Tech21NYC

The toggle switch can be used to combine the channels. On the newer units there is a mix output on the Drive channel. If you only use that one output the channels are automatically combined.

We've had people send in their units for repair with the same complaint and they were working correctly. The newer version does have a different taper for the controls that makes it easier to adjust that section. The basic Bass Driver tone shape is there. There is no Blend control like the standalone pedal. The addition of the midrange control on the Bass Driver v2 in conjunction with the Bass and Treble works differently than the v1 version. Some settings will be identical some won't. The Bass Driver sound on the Bass Fly Rig v2 is more like the v2 Bass Driver. The headphone feature for the most part has been problematic to end users and us. We have had end users send in their units for repair only to find they had the headphone button engaged when using the unit with an amp or mixer.

Octave pedals work best when connected directly to the instrument. You don't want them in the effects loop or before a distortion or chorus. Like any multi-effects pedal, if you have a specific pedal that you can't do without, you may need to incorporate that with the Bass Fly Rig. The Octafilter section is better understood if you hear it in context with the effects it was patterned after. (see below) If you don't need those effects don't use them. It's still a great deal if you were to price out the pedal with individual effects. A compressor, VT Bass DI, Bass Driver, Chorus and Tuner.

There was never anything broken on the Octafilter section. Many players didn't understand it but it was never broken. We did change the taper of the controls to make it easier to use.

The VT Bass DI is based on Ampeg style tones. It is also a DI box. The YYZ is a stripped down stompbox version of our GED-2112.

Aside from wattage differences, the VT 1969 has two discrete channels and also has the ability to mix the two and also a switchable mute. The VT Bass 500 has the Bite, mid shift, blend and headphone functions.

We do still have bags for the VT Bass 500 that you can purchase. I would check with our distributor to see if they have some locally.

We do have some cabs left here but that doesn't help much...Maybe try our distributor: ROCKY ROAD DISTRIBUTION LTD Tel: + 44 (0) 1494 535333 Fax: + 44 (0) 8701 360067 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.rocky-rd.com

The Bass Driver/RBI like many of our SansAmps can be set clean. Because they are emulating the sound of a vintage tube amp many demos focus on the more over driven sounds. The reason we have the Blend up all the way in many sample settings is simple, vintage tube amps have no Blend control. The Blend control was part of the original design conception and goes back to how bass guitar used to be recorded in a studio setting. The bass guitar would go to a DI and the direct signal went to the board and the through of the DI went to a mic'd bass amp and both signals were "blended" at the board. It was a composite sound. In most settings whether live or in the studio the bass is DI'd these days. Your clean sound with our SansAmps will depend upon how much headroom you are playing with. With less headroom you will tend to play harder and hit the circuit harder. If you want no amp emulation you can turn the Blend all the way off and now you have a DI with EQ.

At the moment we are no longer producing any Deluxe pedals. We have no plans to make another Leeds at the present. For product suggestions I recommend posting on our Facebook page. The Leeds is a really cool pedal. I still have mine and use it regularly for both bass and lead guitar. They do pop up used from time to time.

You should never assume that it is safe to power any pedal with an incorrect power supply. We get so many pedals in for repair that have been damaged by using the improper power supply. When in doubt check your owners manual or contact the manufacturer.

I don't know him personally but everyone tells me he's a great guy that really loves to play the bass. It comes across in the videos he does.

The pedal is an analog amp emulator. It is an actual circuit that mimics a real tube amp's behavior. This is not the same as a modeler that uses algorithms. Basically there is one very flexible circuit that has an all analog signal path and uses a microprocessor to store the presets. The presets are a good place to start but once you understand the pedal it's easy enough to tweak. Personally I always have it set in "Performance Mode" and dial in my sounds and save to those 3 slots.

If you have an interest in the technical side of things there is absolutely nothing wrong with learning about it. Our designer and owner as well as our chief engineer are both guitar and bass players. As someone that deals with the end user on a regular basis, my point is about the internet in general where people with little understanding of the science read some information (many times misinformation) and have no idea what it really means or how it applies. They go down this rabbit hole of research and analysis, taking measurements etc. only to get to a gig and struggle with the physics of the environment and wonder why the aforementioned seemed to fail them.

