The Badderer

No. 2 seemed to have more presence, i thought your playing on Bass 1 on the 3rd clip was better than Bass 2 on the 3rd clip, there were a couple of untidy fret noises, so I thought No. 1 my have been the Pino due to better playability.... but i preferred the tone of bass number 2 so I'm going to guess No.2 is the Pino. Makes you wonder thought what you're paying the extra £2k+ for. but as mentioned above, your technique is good so probably does a lot to close the gap. You might find a mid level player with not such tight sounds might get a much nicer sound out of the £2k+ instrument, but you'd be hard pushed at a gig to tell any difference especially if you chuck a couple of pedals into the mix. When you post about what the playability etc. was like it'd be really interesting to hear your thoughts of the 2 and if the affinity require much more effort to play. Shows your £2k might be better spent on lessons and a decent amp

you might find that because the 2nd hand market has been so subdued recently that people with mid to low end stuff are hanging onto it because there's no point in selling it unless you have to. you might as well keep it as a back up until the market starts to pick up if you can afford to keep it. if you've got a more expensive bass you might want to shift it or trade it as it will release you some serious cash or get you a change of bass for something at the same level. Just a thought not fact based.

the EQ is input to the Return of the signal from the FX loop. the blend function has to be on for the EQ to be applied, so when you aren't using the blend function it won't be colouring your signal. I believe the aim of it is to compensate for any pedals that you have that suck your low end so it compensates only when using the FX loop. [url="http://www.xotic.us/effects/x_blender/X-BlenderManual.pdf"]http://www.xotic.us/...enderManual.pdf S[/url]ee the diagram at the top of Pg 2 showing where things like EQ and Phase inversion are applied in the signal chain.

sorry i got it in a sale at Absolute Music but it was in their clearance cabinet. I got it for £110 brand new, which was practically the same as what they go for 2nd hand on here so went for it. It might be worth a call, but i think it was the last one left. They also had a couple of strymon pedals with about £70 off. https://www.absolutemusic.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=xotic

But.... if all those amps are just made of cardboard.... how can the audience hear what that dude is playing???

a few days further on of playing with it and getting to know what it can do, i can safely say this is never coming off any board i use. whatever board i put together will have one of these on it just because it is perfect for bass.

the top cab being at ear level does mean you won't have that annoying situation of the audience saying the bass is really loud and you're struggling to hear yourself and it'll be a good spare. however, you will look like a very mismatched band if your guitarist has a teeny cab and you're rocking 2 4X10s. maybe decide what is appropriate before going to the gig and the pub landlord instantly deciding not to have you back because you look LOOOOOUUUUUUD!!!

I second the advice to work on it 1 pickup at a time. you'll get a sound you like on both and then play with the blend. you might need to go back and tweak them after you use the blend just to fine tune the sound.

read this topic earlier today, might be worth trying this out given the quality of an avalon u5 and what it can be used for outside of gigging http://basschat.co.uk/topic/247530-avalon-u5/

as said above these are amazing sounding preamps, but if you're after a specific sound that you need to do some EQ tweaking to find then these aren't going to do it for you by themselves. they are an excellent preamp and a great way of transferring your bass sound into the desk, or into an amp, but they aren't going to do what you'd expect from a preamp that has valves or graphic/parametric eq systems. but remember that you can tweak the sound both before and after the avalon if you're searching for a specific sound. I personally think it sounds amazing and love using it in studio situations (never run it with my bass rig yet, but have used it as a DI in a gig where there was no need for a back line and it sounded great). The other really useful thing is if you're using a smaller audio interface, this frees up your Mic preamps because you can just plug from this into the instrument line in's and can use your limited number of Mic preamps for other things.

Just got one of these in a sale brand new for not much money. WHAT A GREAT PEDAL!! Means I can blend my Wet and Dry signal and go anywhere with total control of the sound going to the PA as i can do all the fiddling at home, then just send the correct wet/dry signal to the desk. Also means i can dial in some more extreme sounds into the pedals, but still retain my low end, where i found in the past i had to keep my pedals at a more subtle level so that I didn't lose the low end support to the band. The big knob on the pedal means i can adjust it on the fly from song to song if there is one that needs a majorly effected signal, and you can just bypass the FX loop if you want. Probably one of the most useful pedals for a bassist ever (IMHO), as solved my long running problem of wanting low end, but some bold sounds too!!

