topo morto

[quote name='GarethFlatlands' post='1215441' date='Apr 30 2011, 12:10 AM']Er, they do! The VT programmable, unless I'm missing something. No blend control though. Edit:- Me being dumb, it's called the VT Bass Deluxe.[/quote] Confusingly, the Bass Driver does have both a [url="http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/bassdriverdlx.html"]Deluxe [/url]and a [url="http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/bassdriverp.html"]Programmable [/url]version... even though the Deluxe is, of course, programmable!

[color="#C0C0C0"]Subliminal message to Tech 21: design a combination deluxe bass driver / VT bass[/color] Aah, we'd done such a good job selling him the VT Bass and then tech 21 come along and muddy the waters! [color="#C0C0C0"]make a combination deluxe bass driver / VT bass now you know you want to[/color]

[quote name='son of frog' post='1214447' date='Apr 29 2011, 01:40 AM']the VT is probably the one to go for, and hopefully when i get it i will decide i no longer need the BDDI[/quote] I think you'll be very happy with it... rest assured that the VT bass can get near most of the tones that the BDDI can do, and nail many of them. I think it's great to have such tone-shaping DI's. All you really need is one of those, and a little amp just big enough to play places that don't have a decent PA... 100W or something. That's all you should have to lug anywhere!

I'd like to see a bit of consolidation in Tech21's product line - e.g. a deluxe-style pedal with switchable BD / VT mode (or just with the controls of both.) The ability to have both BD and VT presets in one programmable pedal would make it a 'must-have'...

[url="http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/BDI21.aspx"]http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/BDI21.aspx[/url] Almost the exact same thing by all acounts. Just don't tread on it too hard

There are a lot of people who swear by the BDDI, and a lot who say it's the worst thing since sliced sh*t (they get all emotional about their mids.) VT bass has even more fans, and not so many detractors. Incidentally, the best description I heard of its sound was [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f36/sansamp-vt-bass-deluxe-vs-bass-driver-deluxe-703324/"]fuzzy and round "Like a tennis ball"... [/url] Good luck with your choice!

Tone-wise, i'd boil the difference down to this : The Bass Driver has a pre-gain tone control called 'presence', which provides a real sharpness to the sound - almost working like a harmonic exciter. However, there's no way of doing a pre-gain bass cut, so high drive settings sound very buzzy - which I would call a disadvantage. However, it does have a blend knob. Finally, the Bass driver sound is scooped around 800Hz. The VT Bass has a pre-gain tone control around 1Khz (the 'character' knob) which also cuts lows. This enables a much wider range of usable high-gain sounds - things get 'clangy' rather than 'buzzy'. It has a mellower tone overall than the bass driver. It has a post gain mid control too, which the BDDI lacks. Both will be able to give you a somewhat 'scooped', larger-than life, sound with mild tube overdrive. The Bass driver has the edge if you want to take that to extremes or if you like very bright sounds, or you like a tight feel. The VT bass has a looser feel but is better (IMO) for high levels of drive due to the nature of the character knob, and is also easier to set to mid-heavy sounds. My personal preference at the moment is the Bass Driver, as I like the 'hoojness' of it... But the VT bass does almost everything the Bass Driver does and more besides. So the VT bass would probably be the 'If in doubt' option. Disclaimer - my experience is with the bog-standard VT Bass and BDDI, so I may be missing a trick or two that the posh versions can do.

You should have a word with the famous 'bongomania' of ovnilabs - I think he's an Exar rep.... also see [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/exarbc.shtml"]http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/exarbc.shtml[/url]

Decent enough pedal but I've not seen it give my idea of crunch - for [i]crunch [/i]i'd recommend an amp sim type pedal like an SFT or VT bass.

Bagged a theory DVD - arrived 21 hours later... excellent! Thanks and have a good easter.