tech21 VT Bass 1000 User manual

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IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS.
READ AND SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS.
HEED ALL WARNINGS.
This unit is pow r d by pot ntially hazardous voltag . Th r for ,
obs rv th following saf ty pr cautions:
1. R ad and follow all instructions b for
using product.
2. Do not us product n ar wat r (such as
n ar a bathtub, washbowl, kitch n sink, swim-
ming pool, in a w t bas m nt, tc.).
3. Unit should b locat d so that its location
or position do s not imp d th flow of air
through th v ntilation op nings.
4. Product should b locat d away from h at
sourc s such as radiators, h at r gist rs, or
oth r products, including amplifi rs, that pro-
duc h at.
5. Product should b conn ct d to a pow r
supply only of th typ d scrib d in th op rat-
ing instructions or as mark d on th product.
6. Prot ct th pow r cord from b ing walk d
on or pinch d particularly at plugs, conv ni nc r c ptacl s, and th point wh r
th y xit from th unit.
7. Do not allow obj cts or liquids to p n trat th nclosur through op nings.
8. During h avy us , chassis may g t hot to th touch. Handl with car .
9. Prot ct unit from strong impact.
10. Unplug product b for cl aning. N v r spray liquid cl an rs into th amp: wip
with a cl an, lint-fr cloth to r mov dirt and film.
11. Only us attachm nts/acc ssori s sp cifi d by th manufactur r.
12. This product should b us d only with a cart or stand that is
r comm nd d by th manufactur r. Wh n a cart is us d, us cau-
tion wh n moving th cart/product combination to avoid injury
from tipping ov r.
13. Amplifi rs may b capabl of producing high volum l v ls
that could caus p rman nt h aring loss or damag , if th xpo-
sur to such l v ls is prolong d. Such damag is progr ssiv and irr v rsibl ! If you
xp ri nc any h aring loss or ringing in th ars, consult an audiologist.
This symbol, wh r v r it app ars, al rts th us r to th pr s nc of uninsulat d dang rous
voltag within th product’s nclosur that may b of suffici nt magnitud to constitut a
risk of l ctric shock to p rsons.
This symbol, wh r v r it app ars, al rts th us r to important op rating and maint nanc
instructions in th accompanying lit ratur . R ad th manual.
14. Unplug unit during lightning storms or wh n unus d for long p riods of
tim .
15. This unit must b arth ground d. To r duc th risk of l ctric shock, NEVER
r mov or oth rwis att mpt to d f at th ground pin of th pow r cord. If th provid-
d plug do s not fit into your outl t, consult an l ctrician for r plac m nt of th
obsol t outl t.
WARNING: To avoid th risk of fir , l ctric shock or injury, do not xpos this unit
to rain or moistur . Do not r mov th chassis from its cabin t, or r mov m tal cov-
ring from chassis parts. R moving th chassis from its cabin t xpos s xtr m ly
dang rous high voltag s. Th r ar no us r-s rvic abl parts insid . Hazardous volt-
ag s ar pr s nt insid th chassis. R f r all s rvicing to qualifi d p rsonn l.
CAUTION: N v r modify th pow r cord. If original pow r cord b com s damag d,
fray d, or has xpos d wir s, r plac imm diat ly with sam rating and gaug , or
high r. R plac m nts ar comm rcially availabl or you can contact T ch 21 dir ctly.
WARNING: Att mpting to r pair this unit is not r comm nd d and may void its
warranty. NOTE: In th U.S. and Canada, s rvicing is p rform d at factory only. In
oth r countri s, pl as r f r r pairs to th local T ch 21 authoriz d distributor.
FUSE
Fus hold r is locat d insid A/C cord r c ptacl . You must disconn ct
and r mov pow r cord to chang fus . R plac with similar typ
and sam valu : 100V and 117V units: us F 8A L
230V and 240V units: us F 5A L
QUICK START AND STOP INSTRUCTIONS
QUICK START: H r ’s how to g t your VT Bass 1000 up and running b for r ad-
ing th ntir manual. Not : By not r ading th manual, you’ll miss out on how to g t
th most out of your n w inv stm nt!
