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tech 21 vt bass

#21
I just sold the VT Bass for the second time.

It absolutely does what it promises - if you want SVT, B-15 or more modern and "crunchy" heavy overdrive/distortion it can do that too.

But because it is an Ampeg emulator, it has a significant rolloff in the deep lows and a major cut of treble aboe 4.5 kHz or so. The latter doesn't bother me much as I'm nota tweeter kind of guy to begin with and don't need those trebly highs.

But with my LDS 15/6 the rolloff of the lows is incredibly noticeable. That "punch you in the chest" low end is reduced substantially. So while I love the tone, the VT Bass is moving on. I think someone with more midrange focused cabs with tighter rather than bigger lows (Berg AE410, Schroeder, Markbass) would especially love the VT Bass.

As for chain placement, it always sounded the best to me at the end of my chain. Since I used it as more or less a preamp, that makes sense to me.
 
#23
I got this yesterday and tried it last night. I am not happy with the noise it generates. I don't know if it is defective or not, most likely it isn't. I admit to not being an expert. Do all distortion pedals by their nature of boosting gain create a hum or buzz? I am just starting to build out some pedals and wanted to get a sound like the bass in "Sharp Dressed Man". I can get it with this pedal but the added treble buzz ruins it. I can sort of make a lot of it go away if I turn the treble and mid all the way down, but then it gets real muddy. So I was considering a T-Rex Bass Juice, but wonder if that would be the same as the VT Bass with the added buzz because of the high gain needed to get the distortion/overdrive. I mention the T-Rex because I do own a T-Rex Bass Chorus (Sweeper) and it has absolutely no added noise, but obviously the electronics are most likely completely different and lend themselves to being able be low to no noise.

Any thoughts on a good low noise bass distortion? Or is this a sort of oxymoron?

Bass: MusicMan Stingray
Amp: Genz Benz Shuttle 6
 
#24
bassnharp said:
I got this yesterday and tried it last night. I am not happy with the noise it generates. I don't know if it is defective or not, most likely it isn't. I admit to not being an expert. Do all distortion pedals by their nature of boosting gain create a hum or buzz? I am just starting to build out some pedals and wanted to get a sound like the bass in "Sharp Dressed Man". I can get it with this pedal but the added treble buzz ruins it. I can sort of make a lot of it go away if I turn the treble and mid all the way down, but then it gets real muddy. So I was considering a T-Rex Bass Juice, but wonder if that would be the same as the VT Bass with the added buzz because of the high gain needed to get the distortion/overdrive. I mention the T-Rex because I do own a T-Rex Bass Chorus (Sweeper) and it has absolutely no added noise, but obviously the electronics are most likely completely different and lend themselves to being able be low to no noise.

Any thoughts on a good low noise bass distortion? Or is this a sort of oxymoron?

Bass: MusicMan Stingray
Amp: Genz Benz Shuttle 6
Click to expand...
ya, distortion by its nature is noisy. there's more than likely not anything wrong with the pedal...just when you boost highs and clip them hard like distortion does, noise is always going to be a factor. some may have less than others but it's always going to be a deal.
 
#25
Jared Lash said:
I just sold the VT Bass for the second time.

It absolutely does what it promises - if you want SVT, B-15 or more modern and "crunchy" heavy overdrive/distortion it can do that too.

But because it is an Ampeg emulator, it has a significant rolloff in the deep lows and a major cut of treble aboe 4.5 kHz or so. The latter doesn't bother me much as I'm nota tweeter kind of guy to begin with and don't need those trebly highs.

But with my LDS 15/6 the rolloff of the lows is incredibly noticeable. That "punch you in the chest" low end is reduced substantially. So while I love the tone, the VT Bass is moving on. I think someone with more midrange focused cabs with tighter rather than bigger lows (Berg AE410, Schroeder, Markbass) would especially love the VT Bass.

As for chain placement, it always sounded the best to me at the end of my chain. Since I used it as more or less a preamp, that makes sense to me.
Click to expand...

Curious what you replaced it with?
 
#26
Jared Lash said:
But with my LDS 15/6 the rolloff of the lows is incredibly noticeable. That "punch you in the chest" low end is reduced substantially. So while I love the tone, the VT Bass is moving on. I think someone with more midrange focused cabs with tighter rather than bigger lows (Berg AE410, Schroeder, Markbass) would especially love the VT Bass..
Click to expand...

The schematic is out there. I suspect that changing the low-end rolloff would be a fairly easy mod.
 
