Tech21NYC

It's not a Character pedal at all. It's a completely different circuit though it does use the same enclosure as do a number of our other pedals.

The Empress is a nice pedal, I used to own one. The Q/Strip has two bands of sweepable midrange, two shelving EQ's, high and low pass filters and a 4.7 MegOhm input impedance. The Empress gives you three adjustable parametric EQ's with adjustable Q's for each, a 30dB foot switchable boost, 1MegOhm input as well as a 3 way input pad. Our unit was designed to be like an old vintage channel strip and uses Mosfet circuitry. I'm not sure about the Empress topology but it's a well made unit. It depends on your needs. We go with a medium Q as that seems to work the best for most musical instrument applications. A wide Q can be a bit too subtle. The narrow Q is useful for fixing things like a specific frequency node or feedback etc. The HPF can be helpful as well for low end stage rumble or problematic low frequencies. The LPF in conjunction with one of the midrange bands can be used as an analog speaker sim. In the end it's always best to try both side by side if feasible, but I think I've covered the differences and similarities.

Yes, it will be announced at NAMM. The unit is expected to ship in May for the US and Europe. If you keep in eye on our Facebook page that's where most updated information is.

Like all our SansAmps the output is low impedance and is designed for direct use. There is no XLR connection though. If connectivity is an issue you can either use a 1/4" to XLR adapter or any inexpensive DI will work. As mentioned most mixing consoles and interfaces can accommodate TS, TRS and XLR connections. Usually the issue for live is most snakes don't offer combo inputs.

Hmm. That's odd. Where did you purchase it?

Most likely a ground loop between the RBI and amp. The Ebtech would work or Pyle makes a less expensive unit. You could also try if you have an old 1/4" cable around, cutting the shield at one end of the cable and use that cable between the RBI and Orange. That would break the ground loop. Also if possible try the connecting the RBI and amp in a different location.

What exactly was happening with the unit? How was it hooked up? We haven't had any reports of this type of issue before?

For the most part in smaller situations your bass sound is pretty much a composite of what's coming off stage and what reinforcement the sound tech feels is necessary. Unfortunately in the states at least, most sound techs don't understand the difference between sound reinforcement and reproduction. They try to use a studio approach in a live sound environment. Many players seem predisposed to this approach as well. The band I play with does a lot of large outdoor shows in the summertime and the bass and low end is the most problematic frequency. Many times the low end backwash from the PA's subwoofers will negatively impact the sound on stage. My bass player will often lament that he's "playing the PA" instead of his bass amp. As a lead guitarist I've been told by sound techs I'm too loud when it's the PA system that forces the band to play louder because they place the system too close to the stage. When we pay to provide our own sound I will make them move the subs and line arrays farther from the stage so we can play at lower volumes. Live sound is always a challenge.

The Bass Driver DI was originally designed as a tone shaping direct box. The concept was to plug into the DI and send the "parallel" output to your bass amp and use your amp for your stage monitor and tone. The Bass Driver DI's XLR would be sent to the mixer and would be set for the most desirable DI tone. The pedal is designed to be used into the front end of an amp or efx loop if you are unhappy with your amp's inherent tone or for additional sounds. If using the XLR out to the PA this can lead to the issue described above. It's the reason many DI's on bass amps have a pre EQ switch. In a small venue where people hear mostly the sound of the stage amp and the PA is used for additional reinforcement there is probably more leeway. In a large venue where the sound is heard mainly from the PA it makes more sense to dial in the sound of the pedal from the FOH perspective.

How so?

Did you mean the effects return? The power section in any good bass amp should work fine.

The Level controls on the front of the unit control both the XLR and 1/4" outputs of their respective channels. If the channels are jumpered internally, the mixed sound is available at all outputs. The GED-2112 and RBI have some crossover tones but the GED has more midrange control as well as more Drive available. The RBI has a more modern tone and the Presence control gives at that "sizzle" that works well for certain styles of music. The form factors are very similar, but the GED had to forgo the ability to control the XLR and 1/4" outputs individually due to the extra channel. The GED-2112 can be used as a very transparent preamp if desired by merely turning the Blend and Deep Channel off which bypasses the SansAmp circuit. It then becomes a clean preamp with semi-parametric EQ. The RBI can also be used in the same manner but without the semi-parametric midrange control.

The settings for our SansAmp products are usually done direct to a mixer and are for reference or to be used as a starting point. Settings that work into various amps with different tone stacks and speaker systems will most likely not sound the same through different amps. We suggest going into an amps effects loop when using our SansAmps as your main "amp" tone as that method bypasses the hosts amps preamp section. If you want to use the pedal in front and use it like a stomp box you need to rethink the settings a bit as your amps preamp will fight against the inherent tone of the pedal.