1. Plug th VT Bass 1000 h ad into sp ak r cabin t(s). Cabs must b rat d for total
of 1000W RMS minimum at 4Ω or 600W RMS minimum at 8Ω.
2. Attach th AC cord to th amp and plug into a wall sock t.
3. Plug your instrum nt into th front pan l Input jack (on th l ft sid ).
4. Mak sur th L v l control on ach chann l is turn d down. Th n turn on th VT
Bass 1000 and adjust th L v l controls accordingly.
5. Play your bass and you should h ar a sound coming through th amp. If not, ch ck that
your guitar’s volum control is turn d up, r ch ck your conn ctions, and b sur your
cabl isn’t faulty. If th r is still no sound, r f r to factory or qualifi d t chnician.
QUICK STOP: Aft r shutting off th VT Bass 1000 (or any amplifi r), wait at l ast 10
s conds b for turning it back on.
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RISK OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK
DO NOT OPEN
CAUTION
CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO
NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE.
REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.
RISQUE D'ELECTROCUTION
NE PAS OUVRIR
ATTENTION
ATTENTION: POUR REDUIRE LES RISQUES D'ELECTROCUTION
NE PAS ENLEVER LE COUVERCLE. AUCUNE PIECE INTERNE
N'EST REPARABLE PAR L'UTILISATEUR. POUR TOUTE
REPARATION, S'ADRESSER A UN TECHNICIEN QUALIFIE.
ELEKTRISCHE SCHLAGGEFAHR
NICHT OFFNEN
VORSICHT
VORSICHT: ZUR MINIMIERUNG ELEKTRISCHER SCHLAGGE-
FAHR NICHT DEN DECKEL ABNEHMEN. INTERNE TEILE KONNEN
NICHT VOM BENUTZER GEWARTET WERDEN. DIE WARTUNG
IST QUALIFIZIERTEM WARTUNGSPERSONAL ZU UBERLASSEN.
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T ch 21, th Company
T ch 21 was form d by a guitarist poss ssing th unusual combination of a
train d ar and l ctronics xp rtis . In 1989, B. Andr w Barta incorporat d
T ch 21 and mad his uniqu inv ntion comm rcially availabl to play rs and
studios around th world. His highly-acclaim d SansAmp™ pion r d Tub
Amplifi r Emulation in prof ssional applications for r cording dir ct and p r-
forming liv , and cr at d an ntir ly n w cat gory of signal proc ssing. Whil
th r hav sinc b n many ntri s into this nich , SansAmp continu s to
maintain its r putation as th industry standard.
With a full lin of SansAmp mod ls, T ch 21 also off rs ff ct p dals and
MIDI products, as w ll as “traditional” styl amplifi rs for guitar and bass.
Each product is thoughtfully and r sp ctfully d sign d by Andr w hims lf
with th play r in mind. Our goal is to provid you with fl xibl , v rsatil tools
to cultivat , control, r fin and r d fin your own individual sound. T ch 21
tak s gr at prid in d liv ring consist nt prof ssional quality sound, studio to
studio, club to club, ar na to ar na.
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VT Bass 1000, an Ov rvi w
Th VT Bass 1000 bass amp h ad is a 2-chann l, 2-rackspac adaptation of
its p dal count rpart, th SansAmp Charact r S ri s VT Bass. Th h art of
th VT Bass 1000 is th analog warmth of th SansAmp mulation circuitry
that was d sign d to r cr at th pow rful ton s of Amp g®-styl stacks.
Each chann l f atur s a pow rful 3-band activ EQ s ction and a full-rang
Driv control to dial in your d sir d ton . Th uniqu , continuously-variabl
Charact r control mov s s aml ss b tw n d cad s of diff r nt voicings. It
alt rs th ntir sonic structur of th sound, from thick flip-top funk, to
indi rock snarl, to d p t ctonic distortion.
For studio and liv applications, our propri tary, 100% analog SansAmp
Tub Amplifi r Emulation t chnology nabl s you to go straight into th
mix r of a r cord r or PA syst m via th XLR Dir ct Output.
Th includ d Footswitch furth r xpands th VT Bass 1000’s capabiliti s. In
addition to b ing abl to r mot ly chang chann ls, th r is a MUTE switch
which allows you to sil ntly tun your instrum nt, and a MIX function to
simultan ously ngag both chann ls, yi lding 3 footswitchabl sounds.