#27
Queg said:
Curious what you replaced it with?
Click to expand...

A Creation Audio Holy Fire. My amp gives me a fat, warm and deep tone that works for an old school vibe already. I like what the VT Bass did tonewise, but it wasn't as big a change as when I was using my very bright and modern GK rig. Now the B-15 setting and my unaffected amp tone are in the same ballpark. The Holy Fire adds a bit of tubey overdrive and I'm happy.
 
#28
Wow I never noticed an audible roll-off in the lows on mine, if anything it sounds like the opposite. But I am using it with a LMII + 1x15 only... I do think it rolls off some of the subharmonic lows (giving more amp headroom to turn up the gain before clipping occurs), but nothing in the audible area of where *bass* generally resides.
 
#29
lunarpollen said:
Wow I never noticed an audible roll-off in the lows on mine, if anything it sounds like the opposite. But I am using it with a LMII + 1x15 only... I do think it rolls off some of the subharmonic lows (giving more amp headroom to turn up the gain before clipping occurs), but nothing in the audible area of where *bass* generally resides.
Click to expand...

There's a gentle rolloff seemingly starting around 50-60Hz. It's much more noticeable if (1) you have a B string or lower and (2) you have a cab that excels at low end extension.
 
#30
I read a lot of the threads on TB when searching for a pedal for my passive Fender Jazz. I started doing rock gigs again but had more modern gear for other styles of music I mostly play. I needed something to help boost my signal and give me a vintage tone. The VT seemed like what I was looking for. I got it and love the thing. I've used it on all my rock rigs and it definitely helps vintagize my more modern gear. It's a great fix without having to buy a whole new rig.
 
#31
Jared Lash said:
I just sold the VT Bass for the second time.

It absolutely does what it promises - if you want SVT, B-15 or more modern and "crunchy" heavy overdrive/distortion it can do that too.

But because it is an Ampeg emulator, it has a significant rolloff in the deep lows and a major cut of treble aboe 4.5 kHz or so. The latter doesn't bother me much as I'm nota tweeter kind of guy to begin with and don't need those trebly highs.
Click to expand...

Glad to see I'm not the only one who had a VT Bass and sold it! Thought maybe I was missing something. It sounded ok but never really wowed me.
 
#32
I'm jonesing for a VT pretty bad, but it seems to be redundant to run one in front an Ampeg CL and two 4x10s. And now the VT Deluxe is coming out, making my gas that much worse. I'm not thrilled about the pedals I have right now for distortion ( Ibanez SD9 and Boss HM-3 ), although the Boss gets a pretty good Doors "Five to One" thing going. The Ibanez has a more natural sounding overdrive, but it just squashes the hell out of the dynamics.

I want to try out the VT Deluxe with mine or a similar rig, to see if I can cop those warmer B15 tones, and mellow out some of the "grind" of my CL/10's/StingRay.
 
#34
It's a pretty damn nice pedal. And I am morally opposed to effects, and the like. But this doesn't sound like an effect; not to my ears. If I am very careful and attentive in setting the eq, character and drive controls, I am very pleased with what it adds. As many have said: it's quirky. Tweak one knob a few degrees too far the wrong way and it can be very unpleasing. It can also accentuate some kinds of noise that I suspect already exists because of your bass's electronics or poor technique. When everything is set just right, it has a very natural, analogue feel to it. It's a beaut.
 
#38
Agito said:
I'm thinking if I should buy this or the Sansamp Bass Driver Deluxe
Or should I wait for the VT Bass deluxe?
I'm looking for a cool fat bass sound with a bit overdrive on top
Click to expand...

faceinbass said:
SFT
Click to expand...

Not the same thing.:p

VT looks and sounds like a good idea. I'd like to try one. To many knobs for me though, the fussy multi knob twisting factor was never a part of the amps the VT emulates.

If Tech 21 designed a pedal for fliptop sounds with the same 3 knob channel layout (Volume, Bass Treble) as the old B-15 and nailed the sound, it would be more believable IMO. Same for the SVT emulation. Gotta have those little rocker switches, or it ain't anything like the real deal.
 
#40
Jonyak said:
I liked my vt bass so much I weant out and just bought an SVT.
Click to expand...
this happens more than you might think. happened to me, although it was the markbass lmii that insipred me to get my svt working again and not the vt. but the vt made me realize i did the right thing. keep the vt, though...it's good to keep pita soundmen in line ;)
 

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