Killerfridge

It does, it's just not defeatable; I have the VT Deluxe and it's not defeatable on that either!

Key differences for me: DI 2112: * Two parallel channels - so you can do the "driven top end, clean low end" sound, or as I'm currently using it to give a super warm saturated tone with a punchy underneath. * Each preamp has it's own output so you can let the sound engineer combine them as sounds best, or blend the two in the box and send them one output * Sweepable mids * Ridiculous amount of tone shaping potential in a single box VT Bass Deluxe: * Does the Ampeg sound, and does it well * Simple to dial in a good useable sound * Footswitchable If I don't know what I'm playing ahead of time I'll probably take the VT, as I just 'know' the settings to get a great sound, whereas I need more time to tinker to find the sound I want with the DI 2112; I'm sure that will change as I get more familiar with it!

I've just removed a load of stuff from the board, but this is essentially the ampless set-up, with the DI 2112 being interchangeable with a VT Bass DI depending on the gig:

Just bought a DI 2112 from Bill and not only was he quick, he provided a bit of tech support too! Buy with confidence

I bought a Darkglass Element from Dan, he was very communicative, prompt, and easy to buy from; buy with confidence

I think the fact that you could hear people going "that's just the same bass again" when they switched between an Epiphone Thunderbird and a Rickenbacker 4001 is all you need to know!

That looks nuts, I love it! One of my students has a bass like that, but it's from Gear4Music and I don't think it's intentional...

Bought a Hypergravity Mini compressor - they sent it incredibly quickly and covered far more of the postage than they needed to - great person to buy from!

Wood recently did a trade with me on my Bongo 5 for his Spector Euro RST - excellent communication, very accommodating, let me have a play of some of his more obscure short scale basses whilst being offered constant tea!

Compression is one of the few "effects" that I can't live without. Sure, when playing alone I feel like I lose all my dynamic range, but for live gigs it just takes everything so that I can better sit in the mix, rather than be constantly concerned I'm too quiet or too loud!

Have a check out of Jayme Lewis' unboxing livestream of the SGT he just did yesterday; he does a really good job of fiddling with it to see what sort of sounds and styles it can do:

I'm also following this thread with great interest, as I also want to pick up the SGT-DI and the Revolt Bass!

The VT definitely can do grindy, so I'm not doubting your experience with it! The character dial really affects how much "grind" you get. Have a listen to how I use it here (just through the VT, no other eq/effects etc.):