Tech 21 VT Bass Deluxe - NAD...sort of

[JimmyM]

The compression it adds bugs me too. Should I even use it in conjunction with my EBS MultiComp pedal?

Seems a little redundant.

Well if the MultiComp doesn't do overdrive, the VT does make a quite nifty overdrive. And the compression in the VT is pretty subtle, so if you want more, then the Multicomp would be fine with it.

 

[Sundogue]

Someone's got one going for $200 on craigslist around here. Kind of hard for me to justify, but...it sure blows comparable sounds on my BP355 out of the water. I might have to think good and long about this.

I've seen them going for about $150 to $180 on the used market. Still, even brand new I'd get one. But that's me.

 

[JensCambre]

The compression it adds bugs me too. Should I even use it in conjunction with my EBS MultiComp pedal?

Seems a little redundant.

I never used compression until about six months ago, i got the mxr bass comp. Now that i've got the VT Deluxe, the comp is gone again... 190 euro's i could have saved

 

[ticol07]

I use a multicomp in front of my VT (which is set on a almost clean sound, so, I guess with not a lot of compression) and I like the result.
But I set the multicomp on "Normal", because I find the Tubesim mode to be a little bit too redundant to the VT (the multicomp tubesim adds some hair to the mids).
Personal tastes, of course.

 

[A-train]

I recently started using a VT Bass Deluxe as my main preamp going into a crown XLS 1500 and a SWR Goliath III and it's been harder than I thought to get used to. I have the original VT bass and assumed that the deluxe worked the same way but found out very quickly that the settings are different. The biggest thing has been the interaction between the drive and character knobs. At first I couldn't get a clean tone out of it with the with the drive at noon like the manual says until I had the character knob below 9 o'clock which was different than my vt pedal. On that your tones are fairly clean until the drive is past noon and the character can be up to noon as well. I love the flexibility of the Deluxe and don't want to give up on it yet I just want that clean SVT tone. Any suggestions from Deluxe users?

 

[JimmyM]

Honestly, I thought the VTD acted identical to the V1 VT I used to have.

 

[ticol07]

Instead of backing off the character you should try to set the drive lower.
On my vt v2 I have to set it at 9 to have a clean tone.

 

[Real Soon]

I think I've locked in a deal on one for $150. If it works out, I'll be dialing in tones this time tomorrow night

 

[Sundogue]

I'm still really digging mine and now that I'm using two basses, it becomes even better. Being able to just switch between two basses and have the tone I want from each by programming it into my pedal is fabulous!

 

[Lync]

So far with my deluxe I am finding that the cleanest tone I can get is lackluster at best. The dirt sounds like Geezer (old muddy Geezer) and the distortion sounds kinda fake. I haven't written it off yet, and maybe a box that fakes overdrive is just not for me (grew up in the 80's with clean tones and overdrive came from diggin' in). But I will keep trying as I like Tech 21 and have multiple tones is a good thing as I also play the doghouse.

 

[Lync]

Put it this way...I think my PF800 sounds way better...more dynamic range and the clean tone kills. I just need to change my gain for different instruments on the fly and it is much easier with a pedal.

 

[Scott549]

This weekend I will play my first gig without an amp -- plugging the VT Bass Deluxe into the PA (Bose L1 system). Looking forward to the experiment. I'll report on how it goes.

 

[Lync]

My guess is it will work real well for you (I used the Hartke Bass Attack with my Bose and loved it).

 

[Mortom27]

I'm glad i found this thread!!
I own both the VT2 & the deluxe, the 1st one for about a year and the 2nd for about a month and I also didnt quite liked how the pedal responded or interacted with the rest of my pedals, so i decide to put it on the shelf for a while and put my VT2 back on the board but after reading all 3 pages on this thread earlier today i decide to give it another chance and to be a little more patience.
One thing that helped me a lot was Jimmy's post of where is the unit flat settings are and reading the manual slowly
I also plan to use this as a preamp just like my vt2
One thing i noticed now is how sensitive the knobs on the VTBD are compare to the VT2
Another thing a didnt like is the
FX loop section of it, i dont use at all i dont know if by bypassing it afects my overall tone, anyway i'll let u guys know how it goes.

 

[JimmyM]

I never used the loop on the VTD. I never like to use loops ever. The effects I use regularly don't sound good in loops, and I've never thought any pedal sounds any better in the loop than the direct signal path, so I don't bother.

 

[Mortom27]

I never used the loop on the VTD. I never like to use loops ever. The effects I use regularly don't sound good in loops, and I've never thought any pedal sounds any better in the loop than the direct signal path, so I don't bother.

My toughts exactly, not to mention is a little annoying
Cause if you double click the bank switch by mistake u disengage the FX loop and cant
Use the pedals u got in it
Overall is a great piece of gear to have.

 

[Lync]

I agree on loops as I try not to use them. Sometimes though, effects add extra noise and the loop has diminished that.

 

[klokker]

I like the VT as a DI for home practice etc., but I've never been able to make it work in the mix. I play through a GB Shuttle 6.2 and a neox212 cab. Given everyone else's glowing comments, it must be me, but I've had my VT for about 3 years now and it's been pretty much tone suck in the mix. I realize there are many variables, but I've given up on mine for a gig so far. Plugging straight in w/0 anything except a tuner now.

 

[Lync]

Ha-klokker-you're not alone. Except I don't like it at home, but it works in the mix (in a Geezer Butler kinda way) for me. I am still experimenting with mine though.

 

[Real Soon]

Early reactions:

I've just tried it with my Washburn, passive, J config with tone at a midpoint. It's sounding real nice with it. In particular, I played around with the SVT, compressor, Yes-style, & fuzzed settings and did plenty of tweaking of each to taste. I ran on battery and haven't tried with power supply or phantom power yet, and I haven't A/B'd it with a straight bass-to-amp connection. Plus, I haven't recorded with it yet, just played so far (thru a little practice amp).

• Subtle but noticeable compression, similar kind of result I would want to dial in to tame my raging monster of an E string.
• The FX loop seems transparent, I heard no difference when on vs off while unplugged. My DigiTech PDS 1002 delay was noisy as could be (it seems not to like loops IME), but my Way Huge Echo Puss was silent until I plucked a string; next I'll try a phaser and a reverb, and try chaining multiple pedals thru it, where the quick on-off ability would come in really handy.
• The knobs take a lot of turning, IMO, before they jump to the physical setting away from the preset, considering how sensitive they are. I can see why that tolerance would be built in, and is a tradeoff of the efficient design.
• The gain varies WILDLY, which I guess is part of the all-analog design, but I wish a little attenuation were built in.
• The tone overall? I'm looooooving it! Everything from thick, creamy drive for dirty chords to a serviceable fuzz (alternative to my Swollen Pickle) to a micro-adjustable clean tone to subtle or extreme amp modeling.
• The controls for the VTD are shown as different from the VT by Tech 21, per their manuals, for the curious.

So yeah, overall I'm getting a real kick out of this thing. It doesn't seem to sacrifice anything sound-wise. My results may vary with noise when I plug in my (active) ATK and power the pedal different ways, and I'm interested in putting other FX in front to see how they interact. Moreover, I've got this BP355 sitting around, and I'm thinking I can nuke a bunch of presets on it and set up patches with nothing but delay/chorus/phase/verb combos, screw around with the wah, slow-release gate, etc., and generally get my mad scientist on.