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Excellent points.
On a related note: for hard rock I prefer bright bass tones, and it works better when I put my "sizzle machine" last in the chain because the higher freqs can be muted by a warmer pedal. Of course others might prefer a warmer pedal to go last.
As you say: experiment!
Dipped my toe back into Tech 21 territory with a V1 VT Bass Deluxe. I have owned the VT Bass, VT Bass Deluxe and VTDI in the past but at no stage did I understand that;
1. The treble is mostly boost only
2. That the character not only affects mids pre drive, but it also adds harmonic content as it's pushed higher
So in the past I had started out with everything at 12 o'clock and thought to myself "way too clanky". I kinda eq'd with my eyes too much. Plus I had also tried to use each preamp as an overdrive and I'm not a fan of the woolly nature of the overdrive.
So recently I had been reading many of the threads about this line of pedals and managed to pick up the V1 Deluxe at a decent price. I'm using this straight into the front end of my amp (a Hartke LH500). I chose this amp many years ago mostly due to the fact it has minimal tonal options as I choose to get colour from my pedal board.
I must say - I am loving my tone now that I know how to use the EQ and Character knobs. My setting below are primarily used to get a clean tone as I get my driven tones from an EBS Billy Sheehan Deluxe.
Signal chain is P bass with nickel rounds - EBS Multicomp - EBS Billy Sheehan - VT Bass Deluxe - LH500 - Ashdown ABM 410\810.
VT settings;
Drive - 9 o'clock
Character - 10 o'clock
Bass - 1 o'clock
Mid - 1 o'clock
Treble - between 7 and 9 o'clock
Level - 12 o'clock
Also - my unit has the always-on cab sim. I don't mind or detect the drop off above 4.5khz as I usually roll off below that anyway but what I really like is that the low end filtering let's me push the bass up a bit....more booty without getting boomy.
Loving it. It's the happiest I've been with my tone for a long time.
1. The treble is mostly boost only
2. That the character not only affects mids pre drive, but it also adds harmonic content as it's pushed higher
So in the past I had started out with everything at 12 o'clock and thought to myself "way too clanky". I kinda eq'd with my eyes too much. Plus I had also tried to use each preamp as an overdrive and I'm not a fan of the woolly nature of the overdrive.
So recently I had been reading many of the threads about this line of pedals and managed to pick up the V1 Deluxe at a decent price. I'm using this straight into the front end of my amp (a Hartke LH500). I chose this amp many years ago mostly due to the fact it has minimal tonal options as I choose to get colour from my pedal board.
I must say - I am loving my tone now that I know how to use the EQ and Character knobs. My setting below are primarily used to get a clean tone as I get my driven tones from an EBS Billy Sheehan Deluxe.
Signal chain is P bass with nickel rounds - EBS Multicomp - EBS Billy Sheehan - VT Bass Deluxe - LH500 - Ashdown ABM 410\810.
VT settings;
Drive - 9 o'clock
Character - 10 o'clock
Bass - 1 o'clock
Mid - 1 o'clock
Treble - between 7 and 9 o'clock
Level - 12 o'clock
Also - my unit has the always-on cab sim. I don't mind or detect the drop off above 4.5khz as I usually roll off below that anyway but what I really like is that the low end filtering let's me push the bass up a bit....more booty without getting boomy.
Loving it. It's the happiest I've been with my tone for a long time.
One thing I appreciate about SansAmp EQ controls is that many of them have their bass control centered higher than the typical 40 Hz - on my Para Driver it's 80 Hz and on the VT Driver it's 125 Hz. Great way to give your tone some more "booty" as you say without being muddy.
As for the character knob, you are correct to point out that it changes the fundamental final characteristic. The VT pedal is made to model below various Ampeg amp models. According to the manual, below 12:00 is SVT territory (hence the VT in the pedal name), noon is a classic B15 flip-top time, and above noon the gain starts to boost for a crunchier more "modern rock" sound. That's a neat feature but it does mean you need to fudge with your other knobs to really dial in a good sound. Glad you found one that works for you!
