Tech 21 VT Bass

[Balkan]

Thanks! I will try playing with the EQ.

What's the "MBP line in"? I just my Mac's sound card and don't have any special external equipment. I thought the Mac sound card was suppose to be pretty good though.

It's all about the channel EQ. roll off anything about 10K to start unless you REALLY need that super high articulation - in my opinion it just accounts for noise - and if you are using a VT pedal to record - you really do not want content above 10K.

Also chekc the signal chain and how you are recording into garageband. There is a big difference in sound quality when I use the MBP line in - as opposed to a purpose built external sound card - like my Centrance MicPort Pro.


And to Jimmy's point about the overmodulation of Jamerson's tone. I'm right there with you. I didn't use a VT pedal - but My modded Epi Valve Junior head totally reminds me of a thick over modulated middy motown bass sound. At first I thought it sounded too ugly to be useful. So I retracked everything using the wonderful clean tube DI from my Peavey VB-2. At the end - I scrapped the peavy track because the thicker tone just worked better.

I think producers are simply afraid to track any bass source these days that isn't sent crystal clear unless the song call for a mic'ed amp. That and we have the choice to do so - whereas during Jamerson's day - the tech limited fidelity. recording bass direct can be VERY forgiving when compared to the grand scheme. I mean you could use an ART TubeMP and record at 16bit 44.1K and sound fantastic - try the same with an acoustic guitar - No way. Not by today's standards.

 

[BassJunkie730]

Thanks! I will try playing with the EQ.

What's the "MBP line in"? I just my Mac's sound card and don't have any special external equipment. I thought the Mac sound card was suppose to be pretty good though.

The line in - is the 1/8" jack on the left side of your comp. Trust me if you wnat to have a higher quality bass recording - get an external sound card. I reccomend the Centrance Mic Port pro since it's cheap ($149) HIGHLY portable - powered by your computer AND if you buy a 1/4 to XLR converter like radio shack sells - you have a decent DI.

But should you decide to do anything else like vocals or other single mic stuff - the unit can plug right into a microphone or a preamp.

but seriously do yourself a favor and get something - because I find the computer input to be simply unacceptable for the very reasons you are listing here.

 

[Balkan]

Thanks man -

Just cutting the high-end of the EQ did a world of difference - never thought of that because the EQ is buried in the settings. Now it actually sounds pretty sweet if I also turn the bass's tone knob all the way down. It's still pretty clackety clack if I dime the tone.

Thanks for the tip - Is the mBox also an external sound card, or is that something different? I'm just trying to get my terms straight!

The line in - is the 1/8" jack on the left side of your comp. Trust me if you wnat to have a higher quality bass recording - get an external sound card. I reccomend the Centrance Mic Port pro since it's cheap ($149) HIGHLY portable - powered by your computer AND if you buy a 1/4 to XLR converter like radio shack sells - you have a decent DI.

But should you decide to do anything else like vocals or other single mic stuff - the unit can plug right into a microphone or a preamp.

but seriously do yourself a favor and get something - because I find the computer input to be simply unacceptable for the very reasons you are listing here.

 

[ShowKing]

i have my VT bass set to a bright sounding SVT tone.
when i attack the note quite hard, u can hear some slight overdrives.
almost like wat a real tube amp might do!!
do u guys find this also?

 

[Kooldac]

i have my VT bass set to a bright sounding SVT tone.
when i attack the note quite hard, u can hear some slight overdrives.
almost like wat a real tube amp might do!!
do u guys find this also?

oh absolutely. it really feels how you play nicely.

 

[JimmyM]

And to Jimmy's point about the overmodulation of Jamerson's tone. I'm right there with you. I didn't use a VT pedal - but My modded Epi Valve Junior head totally reminds me of a thick over modulated middy motown bass sound. At first I thought it sounded too ugly to be useful. So I retracked everything using the wonderful clean tube DI from my Peavey VB-2. At the end - I scrapped the peavy track because the thicker tone just worked better.

I think producers are simply afraid to track any bass source these days that isn't sent crystal clear unless the song call for a mic'ed amp. That and we have the choice to do so - whereas during Jamerson's day - the tech limited fidelity. recording bass direct can be VERY forgiving when compared to the grand scheme. I mean you could use an ART TubeMP and record at 16bit 44.1K and sound fantastic - try the same with an acoustic guitar - No way. Not by today's standards.

Ya, thank God bass is forgiving...when I record a full band, I spend way less time on the bass than anything. I just record it as it's presented and EQ it around the bass drum and it's usually good to go.