Th VT Bass 1000 off rs bootylicious ton s for f arl ss pro play rs y arning
to jump ship from th status quo.
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FRONT PANEL
Th VT Bass 1000 is d sign d with active controls, which boost and cut, rath r than
traditional passiv controls which only cut. This ff ctiv ly doubl s many of th con-
trol’s capabiliti s, giving you a much larg r rang of adjustability and, ultimat ly,
mor vari ty. It should b not d that you n d not n c ssarily s t v rything at max
to achi v maximum r sults. As you xp rim nt and b com familiar with th int rr -
lationship of th controls, you’ll asily b abl to customiz your own sounds.
Chann l S l ctor Switch
Manually switch s b tw n chann ls wh n th r ’s no cabl plugg d into th r ar
pan l Footswitch jack. To r mot ly chang chann ls, us th includ d Footswitch or
any standard latching footswitch. It will ov rrid th manual s l ctor switch. (For
mor information, r f r to pag 8.)
Gain
A 10dB gain boost to s t up th pr -amp for diff r nt pickups.
For xampl , with low r output passiv pickups, you can hav
punchi r sounds with Gain ngag d. Conv rs ly, with high r
output activ pickups, you can hav a cl an r sound with
Gain dis ngag d. Of cours , you can also obtain ov r-th -top
distortion by using high output pickups with Gain ngag d.
Input Jack
Faithful to th original d signs of traditional tub amplifi rs, this 1/4" Input is high
imp danc 1MΩ. Th typically additional low s nsitivity input, how v r, is not n d d
du to th Gain switch.
GUIDE TO CONTROLS
Driv
Adjusts th ov rall amount of gain and ov rdriv , similar to wh n th output s ction
of a tub amp is b ing push d. Th first half of th rotation will incr as th volum
as w ll as th ov rdriv .
Bass, Mid and Tr bl
This pow rful EQ s ction is lik having a studio mixing board at your fing rtips. Bass,
Mid and Tr bl ar activ ton controls that cut or boost ±12dB from unity gain at 12
o’clock. Bass is tun d to 125 Hz; Mid is tun d to 500 Hz; Tr bl fr qu ncy is 3.2 kHz.
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Charact r
Sw ps through an ntir rang of tonal possibiliti s associat d with th Amp g®-
styl family of amplifi rs. In addition to modifying th fr qu ncy r spons , th
Charact r control also influ nc s th attack and driv that ar charact ristic to this
particular amplifi r styl . Th r for , you may n d to adjust your gain and ton s t-
tings aft r tw aking th Charact r control.
L v l
Acts as a mast r volum and is int ractiv with th Driv control. For cl an sounds,
s t L v l at max and control th ov rall l v l with th Driv control. For dirty sounds,
us Driv to s t up th ov rall amount of distortion and L v l for th ov rall output.
REAR PANEL
FUSE
R plac with similar typ and sam valu :
100 and 120V units us : F 8A L
230 and 240V units us : F 5A L
IMPORTANT REMINDER: Fus hold r locat d insid A/C cord r c ptacl . You
must disconn ct and r mov pow r cord to chang fus .
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Sp akon®Sp ak r Outputs
Wir d in parall l. Total load: Min. 4Ω, 1000W RMS.
Th s high quality locking plugs nsur maximum
pow r transf r and provid s cur conn ctions.
R mind r, Cabin ts must b rat d:
1000 watts RMS (minimum load) @ 4Ω
600 watts RMS (minimum load) @ 8Ω
SansAmp™ XLR Dir ct Out
For r cording, th SansAmp XLR output is lik having a built-in dir ct box. You can
go dir ct to th board and g t th sam sound you h ar coming out of th sp ak rs
right onto tap or disc. Th SansAmp circuitry not only captur s th warm, rich, nat-
ural harmonics and sw t ov rdriv charact ristics inh r nt to tub amplifi rs, its
sp ak r mulation ncompass s all asp cts of multiply-mik d tub amp rigs.
For liv gigs, you can us this output dir ct into th PA syst m and you won’t n d a
microphon in front of th amp. And you won’t hav to subj ct th audi nc to a
st ril , muddy, or boomy bass ton .
