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Tech 21 Rackmount Preamps

#41
Swear by my RPM, waiting for the VT RM and The VT BASS DI.
Right now the RPM is going into a Crest CA9.
I couldn't ask for more except for the above mentioned.
Only want one of those two new bad boys.
By the way, have used the Tech21 stuff now for, oh, the past 10 years.
And for me, it's just the sound/tone i want.
 
#42
Zooberwerx said:
Was unaware of this and does not hold true IME. Would you please cite a reference for that particular spec?

Riis
Click to expand...
Yeah, I agree that eq on a preamp below about 80hz is less useful. I have not actually tried the RPM yet but I'm trying to figure out how it might sound for me. I figured I'd just ask the source.
I called up Tech 21 Tech Support on the phone. I asked if the RPM has built in hpf'ing and he said yes. I then asked for the frequency starting point of the hpf and he told me 80hz. But several of you folks use the RPM with great results. I'll just have to try out an RPM.
 
#43
DrumsAndBass said:
Yeah, I agree that eq on a preamp below about 80hz is less useful. I have not actually tried the RPM yet but I'm trying to figure out how it might sound for me. I figured I'd just ask the source.
I called up Tech 21 Tech Support on the phone. I asked if the RPM has built in hpf'ing and he said yes. I then asked for the frequency starting point of the hpf and he told me 80hz. But several of you folks use the RPM with great results. I'll just have to try out an RPM.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Must be a fairly shallow roll-off. I still have to use my amp's 50 hz hpf to tame things down a bit but that may be rig-specific (mine). In any regard, there's a buttload of low end....you shouldn't have any problem finding a tone to your liking. Thanks for sharing the research.

Riis
 
#46
Fuzzbass said:
I've got my eye on the VT-RM. Not sure why, I have enough preamps already (GAS). Anyway, I assume it's not yet available. The website used to say the ETA was May, but then it got bumped to July. Hopefully it won't get bumped again.
Click to expand...

Me too!
 
#47
Fuzzbass said:
Anyway: love my RBI and RPM. And now I'm GASsing for the VT-RM.
Click to expand...
+1
I have the IOD and SVP-Pro

Fuzzbass said:
I've got my eye on the VT-RM
Click to expand...
+1
I have the VT Bass v2 pedal

Fuzzbass said:
Not sure why, I have enough preamps already (GAS).
Click to expand...
+100
I have an IOD and SVP-Pro, neither of which gets a whole lot of use...

It's a disease... :D

I'm very curious to see if the differences between RPM and VTRM are well defined anywhere.
The VT Bass v2 pedal sounds nice... but is VERY noisy when I kick it on.
 
#48
bgavin said:
+1
I have the IOD and SVP-Pro

+1
I have the VT Bass v2 pedal

+100
I have an IOD and SVP-Pro, neither of which gets a whole lot of use...

It's a disease... :D

I'm very curious to see if the differences between RPM and VTRM are well defined anywhere.
The VT Bass v2 pedal sounds nice... but is VERY noisy when I kick it on.
Click to expand...

RPM: check
IOD: check
SVP-Pro: check
VT Bass v2 pedal -- not quite, I have the VT Deluxe. :p

I also have the RBI... not your thing, I know.

Yeah, I'm interested in the details of the VT-RM. I'm hoping it's similar to the other Tech21 rackmounts: rear input as well as front, footswitching, FX loop, clean/dry for both 1/4" and XLR.
 
#49
Fuzzbass said:
RPM: check
IOD: check
SVP-Pro: check
VT Bass v2 pedal -- not quite, I have the VT Deluxe. :p

I also have the RBI... not your thing, I know.
Click to expand...
I find it interesting you have the two I own, but gig with the Tech21 boxes.

With my current band, I play 10% bass, 90% keys/banjo/steel/other.
We rarely play a gig large enough to warrant rack gear, so tiny+portable supersedes all else.
For my 10% I play our bassists's rig and take what I get from his LM-III and single E140.

As a result, my interest in preamps is mostly academic despite having a real interest in finding that great bass tone.

I don't know anything about the RBI.
The bit of clip on Bass Tasters is inconclusive, even played through my reference HPM-100 system on my computer.
 
#50
bgavin said:
I find it interesting you have the two I own, but gig with the Tech21 boxes.

With my current band, I play 10% bass, 90% keys/banjo/steel/other.
We rarely play a gig large enough to warrant rack gear, so tiny+portable supersedes all else.
For my 10% I play our bassists's rig and take what I get from his LM-III and single E140.

As a result, my interest in preamps is mostly academic despite having a real interest in finding that great bass tone.

I don't know anything about the RBI.
The bit of clip on Bass Tasters is inconclusive, even played through my reference HPM-100 system on my computer.
Click to expand...

That's right: you'd said the VT Deluxe was not your thing. But I don't think you'd care for the RBI/BDDI either, because it's more colored than the RPM, especially as you dial in Blend.

I like variety and rotate my preamps even when I've chosen a #1. You're correct, for awhile my #1 was an RBI and RPM run in parallel, but I've now switched over to a Reiner Amplification all-tube preamp built by TalkBasser JGR. I still use my others from time to time... right now, the IOD fills the empty space between Reiner and power amp.

C'mon Tech21, release the VT-RM!
 
#52
I have my fingers crossed that the VTRM has a stomp-pedal that can engage or disengage the drive, as does my IOD.
It would be nice to dial in the clean tone using all the Sansamp capability, then engage a Drive boost with the pedal.

Right now, I do this with the VT Bass pedal, but find it irritatingly noisy when engaged.

If wishes were horses, bass players would ride (in a herd).
 
#53
Aaronbeale said:
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.
Click to expand...

Not problem for me. I drive an old QSC2402 thru Edens with it quite nicely.
 
#56
sleepy_monkey said:
Exactly! I sold my first SVP-CL to get the Demeter and within 20 seconds of playing through it I knew I made a mistake. Lacked the warmth I got with the CL....so I bought another SVP-CL. Only sold it bc I don't gig anymore....so looking for a cheaper alternative.
Click to expand...

I've had an SVP-PRO since the late 1990s and picked up a VT Bass pedal a couple of years ago. IMO, the VT does a reasonable job of emulating the Ampeg sound, but lacks the tubey give, girth, and organic tone of the real tube preamp. Given that it can be a little hard to tame, 'warm' is the not first word that comes to mind to describe the sound of the VT Bass.
 
#57
bgavin said:
I have my fingers crossed that the VTRM has a stomp-pedal that can engage or disengage the drive, as does my IOD.
It would be nice to dial in the clean tone using all the Sansamp capability, then engage a Drive boost with the pedal.

Right now, I do this with the VT Bass pedal, but find it irritatingly noisy when engaged.

If wishes were horses, bass players would ride (in a herd).
Click to expand...
if wishes were horses shipping would be free and we could trade preamps at zero loss.

For stomping flexibility you can't beat the programmable floor versions. The pot settings are stored until you double tap the channel so you can futz with them live without losing the preset.
 
#58
sleepy_monkey said:
Exactly! I sold my first SVP-CL to get the Demeter and within 20 seconds of playing through it I knew I made a mistake. Lacked the warmth I got with the CL....so I bought another SVP-CL. Only sold it bc I don't gig anymore....so looking for a cheaper alternative.
Click to expand...

The RPM is a good "safe" cost-effective choice. I have one in my primary rig and an older vintage pre-PSA in my second. One of the more effective mid PEQ's IMO...the RPM, that is. I use some light compression while feeding the front-end.

Riis
 

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