Tech 21 SansAmp Character Series VT Bass Deluxe Reviews

4.9/5.0 based on 7 customer reviews

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Customer Reviews

Barry
from Florida
November 27, 2012Music Background:
Pro Musician

Best Sound I've Heard

Honestly, this predal/preamp is the best money I've spent on bass gear yet. I've only ever messed with the tone controls on my bass and amp, never even considered a preamp. However, after reading some reviews and the help of a Sweetwater technician, I decided to try out this amazing gizmo. MY rig has never sounded so good. I managed to get the tone of Justin Chancellor (Tool) and Dean Bernardini (Chevelle) something I've always strived for but, never really fully achieved. I also tweaked some sick, nasty distortion on this thing, making my old boss bass distortion look amateur. I highly recommend this preamp to any and all bass players. You'll never hear a better sound or tone.

George Hoppenstedt
from Evansville IN
July 9, 2012Music Background:
bass player

tech 21 character series vt bass deluxe rocks.

I dig this pedal. Straight into the PA or as a pre-amp for any amplifier I plug into. I've always heard great things about Tech 21 gear & now I know why. 6 presets to program & the pedal recalls where I've set the analog knovs (no tap-tap or need to use the manual to figure out programming). The tone you get from this thing is great for the money spent.

Tooter
from Bandera Texas
August 17, 2011Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Live sound Engineer, Musician

What a Sound

I originally ordered this so I could use it with live shows. Getting a tone better than something just off the guitar tone. I use it in the studio to.

Tempest H.
from Brooklyn, ny
August 15, 2011Music Background:
Recording/mix engineer, bassist,keyboardist.

Amazing product!

I bought this after reading stellar reviews. I was looking for something to add a little dirt without being obnoxious. This pedal basically never gets turned off. It does clean all the way to raging fuzz without losing bottom end. It's super easy to tweak on the fly. It's built like a tank. It basically took my bass sound, which I already liked and made it sound boring in comparison.

Fantomenos
from Eugene OR
March 3, 2011Music Background:
Weekend Warrior

Everything I wanted

First of all, Sweetwater's service was excellent as usual.

I got interested in this when I heard rave reviews of the VT Bass, but figured I didn't need another overdrive pedal. With 6 presets, effects loop and DI, this became a must-have. It does everything you think it does, and I've dialed in 6 really usable tones, from light, transparent overdrive, scooped metal, tone-destroying fuzz, etc. Also, any preset "remembers" whether the effects loop was on the last time you used it. This cuts down on tap-dancing for live use, since you can just set it up so when you switch to a new setting, you automatically get your phaser/filter/whatever. Also, when you're messing with a saved preset, the light flashes to tell you how far you've turned a knob away from where it's saved. This is a huge help for experimenting. THe knobs are very reactive, and a little drive goes a long way.

All in all, I'm so glad I bought this, and it's replaced 3 pedals on my board, and re-organized it nicely.

Matt
from Alabama
March 26, 2013Music Background:
Gigging Bassist

Fat to Fuzz, It Hits The Mark!

I was very back and forth several times between this and the Bass Driver counterpart. I liked the blend of the Driver, but liked the Mid control of the the VT. I have played a Bass Driver DI, and was concerned about the cleaner tones of the VT since most reviews were focused more on the heavy and more distorted tones. This box has incredible flexibility. It can give you nice, fat tube sound, all the way to grind and fuzz. My only reason for not giving 5 stars is the lack of dry signal blend control like the Bass Driver. It would push this pedal from wow to holy cow if I could only dial in a little dry signal to deepen the fuzzier tones.

I play everything from my regular praise and worship gig on Sundays, to pick up gigs with covers that range from country, 80's, and modern rock. This pedal lets me dial in every genre if' tried so far. In all, a great analog pedal with usable features. No regrets at all.

John B
from Nashville, TN
July 14, 2012Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Bass Player

Tech 21 Knows What They're Doing

Bought this sight-unheard based on my experience with Tech 21 and Sansamp, and the fact that a session bass guy brought one in to the studio. Haven't been disappointed.

Ease of Use: The user interface is great, and the 6 presets are the reason I bought the Deluxe version. Tiny complaint: if you want to turn a patch off and back on quickly to clear some wacky changes.. oops, you just saved it: double-clicking=save. I would have preferred a long-hold like the Line6 stuff. But that's minor.

Sound: Excellent. Their manual is right: the knobs cover a huge range, so it's easy to twist yourself into a crappy tone. But careful tweaking has gotten me patches as deep and rich as I could want. I find myself "sinking into" the sound in a way I didn't with other brands of modeling pedals (Boss, Line 6). I use it live and in the studio, with and without an amp, and with a little time to tweak, it sounds fantastic.

Side note: I tracked electric guitar line-in through this, and the tone was the best I've gotten since I had to return my buddy's multi-thousand-dollar Samamp boutique amp. The distorted tones are thin for electric, but the basic clean/crunch was amazing.

Upshot: Highly recommended. Get it dialed in, and you'll be happy.