Aliwobble Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) Ok, so my quest for a decent sounding, giggable, lightweight combo has finished (for now at least) with a Tech21 VT bass 200. I tried out various fender rumbles ( I didn’t like the form factor, sound was only average), GK mb series ( very in your face sounding), Markbass cmd121p (not bad, but did not excite me. Quite a bit more money than the others), and Ibanez prometheans ( the p3110 was boxy, the p3115 actually sounded pretty good). The Tech21 beat them all with its great (and versatile) sound, light weight, good looks, and reasonable price. I played on the world’s smallest stage, with full P.A. support with it last night. Good tone, plenty loud enough (although my existing 1x10 can handle this particular stage) and a one-handed carry in and out of the gig 😃. A better test is coming next week a a local bar with good stage and acoustics but no P.A. I’m confident the little VT will get the job done. Hopefully I will get a review up after that. Here are some pics to feast your eyes on. I’ve included a shot of my Frankenstein-amp which is a cab from a Ibanez promethean p5110 combo but with a GK mb500 providing the power. The little ibby-GK am is now on permanent practice duty. Edited July 28, 2019 by Aliwobble 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Congrats on that. Tech21 are a monster company with real quality throughout the line, this and the Power Deuce Deluxe are very good all in one solutions 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliwobble Posted August 13, 2019 Author Share Posted August 13, 2019 Bit of an update. I still haven’t done a decent sized gig with the vtb yet, but it happily keeps up at band practice against two small guitar amps and a light hitting drummer. This weekend for a proper workout, hopefully. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 Look forward to hearing that, as I think it’s a stellar bit of kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliwobble Posted August 17, 2019 Author Share Posted August 17, 2019 Ok, proper live gig review! Last night we played at a local up-stairs venue, but this one has a decent size stage (just right for a 4 piece) , a huge PA, and a sound man who knows his stuff. The little vtbass was working hard ( gain at 11 o’clock, master at about 2 o’clock) but was able to keep up. I suspect that it did not have much more to give. The PA was doing the heavy lifting, of course, and the amp was just a stage monitor, but everything worked just like it should. The sound man was happy with what we were feeding him, and said we were easy to mix. At he end of the night it was an easy one-trip load out. Tonight we are playing a party with just a vocal PA which will be the final test to see if the amp is loud enough in that setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliwobble Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 Ok, final review. Saturday night was a party in a barn, with just a vocal PA. The little vtbass got the job done, but this did show its limitations. It is not a 30Kg Eden 2x10 cab with a 300 watt head. When pushed hard, a relatively cheap 1x12 can only stretch so far. You can just hear it working hard, and loosing a bit of definition in the last half an octave where a bigger rig holds together. Still sounded fine, unless you were a bass player with a critical ear. So, good for practices, small gigs, or small stages with PA support. Sounds very nice until pushed hard. At the end of the day, it’s only a $1100NZ 1x12 amp, and my serious rig cost three times and weighs twice as much. I’m still very happy with my purchase. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 Good work Tech21, good info from you. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 I wonder how it would do with DB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliwobble Posted August 30, 2019 Author Share Posted August 30, 2019 (edited) I doubt that it would be bad. Just a question of if you like that particular sound, or not. Edited August 30, 2019 by Aliwobble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliwobble Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 I loaned the little vtbass to a mate who has a full ampeg rig, complete with 8x10 fridge. His response was “it rocks!”. I will take that as a vote of approval. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted September 19, 2019 Share Posted September 19, 2019 I play in an acoustic band with a VT500 head and Barefaced One10. Whilst I could do with another cab for certain scenarios, it sounds great. I’m sure the VT head through a big cab would sound monster. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliwobble Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 An extra cabinet certainly gives things a bit more heft. Sadly, the room I used this in was all boomy and I had to eq quite drastically so I cannot tell you if it sounded any good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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