I have one too. When did they discontinue it?
Edit:Still shown on their website.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Edit:Still shown on their website.
So
Received an email from the company stating it was now terminated.
Glad I have one.
from Tech21:
We are no longer making the VT Bass 500 and do not have a replacement planned at this time.
Sometime this year.
Received an email from the company stating it was now terminated.
Glad I have one.
from Tech21:
We are no longer making the VT Bass 500 and do not have a replacement planned at this time.
I know a lot of people (me included) took issue with the fact that you couldn't change the volume of the VT Bass 500 without also changing the DI level. For those of us that cared about such things something like a VTDI paired with a different amp was a superior option. IMO match with your favorite little Class D guy for basically the same thing but with controls more suited to the stage.
Thank you so much for your reply .. in fact I have the idea, after contacting the Tech 21 staff, to stack the bass fly rig v1 and sh1 .. and I'm really curious about the result
Maybe you are already familiar with stacking, but if not: don't fear it! I'm kicking myself because for many years I thought that it made no sense to stack distortions, at least not for bass. I eventually learned that plenty of bassists do exactly that, and these days some of my favorite personal bass tones come from stacking. Dirt alchemy can be a little tricky (e.g. two sizzly distortions stacked can result in squeal) but with good judgment and practice, the results can be amazing. Sometimes you have to set one or both pedals a bit cleaner than you normally run them... but not always! Depends on the result you want. Experimentation can be fun, and definitely let us know what you think about stacking those two!
I exactly agree with you! I like the idea of being able to experiment because often as you said many sounds that I like are the result of a stacking .. it will be fun
I didn't realize that. Maybe that's why the store I got it from discounted it so heavily. If I told you what I paid, you wouldn't believe me!
I amend my previous statement: if I found an unbelievable deal on the VT 500 then I wouldn't let the DI issue get in the way.
I amend my previous statement: if I found an unbelievable deal on the VT 500 then I wouldn't let the DI issue get in the way.
Most of my gigs these days don't require a DI, so I'm OK with that. But I'm very impressed with it so far.
How to sound fantastic and drive your sound engineer nuts at the same time! 
- Oct 22, 2015
- 21,153
- 256,486
- Disclosures
- I am an affiliate for Ari Cap.
My Rumble 200 and GK MB112 both have that issue....which really isn't a big issue. Set up your stage volume and any minor tweaks should be easy for FOH.I amend my previous statement: if I found an unbelievable deal on the VT 500 then I wouldn't let the DI issue get in the way.
I wonder if the VTDI is any different than the deluxe? I messed with the eq on the Deluxe and the bass was not very low (or as low as I wanted). I guess it just wasn't clean/fat/low enough for what I was going for at the time. Not a dig on it, different strokes. Definitely not afraid to use eq...and at times that is a bad habit for me too
How hard is it to put on a master after the DI? It's just one of those quality of life issues.
Yes, I want to be able to adjust my stage volume without it changing the volume FOH, regardless of if it's an easy adjustment for FOH. It doesn't have to need one to begin with.
My assumption is that, while there is a DI on the thing, they probably included it more so that the amp could be used for recording, and less as an interface to FOH. Much like the little VT Bass 200, I get the sense that they're not really targeting gigging musicians with these amps (not that gigging musicians won't be able to put them to good use).
They're probably assuming that most gigging musicians already have an amp they like and are more interested in their standalone preamps. It's probably true.
Hehe, imagine if you turning up your IEM volume turned up the volume for the entire venue. Absurd, right?
I know some people really wanted the VT Bass Deluxe to include a blend knob (like the VT Bass DI), but that there simply wasn't the real estate available on the circuit board.
That never bothered me.
If @tech21nyc ever revisit the Deluxe format, there are a couple modifications that I feel would greatly improve an already brilliant pedal.
1. Mode Switch : select between Preset Mode (default Deluxe model operation) and Knob Mode (standard non-Deluxe model operation).
2. LED Switch : select between Blink Mode (default Deluxe model operation) and Steady Mode (standard non-Deluxe model operation).
There are frequently times, both at gigs, and in the studio, where you want to use a carfeully crafted preset as a starting point, but absolutely do not want to overwrite that preset with tweaks that you make.
A mode switch would allow you to call up a favourite preset, then switch to Knob Mode, and have the freedom to disengage / engage the pedal, without losing all the modifications you have made.
Knob mode effectively turns the unit into a regular pedal, where you can power it down, and the next time you plug it in, the effect is wherever you left the knobs pointed, not what is stored in the preset.
Another benefit that could be implemented, is the possibility to be making modifications to preset 1A, switch to Knob Mode, navigate to bank B, and save the new tone in preset slot 3B, then switch back to Preset Mode - for example.
I think the LED Switch is self explanatory, but it can be irritating having a light blinking at you all gig / session (when, for the reasons I mentioned earlier, you don't want to overwrite an existing preset).
With Knob Mode, you wouldn't want the lights blinking - it would make sense if Knob Mode only utilised the LEDs in Steady Mode, so perhaps the LED Switch would only apply to Preset Mode, in which case it might be less confusing if it simply switched between regular operation, and turning the LEDs off completely.
Seems to me that a lot of gigging musicians are switching to micro amps for the obvious reasons. Fact is, I bought a micro with built in overdrive because even pre-pandemic I began playing smaller gigs in cramped conditions.
But that's my anecdotal experience. Maybe Tech21 has better marketing data... or maybe they discontinued the current VT 500 to replace it with a more gig-friendly version.
Truth is that for most of my gigs, FOH is for vox and kick only. But I do sometimes get FOH support and definitely prefer the freedom of tweaking my stage volume (to keep up with the damn guitarists) without affecting the FOH send.
