As the title ways... Does anyone know of an overdrive pedal like TECH 21 BT BASS, but with better dynamics. I like the VT Bass, but find the sound to be too compressed. Looking forward to any feedback.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
TECH 21 VT BASS like pedal, but with less compression?
- Thread starter AlexanderB
- Start date
No experience with it but you could look into the Catalinbread SFT.
Any SVT emulator will be compressed since that's what a tube amp does. Any overdrive pedal will compress your signal for that matter.
Any SVT emulator will be compressed since that's what a tube amp does. Any overdrive pedal will compress your signal for that matter.
I borrowed the SFT from my guitar board and it's stayed with my bass ever since. It's pretty dynamic and can provide touch-sensitive OD. Whether it's more dynamic than the VT-Bass or not, I don't have experience and YouTube is no way to judge. I don't care for dynamically flat, overly compressed OD, and I love the SFT.
Of course the SFT compresses, but it remains dynamic at lower gain settings. It also can compress a lot — try it in "Stoner" mode, for example. Be sure to turn down the volume before pressing that button.
Thanks, guys! It has been a long time since I played the real SVT, but it was not as "flat" sounding as the VT Bass, when I go into real OD on the pedal. Before, I have also used the EBS MultiDrive, which tends to be a bit to fat in the low end when pushed. Maybe too much clean blend?
The VT Bass is better with the (still not optimal) EQ options, which I would see useful in any OD pedal. The genuine Ampeg products get very mixed reviews, and I am not a fan of the made in China thing.
The VT Bass is better with the (still not optimal) EQ options, which I would see useful in any OD pedal. The genuine Ampeg products get very mixed reviews, and I am not a fan of the made in China thing.
The SFT has no clean blend, so the bass is not necessarily free of break-up. Break-up depends partly on the tone settings, which are before the final gain stage. The SFT only has treble and bass controls, but they're boost and cut, so there's indirect control over the mids.
It may be a bit of an outlier for bass players due to its relative lack of controls and features. Still, if one sees it in a shop it may be worth giving it a test drive.
VT Bass DI has a blend control; if you dial it back a little, it might help you preserve your dynamics.
Bonus info: My VT Bass became a backup after I received my Origin BassRig Super Vintage.
Bonus info: My VT Bass became a backup after I received my Origin BassRig Super Vintage.
Not sure I get where you are going... There is LESS dynamics once you apply OD, as the OD will do some compression. Dialling in more clean would preserve dynamics. Anyways, I am not really interested in having more clean signal in. That makes it sound more "bloated", and the OD sits "on top" of the original signal. Sounds "meh" to me, and does not sit well in the mix.
By the way, I play fingerstyle.
Maybe check out some videos on the Master Effects Super 300?
I have one and while it does compress with the gain up high or with the ultra lo engaged, it has quite a bit more openness to it than the VT bass deluxe DI or whatever it’s called, it was the big one! I like my Super 300 a lot and will likely keep it on my board to a very long time, never say never though, since these kinds of things only get better and better as time goes on!
I have one and while it does compress with the gain up high or with the ultra lo engaged, it has quite a bit more openness to it than the VT bass deluxe DI or whatever it’s called, it was the big one! I like my Super 300 a lot and will likely keep it on my board to a very long time, never say never though, since these kinds of things only get better and better as time goes on!
You've put your finger on why my VT Bass doesn't seem to last long on my pedalboard.
From that camp, the Geddy Lee pedals have a bit of life to them.
From that camp, the Geddy Lee pedals have a bit of life to them.
D
I totally understand what you mean. Unfortunately no pedal will ever have quite the "depth" of a classic tube amp.
Are you specifically looking for an SVT-style tone/OD or are you open to differently voiced dirt pedals?
If you're specifically looking for the SVT tone in a pedal I don't think you're gonna find a much better option than the VT Bass.
If you're open to other types of OD it might be helpful to know a bit more about what kind of tone you're aiming for? Style/genre?
