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VT Volume Knob

Scott McArron

Scott McArron

Jan 7, 2007
2,196
1,389
Hamburg, Germany
linktr.ee
#1
Just a quick question because after hours of reading I've never heard of this. I can't turn up my VT pedal beyond 1 of 10 without being crazy loud. To match volume with the clean signal, I can't turn up the volume past maybe 8 'o clock at the most. Is this normal? The EQ settings suggest turning up to 50% or more, but the volume difference is staggering. Any thoughts?
 
#2
no worry's.i have had same issue with it but i think that is because it is not true by-pass and about EQ section which could boost or cut signal even with small mess up with it.check the battery out also.if this does not help just write to Tech 21 and they should provide to you more information.:bassist:
 
#8
Scott McArron said:
Just a quick question because after hours of reading I've never heard of this. I can't turn up my VT pedal beyond 1 of 10 without being crazy loud. To match volume with the clean signal, I can't turn up the volume past maybe 8 'o clock at the most. Is this normal? The EQ settings suggest turning up to 50% or more, but the volume difference is staggering. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

The higher the "drive" level, even bigger the problem. I try to understand how can people comfortably use this pedal on stage, but I can not. Some unintentional slide on the knobs can cause a catastrophe. The programmable version must be much more usable.
 
#9
old-fashioned said:
The higher the "drive" level, even bigger the problem. I try to understand how can people comfortably use this pedal on stage, but I can not. Some unintentional slide on the knobs can cause a catastrophe. The programmable version must be much more usable.
Click to expand...

Yeah, one wrong step and you can inadvertently crank it up crazy loud. Someone posted an idea here of putting rubber bands under the knobs to make them more difficult to turn. Seems worth a try.
 
#10
Should mention that the V2 (with the speaker sim button) is ALOT less sensitive on the Volume control and can get a 'better' range for use as a stomp box (the volume control is so powerful on the V1 as you can use it to drive a power amp - on the Sansamp Bass Driver, they has a switch to boost from instrument level to line level)
 
#11
I have a VT also which I play through a Fender combo. I always turn the EQ knobs on the combo completely down when I use the pedal. Would you guys use the pedal the smae way or differently?
 
#12
I find that it's pretty common to have volume discrepancies from pedal to pedal, and that's a big reason why I don't use a ton of them in a live setting. I definitely found what you did with the VT but I loved the sound so my solution was to get the deluxe version. Now I leave it on all the time and just have one channel for "clean", one for "dirty", etc. I feel like the volume is lot more controllable with this type of setup.
 
#13
Deaky said:
I have a VT also which I play through a Fender combo. I always turn the EQ knobs on the combo completely down when I use the pedal. Would you guys use the pedal the smae way or differently?
Click to expand...
You should definitely read the manual for your specific amp and find out what the "flat" setting is for the EQ, where it is not cutting or boosting anything. That's where you want the EQ when using an external preamp. Unfortunately it can't be assumed that "completely down" is the same as "flat".

Another option, if you amp has an effects loop, is to bypass the combo's preamp altogether by going: bass --> VT --> fx loop return jack.
 
#16
The earlier VT Bass pedals had a quicker taper on the level control than the version 2 VT Bass that is now being made. My guess is that the OP is probably using a fairly high drive setting on the pedal which can make it a bit more challenging to find the sweet spot for unity gain.

On the flip side if you are running the version 2 pedal and using lower drive settings you will need to crank the level much higher to achieve unity gain. in a perfect world...

Either way, both versions have the same overall output.

You can put a rubber washer under the level control knob if you find it too easy to accidentally change the setting.
 
#17
I found my favorite tones in the VT to be with the Drive around 10:00, which gives alot more wiggle-room for the Level control. My VT is always on and actually feeds an Ampeg SVT3Pro tube pre-amp then into the power amp. In my current setup, clicking on the VT does bring the input volume up, but not an extreme difference. YMMV especially if you turn up the Drive.
 
#18
tech21nyc said:
The earlier VT Bass pedals had a quicker taper on the level control than the version 2 VT Bass that is now being made. My guess is that the OP is probably using a fairly high drive setting on the pedal which can make it a bit more challenging to find the sweet spot for unity gain.

On the flip side if you are running the version 2 pedal and using lower drive settings you will need to crank the level much higher to achieve unity gain. in a perfect world...

Either way, both versions have the same overall output.

You can put a rubber washer under the level control knob if you find it too easy to accidentally change the setting.
Click to expand...

I'm using everything at noon. Volume at 8 o' clock tops. It's the earlier version. Same volume knob issue with all suggested settings that come with the pedal. Not that anything is wrong with the pedal, just wondering why level-matching happens with the knob at 7:30 or 8 rather than noon or so. And it's really touchy and takes some time to dial in right. Still sounds great though!!
 
#19
Scott McArron said:
I'm using everything at noon. Volume at 8 o' clock tops. It's the earlier version. Same volume knob issue with all suggested settings that come with the pedal. Not that anything is wrong with the pedal, just wondering why level-matching happens with the knob at 7:30 or 8 rather than noon or so. And it's really touchy and takes some time to dial in right. Still sounds great though!!
Click to expand...

The level control is the master volume for the pedal. It is after all circuitry and has nothing to do with any of the distortion or tone of the pedal. Because the pedal is a preamp it needs to have a fair amount of output to drive a power amp or to be plugged into a mixing board. Much more output than a typical passive bass will have. When you are running the pedal in line with a bass amp which has it's own preamp that is designed to boost the signal level of a passive instrument it can be a little challenging to balance the output for unity gain.

In your particular case you are running the drive at noon which is why there is extra output. If you were trying to get a really clean tone out of the VT Bass and had the drive at 8-9 o'clock you would need to set the level much higher to achieve unity gain. If your amp has a lower gain input you can try using that and the pedal may not be quite as sensitive.

If you think of a vintage amp like an original Ampeg SVT,
there is no master volume control. There is only a volume control which adjusts the preamp and output gain. The control on our character series pedals works much in the same manner. The first half of the rotation increases volume and overdrive. Once you get past the halfway point the overdrive will keep increasing but the volume will not increase nearly as much as in the first half of the rotation.
 
#20
Start with all of the knobs at 11am and adjust for what you like from there.

I find that running the various knobs between 11am and 1pm settings gives me a good tone from this pedal.

pedal.jpg
 

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