Tech21NYC

The speaker sim on the VT Bass 500 is always active when the SansAmp circuit is engaged. It is bypassed when the Blend control is turned to minimum. The Drive, Character and Bite functions are also inactive when the Blend is set to minimum. The Level, Low, Mid and High controls are always active no matter where the Blend control is set. The Bite switch is a pre-shape presence boost and is the stock VT Bass tone.

[quote name='Kevin Dean' timestamp='1371677461' post='2116971'] as I have a 3000w stereo power amp that I only use half of it for the PA I could use the RB1 & the other half of the amp to power the bass speaker ? [/quote] Sure, that would work. Many players use power amps with preamps. Just take care that you don't send too much power to your cab.

I'm a little confused by the statement using the Bass Driver to "clean up" your clean tone? The Bass Driver is designed as a direct recording device and a tube amp emulated DI box. It can be used into an amp as well. If you're having feedback issues you can start by gain staging the Bass Driver for unity gain. This means that the pedal will be the same volume as running your bass into your amp without the pedal. The same goes for your distortion pedal. A little volume boost is OK but a large jump may result in feedback.

We usually recommend going into the efx "return" and bypassing your amp's preamp section. The RBI is a dedicated preamp and running it into the front of your amp you will be stacking the two pre's together. The two EQ's may tend to fight each other making it difficult to dial in. This is not to say you can't run it this way. Just set your amp's tone controls for a more flat setting. You can also use an A/B box and use each preamp separately through your amp as well.

We can modify the VT Bass Deluxe with the speaker sim circuit. The problem for us is that while that is done, the defeat is on both the 1/4" and XLR outs. If using the pedal into an amp and PA at the same time this could be a disadvantage. Let me clarify something. The SansAmp speaker emulation can be pretty much dialed out by using the EQ on the pedal as it is all post SansAmp circuitry. The speaker sim is not really the problem. By taking out the speaker sim the pedal would be even brighter. The V2 pedal disengages the speaker sim but also [b]adds[/b] a 6dB per octave high roll off filter in its place. This makes the pedal easier to use into an amp that has its high frequency content emphasized. It's the host amp's EQ that makes the pedal overly bright. Most amp's are not flat response. You will have the best luck with the pedal by dialing in your amp for a more neutral tone so the EQ of the amp and pedal don't "fight" with one another. It is possible with some amp's that have efx loops to use the pedal with an A/B switch. That will enable you to use the VT Bass and your amp's preamp separately.

The Leeds is designed to sound like a Hiwatt vs the Ampeg sounds of the VT Bass. I like the Leeds for bass. YMMV. I usually set it for a very mild overdrive. It can be a very clean pedal if you want and has a nice high end sparkle. It's always best to try for yourself.

Unfortunately, our new bass amps are not RoHS compliant. The amps would work with a step down transformer. The only drag is that if you do obtain the amp there will be no warranty available in your country.

[quote name='REDLAWMAN' timestamp='1322681483' post='1454517'] Tech 21- I'm going straight into the unit and then from the driver into the effects return on my amp. It's not the driver itself that's kicking out the hiss; it's the sound of the driver coming through my cab. It's not omni-present: it's more apparent on settings like 'Bassman' and 'Distorted' and as I'm altering the positions of some of the knobs (like Drive, Presence and Level). I appreciate that Level can have a propensity for doing this, but on some settings (notably those I've just described), I've got the background hissing even when I'm at unity gain. For the avoidance of any doubt here, I am talking about at-home practise levels and notwithstanding this, I actually really do like the different sounds I'm able to get a great deal! [/quote] Does the hiss stop when you turn down the volume on your bass? Are you using the boost switch for the 1/4" output? Have you tried playing with that setting? It could be that your bass has a hotter output (this is quite common) than the bass we used for the settings and your settings are higher gain. The more gain you have the more noise. This will also be exacerbated when using non-hum-cancelling pickups. The only other thing that may be happening is that the efx loop on the Markbass amp is not working well with the SansAmp. I've tried to look at their manual but it doesn't seem to show a block diagram. It seems like there shouldn't be an issue. I read somewhere that the loop is parallel but there is a mod to make it series which would be better in this application. It's hard to know what exactly is going on without seeing a block diagram.

[quote name='REDLAWMAN' timestamp='1322394320' post='1450181'] I've searched all I can find, both on here and Talkbass and I can't find anything specific to this. I've just bought a Sansamp Bass Driver Deluxe. Passive P, flats, Littlemark III and Berg NV 412. The thing is 'hissing' like a rattlesnake, even on some of the 'pre-sets' in the manual, particularly on things like the 'SVT' emulation. I think I'm perhaps missing something here, because I appreciate that practically the entire bass-playing world loves it, but right now, my old Zoom B2 does the job far better without even a trace of hiss!! Many thanks. [/quote] The Bass Driver Deluxe as well as all our pedals have very low self noise. Is the hiss still there when you turn your bass guitar volume down? Are you plugging directly into the Bass Driver and then to the efx return or are you patching the pedal in the loop with the efx send feeding the input of the pedal?

