Does anyone else out there feel the VT pedals compress your signal too much? It seems with the drive anywhere past 9 or 10 oclock, when I dig in, the pedal overly limits and I lose quite a bit of volume. I can be a heavy handed player, and I enjoy the tones I can get out of the unit, but it seems the signal gets squashed too much. Anyone else experience this? I'd love to be able to dial the limiting down a bit.
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.
VT Bass Deluxe Compresses Too Much?
- Thread starter jeff5311
- Start date
Yes, but it is common with distortion from amps or pedals. I wouldn't say it's worse on the VT than anything else.
Right. I agree its the nature of the tube emulation. It just seems that the limiting is way overkill. If i dig in it breaks perfectly into a great overdrive tone but the volume is less than when playing with a light touch. So weird!
I love the VT, but I hear it in comparison to my SVT's and B-15 for sure. I still think it's a very cool pedal, but yeah, I notice it. Getting rid of it? I don't know...it's built into the character of the pedal. Maybe you could mod it, though...don't know.
What type of bass and pickups are you using? The thing to remember is that the distortion characteristics of the VT are NOT dependent on volume as they are with a tube amp. I hear people say it compresses more but I don't totally buy it. Ask anybody that's ever run a loud tube amp through an attenuator and they will tell you the same thing. That's because you will play harder when the volume is softer so the best way to get around it is to back down a bit on the drive as you probably have too much dialed in and increase the level. It's a balancing act between the two controls and your playing style and output of your bass all come into play.
I would say its way worse on my Darkglass VMT but that's part of it signature. Maybe the same for the VT. Whatever it does I like it. The newer V2 VT sounds different in the drive area then the VTD sounded. I can turn the drive up to 12:00 with no problem but only around 9 or 10 on the VTD. That's weird. I don't know if the compression is any worse I've never thought it was bad in the first place.
It's really not bad compression at all. But that SVT just sounds so completely uncompressed to me that even a little compression becomes noticeable.
For me, the "over" compression makes the pedal unusable in live situation. If I want to dig in to accent a phrase or even one note, the drive kicks in (which is fine) but the volume seems to drop TOO MUCH making the opposite of what I want to happen. I've tried to find some middle ground where I pull the drive back, but then I lose the overdriven tone.
This seems to happen regardless of which bass I use (Sadowsky mv5, Fender P5, Ric 4003, '78 Jazz).
Is there a newer version of the VT Deluxe (v2???)? Maybe I have an older model and they've since "fixed" this?
"Fixed" is a bad word and shouldn't have used it. I meant to ask if maybe there's a newer model that compresses differently.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I run my VT bass pedal with all of the knobs between 11 and 1 ... that is the sweet range for that pedal.
The new VT DI looks like it would help. With the blend knob it should be able to dial in your uncompressed signal as well.
Please have a look at my old VT thread
Especially at Post 6, where I show how gain increase compresses the signal...
Jimmy, how loud are you running the SVT and with what speakers? What rig and volume level are you using with the VTDLX?
svtb15
Inactive
- Mar 22, 2004
- 13,004
- 4,741
- Disclosures
- I play it all. Whatever works for the gig. Q+
I have a European tour coming up.. I need to get one of those new VTDIs since it is going to be mostly IEMs...
I would like to mess with it and figure it out before i have to leave in Augusts. Anyone know when and if it is ever coming out?
I would like to mess with it and figure it out before i have to leave in Augusts. Anyone know when and if it is ever coming out?
What specific settings are you using and what is your signal chain? There shouldn't be a difference in sound between any of the VT products. Specific settings between different units will not produce the exact same results as there is a 15-20% variance in the potentiometers. The VT Bass Deluxe uses digi-pots and those will be different as well. The V2 VT has a slower taper on the level control compared to the V1. You still get the same amount of output level but the V2 pedal needs its level control turned up higher to get there.
My advice is to forget the sample settings and numbers and adjust by using your ears and how the pedal reacts to YOUR playing technique.
Also FYI, our pedals generally have more potential gain than the actual amps they emulate. There is a pre boost. The reason for this is that because the pedals are also designed for direct recording (Sans AMP and speaker) more gain is needed to make up for what is lost by the interaction of the guitar and speaker cabinet. This means the drive control has a bigger range than the average amp and you need to be a bit more judicious with your settings.
I always find at a gig that I have better success with our Character pedals by setting them up clean at first and gradually increasing the Drive and decreasing or increasing the level as needed. If I use the same settings that I use at home in a quiet setting they never work with the band. You just play harder live.
