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Tech 21 Rackmount Preamps

#25
Ive owned both, they both sound great. I really liked the punch I got out of the VT Bass but it was kinda a one trick pony IMO. I couldnt find 5 other tones I really liked to justify owning the deluxe version. The BDDI I could dial in plenty of great tones. I ended up selling the VT and Keeping the BDDI but almost immediately decided I missed the punch from the VT and sold the BDDI. Now Im waiting for either the VT rack or the new VT DI pedal which has a few more features over the regular VT pedal.
 
#26
I haven't been much of one for effects but the Tech 21 pedals seem highly recommended and I'm looking for something to use with my Genz Benz Shuttle Max 9.2 and Streamliner 900 amps. The SM9.2 already has a very versatile EQ section but could use a bit more character and attitude for me. From watching the Sweetwater demo, the drive, character, and blend controls, along with tube emulation look like they would complement the SM9.2 nicely. The STM900 amp, on the other hand, just oozes with tubey goodness and has a lot of the character I really dig but could benefit from additional EQ shaping (more mid presence).

The Para Driver DI and VT Bass DI both have Level, Treble, Mid, Bass, Drive, and Blend knobs. The difference seems to be that the PDI provides a sweepable semi-parametric mid while the VTDI has built-in speaker emulation with a character knob. I'm leaning toward the VT Bass DI because I think the harmonic variety provided by the speaker emulation and character knob would add more to the sound than the sweepable mid. Any thoughts on which model would be best to use with these amps as described? Also, does anyone know the center frequency of the mid knob?
 
#35
If the RBI has a high pass filter then it's not very steep. I've got a graphic EQ in my rig and you can definitely hear the difference when cutting any band on the EQ (apart from the super high frequencies).
Dunno why everyone is fussing over the high pass filter though. Anything under 40hz is pretty useless. Some styles require even higher cuts up to 60hz.
 
#38
Neither the RPM or RBI are lacking in the low end department - if anything, there is too much deep low end in the RBI which is exacerbated by the lack of mids. Don't get hung up on specs - there are too many other factors going on in a design - let your ears decide. I don't think there is low pass filtering at 80Hz - that is the frequency where the bass control is centered, and it works very well IME.
 

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