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Tech 21 VT Bass DI

#126
I ordered the VT DI, prymaxe charged me and never sent anything. So I canceled the order and bought a swell B-Peg from the TB classifieds. Well, a week and a half later the VT DI showed up on my steps today (I can only imagine how much weed the employees at prymaxe smoke).
Of course I was compelled to try it. I owned version 1 and version 2. This totally blows both away. I actually got nervous after reading everyones gripes with the highs and speaker sim. I'm sure you cats have your reasons and all, but this pedal sounds so good.
P bass w Lollar Pu's> Boss CS-2> B3K > Swell B-Peg > VT DI = the most amazing tone
I know its compression overkill and all, but I don't care. It sounds so nuts.
I have been through 9 pre amps. Rusty Box, B7K, BdPG, BDDI, Tone Hammer, Verellen Meatsmoke, Swell Peg-B and VT ver 1&2. While they all have their unique tones, this version of the VT is by far my favorite.
 
#131
franksgbass-

I bought your B7K and have the BDDI and VTDI on hand also. I think I like the B7K better, both (B7K and VTDI) are very useful. I used a BDDI for 10 years. I found the VT and VTDI to be pretty clanky sounding. Although, VTDI I can smooth it out a little better.

For now, darkglass is staying. But for a good bit less cash, the VTDI is a major contender. At some point I need to sell some of these in the classifieds!
 
#132
Do you mean that this is a high pass filter or is it just a cutoff of highs, & in which speaker sim position does it change the tone? I was all ready to try this on mine today, I did a test recording just now & I'm not sure I would change a thing sounded great with both bite & speaker sim out in my setting. The speaker sim engaged is a little bit bottom heavy for me, so unless this is a high pass filter with speaker sim engaged, I think I'll just skip the cap job.
tech21nyc said:
This unit has a different application than the original VT. Because it's a "DI" the focus was on that application. With the bite and speaker sim disengaged you get flat response. The VT Bass DI can be modded if you want the same hi cut filter that is on the V2 VT Bass. You would need to solder a 22nF cap to the board, We can perform this mod for $15 + shipping. The mod will not void the warranty unless you damage the circuit board in the process. Here is a photo of the board and cap:

VTBassDIhicutmod.jpg
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Yes. Just use lower Drive settings and keep the Character control at 12 o'clock or below.
Click to expand...
 
#133
I don't see any need for a capacitor mod, either. Have used mine without the bite or speaker sim turned on for two weekends, and
I have to say this is one fine unit.

I ran with the blend cranked, level at noon, character at 11:00 to noon, and drive about 10:00. A good warm tube sound, and right at the point where any more drive would put some dirt on it.
 
#134
GLEN18INCHSPICA said:
Do you mean that this is a high pass filter or is it just a cutoff of highs, & in which speaker sim position does it change the tone? I was all ready to try this on mine today, I did a test recording just now & I'm not sure I would change a thing sounded great with both bite & speaker sim out in my setting. The speaker sim engaged is a little bit bottom heavy for me, so unless this is a high pass filter with speaker sim engaged, I think I'll just skip the cap job.
Click to expand...

The mod would make the speaker sim bypass the same as the regular VT Bass pedal. A 6dB per octave high roll off.

If you turn the blend on full, turn the mids all the way off as well as drive with Character at noon. You'll notice there are almost no mids present until you turn the drive up.
Click to expand...

Yes that sounds about right (as well as bad) and the point is...
 
#136
It seems obvious that if you turn the mids all the way down and turn the drive off which basically cuts most of your input signal this will not sound good.

The SansAmp circuit in the Character pedals are the Character and Drive controls. That's it. There is a bit more going on with the DI but these are the basics. Everything else is post. The eq's are active and will change your level up or down depending upon the settings. Because the Character control changes the EQ and gain structure you will usually need to compensate for this with the level control. The same is true for the Drive. Settings from minimum to 12 o'clock change the gain "and" volume. Once you get past 12 o'clock the gain becomes more saturated and there is less of a difference in output. This is the same way an actual tube amp behaves.

Think of the tone controls the same as you would as the controls on a mixer. These give you a lot of flexibility for playing through different systems. They aren't fool proof. Settings that sound good directly into an amp might sound completely different running direct.

In general when I'm looking for a clean tone I listen to my sound in bypass and engage the pedal with the level matched for unity with the Character at about 11:30, the Drive around 9-10, the mids at around 12:30 and I try to match the lows and highs to my bypassed tone. I then work from there.
 
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#137
Yesterday I connected the VT Bass DI in the effects loop of my Mesa BB750.
Using the blend at 9:00 and other controls at "warm compression", give a nice extra definition to the bass without "overwrite" the Mesa preamp.
XLR to IEMs/FOH and also a good tone there too.
 
#138
DenisLM said:
Yesterday I connected the VT Bass DI in the effects loop of my Mesa BB750.
Using the blend at 9:00 and other controls at "warm compression", give a nice extra definition to the bass without "overwrite" the Mesa preamp.
XLR to IEMs/FOH and also a good tone there too.
Click to expand...


This is exactly the settings I use going through the effects loop of a GK 1001 with a swell B peg. It sounds outstanding. Just a touch of the vt speaker emulation and the swell's mid growl. So good.
 
#140
So to whoever has this pedal, with the bite knob on and speaker sim off, how close is it to a V2 with the speaker sim off?

Edit: Seems like you would have to do that cap mod to get it similar. I did just noticed that the High knob on the VTDI is set differently than the other version. The VTDI is at 3.2 kHz while the others are at 2.5 kHz. Wonder how that would affect dialing in since I'm not knowledgeable in how it would.
 

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