VT Bass, am i doing it wrong?

[megadan]

I haven't used the VT but I know my old Sansamp had the wickedest hiss with the drive control turned up. Great sound, but totally unusable. Sounded like a bag of angry snakes.

I think it's just the nature of the beast, though the 3-second volume drop sounds weird. I'd return it for another unit.

 

[TL5]

I don't know if this is an obvious point, but at least part of the issue may be that when you record DI into the computer, the VT acts as the only tone-shaper, because it's the only preamp. If you're using the VT into the input of your amp, then the signal is effectively being preamped twice. I had something like this problem running my VT into my Ampeg B100r combo. Now I'm running the VT into the fx return of a Hughes and Kettner amp, making the VT my only preamp, and I am very happy with the range of tones I'm getting.

Ditto. I use my VT as a preamp/tone shaper into a Yamaha poweramp.

Hiss at high gain settings, yes - but none of the other issues mentioned in the OP.
I don't use the VT as a distortion/gain pedal. I'm using it as a clean, amp modeler and I have an Xotic BB for distortion.

 

[b33r]

here's an update, i just got back from a rehearsal, and it seems like the volume drop problem has solved itself. huh.

i've been stacking it with the SFT to add some dirt to my tone when i need a boost. seems to work good enough.

 

[Laurent]

I realize there are many fans of the Sansamp VT and I don't mean to offend them. Pedals are a highly personal choice and they are also highly sensitive to the musicians' set up (bass and amp). I had heard some demos online for the VT and I did not care for the sound of this pedal. However I kept on reading how great it was and how many people whose opinion I trust and respect like it very much.
So I ordered one which I ended returning for the following reasons:
1. The pedal had way too much gain. Too much gain in terms of the signal booster and the distortion.
2. The VT generally sounded artificial and it did not sound like an SVT at all. The distortion did not have a musical quality (not like a Way Huge Electronic Pork Loin, Hematoma or Big Muff Bass PI – my favorite pedals at this time).
3. I could not dial in a good tone and the two distortion controls (character and drive) seem disconnected.
4. Under some settings the distortion was not consistent from string to string. I experienced some distortion on the E string but none on the D for example.
I like the tone controls which were efficient but I thought if I can't make this pedal sound like an SVT and cannot get nice "usable" distortion out of it, what's the point?
I returned my unit to the retailer thinking it was so different from what I had read online that the unit I tested might have been defective.
The VT was tested with a Fender 62 reissue P Bass with flatwound strings. I tested the unit with both a Traynor tube amp feeding into an Accugroove 210L and a Fender combo.
Again, I wanted to provide a different opinion on this pedal to counterbalance all the hype I have been reading about it. I would recommend prospective buyers to test it first or purchase it from a retailer which offers a good return policy.

 

[Munjibunga]

I don't have noise issues with mine, and I'm satisfied that it does a good job of emulating and SVT, since I can't stand the sound. But if anybody ever asks me for an SVT kind of tone, I can get pretty close to it. I can't imagine why anyone would want that, though.

 

[iamthebassman]

I love mine, and our soundman raves about it.

 

[Kenner]

<-----big fan.......I run it right before my BDDI and chorus.....

 

[Craig_S]

I'm glad I haven't bought one. One day, when people are bored with them, I'll buy a used one to see what the fuss was about. I'm good with my PBDDI now, though. Even that is only used for effect.

 

[retardedpossum]

well, i've finally succumbed to the amount of hype for the VT Bass here on TB, so i went and got myself one. all i've seen are gushing reviews, but so far, i can't say i've been too impressed.

firstly, this pedal is noisy. i power it with a 1spot adaptor, but even with a battery, i can't get a usable level of drive out of it without loads of hiss. way more compared to my Catalinbread SFT. how is it that i see so many people calling this pedal silent?

oh, and about the drive. i can't seem to drive it at lower gain settings. the only way for me to get a mild overdrive is to crank the both the character and drive past noon, and that's already giving me ridiculous amounts of noise. i'm running a passive Lakland Skyline JO4 into it, could it be the low output pickups? i think not, my SFT starts breaking up past 11 o'clock on the gain, and it remains dead silent.

