual SVT have programmability or a character knob? Then maybe there's hope for a blend knob after all

All kidding aside, those red hat flower pot knobs might really look cool!

Cheers!

 

[JimmyM]

energy domes, not flower pots! how dare you!!!



yeah, they would look good, but devo would have their hands out.

and ok, you got me with programmability and character knob. svt's don't have them either.

 

[CharlieC]

energy domes, not flower pots! how dare you!!!



yeah, they would look good, but devo would have their hands out.

and ok, you got me with programmability and character knob. svt's don't have them either.

Energy domes, huh?

You're all class in my book, Jimmy!

Cheers!

 

[MIJ-VI]

ok, well I get what you're saying, and that certainly is attractive, but in all my years of playing / touring have never needed anywhere close to 900 watts, nor a need to stow my amp in my gig bag. All I'm sayin. Whatever works for ya, more power to ya and all that.

But to Me, with all the reported problems I see with switching amp failures, and the semi-questionnable long-term reliability of the design (not only in this application, mind you) I will continue to lug around my 20 pound boat anchor.

Based upon various posts here on TalkBass there does appear to be only one or two consistent bass amp brand name exceptions to this point.

Crown claims to have licked the instability exhibited by some Class D/SMPS designs when confronted by an iffy AC supply. We shall soon see if pro PA providers feel the same way...

 

[Gearhead43]

Most of the bass players I know aren't talkbass members, or even know what talkbass is - and don't care.

The world of bass amp designing and market would go on it's own happy little way if this forum dissapeared and not bat an eyelid.

The whole "they aren't listening to us (ie:me) " thing is kind of stupid, IMO.

 

[skychaserhigh]

Why does anyone need a blend knob on this amp ? It's made to sound like an svt.
Mute switch ? Why ? It will come with a footswitch or you could use a pedal tuner as i do.

It looks an awesome amp but some people will never be happy......

 

[hover]

Imma gonna have to go with Gearhead and Skychaser on this one.

You don't like it? Don't freakin buy it. And a blend knob, from an r&d and production / retooling standpoint is MUCH MORE than 5 dollars. And to what, appease a few people calling for it? To me, moot point. I understand meeting certain features some would consider "standard equipment", but I'd rather keep the feature set where it's at, keep the signal pure, the components first-rate and reliable, than just running a checklist of features just to say it has this and that.

It is what it is: the LM with a VT pre. Easily retrofitted to current casings, and a different tone flavor, and a desirable one at that...Line 6 has been doing the same thing forever with their pedals / pods.