It's often called a cab or speaker sim, but in reality it's the sound of the speaker as captured through various microphones at different positions. Like a close mic'd SM57 off axis or an AKG at a distance of 6" on the cap edge etc. The IR's can very accurately represent the EQ curve as captured through various mic's. They can't capture compression or distortion artifacts though. They are very popular for lead guitar because many times in the studio more than one microphone will be used to capture the tone. They are less popular with bass since bass is often DI'd or a composite sound of a DI and a mic'd cab. Mic'ing a bass cab with stereo room mic's would be kind of pointless for most applications. You also have to convert the analog signal to digital to use them. With bass you could go parallel and use your DI sound and also feed the signal to an impulse response etc.

Usually the issue of brightness is exacerbated when going into the front end of an amp or using full range speakers. Going directly into a power amp as you are doing is the preferred method. Are you using an active bass or passive? Have you tried using the XLR out on the DP-3X? That output is a little darker.

What are you plugging the pedal into?

With our band we bring our own digital mixer and a splitter. Keys, vocal mics, guitars, bass & drums are all patched into the splitter and our monitors are controlled by the QSC app via iPhones or iPads. Two of us use wedges and everyone else in on in-ears. Our mix is independent from FOH. I prefer a wedge to in-ears. I would also be very hesitant to be in a situation where someone else is controlling my mix if I'm on in-ears. Personal monitors can easily damage your hearing and inexpensive ones most certainly will. It's interesting to note that except for the drums the two instruments that are only direct tend to be the most inconsistent when it comes to stage volume. Also, if you are playing direct you are at the total mercy of whoever is mixing as the band will have very little sound coming off of the stage. I think in-ears work better in concert/pro situations where the band is heard almost entirely through the PA. On a local level in a small pub. club etc it makes the sound techs job easier in certain respect while risking the musicians hearing and simultaneously neutering the sound of the band. A band in a small venue direct sounds like bad karaoke. IMHO.

About 60mA. The circuit itself draws very little. It's the LED's for the tuner and lights for the controls that exceed the maximum current limit for a phantom powered device. We suspect many people will probably use the pedal inline and in front of their amps in which case you will most likely want to boost the mids and decrease the highs depending upon your amp settings. Going direct with the DI if using the 1/4" out to you amp you can adjust the EQ at the board if desired to tweak the final sound. If using into a powered speaker and want the same tone sent to the mixer you can use the through of your powered speaker and send that to the PA or run the pedal to a DI and split it that way. The dUg video with Pete Thorn is all DI. I'm sure there will be other videos in the future showing the pedal through different setups. dUg has used it direct, into an amps efx return as well as into the front of an amp. It works for him either way.

We gladly listen to constructive criticism and comments on are products. Of course it would have a little more validity if the person offering the constructive criticism has actually used or tried the product. The pedal was designed for dUg and end result was what he wanted. I play direct a great deal and placing my wedge on the floor typically doesn't like the same speaker on a stand from 30' away. Many wedges have settings for full range, low cut to reduce floor rumble and a high boost to make vocals intelligible on a noisy stage. The FOH has a mixer with a fair amount of EQ. A good tech will tweak the sound if needed.

Full range or not a bass rig is not a PA system unless that is what you are using. We do some big outdoor shows with my band with flown line arrays and banks of subs running thousands of watts and a bass amp in comparison is not even close. In a smaller venue your rig is being heard in the room and the PA is there for "reinforcement" and your sound is a composite of your stage amp and the PA. Adjust your amp so it sounds good through that and unless you're doing some really extreme setting, the FOH should be able to get a sound that works. Let the sound engineer do his job. You're not really in the proper perspective to analyze your tone in the same way the person out front does. In the end you're at the mercy of the sound tech.

Compensate? Just set it to where it sounds good with whichever output you are using. That's what the eq is for. You might have a preferred setting but chances are you may have to tweak them depending upon the rig you are using and the situation you are in.

You really need a spectral analyzer to decide if something works for you? Wouldn't it be faster to just listen? The pedal is voiced to dUg's specs and he doesn't like the extra high end he hears through the big systems he plays through. The interview demo he does with Pete Thorn he is using the XLR out and there is no shortage of high end. The unit does have a treble control and if you look at his actual settings in the manual he has the highs set around 10 o'clock. The pedal has no shortage of high end. Again, it's a dUg Pinnick signature pedal so that should give you an idea of the type of tones it has. It's a pretty cool little pedal. If it's a sound you think you can use, give it a go. If it doesn't work for you, send it back.

The VT Bass was designed to cover a wider territory of Ampeg style tones. It has the Character control which allows you to easily morph into these different sonic territories. The VT Bass 500 amp has some of the features of the VT Bass DI and some additional features for more flexibility.

Maybe the XLR isn't really darker, maybe the 1/4" is brighter... While the pedal was in development dUg used it on tour through a multitude of amps and different PA systems and the filters were set to his specifications. He prefers going into the efx returns when using backline amps though that isn't always an option. In those cases he just plugs the pedal in front of the amp. My suggestion would be to try the pedal for yourself and not come to tonal conclusions from something you read on a forum. In the video interview with Pete Thorn they are using the XLR output and there is no shortage of high end.