(i hope you don't mind me comparing it to the SFT, it's just that it's the only other overdrive pedal i have.)

lastly, i'm experiencing a volume drop after i disengage the pedal. when i turn it off, the volume drops sharply, and takes about three seconds to return to normal volume. i've only been having this problem when i power it with the 1spot adaptor, powering it with a battery seems to solve this problem. however, i'm not the battery type of person, nor do i have enough money to get an isolated power supply like the Fuel Tank Jr.


other than these problems, i'm starting to think the VT Bass isn't for me. sure, it's a very versatile pedal, but the mids seem to be centered around the upper mids (1000khz), and i prefer a more growly, low-mid oriented tone. anyway, i'm not looking for a tone shaper for my clean tone, i have my SFT for that. i bought the VT Bass hoping to get a good mild overdrive, but when i get to those levels of gain, i get too much noise. and if i disengage it while playing to turn off the drive, i get a volume drop. i won't be using it live any time soon.

am i doing something wrong here?


P.S. if you were wondering "why did i buy it without testing it first?", it's because it's near impossible to get one of these where i live, and when i last saw one at a shop, it was at a ridiculous price, probably equivalent to over USD200. it was long gone anyway, never got a chance to try it.

exact same problem here

 

[mikeddd]

How about a fresh perspective? I'm a 20+ year guitar player crossing over; been playing bass as a primary instrument roughly 6 months. I'm new to bass effects but obviously not "effects pedals" in general.

The VT Bass is my first bass overdrive/distortion/character/whatever pedal. Strange But True Fact! I played through it for the first time today! Can you feel the mystery and excitement? I know I can.

I have two basses; a Spector Legend 4 Custom (Bubinga body, RW neck, EMG-HZ pups, active Spector electronics. The other is a SX SPJ; (Ash body, maple neck and FB, passive pups). I've only played through this pedal using the SX bass; it's actually my primary instrument...just feels right in my hands.

The SX SPJ is a passive bass with a P pup at the neck and a J pup at the bridge. I have to keep the level on the VT at the 0900 position in order to achieve unity gain. I don't know what voltage the SX SPJ pups put out, but I'd imagine it's at the lower end of the spectrum. That said, if I am setting the level (gain) on the VT to achieve unity, and it's at the nine o'clock postion, this pedal has a boatload of signal gain. (Word to the wise...and everyone else)

I know what Unity Gain is. Both measurable with a DMM/Oscope and by my ear. At Unity Gain, this pedal adds a small amount of noise...nothing to complain about. If you think this pedal is a noisemaker either you have a defective pedal (unlikely) or you're running it way too hot. 20 years ago I'd call this a Distortion Pedal. Now, I really don't know what category it belongs in.

"Distortion" typically means cutting off the low end. I've not experienced that problem w/this pedal. The controls are very responsive with to my ear, a wide range of adjustment. This pedal ( like all other effect pedals) interacts w/your amplifier. If you really want to fairly evaluate this pedal as preamp/distortion/OD pedal you need to set your amp flat, particularly in regards to GAIN. I did these things.

This is a really nice pedal. The controls are interactive w/each other. Tweaking the Character/Drive/Mid controls gave me about 4 really different settings. This is really incredible pedal! Yeah, it's got some hiss to it. But honestly, if you set your whole signal chain's gain structure properly, it's a non-issue.

Bottom Line: Great pedal benefiting from 20+ years of upper-tier pedal tech. If it's messing you up, it's either you b/c of misuse, abuse or ignorance (95% probability) or you got a lemon (5% probability...I'm being generous).

Great pedal. Nothing wrong with it. It does what it does. You might IMAGINE it does what you think it does but it only does what the parts and YOUR SETTINGS tell it to. Most pedals perform like crap when controls are set at 100%. Learn the pedal. Feel the pedal. Be the pedal. Buy yourself...er...buy the pedal....and be happy.

