The SansAmp Character series of pedals by American company Tech 21 is highly popular among bass players, thanks to its successful method of emulating the sound of various famous amplifier brands. That got Tech 21 thinking: why not just build a complete bass amp head around one of these famous pedals? And that's exactly what they did! Allow us to introduce the VT Bass 500.
VT Bass 500: a powered SansAmp pedal
As its name suggests, the VT Bass 500 is a 500 bass guitar amp head. The preamp is based on the SansAmp Character VT Bass DI pedal which was designed to emulate the powerful tone of the SVT tube stacks. Furthermore, it has a Class D power amp, which gives the preamplified signal plenty of punch.
A character knob takes you on a trip through time
Three notable knobs on the VT Bass 500 were originally featured on the Character VT Bass DI stomp box: Drive, Blend and Character. Drive controls the amount of overdrive and gain, while Blend mixes the bass guitar's direct signal with the sound of the SansAmp Tube Amplifier Emulator. The Character button is a bit more special, though. It takes you on a trip through time, past all the SVT amplifiers. Seamlessly transition between fat funk, a dry hum and beefy bass distortion.
Furthermore, the Bite knob boosts your presence, tightening up the distortion sound and allowing for enhanced definition in your cleans. A new feature is the knob that allows you to adjust the VT Bass 500's mid frequencies from 500 Hz to 1 KHz. Just like the High and Low knobs, the Mid knob allows for an 18 dB cut or boost. Bass players who want a versatile lightweight amp head with the personality of the expensive SVT stacks should definitely give this VT Bass 500 a go!
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