Another hartke user and fan here. Got a HA5500 and it is just mega LOUD when you need it to be, got a really great sound to it. Run it through 2 Warwick Neo-Pro cabs and those are just quality cabs, really warm and full and lightweight (for their size). For the price you can't get more power or a better quality sound, however Hartke heads are heavy! This is probably what makes them such good value for money as people are prepared to spend quite a lot more on Genz Benz / Eden / GK / Markbass etc. that you can get a great sound from and lift with 1 finger. If i was regularly having to transport my gear to a gig, i'd be getting a lightweight head (really like the look of the Euphonic Audio mikro as it has a blend feature http://bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/EA_Amps.html ), but as i only have to do practices at the moment, my Hartke Head stays in my room and i get to enjoy it. I agree with some of the posts earlier, if Hartke made a head with a class D power unit that was 2-5KG then i'd be after that assuming the price was right. If you're after a decent head at about half the used price of some of the more lightweight modern heads and you're strong enough to move a 12-20kg head if you need to, then Hartke are great!!

you're a bit further down the journey than we are

before buying or spending any considerable amount of money have a think about, what sounds do you want to make? most people's standard advice is if you fancy using some effects but have no idea what, get a multi effects unit, there are many decent ones out there for not much money and then you'll find out if you're actually going to use them and what you're going to use them for and then you can think about what pedals to buy. Personally I use mine to add and bit of grit or tone colour and use some modulation effects to enhance or bring some extra interest to the sound and also fill space when playing in a smaller band setting of say just acoustic guitar, keys and bass. When i was in a full on rock band i was using OD and some fuzz and phasers / chorus to bring some excitement to the low end but not lose the low end solid foundation of the band.

glad to help man. i've been where you're at looking at pedals and just wondering... what the hell should i do. sometimes just tossing ideas around here can take you in a new direction and save you buying the wrong thing. sometimes it is the start to a world of buying pedal after pedal as you start to realise what one can do for you, sometimes all you need is one or two pedals. Either way it's fun thinking about the options the most important thing is that you're getting what you want for the sound you're after. i've bought numerous pedals having seen a video and thinking it would be great. Some have worked out great, some i've tried and just thought... this really isn't going to make a single sound i can use. Enjoy it when you get it and give us a run down on how you find it. I'd love to have a B7K!

^^^ you are spot on. The lower value spectors out perform most other basses in their price range. overall they will match a £4-500 bass but you can pick them up for £300 if you get a good deal. My Korean rex brown 5 is epic and you'd be hard pushed to find a nicer 5 string under £5-600.

Guiness to help you out. The VT pedals don't behave like normal pedals (which is why some people might say they are clanky). Subtle adjustments lead to big changes in sound. If you crank either the drive or character or level knobs too much you will get some over the top sounds. you can get warm and subtle out of the pedal, but you just have to be sensitive with your adjustments to the knobs. Some pedals only achieve certain sounds by big adjustments to levels. this is different. it is a very intuitive pedal but you need to get your hands on it. All of that being said you may be better off with a B7K. If i was forking out the best part of £200 for a VT DI and wasn't 100% on the sounds, i'd spend the extra money and get a 2nd hand B7K for £250ish. For me i have a fair few pedals to do OD and Fuzz sounds so i'm only gonna spend the money on a B7K when it makes sense for me, but if I was looking at the pedals without owning anything in that ballpark i'd be more interested in the B7K from the overall write ups / reviews. The tech 21's are awesome but if you're having doubts about the character of sounds you'll get out of it then i'd be going the other way.