 

[Crabby]

I read the hype, bought one, returned it after being really disappointed. Then I read some more, thought I should give her a better shot. So I bought another one, kept it longer, realized I simply don't want the sound that the pedal is designed to make, and returned the second one.

Its not for everyone so don't feel bad if you don't like it.

 

[geezerjpj]

Never liked the SansAmp don't like the VT1 either ....sounds fake as can be. It'll make your 15 watt Crate practice sound a lot better...but beyond that ...caca.

I play tube amps having owned a 72 SVT and a B18 and currently using a Classic 400. It's like the difference between music from vinyl or cassette versus an mp3 on Myspace

 

[b33r]

glad to hear i'm not the only one who isn't a fan. i'll be using it at church tomorrow and see how it sounds. maybe i should explore some alternatives too...

 

[king_biscuit]

Two things: The VT is not a distortion pedal and it sounds better when it is the only preamp in the chain (through the power amp in on an effects loop for example).

 

[12bass]

My experience with the VT Bass is that it can take some time to learn how to adjust the various control as it isn't the most "plug and play" pedal. Depending on your goals, it can be used as a straight colored-sounding preamp, or as a distortion/overdrive pedal. There are some great sounds available; however, the controls are highly interactive and rather sensitive to slight adjustments, and finding those tones can be a bit of a challenge. It does seem to have a definite Ampeg overall character, so it is best suited for those who like that kind of tonality.

 

[mikeddd]

About to sit down and practice; today will be my second time using the VT Bass. What I found out last night was the controls are really interactive w/each other...definitely not a "one trick pony" pedal. Be back later.

 

[My name is Mudd]

Two things: The VT is not a distortion pedal and it sounds better when it is the only preamp in the chain (through the power amp in on an effects loop for example).

What he says.

 

[BroKenSticKs]

So i managed to find a good tone tonight at rehearsal with the pedal.

I think i was trying to use the pedal too much if that makes any sense. If you're having trouble finding usable tones going into the front of an amp try this...

Set your amp flat (or at least close to it) then try and find a setting on the pedal that is very close to your dry sound, at least eq wise. The pedal will always provide colouration but there should be a setting where its not too much different then your dry. Then from there tweak the knobs. My previous approach was to find a sound running DI into my comp and then putting it in front of my amp and trying to make it work. With my new approach i seem to be able to find sounds that are practical and i can then tweak both the pedal and my amp depending on what i want more/less of.

The way i have it set now its adding a lot of warmth and some drive, but without being really dramatic.

 

[ninepoundjammer]

I wasn't so sure about the VT at first, but liking it quite a bit these days.

I start of with a very transparent Euphonic Audio amp EQ'd as flat as I can get it. I find I can pretty much get back to flat EQ if I tweak the VT just right. The tricky thing for me is that the mid eq knob and character knob seem highly coupled. Character knob seems to bring in more high mids. I usually boost the lows just a hair and run the treble about flat (which seems to be around 11 o'clock. Then I tweak the mid/character knobs to get a sound that works. This depends a lot on the room. Adding "character" seems to brighten up the mids and help in muddy/boomy rooms (sometimes pulling back on the bass knob as well).

I'm getting pretty much the electric sound I'm going for, some ampeg qualities but not exactly comparable to any particular amp. It rounds/smooths out my low end a bit, adds a bit of character to the mids and just a hint of drive. These are all subtle additions to a tone I already like, though. I don't do anything drastic with it, and I find I'm not crazy about the overdrive if it gets hit too hard. I put any boost/overdrive after the VT.

I think it does the ampeg emulation pretty much as billed. But if you don't like that sound...

Oh, my VT is more sensitive to noisy power supplies than my other pedals, but on clean power and reasonable settings it's not noisy at all.

 

[FromBeyond]

At first i didn't get the hype about the VT as well, but after a few weeks messing with the controls i absolutely love it! Don't give up on it yet