dannybuoy

So I finally got around to recording some clips of my DHA VT2 Dual Custom Bass pedal. Here's the product page in case you're not familiar with it: [url="http://davehallamps.co.uk/Products,%20VT2-Dual%20Custom%20Bass.html"]http://davehallamps.co.uk/Products,%20VT2-...tom%20Bass.html[/url] And here's a pic of mine: As you can see it looks fairly 'home-made' which you'll either love or hate. Bear in mind Dave also does them in bare metal or a variety of different custom paint jobs. Left footswitch turns the unit on and off (with true bypass), and the right switch kicks in the second tube for an extra gain stage. Then we have: - Input pad: Use this knob near the input jack to reduce the input level going into the first tube if you have a high output bass, otherwise you'll get distortion from the first gain stage even with very low settings. - Gain 1 knob: Gain control for first tube. - Gain 2 knob: Gain control for second tube. - 1>2: This is an extra volume control to set the level going into the second tube. Set it full and the distortion will sound harsher than just having it set lower and having Gain2 up a bit to match levels. - Level: Master output level. - Boost switch and knob: If using the unit at really low gain it may become necessary to increase the output using the boost switch which adds clean gain from an op-amp. This is only necessary when having channel one only with really low gain, or using the germanium clipping or EQ stage which both cut volume. - Treble/Mid/Bass controls and EQ bypass switch: Turn the eq on and you'll get a drop in volume, so you'll need to adjust the output gain to suit. The eq is passive and doesn't act like your typical amp eq where 12 o'clock is flat response. Even though it's a bit strange, it's definitely useful. - Colour switch and knob - Centre position is off, left and right give to different types of 'colour' which add negative feedback to the circuit to increase compression and gain. The control knob is on the back of the unit near the output jack. I found colour 1 setting t0 make everything sound a bit thin, Useful for very distorted fuzzy tones at high gain. - Clipping switch: Centre position is pure tube overdrive, left adds silicon transistor clipping and right adds germanium transistor clipping. The silicon transistor adds a very subtle extra grittiness that is quite pleasing to the ears. The germanium transistor severely reduces volume and gain so you have to adjust the knobs to suit, I would describe this setting as making everything 'creamier', esecially at low gain. - Fat switch: This is on the back, this switch increases bass response and gain. I leave it switched on all the time. - Bright switch: Also on the back, this switches in extra treble. I have this on for a bright pick style and off for a vintage fingerstyle sound. Switching it on also makes the unit pretty useable with a regular guitar. Pros - Low gain valve sounds are incredible and the best I've ever heard, you'll want to leave channel 1 on in low gain most of the time. The gain can go down to completely clean signal, unlike some overdrives that still distort at low gain. - Lot's of knobs and switches, ideal for people who like to fiddle - Very solid and well built - Dave's custom paint jobs can look awesome (I'll link to some if I can find some examples) - Excellent customer support Cons - There's no separate master volume switch for when you have Channel 2 engaged. Channel 1 cascades into Channel 2, so engaging both creates a volume boost. You can however adjust the 1>2 and Gain2 knobs to get a nice slight boost in overdrive while keeping the volume at unity, although you it's not possible to go from a very low gain overdrive to massive full on gain while keeping the volume at similar levels. Dave used to make a more expensive VT2 twin pedal that had such a feature but it's now disappeared from his product page. - An active EQ would be nice to have that doesn't cut the volume when it's engaged and can give you a flat response at 12 o'clock. - Some people will not like the 'home-made' look of this pedal So on to the clips. All these have been recorded with my Squier Vintage Modified Precision (volume and tone on full), direct into the DHA, then into my recording interface. Bear in mind there's no amp modelling or speaker simulation going on, so these tones would sound a lot more bassy and have less harsh treble when playing through