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VT Bass - Unity level problems..

S

SteveMoodie

Oct 2, 2008
226
112
New Zealand
www.thethomasoliverband.com
#1
Hi guys,
I recently purchased a VT bass. And well I am really loving it, one thing is bugging me. To get 'unity gain' I am having to put the level knob at 8 or 9 o'clock at the most. (and that's when EQ is flat & drive at about 10 o'clock!) If I boost anything, I have to turn the level down more and it gets to that point where a touch more turning will mute the sound. I certainly cannot put the level where the instructions suggest. :hmm:

Has anyone else had this problem?
Do you think it is ok to cut below flat on the eq section to get 'unity gain'?

Cheers
Steve
 
#3
As long as you are achieving unity gain, I don't see the problem. Who cares if its at 8 or 9 oclock? The pedal has a ton of gain and volume on tap. Its just the nature of the VT Bass...

If its still bothering you, try adding in equal amounts of EQ from all three parametric frequencies - High, Medium, Low.
 
#4
Same issue with me... but it doesn't bother me.

I think if they didn't offer a crap-load of gain/volume on the pedal people would complain because they couldn't get tons of boost out of it. We see posts here every month from people wanting what I feel is completely ludicrous amounts of boost out of pedals.
 
#5
I don't find it to be quite as severe, but if I use a higher gain setting (say around 1 or 2 o'clock) then I experience what you're describing - basically having unity and the pedal being completely muted being only a very slight twist of the level knob apart.

This mirrors my experience with the XXLB where there was just far more gain on tap than anyone would logically need.
 
#9
i dont understand whats the problem, if you achieve unity gain at 8-9 oc then its more good than bad as you can turn it up way louder if needed :P
anyway if you like your volume knob up you could cut on the eq, its not at all needed to keep the volume knob as the sample settings suggest
 
#11
Jimbob Jones said:
I think he's saying you can push it beyond unity, and up to line level to push a poweramp directly, without using a rack pre, or something with a line out.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know what he was saying, it just has nothing to do with the OP's question. :hmm:

It seems like a lot of people did not really read the OP's post. He said he could only get unity at essentially the very minimal position of the level knob, and turning up any of the EQ or drive knobs meant not being at unity. IOW "what's the problem" is you only get a small percentage of the tone options of the pedal at that unity gain setting. You want more EQ or drive options? No unity.
 
#12
The VT is not a tube amp, so it really doesn't matter where the level is set. If unity gain with the sound you like is at 8:00, so be it. Adding more or taking away volume won't make it sound any better or worse.
 
#15
I have the same thing going on with my VT, but it's a good thing. What I am confused about is when I try to run other OD/Dist/Fuzz into the VT. The signal gets clamped shut like it has an extremely sensitive limiter.
 
#16
TheMutt said:
I have the same thing going on with my VT, but it's a good thing. What I am confused about is when I try to run other OD/Dist/Fuzz into the VT. The signal gets clamped shut like it has an extremely sensitive limiter.
Click to expand...
What is distortion? Specifically applied compression. So if you take two pedals with specifically applied compression, you're bound to hit a wall at some point.
 
#18
I think what most people are missing is that when there is such a large amount of gain on tap, it gives you a very narrow range in which to work with in terms of level.

In the OP's case the level knob has a very small degree of rotation between unity and no volume at all. If you only use the pedal on one setting that's fine. But if you turn the gain up and down slightly or make larger adjustments to Bass, Mids or Treble then you need to adjust the level which is a pain when there is such a small usable range for that knob.

Again, this isn't much different from the XXLB. I remember wondering who would possibly want such a large boost that they would use the upper 50 or 60% of the level knob.
 
#19
I have mine at 8oclock, it's ok, just make sure you don't bump it during a gig or all hell might break loose. Where ever the level is set it doesn't affect the sound.

This is a potential downside if your using it on a busy stage. I've had it move during a soundcheck, a cord happened to wind itself around the pedal and all volume was lost but all pedals would do the same, it's just this one will blow speakers if it gets up high. I've been considering making a pedal board with some kind of cord deflecting box design to put the VT in.
 

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