[quote] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Badderer, have you tried putting your pedals through the effects loop on the VT Deluxe? Do you know if the FX loop comes before or after the preamp section? [/font][/color] [/quote] I have not confirmed it through research, but i am 95% certain it is post the preamp section of the pedal i.e. you get the dirt into the fx loop. I could be wrong but i think that is right.... http://www.tech21nyc.com/support/manuals/sansamp/CharacSeries-VT_DLX-OM.pdf it doesn't say in the manual but i only skip read it then. With regards to using the fx loop it can take a bit of getting used to. You have to do a double push of the A/B switching button to turn it on or off, and sometimes you can leave it switched on when you thought it was off. personally i don't use the fx loop as i like predictability and i haven't practiced enough with it to use it reliably in a gig situation. if i practiced with it a bit more i might get used to it, but i am actually switching to MIDI controlled looper switcher system to control my pedals http://www.thomann.de/gb/g_lab_gsc2_system_controller.htm have a look at this as a great piece of kit for having two basses and an fx loop to switch on and off http://bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/LEHLE_BAss_IQ.html

I've always wanted to get a Darkglass either B3K or B7K. I've never got round to getting one. If you're after a control that is less coloured then i believe you're after the B7K. The VMT will be coloured to sound like the vintage amps etc from the various era's they are trying to emulate, where as the B7K is more a pure pedal that isn't designed to sound like something else. This is also true of the VT Bass stuff, it is all designed to emulate an SVT. I believe Tech 21 Sansamp pedals are less coloured and sound like Tech 21 Sansamp, whereas Tech 21 VT Bass pedals will be coloured to sound like an SVT. I would say a B7K might be the sound you're after and people only have great things to say about them, and if it's not right for you, you can just sell it on for the same price you paid for it (if you got it 2nd hand) and all you'll have lost is the postage. Just picking up your point about the VTBass deluxe, I get what you mean, just remember that in a gig situation you only get one sound out of these pedals (unless you change your settings in the middle of the gig with some drawn out diagrams and fiddle on the floor, not something i've ever wanted to do). So for me i went for a VT Bass deluxe because then I have 6 sounds but only taking up the room of 3 midsized pedals and it is all programmed in before the gig so you can sound check it and have a predictable sound, whereas it only takes a couple of knobs to not be in the right setting and that carefully tweaked sound all of a sudden doesn't sound right. I have used it both at the front of the pedal chain after the compressor to provide a bit of grit before other pedals, and i've also used it at the end of the pedal chain as a kind of adding the VT bass sound to the pedals after they've had the true bass signal. If is really useful for those times where the band drop out and it's bass and drums so you want a bit of a boost in volume and you can add some edge because you're not having to leave room for the guitar sounds. There are some songs you want a heavier bass sound and some where you want a less bassy sound and more mid and treble sound. That's where i use the different settings. I basically normally have it on in some shape or form unless i'm on a chilled out song where the naked bass tone with some modulation pedals are called for. Hope that helps.

...... ^^^^ although be aware this pedal does have Blend and Bite controls that the VT Bass Deluxe doesn't have. But the overall sound of the pedal won't be much different as it will be the same type of sound and system used.

This is probably a good video for you to watch. I have a Corvette $$ and it has a notoriously hot signal (not meaning bright, but it does have a lot of strength to its signal) this gives you an idea of the level of control you can have. Note the individual controls over High's. This will probably have identical sounds to the VT bass deluxe as Tech 21 don't really change their sound that much. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPHZjrf1CkQ

it only becomes harsh and clanky if you really wind it up. Obviously this is fairly subjective to the person and bass being used. You have a tone control over the treble so you can really subdue the treble. It's very much to individual taste but i have no problems with the sound mine makes.

If you're comparing a VT bass DI against the VMT Deluxe i would actually recommend looking out the VT Bass Deluxe as you then get 6 presets (2 banks of 3) or the option to have 2 Basses connected and have 3 presets for each bass dialled in. I have one and did a factory reset as i just wanted to see what it would do without me fiddling. The sounds are EPIC straight out of the box. You'll get on in the 2nd hand section here from £150-180ish depending what a rush they are in to sell. I'd have this over a VMT deluxe as you can then have many different sounds out of the 1 pedal without having to fiddle with it on stage. Just my 2 pennies worth. Pretty boring demo but this gives you a good run through (maybe not the best sounds dialled in but there are many good demos around [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUYMbqFrdVk"]https://www.youtube....h?v=YUYMbqFrdVk[/url]

Yeah this doesn't sound right. I have the original polytune and if you are only sounding one string then it should go straight to individual string tuning mode. That was why i said to hold the other strings was to make sure you are sounding any other strings as that can confuse it (with mine i don't have to do that but i find if i've accidently sent it into multistring tuning mode doing that brings it out of that mode faster). Doesn't sound right to me either.