a rig. I may do some more low gain clips (only medium and high here), some showing the boost being engaged and some in conjunction with an amp simulator at a later date. Some of these don't seem to play properly through the player on the web page but you should be able to download them if the on-screen player isn't working. - Clip 1: Clean bass using a pick, pedal in bypass mode. [url="http://mp3space.com/file/36795/vt2_wombat_clean"]http://mp3space.com/file/36795/vt2_wombat_clean[/url] - Clip 2: Same as above but with VT2 engaged with channel 1 only, medium gain, Fat + bright switch on, all other options (inc. EQ) turned off. [url="http://mp3space.com/file/36796/vt2_wombat_med_gain_bright_on"]http://mp3space.com/file/36796/vt2_wombat_med_gain_bright_on[/url] - Clip 3: Same settings as above, different bass line (I got carried away and started playing the Formula One theme!). [url="http://mp3space.com/file/36797/vt2_f1_med_gain_bright_on"]http://mp3space.com/file/36797/vt2_f1_med_gain_bright_on[/url] - Clip 4: Same settings again, this time playing gentle chords with a pick. [url="http://mp3space.com/file/36800/vt2_chords_med_gain_bright_on"]http://mp3space.com/file/36800/vt2_chords_med_gain_bright_on[/url] - Clip 5: Reducing the gain a tiny bit, playing fingerstyle. First bypass, then on with Bright engaged, then with Bright switched off. [url="http://mp3space.com/file/36798/vt2_fingerstyle"]http://mp3space.com/file/36798/vt2_fingerstyle[/url] - Clip 6: A bit of full gain picking with both channels on. Settings go from EQ off + Bright off; EQ off + Bright on; EQ on with knobs turned to max + Bright on; EQ on with treble reduced + Bright on. Each section was normalized afterwards as fiddling with these settings changes the volume. [url="http://mp3space.com/file/36802/vt2_kol_eqoffbrightoff_-_eqoffbrighton_-_eqonfullbrighton_-_eqontrebdownbrighton"]http://mp3space.com/file/36802/vt2_kol_eqo...rebdownbrighton[/url] - Clip 7: Inspired by the sound clips on Dave's site, playing the same bass line fingerstyle. Full gain again on both channels, Bright off, EQ on with all the knobs whacked up. The sound changes in the middle when I start digging into the strings. [url="http://mp3space.com/file/36803/vt2_sunshine_-_full_gain_on_both,_bright_off_eq_on_full"]http://mp3space.com/file/36803/vt2_sunshin..._off_eq_on_full[/url] - Clip 8: Similar full gain settings, playing fingerstyle a fuzzy synthy line with different colour and clipping settings. First we have full gain Tube, then Silicon diodes, then Germanium, then back to Tube with Colour 2 engaged. Each section was normalized afterwards as fiddling with these settings changes the volume. [url="http://mp3space.com/file/36804/vt2_fuzzy_-_fullgain_-_si_-_ge_-_tu+col2"]http://mp3space.com/file/36804/vt2_fuzzy_-..._-_ge_-_tu+col2[/url] - Clip 9: Back down to low gain, with bright/fat on, clipping off, eq on with bass/mid/treble maxed. Beginning is bypassed, then engaged with Ch1 only. Light playing is very clean but warm, but it grinds a lot more when digging in hard. [url="http://mp3space.com/file/43989/vt2_lowgain"]http://mp3space.com/file/43989/vt2_lowgain[/url] - Clip 10: This is a demo to prove that you can use the Ch1+Ch2 switch to give a healthy extra dollop of overdrive without boosting the volume by excessive amounts. In fact in this clip, when Ch2 is engaged the peak level is LOWER, meaning I could've increased the Gain2 or 1>2 knobs even further to give more drive whilst still having the volumes in check. I play softly at first then dig in harder and harder so you can hear how the pedal responds, then at 00:45 I do the same thing with Ch1+Ch2. [url="http://mp3space.com/file/43996/vt2_boostdemo"]http://mp3space.com/file/43996/vt2_boostdemo[/url] Overall Conclusion I LOVE the low-medium gain sounds on this pedal. After hearing the samples of the BJFE Blueberry and lusting after those tones, I prefer the sound of this. The high gain distortions are also good but I'm not really into heavy distortion or fuzz on bass. If this pedal had a better EQ and a second master volume control it would be perfect, but instead I'l have to settle for incredible! If you just like the low gain sounds, Dave's VT1 standard is an absolute bargain. EDIT - I tried to put this in the reviews section but it didn't allow my links. Since the links are a big part of the review, it's staying here for now unless a mod decides to move it.