There was really nothing hidden from anyone. All EQ's work in the same manner. Before the age of the internet, players just bought gear turned some knobs and used it. There was no need to become an engineer to use a piece of gear. In the end it should still be that way. Let the engineers do the geeky stuff and let the musicians do what they do best which is play. Time is better spent playing than taking electronic measurements. How a waveform looks on an FFT or scope doesn't help the average player using a pedal or amp on a gig. I have no idea how the various systems in my car work. I get in, turn it on and drive... When I'm on a gig and my vocal wedge has too much low end I know to use the HPF. That works. What works better is more low tech. I place the wedge on a milk crate which decouples it from the floor and also gets it a bit higher so I don't need to run it as loud. I figured that out long before I knew what a HPF was.

We use a mid bandwidth Q on the pedal which is more musical. The narrow Q is great for "fixing" things and a wide Q can sometimes be too subtle. It really depends on your application.

I didn't really say it was linked but more that all the controls interact with one another which is true of most EQ. If you want to do more surgical EQ's like a notch filter, that is a very steep curve which is good for dealing with a node or problem frequency or feedback. Those types of EQ's aren't really musical they are for solving very specific problems. It's always a bit puzzling to me that over the years many players want "full range" preamps and speakers etc and then have to use HPF/LPF to get back to where the

Correct. You should need no additional equipment to use the Bass Driver DI with your interface. The amp emulation of the SansAmp will contribute a certain amount of compression depending upon the Drive settings just like a tube amp would. Don't be hesitant to turn the controls and experiment. Once you get a handle on how the pedal functions it will become quite easy.

The presence control is already boosting at 12 o'clock. The Mid, Treble and Bass boost and cut from 12 o'clock. Maybe try starting with the Blend off (counterclockwise) and gradually increasing. Have you tried the sample settings. Try Fat Tube with less Drive, Presence and Blend.

It's hard to find a single unit that will do everything you want. The Fly Rig series was designed for portability and ease of use. They were never intended to be a substitute for a full featured pedal board.

There is really no room to add an effects loop in there. It would require a redesign. It would be easier and more cost effective to run an inexpensive DI at the end of the chain. Are you using all the features of the BFR?

Mic, instrument and line level are really operational ranges to consider when interfacing with different gear. None of these levels are constant like a voltage measurement. It helps to understand all the devices you are using to get the optimum signal to noise ratio and levels. If the person at the mixer doesn't know how to adjust for varying levels, that's a problem. You basically want enough gain to match levels with the other inputs and enough headroom so there won't be any channel overload on the peaks. We measured the output level of one of our passive bass guitars. Playing lightly the signal level was around -12dbB which is instrument level. Playing an eighth note pattern a bit harder the level was around -8dB. Slapping aggressively on the low E the level peaked at around 0dB which is considered consumer line level. This is why the channel strip has to be gain staged properly. Most modern mixers can accommodate a wide range of signal levels from microphone to instrument level. My inexpensive Soundcraft mixer that I use for small gigs has a -15dB pad and 60dB of preamp gain. It easily works with anything I plug into it.

Not at the moment but there is one in the works.

The PSA 2.0 can most certainly be used for bass. There are 10 bass presets in the manual on page 17. http://www.tech21nyc.com/t21manuals/PSA_2pt0_OM1.pdf There are also a number of stompbox emulations like Fuzz Face, MXR+ etc. The PSA-1.1 was used by engineers and artists in the studio for years on guitar, bass, drums vocals etc.

Pricing aside, 128 presets vs 1 is meaningless unless you're happy with the overall tone. Nothing against SA, but that is an apples to oranges comparison. Those units are all digital whereas the PSA 2.0 is an all analog signal path. It's an entirely different technology. It's the same reason a modeler can claim to give you the sound of 100 different tube amps and dozens of effects for a fraction of the cost of the actual units. Whether it sounds "better" or just "close enough" is ultimately in the ear of the beholder. It's the better, cheaper more convenient argument. Pick two. 😉