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Tech 21 VT Bass 1969 head!

#81
Fuzzbass said:
I can see how the 1969 would appeal to those who want the simplicity of a consolidated bass head, rather than dealing with a floor pedal or modular rackmount system. And... while 300W is not enough for *me*, I believe it is for most.
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I can see it, but I don't think it's going to be a large enough demographic to warrant the production costs of the 1969. Fortunately, they are building it off of the LM300's chassis so that should help keep production costs down; but even so, I honestly see them losing money off of the 1969. To me, the VT Deluxe (or even two VT pedals) is a much better option than what the 1969 is bringing to the table.
 
#83
christw said:
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vt1969_mainimage.jpg


I understand that this is basically two Bass VT's running the power section but now I wonder how exactly this differs from the Landmark 300 head. Still, it looks cool and it probably has bit more SVT-copping capabilities than the Landmark I'd think. I'd love to do a clean/dirty channel switching setup on this and see exactly how mean it can get.

Thoughts?
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The Landmark 300 head is basically 1 channel of our RBI and 1 channel of our RPM rackmount preamps. The new VT Bass head is two discrete channels of our popular VT Bass pedal. You can run them as two different sounding channels and you also have the ability to blend both channels.

It seems we went through this wattage thing a couple of months ago. The 300 watt power section that is also used in our Landmark 300 is a great sounding and dependable amp.Plus there is no limiter circuit as there is in most digital amps so the power section of the VT Bass head is running wide open. It was designed so that even if the amp is run to the point of clipping it will behave like an overdriven tube amp and this increases your usable power. Just like a Marshall 100 watt tube guitar amp is rated at 100 watts clean it can run at 200 watts when distorted. The difference between 300 and 600 watts is 3dB in sound level. It really comes down to your speaker cab, amount of speakers, efficiency of speakers and the impedance that the speakers present to the amp.

For most applications the power is more than enough power. If you're playing on a concert stage your bass sound will be pumped through the PA and your bass amp will serve as your monitor. You really need to evaluate for yourself how much power and headroom you will ultimately need and match your components (bass amp, power amp , speaker cab) accordingly.
 
#84
tech21nyc said:
The Landmark 300 head is basically 1 channel of our RBI and 1 channel of our RPM rackmount preamps. The new VT Bass head is two discrete channels of our popular VT Bass pedal. You can run them as two different sounding channels and you also have the ability to blend both channels.

It seems we went through this wattage thing a couple of months ago. The 300 watt power section that is also used in our Landmark 300 is a great sounding and dependable amp.Plus there is no limiter circuit as there is in most digital amps so the power section of the VT Bass head is running wide open. It was designed so that even if the amp is run to the point of clipping it will behave like an overdriven tube amp and this increases your usable power. Just like a Marshall 100 watt tube guitar amp is rated at 100 watts clean it can run at 200 watts when distorted. The difference between 300 and 600 watts is 3dB in sound level. It really comes down to your speaker cab, amount of speakers, efficiency of speakers and the impedance that the speakers present to the amp.

For most applications the power is more than enough power. If you're playing on a concert stage your bass sound will be pumped through the PA and your bass amp will serve as your monitor. You really need to evaluate for yourself how much power and headroom you will ultimately need and match your components (bass amp, power amp , speaker cab) accordingly.
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Thanks for the clarification. I wasn't totally familiar with all of your offerings, including the preamps. So are we looking at similar street pricing for the VT 1969 as the Landmark?

I tend to agree that 300w is plenty of power. I also agree that efficiency and speaker mass are huge determining factors in how much power you need. I can do a punk gig with a 30w, if even that much, tube guitar head, my Bag End 410, and my Ric. It's an efficient cab with a mid based tone and I admit that I'm running that little amp hard but it works and sounds nasty. (The good kind of nasty, of course!)

Frankly, all the guys whining about 300 watts probably don't use an SVT either for the same reasons that they wouldn't pick this head up. I don't know what all these reasons are. I'm just sayin' :p As an owner of the Bass VT pedal and an SVT-II, I'll admit that I don't see any actual need for the head. I'd just like to see what it brings to the table, especially for those of us who are in a similar gear situation as me.
 
#85
In other words, "we don't care what our customers want, we're going to put out the product that made sense to somebody in our company, and when it fails in the market (like the Landmark head), we'll just say there wasn't enough consumer interest in it--without ever questioning the original design idea."

What's especially bizarre to me about this is that Tech21 DID listen to customer demands for the more enhanced pedal versions of the VT... so why this utter disregard when it comes to designing an amp head?
 
#87
won't the people who DO buy the head be their customers, not the people who, without ever trying it, have decided it's not good enough for their particular needs?

Is there some market research that I'm not privy to that others outside of Tech 21 are which shows what the majority of their "customers" want?
 
#96
andrew said:
Have you ever compared the Landmark 300 to an SVT?
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Nope. I plan to put this amp next to my SVT-II and find out exactly how they compare though.

Edit: I want to put this tube vs SS vs this vs that debate to rest for myself. I'll find out for myself which out oopmhs the other. Hell, I might run my VT Bass pedal or the VT 1969's preamp out into the slave in on my SVT-II just to even the power amp playing field. I already know what to expect from the preamps so then I can figure out the tube vs SS power rating debate for myself and be able to answer which 300 watts is more. ;)
 
#97
lomo said:
the market will decide......
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I think the market has already decided in the long run.

This is basically the same scenario that Tech 21 went through with the Landmark 300. You can buy a Paradriver/RPM or Bassdriver/RBI and couple it with a more powerful and/or lighter amp.

Given the popularity of their other products, the Landmark 300 doesn't get much notice.
 
#100
andrew said:
Sheesh an amp rated for 300 watts on paper ought to be loud enough for my needs, or Sheesh you've played the Landmark 300 and thought it was honkin' loud?
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the first sheesh. i mean, i have no idea what band you play in or how much you need, but i don't think i've ever done a gig in my life where i needed 300w, and i've played in some very loud bands.
 

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