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SansAmp news from NAMM
- Thread starter Munjibunga
- Start date
I think the character control is very similar in range to the mid control, except that it has a very different effect since it's placed before the clipping stage instead of after.
Stop. Scooping. The. Mids.
Blend knob? Awesome. DI? Fine. Still no sweepable midrange? Disappointing.
As mentioned before, Tech 21, you're almost there. Sweepable mids (with a Q width control?) would make this pedal a SERIOUS must-have.
I definitely agree with you man. That's the only thing that irks me about my BDDI is the lack of a mid control of any kind. Obviously they had something in mind when manufacturing it with a set mid, but damn, mids are where it's at for bassists. If the Bass Driver Deluxe had a nice, flexible mid control, I'd be doing some pretty terrible things to raise money to buy it.
Blend knob? Awesome. DI? Fine. Still no sweepable midrange? Disappointing.
As mentioned before, Tech 21, you're almost there. Sweepable mids (with a Q width control?
Respectfully, it's hard to have a pedal that emulates an SVT if it doesn't scoop the mids. Most all vintage heads have scooped mids. Fender tone stack starts with a deeply scooped mid. The Orange bass heads have scooped mids. Scooped mids can sound great if done correctly.
Also, in regard to the sweepable mid, I disagree with the VT needing this, and I love the sweepable mid control on my Tone Hammer. This pedal is designed to sound like an Ampeg head. They designed the Character control very carefully to get that down without having to confuse people with a sweepable mid. If you want a chameleon-like pedal, I suggest folks get a Tone Hammer or something else. The VT Bass pedals have a specific design purpose, and that's why they have been so hugely popular.
It would ne nice to have the sweepable mids but wouldnt adding a good eq through your effects loop work better ? The sweepable mids only lets you cut or boost one frequency.
With the narrow bandwidth of the VT Bass, a single sweepable mid combined with the well voice high and low controls would likely be enough. This is how the Tone Hammer behaves with the AGS engaged. On a wider voiced pedal, then having dual sweepable mids can be much more powerful. But still, in regard to the VT Bass, I don't think adding a sweepable mid would Tech 21 accomplish their goal of providing a pedal that emulates an Ampeg rig. The Character and Mid control are different enough in their mid control that essentially it is like having two mid controls, especially if one knows how they interact with the high and low controls. I've never once felt like I needed a sweepable mid with the VT pedals, which is in stark contrast to the Tone Hammer for example where it is essential. I love both of those pedals.
Another way to illustrate what I'm trying to say is that the bandwidth of the Tone Hammer with the AGS on is almost the same as the VT, yet they sound very different. With some pretty extreme tweaking of the highs, mids and lows on the Tone Hammer, I can get it to sound pretty close to a VT at most any setting. There are some slight character differences of course, but the Tone Hammer can be made to fool most people. The EQ changes required to do this though are likely things that most people would never coax out of the pedal because they are so exreme in terms of how far the knobs have to be turned.
This is the genius of Tech 21's design on the VT pedals though. The default voicing is not flat at all, unlike the Tone Hammer which is nearly flat, and the Character knob takes the VT in many different directions with a simple twist, and then one just adjusts the 3 fixed EQ point to get the tone they are after. It's genius is in the simplicity, and it's why it has been so popular. It lets rank amaetuers get an Ampeg-like tone and feel without any fuss. A sweepable mid would only hinder most people.
Ok, don't take this as attitude but, for the 1000th time, a real 70's svt isn't scooped out like the VT's flat setting or especially not the bass driver. I've had my svt on a scope and it is relatively flat except for a roughly 2db, very wide boost centered around 250hz. Thats why it sounds so much more full and punchy than the ampeg cl. The cl is scooped. And yes, my custom mid control on my VT rack does make it sound alot more like a real svt. The only way my svt sounds like a sansamp product is if I use the bass boost switch (big mid scoop) engage the bright switch and basically try to make it sound thin and crappy. Yes fender and orange products are very scooped, not a real svt. A cl is not a real svt. Accept it. With my custom vt rack I use the speaker sim defeat switch to roll off the gank, gain 9:00, high 10:00 and then use the custom mid to boost somewhere in the 200-500hz range. Through the pa or recording this sounds like a real amp. An svt. The stock mid on the vt is actually centered around 1khz instead of the listed 500hz and is much to wide to be useful except for gutting your tone or making it more upper mid aggressive. ........Im sorry, I guess that Im getting tired of new threads popping up covering the same things, same arguements, guys giving opinions on gear they've never actually used, or gear they have never actually used at a gig. And especially guys talking about svt tone when they have never used a 70's svt through an 8x10 live. This isn't a jab at anyone specifically, just a rant about gear I own and know. Yes, I hate the BDDI and Yes I do really like the VT2. I just wish that tech21 would get it all together at once and just sell the crap out of a great product. Take the new VTDI, add a 1 octave bandwidth sweepable mid and just be done with it. You will have actually put out a product that actually does most of what an svt does but in a pedal. I would buy it. If the VTDI eq effects the clean side I won't buy it. If it doesn't, I'll probably get one and have putnam mod it to be right.
I personally dont care how much it sounds like a 70s SVT. As long as it sounds good and gets the tone I want.
Yes. People on here did an analysis of what all the knobs did and all the way down scooped the mids and the more you turned it the more mids and drive were added. And the more mids it added the more it was concentrated on the hi mids if I recall correctly.
+1 on having Mike Putnam add a sweepable mid range knob. I was the first one he did it for and it really comes in handy.
I've never owned a tech21 pedal that had a blend. Someone answered this question for me before, but I don't remember. If you have the blend completely off, meaning that you're not using any of the VT's character sound, do all the eq knobs still work? Cause there's still a lot of clank that I'd like to eliminate when going direct.
+1 to that.
The naysayers will ignore test results, no matter how accurately they are produced.
The world is flat, SVT are scooped and electric basses produce no fundamental.
Dogma is King... so there is no point in getting upset about it.
Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up. And all that.
Yup.
That first putnam mid mod moves the mid frequency around but it's still super wide. I had a pedal with that mod. My mid mod is an actual seperate circuit placed after the vt circuit. Works very well.
That first putnam mid mod moves the mid frequency around but it's still super wide. I had a pedal with that mod. My mid mod is an actual seperate circuit placed after the vt circuit. Works very well.
Also not attitude, just asking here...it sounds like you've found a moderately priced mod to a mass-marketed product in order to obtain the precise sound that you're after, and no one else will have what you've got...at least no one you're going to bump into on the street...so, isn't that a good thing? It seems like I'd rather have "my recipe" be something a little different than the barbque sauce in a jar at the grocery store (sorry for the lame anology, I'm from Texas and it's almost 2pm and I haven't had lunch).
I've got a few things going on with my setup that I wouldn't hide but I also wouldn't necessarily want sold in stores. Does that make any sense?
Does anyone know if Mike Putnam will/can mod a VT (i imagine the VTDI wouldn't be too much different) with a variable Q width control in addition to the ever-popular sweepable mid? I know i can just ask him, but i thought i'd try here first in case someone's already investigated it.
