User Manual

TECH 21, THE COMPANY
Tech 21 was formed by a guitarist possessing the unusual combination
of a trained ear and electronics expertise. In 1989, B. Andrew Barta
made his unique invention commercially available to players and studios
around the world. His highly-acclaimed SansAmp™ pioneered Tube
Amplifier Emulation in professional applications for recording direct
and performing live, and created an entirely new category of signal pro-
cessing. There have since been many entries into this niche, yet SansAmp
continues to maintain its reputation as the industry standard.
Each Tech 21 product is thoughtfully and respectfully designed by B.
Andrew Barta himself with the player in mind. Our goal is to provide
you with flexible, versatile tools to cultivate, control, refine and redefine
your own individual sound. Tech 21 takes great pride in delivering con-
sistent quality sound, studio to studio, club to club, arena to arena.
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
The original Fly Rig was introduced in 2014. It was a true game-changer
for players in all categories, from touring pros to bedroom hobbyists,
and later expanded into a series, including signature versions. Each Tech
21 Fly Rig is much more than a pedalboard. In a single pedal. And no
board. Less than 13” long and weighing just over 20 oz., each sleek, com-
pact unit embodies an entire rig. At the heart, is the all-analog SansAmp,
which makes it possible to go direct to a PA or mixer. For effects, you
have the essentials and the ability to add some fun stuff, too. What you
don’t have are crackling patch cables, dying batteries or ground loops. No
stinkin’ van, heavy flight cases, cable spaghetti, and no dead weight.
With a Tech 21 Fly Rig, you can relax. For fly gigs across the globe, jam-
ming at the local hang, and last minute sessions, you’ll be the first one
ready to go. You can stop stressing over what to pack and agonizing over
what to leave behind. You can stop dreading cheesy backline loaners and
overheating at the mere thought of your touring rig going down. Just
pop your Fly Rig into your guitar case or backpack and head for the
door. (Be sure to wipe that smile off your face when the rest of the band
shows up sweating and out of breath.)
BASS FLY RIG v2
The Bass Fly Rig v2 retains the same SansAmp heart and effects. New
features include a choice of SansAmp Character modes, channel
switching and an effect loop to facilitate incorporating outboard effects.
APPLICATIONS
As a PRE-AMP or STOMPBOX with a bass amp.You can
connect the Bass Fly Rig in-line just as you would a standard distortion
pedal. If the pre-amp of your amplifier is imparting too much of its own
character on the pedal, plug into the low level input and set the pre-
amp as clean and neutral as possible.
Also, be aware that most tube amps have a tone stack. When every-
thing is on max, they tend to cut the mid-range. So don’t be surprised
to find that the flattest sound is achieved with bass and treble at mini-
mum, and mid at max. Since most tube amp passive tone stacks work in
a similar fashion, we recommend this as a good starting point and ad-
justing to taste.
You can also plug into the effects loop return (if the amp has one). This
will disable the entire pre-amp of the amp for a more true representa-
tion of the Bass Fly Rig’s sound.
For DIRECT RECORDING or DIRECT to PA. All of the tone
shaping and cabinet emulation needed is already incorporated into the
SansAmp section of the pedal. The Bass Fly Rig automatically converts
your bass signal to Low Z allowing you to plug into a variety of inputs
that would normally load down your guitar’s signal. It can be plugged
into mixers (live and studio), workstation/recorders, and even directly
into the sound card on a computer.
THE INS AND OUTS
1/4” INPUT & IN PAD SWITCH:
4.7megOhm instrument level to deliver the full sound of piezos. For
normal operation, signal level to Input should be close to that of a stan-
dard bass guitar (approximately -10dBm / 250mV).
The In Pad switch for active basses pads the input by -10dBm.
1/4” UNIVERSAL OUTPUT: Unbalanced low Z output. Can be
connected to High Z bass amps (or effects) as well as Low Z mixer and
computer inputs. Output level is unity gain when pedal is in bypass mode.
Also drives long cables without loss of signal integrity, even in bypass.
BALANCED XLR OUTPUT & GROUND CONNECT SWITCH:
Balanced low Z output. When the Ground Connect switch is engaged,
the ground connects. Disengaged, the ground of your stage system and
other interconnected gear is lifted (isolated) from the ground of the
mixing console.
NOTE: Both outputs can be used simultaneously. For example, 1/4"
Out to your amp and XLR Out to PA mixer, which is one instance
where the Ground might need to be disengaged.
GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START
SIGNAL FLOW OF THE BASS FLY RIG
SET LEVEL CONTROLS FOR UNITY GAIN
Set the level controls so you have the same volume coming from your
speaker/monitor whether the pedal is active or in bypass. This ensures
the next device in the signal chain won't get slammed by a much hotter
signal than what would normally come from the instrument. Similarly,
you wouldn't want a drop in volume, either which would force the next
device to struggle for enough signal.
CLIP WARNING
The Chorus control in the EFX section has a built-in clip warning. Like
a VU meter, the Chorus control will flash red to warn you if the Bass
Fly Rig is being overloaded.
To check the cause, shut off all the effects. Play your bass. If the clip
warning stays lit, engage the In Pad, as your bass is sending too hot of a
signal. Otherwise, when those sections are engaged, trim the corre-
sponding Level control accordingly (Comp, SansAmp).
Bear in mind that occasional blinks (peaks) are okay and can be ex-
pected when you dig into your strings, but it should not be continu-
ously lit.
!! WARNING !!
DO NOT RUN THE SPEAKER OUTPUT
OF ANY AMP
directly into a Fly Rig/SansAmp input.
Severe damage to the amp and the Fly Rig/SansAmp will result.
XLR OUT INPUT
1/4”
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