Ok, as I have been using my ne BDDI (previous post pic) , I noticed that it has a "microphonic" noise coming from it whenever any part of the pedal housing is tapped. What I mean is , if the pedal is on, nothing in the input and by the pedal is by itself out of the chain, if I tap with my finger anywhere on the housing it acts as a microphone and the tapping is extremely audible though the amp. This does not happen with any of the 20+ pedals I have. Thoughts anyone?
Wonderful unit, some notes is that the air control disengages a mid notch present. The rumble filter is not the typical high pass but more like a broad shelving cut to give the FR a rise around 1.5k. I find the rumble filter amazing for electric guitar sounds. I also love diming the bass knob with the rumble filter on for bass guitar. It has a really fat but bright tone.
The dB SPL should be interpreted as relative.
All filters disengaged, knobs at noon.
Rumble Filter:
Air Filter:
So yeah, just sharing some info on the less intuitive features of the pedal since that really unlocks its utility in my opinion.
Higher settings of Drive and Presence can make the pedal more sensitive to this. You may want to possibly alter your settings or reduce the Blend. Testing pedals with nothing plugged in is not a way to test them. Also, the pedal should be set to unity gain.
The Bass Driver produces "intentional" distortion and behaves like a tube amp.
Good morning everyone, I am a happy owner of the bass driver DI v2, I would like to combine it with the vt bass or the bass fly rig v2, do you think this is a good idea? I am aware that the bass fly rig v2 is based on the vt bass and the bddi v2.. any advice?
Does the BFR v2 embrace the vibe of the BDDI v2?? If so, I'd get the Fly-Rig and sell the BDDI.
Riis
I would use the XLR on your BDDIv2 in the chain after the BFRv2 so that your DI signal on the BDDIv2 can use the -20db XLR button if needed, and you can also use the 1/4" parallel out to your stage amp.
That way, you can use the BFRv2 as a stomp-box strip in front of your always-on BDDIv2, and add anything else you want in the effects loop on the BFRv2. You'd have footswitch access to dirty tones on the BFRv2's VT circuit with the additional ability to swap between two different drive settings thanks to the channel footswitch.
Thank you very much.. in this way I would have more sound options.. plus I can use the chorus and compressor of the BFR.. thank you so much for your advice..
It does, but with less fine control than a standalone BDDI. One thing I liked about the Fly Rig though is that it has two channels, you can set it up so that one is a clean channel and one has some overdrive, or have both with the same gain settings but different levels so you have a clean boost.
In fact, I think I have understood that the BFR, despite originating from the vt bass and the bass driver DI , is not the same as having them independently... the situation of being able to stack the bass driver DI or the vt bass on the fly rig is interesting...
I’m using my SH-1 into a Tone Hammer DI. The THDI is always on and I add boost and dirt with the SH-1 (also serves as tuner/mute). The SH-1 is on the floor with the 1/4 out feeding the THDI, which is up on my cab, next to my amp. I send the XLR out from the THDI, and the 1/4 out into the front of my amp. Sounds really good. I’d like try swapping out the THDI with a BDDI just to see what sounds I can get.
I had the SH1 and now I would like to buy the BFR.. the SH1 is beautiful but the Fly rig interests me more for chorus and compressor..
If you're not terribly discerning, the BFR will be fine. The functions are good / passable but nothing spectacular.
Riis
The way I look at it, the BDDI is designed to integrate into a rig whereas a BFR is intended to function as a stand alone rig.
For example, I use the BDDI in a fairly traditional way. I the BDDI is fed to FOH, and I run an Ampeg amp
in parallel for my stage sound. The stage amp can then be mic'd and blended with the sound from the BDDI.
The BFR can't do this as there's no parallel out option that sends the effects to the stage amp and the SansAmp to FOH.
It's kind of an all-in setup, which is cool if I'm going into a random backline amp and I want to make it sound more or less like an Ampeg, but if that backline amp happens to be an Ampeg I have no way to shut off the SansAmp to the amp while sending the SansAmp to FOH.
For this reason, I see the BFR as a rig-replacement and not a pedalboard replacement. If I were looking for a pedalboard replacement I'd probably look more towards a Helix.
IMO/YMMV