Keep in mind that the VT Bass has a built-in speaker sim.
If you're using the VT Bass for recording direct, or straight into a DI on-stage you might not be happy with an OD pedal that doesn't have a speaker sim.
If you're running the VT Bass into an amp you're basically running a "speaker" into a speaker. That real speaker will also color the tone. The coloration you get from an SVT cab is a huge part of the SVT tone and some of that will be lost when running it through a real cab with a different voicing. Actually, even running it through a different AMP will color the tone. At least if you're plugging it into the normal jack input, rather than into an effects loop or power amp input to bypass the preamp/eq section in your amp.
Personally I've never been a fan of running speaker sims into actual cabs but lots of people do this with seemingly great results. Just don't expect the end result to sound like an Ampeg 8x10. If you use this pedal as a stomp box into an actual amp you're basically running a simulated amp+cab into a real amp+cab.
Having said that, I love the Tech 21 "SVT" pedals when I need to record a bass FAST and don't have the time to set up and mic a real amp. Plug'n'play. I slightly prefer the BDDI v2 over the VT Bass though. Partly because I prefer the voicing of the BDDI and partly because I find it faster/easier to dial in a great tone with the BDDI.
As for "made in China" I wouldn't be worried about the quality, if that's what you mean. Products made in China are every bit as good as products made anywhere else, as long as the Chinese are paid to make a quality product. If you've got other reasons for not buying Chinese... good luck buying a TV, smartphone, laptop, etc.
Last edited:
Have you confirmed that you're driving the pedal with the correct voltage, and you have sufficient amperage on tap for draw? I have the VT Bass DI, and it doesn't compress THAT much...
Have you tried boosting the midrange a bit on the EQ controls? I always run mine with the mids set at 1 o'clock on the dial.
To my ears the VT Bass DI is actually a bit more open sounding than a lot of SVT rigs I've tried for backline because of that character control. Some SVTs were downright squishy and fighting dynamics the entire night.
Have you tried boosting the midrange a bit on the EQ controls? I always run mine with the mids set at 1 o'clock on the dial.
To my ears the VT Bass DI is actually a bit more open sounding than a lot of SVT rigs I've tried for backline because of that character control. Some SVTs were downright squishy and fighting dynamics the entire night.
Try running the VT into the effects return of your amp before you write it off. Sounds a lot more open when its not hitting another preamp.
Our SansAmp's are able to achieve their distortion, saturation and compression characteristics irrespective of the volume level they are set at unlike a vintage tube amp. It's easy to use too much drive in a loud situation. A setting that may work at home when playing in isolation may get mushy when playing with a loud drummer and guitarist. It's best to work backwards. Set the Drive on the pedal on the cleaner side (around 9 o'clock) and set the volume level of your amp/mixer so that sound works at your loudest playing level. If the sound is too clean you can start to turn up the Drive and may have to back down the level a bit if you're too loud.
The VT Bass will react like a vintage non-master volume tube amp. Drive settings from 9-12 o'clock with Character set at 9-12 o'clock should still give you a fairly clean sound with headroom and dynamics.
The VT Bass will react like a vintage non-master volume tube amp. Drive settings from 9-12 o'clock with Character set at 9-12 o'clock should still give you a fairly clean sound with headroom and dynamics.
He means "dialing back" the blend as in applying more clean signal, because full wet is all the way clockwise. I'd venture to guess that a lot of VTDI users run the blend full all the time, because it's really not necessary unless you've got it distorting. I certainly didn't use the clean blend super often on mine.
I used the VT Bass DI for a long time, and it's a pretty good preamp. I don't think it's lacking in dynamics, but YMMV. Mine was kicked off my board jointly by the Broughton Audio Fliptop and SV-Pre (B-15 and SVT clones, respectively).
Are you using an active or passive bass? And are you running anything else in front of the VT in the signal chain?
+1
Dial Blend to taste
Also, try experimenting with the relationship between bass guitar volume knob and amp controls. Running everything on 10 is limiting.