L v l S l ctor Switch
Allows you to conn ct th VT Bass 1000 via th XLR Output to oth r quipm nt with
a vari ty of signal l v ls:
0dB position. Lin -l v l output.
-10dB position. Pads down th lin -l v l signal by 10dB.
Ground Lift
Conn cts or disconn cts th ground circuits b tw n th XLR Output of th amp and
th mix r. W r comm nd starting with th ground lift d. If n c ssary, conn ct th
ground by pushing th button in.
Pr -Amp Output
Eff cts Loop S nd.
Pow r Amp Input
Eff cts Loop R turn.
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Tun r Output
As long as th unit is plugg d in, th tun r output provid s a constant, unaff ct d
signal at all tim s, r gardl ss of th position of th L v l controls or th status of th
Mut button on th Footswitch. This output can also b us d as a buff r d out to
s nd a transpar nt signal to oth r outboard g ar.
TRIPLE-FUNCTION FOOTSWITCH
Th Footswitch furth r xpands th VT Bass 1000’s capabiliti s:
•CHANNEL r mot ly switch s b tw n th two chann ls.
•MUTE allows you to sil ntly tun your guitar or chang instrum nts.
•MIX ngag s both chann ls simultan ously, giving you thr footswitchabl
sound options.
Corr sponding LED indicators l t you know th status of ach switch. Th
Footswitch is pow r d via th cabl , so batt ri s ar not r quir d. And, unlik most
amps which r quir a custom multi-pin conn ctor, this Footswitch is ngin r d to
utiliz any standard 1/4” instrum nt or sp ak r cabl . You can asily r plac th
cabl should you los it, or purchas diff r nt cabl l ngths to suit your particular
n ds.
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USING WITH ACTIVE BASSES
Activ l ctronics hav high r output and typically g n rat mor nois . To comp n-
sat , w r comm nd low ring th volum on your bass. Additionally, xp rim nt with
using flat EQ s ttings and/or d cr asing th Driv , Charact r and Tr bl controls.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RACKMOUNTING
1. Unplug unit. R mov top cov r. Install rack ars with provid d hardwar . R plac
top cov r.
2. If th r isn’t nough cl aranc at th bottom of th rack cas , d tach th rubb r
f t simply by r moving th scr ws.
OPTIONAL 4X10 SPEAKER CABINET
(Mod l #B410-VT)
•8Ω / 500 watts handling
•Four cast fram , custom-
d sign d 10” sp ak rs
•R ar v nt d
•Sp akon®conn ctors
•1/4” conn ctors
•Dim nsions: 24”w x 24”h x 16”d
•W ight: 70 lbs.
VT Bass 1000 SPECIFICATIONS
Not : With on-going product d v lopm nt and improv m nts, sp cifications and/or
th cosm tic app aranc of this unit may chang without prior notic .
R plac m nt parts ar availabl , i. ., knobs, logo plat , handl s, tc. For mor
information, pl as contact your authoriz d d al r or T ch 21.
Mod l Numb r: VTB-1000
Input Imp danc : 1MΩ
Nominal Input L v l: -20dBm
Optimal Output Load: 4Ω
Pow r Output: 1000 watts RMS (minimum load) @ 4Ω
600 watts RMS (minimum load) @ 8Ω
Pow r Amp Input Imp danc : 1MΩ
Pow r Amp Input L v l: approx. -20dBm
Pr -Amp Output Imp danc : 1kΩ
Pr -Amp Output L v l: approx. -10dB*
XLR Output L v l (s l ctabl ): 0 to -10dBm
Maximum Pow r Consumption: approx. 1500VA
AC Input Pow r (factory s t): 110V, 117V, 230V, 240V
NOTE: AC pow r cannot b switch d.
Each unit is construct d for sp cific voltag s.
Cycl s: 50/60 Hz
Dim nsions: 17”w x 3.5”h x 16”d / Ov rall d pth: 17.75”
W ight: 12 lbs.
Optional Acc ssori s: • 4x10 Sp ak r Cabin t (Mod l #B410-VT) and
corr sponding optional black vinyl cov r with
whit logo (Mod l #VC-B410)
*Actual l v ls will vary with your s ttings.
®R gist r d trad marks.
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