Can't tell you how much I'm digging the overmodulation on the attack, though. Makes everything sound fat and old school and makes the attack of the note jump out. That's the one drawback about digital recording...you can't overload a track in a nice way.

 

[ShowKing]

i haven't owned a seperate amp head and cabinet before so i am asking this:

can this pedal go straight to a cabinet without having an amp head?
the manual says that this pedal can be treated as an amplifier or a preamp

 

[JimmyM]

i haven't owned a seperate amp head and cabinet before so i am asking this:

can this pedal go straight to a cabinet without having an amp head?
the manual says that this pedal can be treated as an amplifier or a preamp

Only a preamp. You can't plug it directly into a cab. You need a power amp.

 

[3toes]

Welp, just ordered mine. Any suggestions as to where to place this bad-boy in a chain? At the moment I'm setup as follows:

Bass->Micro POG->SYB-3->Micro/Mini Qtron(forthcoming)->amp.

 

[bassman1185]

Welp, just ordered mine. Any suggestions as to where to place this bad-boy in a chain? At the moment I'm setup as follows:

Bass->Micro POG->SYB-3->Micro/Mini Qtron(forthcoming)->amp.

Last. Or maybe between the SYB-3 and the Qtron.

 

[bassplyr5150]

Having just spent the last two hours reading this entire thread, I have decided I really need this pedal.

My question is simply this: Where do you put the EQ settings on your amp? I notice people taling about setting everything at 12. Safe place to start I presume?

 

[dannybuoy]

Depends on your amp. Some amps set to 12 are nowhere near flat, e.g. Hartke LH500, whereas others are - such as the Markbass LMII. You can always run into the fx loop return to bypass the amp's pre-amp and use the pedal as your preamp instead though, I've tried that on various Trace and Ashdown amps with good results.

 

[3toes]

Depends on your amp. Some amps set to 12 are nowhere near flat, e.g. Hartke LH500, whereas others are - such as the Markbass LMII. You can always run into the fx loop return to bypass the amp's pre-amp and use the pedal as your preamp instead though, I've tried that on various Trace and Ashdown amps with good results.

Hmm, I may try this w/ my b2r.

 

[bassplyr5150]

Ok, while we are on the subject, can you run any effect through the fx return? Or does it have to be a certain type?

(Or, can you direct me to the forum where the information may already be found? I don't know how to search for that particular question, cause I'm a dumba**.

 

[JohnPativens]

I've recorded some clips of the VT Bass in action. There's 4 clips with just the VT, starting off with the character at 10 o'clock, then repeating the riff by increasing the gain from 11 o'clock to max. There are 3 more clips with the character set to 11, 12 and 1 o'clock; all the EQ knobs are at noon for each one:

Character at 10 o'clock

Character at 11 o'clock

Character at 12 o'clock

Character at 1 o'clock



Enjoy!

I liked all of 'em, great clips. That pedal sounds very good to me. How did you record 'em? Just VTBass-->Soundcard? Any compression or extra processing?

I'd like to hear something like that on the higher octave though. Just curious, how does it behave when playing on the second octave of D or G strings at 12 oc to cranked up drive settings?

 

[stflbn]

I've recorded some clips of the VT Bass in action. There's 4 clips with just the VT, starting off with the character at 10 o'clock, then repeating the riff by increasing the gain from 11 o'clock to max. There are 3 more clips with the character set to 11, 12 and 1 o'clock; all the EQ knobs are at noon for each one:

Character at 10 o'clock

Character at 11 o'clock

Character at 12 o'clock

Character at 1 o'clock

Personally I'd love to hear something like this done the other way. Start at 12:00 on character and move to 7:00

 

[dannybuoy]

These were recorded P-Bass -> VT Bass -> Radial JDI. I demonstrated the most useable range on the character knob, any higher and it sounds real tinny and you have to compensate with the EQ. I'll see what I can do though!

 

[JohnPativens]

Does that overdrive get lost playing on the higher octave at the settings you used on those clips?

 

[John D Harris]

Ok, while we are on the subject, can you run any effect through the fx return? Or does it have to be a certain type?

(Or, can you direct me to the forum where the information may already be found? I don't know how to search for that particular question, cause I'm a dumba**.

Probably do a search on 'line level - instrument level - loop'.

 

[stflbn]

I demonstrated the most useable range on the character knob, any higher and it sounds real tinny and you have to compensate with the EQ. I'll see what I can do though!

See, that's the thing... 'to me' anything over 11-12:00 on the character knob is to thin and tinny. From 11:00 to the left to 9:00, 8:00 or even 7:00 is where the beauty of the VT-bass pedal is 'for me'. I use it as a vintage'izer of sorts for my main tone with is modern and punchy.

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