A simple way to look at the difference between our Bass Driver DI and VT bass pedals is in terms of modern versus vintage sound. There is some crossover between the two but the Bass Driver has more of that modern mid scooped bass tone with the ability to get some vintage tones as well. The VT Bass on the other hand is designed to emulate more of those vintage Ampeg SVT and B15 sounds. What I've noticed is that many younger players (at least here in the US) have never really played through a valve bass amp and are sometimes a little overwhelmed when presented with that type of tone. They are used to ultra clean solid state bass amps that are similar to playing direct with the benefit of some speaker coloration and perhaps a bit of compression. If you are unsure, you may want to go with something like our Bass Driver or Para Driver DI pedals as these provide the ability to "blend" in you straight guitar tone with the SansAmp tone. This is similar to the way bass has been recorded for years in the studio. They mic an amp and take a DI of the bass and mix or blend it to become one sound. This is not to say that you can't be happy with a pedal like our VT Bass. You just need to remember to be very judicious with the drive control until you get used to that analog valve type of tone.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1214795' date='Apr 29 2011, 07:45 AM'][url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=3730"]See here.[/url] Basically, everything is gain, hardly anything is master volume. The power section basically set at volume, and you only control volume at preamp level, before it gets to them. Last thing I had with an FX loop I used to bypass the preamp was an Ashdown combo, and the 'master' volume was bypassed.[/quote] Not all amps are set up the same but on many if you plug into the efx return the master volume will be bypassed. It's better to be safe than sorry. In regard to the speaker sim bypass on the V2 Vt Bass pedals, it enables the pedal to be used into the front end of an amp that has its high end emphasized. Most guitar and bass amplifiers are not flat response. When you plug one of our SansAmp products into a mixing console for direct use that is a flat response setting. If you were to go into a mixing console and say bump up the highs and bass and cut the mids the response would no longer be flat obviously (much like an amp) and you would have to compensate for this with different EQ settings on the VT Bass.

If you are really interested in EQ mainly, our Para Driver DI pedal would probably be a better choice. As it has a wide ranging adjustable midrange control as well as our SansAmp tube emulation circuitry. Any of our products that have a blend control can be dialed in for total flat response. The reason behind the blend control is that it's been a common studio practice for years to mic a bass guitar amp and also record the direct bass sound as well and mix both together. We just give you this feature in a pedal. While our Bass Driver DI does have a more modern mid-scoop dip around 750Hz you can raise the midrange by reducing the treble and bass content whereas the Para Di pedal is more open ended in it's overall tonal character. The problem some have at times with the BDDI is more about how the EQ of the pedal interacts with the EQ of their bass rig. Another option if your bass amp has an efx loop is to run the preamp of your amp and one of our pedals in parallel and then use an A/B box to toggle between the two preamp's back into the efx return of your amp. That way you know have a channel switching amp with two discrete preamps that can be set for optimum use.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1120896' date='Feb 8 2011, 09:48 PM']Not really worth a new thread, can someone let me know if the drive on these agrees with tweeters?[/quote] Usually the problem players have with our pedals or any other for that matter has to do more with how the preamp of the host amp is set. If you scoop the mids, raise the treble and bass it's easy for the treble to become obnoxious. When using a full range cab with tweeters this can exacerbate the problem as these type of systems put back in the frequency content that most passive systems dial out. For the best results you are usually best off dialing in a more neutral tone on your amp when using the VT Bass pedal. If your amp has an efx loop you can bypass your bass amp's preamp completely and try it there as well. There is another way to utilize both your amp's preamp section and the VT Bass discretely through the same amp but it's a bit more involved and it depends on whether or not your amp has a suitable effects loop. Let me know if you want to know how. The VT Bass or any of the other Character series pedals work fine in front of any valve or solid state amp. Many SVT users uses the VT Bass with these amps to obtain the overdriven sound an SVT produces but at more manageable volume levels. The output of the Character series pedals is line level and should be able to drive most power amps.

[quote name='philipleonard' post='992450' date='Oct 18 2010, 12:04 PM']Hello bottom-enders, This may seem like a silly question; What's the difference between the TECH 21 BASS DRIVER D.I. DELUXE 325 Euro's and the TECH 21 VT BASS DELUXE 295Euro's ? I'm looking for a tool to change tone (and sometimes basses) in between songs. Phil.[/quote] Our BDD and VTBD do share the same interface. The main difference is type of tones each is capable of. The BDD is based on the tone of our Bass Driver DI which has a built in mid-scoop and voiced for more modern playing styles. The VTBD is based on our Character Series VT Bass pedal which is voiced like the Ampeg SVT amp.Obviously sound is quite subjective so I would recommend checking the two out with your own bass if possible. There are also a number of videos on YouTube to use for reference as well.