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Tech 21 VT Bass 500


mojobass
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I've got 2. ;-)

I was looking for a micro head that did a convincing vintage Ric tone (Squire, Rutherford, Glover etc) and this fitted the bill perfectly. Bear in mind I was looking for a whole micro system though (my band is acoustic with cajon, no drums) and I play mine through a Barefaced One10, which is fabulous with it. I tried a bunch of heads that I didn't get on with over a long period of time and then eventually A/B'd the VT against GK MB500 and Fusion (I'd whittled it down to these) at the Great British Bass Lounge; I preferred the VT Bass. Very versatile and very easy to drastically alter your sound. I love mine.

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Love mine too. The bite button, introduced on the DI model is perfect for a more mellow sound, e.g. P-Bass with flats... then turn it on for a more aggressive roundwound sound.

It does have a few minor issues:

- The clean portion of the blend control is very low volume compared to the Sansamp side. I thought I would be able to use it as a pure clean amp set to 0% blend, but it doesn't get loud enough set like this.
- The level coming out of the FX send is affected by the master volume control. If you use the FX loop, turning up your master could distort or otherwise affect your effects! On every other amp I've used, it goes gain -> fx loop -> master volume, which is much more sensible.
- I've not tested the DI yet but won't be surprised if it too is affected by the master volume. Pretty poor show if so, you don't want your PA volume affected if you decide to adjust your on-stage rig volume. Perhaps someone could chip in here?

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[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1470845854' post='3108917']
Love mine too. The bite button, introduced on the DI model is perfect for a more mellow sound, e.g. P-Bass with flats... then turn it on for a more aggressive roundwound sound.

It does have a few minor issues:

- The clean portion of the blend control is very low volume compared to the Sansamp side. I thought I would be able to use it as a pure clean amp set to 0% blend, but it doesn't get loud enough set like this.
- The level coming out of the FX send is affected by the master volume control. If you use the FX loop, turning up your master could distort or otherwise affect your effects! On every other amp I've used, it goes gain -> fx loop -> master volume, which is much more sensible.
- I've not tested the DI yet but won't be surprised if it too is affected by the master volume. Pretty poor show if so, you don't want your PA volume affected if you decide to adjust your on-stage rig volume. Perhaps someone could chip in here?
[/quote]

Yes, the DI is affected by the master, unless there's a way round it. That's my only gripe really, but it does seem a bit of an oversight; I'm normally always tinkering with my onstage volume.

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[quote name='jonno1981' timestamp='1470945497' post='3109583']
I've got one and really enjoy it. Worth noting that bassgear have these in their clearance sale for a silly price. I would imagine these are shortly to go up in price along with everything else imported from a US supplier......
[/quote]

We found them hard to sell - whacked the price down and sold out in a couple of days!

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The VT Bass 500 will produce 500 watts with the Blend control off. If you have a low output bass you will have to turn up the master obviously. When using a low output bass you can use the Drive control for extra input gain. The amp is very capable of great clean tones with the Blend fully up just like a high powered tube amp. Tube emulation doesn't have to be distortion.

The efx loop and DI are post master. If the DI is too hot you can engage the DI pad to reduce the level at the mixer. If the master is up full there may be some issue with effects that don't handle line level,

This amp is quite loud when used with two speakers. If you're needing to run it at full volume you may not be using enough speakers or your speaker system is very inefficient.

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