Tell me about Tech 21 VT Bass

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I love the ampeg SVT/B15 sounds - I usually record using either the ampeg amplitube virtual bass amps or logic's built-in equivalents. I've fancied getting a VT bass for a long time but it has always seemed out of my price range (£200+ for a new one these days)

I put a lowball bid on one (VT Bass v2) in the closing seconds on ebay expecting to be outbid, but won the auction & got it for under £80 inc postage, so its a good opportunity to try it out without too much risk of losing money if it doesn't work for me. It should be delivered tomorrow.

I use an LMII & schroeder 2x12 neo cab (without a tweeter) & have been using a Zoom B3 or Behringer BDI21 to add a bit of oomph to the sound.

I saw it mentioned somewhere that the VT Bass works best with passive basses, so I expect it'll sound great with my CIJ mustang, danelectro longhorn or a precision, but one of my other favourite basses to take out is a squier SS jag with an active EMG PJ set (standard EMG electronics - no fancy eq) - is there any reason why the VT bass might not work so well with this?

I'm also looking forward to seeing how it works with my NS-Design CR5M upright and Kala U-bass - if anyone uses a VT bass with something similar I'd be interested in any comments or tips.

[Kevsy71]

Great bargain! I have 3 presets when using with my P: Motown, B15, and 'Yes', all from the manual. I just need to normalise the volume between them to avoid sudden swells and dips between songs.

Handy having the two inputs if you want EUB/U-bass and electric bass available for the same set, each would have their own 3 presets.

[dannybuoy]

I think it'll sound fine with an active bass as long as it doesn't have a really hot output, as that may tend to give more overdrive than intended, even at lower gain levels.