Sibob Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 ....but does the level control render it utterly useless as a gigging pedal?? Think I had it about 9 o'clock and it was feeding back. Was making the tiniest tiniest increment changes to get a decent level between off and on, but then what if it gets knocked?! Anyone successfully changed the range of the level?, I can't think of any situation that you'd need it to go as loud as it can. I'm only borrowing it, and it sounds like there's some great sounds, but I just gave up after 10mins of tiny adjustments at my gig. Unplugged it and packed it away before we started Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 (edited) Hope this helps and its not teaching you to suck eggs but as a 'user' its all I can think of. I got a similar effect once in the first 20 minutes of owning it which had me jumping at the amps off button sharpish. There is a lot of boost in the pedal and a quarter turn on any knob is huge and they all interact with each other. Its best to bring level down at any time you bring the drive up. Got to go careful when boosting on an active bass as well especially the guitars volume knob. Watch this: [url="http://youtu.be/3obmpDOs8B4"]http://youtu.be/3obmpDOs8B4[/url] and note the point when he uses a thumb and finger at the same time for 'drive' and 'output'. I run level anywhere between 11 o clock and 2 o clock depending on what output the soundman wants from me. Edited September 4, 2011 by Wally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny-lad Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 AFAIK, the level is like that to enable it to be able to drive a power amp directly...I imagine it could make it a bit awkward in front of a regular bass amp though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Can pull the knob part off if you are that scared of it moving. The facility to drive a power amp directly is seriously useful, stick it to the fornt of a power amp and you are good to go. I'm gonna velcro dot the middle of my Matamp Quasar just for that purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 I'm talking lots more sensitive though, I'm running the drive quite heavy as I want an overdriven sound, but the level I can't adjust a hair without witnessing a massive jump in volume. It's currently on around 8 o'clock, which leaves 9-5 completely useless volume. At a gig, if it got knocked from say 8 to 10, the level difference would be horrendous. It's probably fine in the studio as it doesn't get moved about, but gig box and onstage doesn't seem ideal. Would there be a way of modding the level control to reduce the range/sensitivity of the pot do you think? Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 Only just saw the other replies after I did mine. Yes, I can see the benifit of driving a power-amp with that juice, but as jonny mentioned, utterly useless in front of a 'regular' setup. Could take the knob off to stop it being knocked, but still doesn't make the range of the control pretty useless Cheers though Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny-lad Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Some kind of attenuator might work...this is all I could find though in a quick search; [url="http://www.ehx.com/products/signal-pad"]http://www.ehx.com/products/signal-pad[/url] I suppose you could set the volume low on this and leave it on your amp, out of the way so it can't get knocked...bit crap having to spend an extra £30 though! I was thinking of attenuators like this [url="http://www.studiospares.com/mic-accessories/pro-40db-inline-attenuator/invt/568600/?htxt=JmKYN1biLBFcPn94DCGNsBqSItmTIEyXt%2Bt38Pe6LkNPGq9HZa0UU4GeqxvAEUH4A4bXKZCM0iWu%0AJpg9HOCL4w%3D%3D"]studiospares inline attenuator[/url] but they seem to all be balanced XLR. It's probably quite straight forward to make something that could do the job, but that's not something I've had any experience with. Hope this helps anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dosi Y'Anarchy Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I can see how the volume sensitivity issue could be pretty annoying. I keep my pedals velcro'd on my board and the VT is specifically out of the way (behind my M9) as its always on and I'll never need to stomp it. But regardless i've never accidentally knocked it. I also have my drive settings much lower (between 9-11 o'clock), but that's my personal preference and probably why I dont share as much of the same issues as the OP (drive boosts the volume, so higher drive means higher overall volumes independent of the level control). I think its been mentioned on other forums that some people have removed the level knob and fitted a small ring (possibly of rubber) and then put the knob back on, it basically makes the knob harder to turn and therefore easier to find your sweet spot without as much of a risk of an accidental massive level boost. Also, pretty sure just getting the pedal modded not to put so much volume out shouldnt be so much of an issue. One final thing - I noticed when trying out the V2 VTBass (with the speaker switch), I could raise the volume control MUCH higher than I could on my own (V1). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime_BASS Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Turn your amp down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddiehoffmann Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Hi Sibob! I used the VT Bass in the past in front of a power amp and now that I've been using it as normal overdrive pedal, in front of a regular bass amp, I noticed the same problem too. I got a little advice for you. To get a good overdrive, or distortion tone, try to turn the character control to somewhere between about 3 o'clock and fully clockwise (adjust to taste). You'll notice that you'll have to use less drive and the level control seems to work better like that. The settings I use with my P-Bass for a nice overdriven tone are: Level 9 o'clock (basically trying to adjust the output here to about the same as without the effect on), Mid 12 o'clock, Low fully clockwise, High 3 o'clock, Character between 9 o'clock and full on an drive at 3 o'clock. Try staring out with these settings and if you need more drive, try the character control before you add more drive. This is a complete departure from the settings I was using before, when using the VT Bass as a preamp. I was about to give up on it as a distortion pedal, but now I'm happy with these settings. It's all about the character control. Give it a try. Hope it helps. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted September 6, 2011 Author Share Posted September 6, 2011 Cheers for the suggestions all, I literally borrowed it and went straight to a gig so had limited time during setup to have a play......and I got frustrated lol. Will play a bit more with the level, character control and drive and report back. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 If you don't use a clean sound - run the pedal into the FX return on the amp. Or - if you don't need to change mid song, then stick it to your amp and leave it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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