Boss LS-2 will let you bypass the pedal and adjust the volume of it. Plus it has 2 loops so you can also had another tone-sucking/volume-changing pedal in the 2nd loop. It's pretty versatile, you can use it as a blender, instrument/amp selector, etc. It's not true bypass though and some people over at harmony central say it sucks tone and others don't - but the people saying it did may have been using crap cables or suffering from I-must-have-true-bypass syndrome.

Let me know when you Bristol boys have arranged yours so I can have my thread back!

I wonder if any of you bass FX nuts would be interested in hauling your pedal boards along to some rehearsal space in London where everyone can try out each other's pedals? If interested, reply to this thread and list what you'd bring and what you'd be interested in taking for a test drive! If enough people respond maybe we can sort something out... - Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass - EBS Multicomp - Digitech Bass Synth Wah - Humphrey Badder Monkey - DHA VT2 Dual Custom Bass - Zoom B2 - Aphex Xciter - Danelectro French Toast In particular I'd like to test drive an Ashdown J-Lo pedal...

I really like the shiny metallic finish on the BJFE pedals, you'd probably be able to get that from using Hammerite paint. [url="http://www.tonesafari.com/bjferef/id1.html"]http://www.tonesafari.com/bjferef/id1.html[/url]

I've been fooling around with my bass plugged into my PC tonight, I can get that kind of sound out of my Ampeg SVX plugin, or my Zoom B2 amp models. I'm using a Squier Vintage Modified Precision (not the telebass one, the white one). Your Ric should be able to cop it as well. What gear have you got and what have you tried so far?

Looks like everyone wants something different, so what you need is a structured set of options, e.g. different models of pedal (VT1 Std, VT1 Mk3), PCB only, PCB + components (no case), all parts + undrilled case, all parts + drilled case. Granted it would be more of a pain for Dave to sort out and price the options, but it would at least keep everyone happy and he'd probably end up selling more that way.

Not being a tight ass, but would rather build a plain VT1 than the Mk3 which would bring the cost down as there's fewer parts and I only want the basic valve sound without the extra bells and whistles. I think a lot of people building their own would probably prefer the lower cost and simplicity of this design over the Mk3, or at least would like to have the choice.

Make it a kit of the VT1 Standard with a pre-drilled enclosure and a lower price and I think you'd be onto a winner. By the way, how packed are the internals of the VT1 Standard, any chance of us using a different box with a smaller footprint?

I've just got the VM precision for £189 new from gak.co.uk and am in love. If I had the money I would get the fretted AND fretless jazz to complete the set!

I just got a Squier Vintage Modified Precision yesterday, I have to say it's the best value P-Bass out there today. Not too heavy, thinnish neck with satin finish, Duncan pickup, white body with a black plate and rosewood fingerboard. Nails the vintage P-Bass tone and got it for £189 from gak.co.uk. So not worth the extra for a MIM Fender unless you need that logo on the headstock!

The EBS needs the internal trimpots adjusting to suit your bass. If you couldn't hear it doing anything they must have been set wrong or your bass output to low, I can get very over the top squash with mine!

Check out all the loopers first, this is a good resource: [url="http://www.loopersdelight.com"]http://www.loopersdelight.com[/url]

If someone's got one and can make a recording, I'd love to hear this pedal!

[quote name='Flintlock' post='153534' date='Mar 8 2008, 11:31 AM']The tone for hysteria is a Sawtooth with some fuzz, I think. However I get a really good tone by running my Little Big Muff and then turning the mids and treble right down (you'll still need some of each though, so don't turn it right off). For whom the bell tolls is easy, fuzz with quite high tone and then slowly rock the wah back and forth. [edit] This guy does the job quite well one a Boss GT-6B, try PM'ing him. [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fRBwhZA3YuM"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fRBwhZA3YuM[/url][/quote] Turbo Rat will nail that one mate, or the Dunlop Hendrix Fuzz. There's clips of both of these over at talkbass.com.

Count me in!