Darkglass B3K OR B7K

[willsellout]

Mine works fine with my 1 spot and with my 9 volt adapters, no issues.

[makanudo]

Curse you all! I'm a broke college student now drooling over one of these bad boys.. one day.. ONE DAY!

[smeet]

I have a B3K and I love it! I use it as an always-on box, with the drive all the way down, which puts me right on the edge of breakup when I hit hard.

I know a lot of people have said that if your amp has good eq, you don't need the eq on the B7K. But one thing to keep in mind is, if it's not always on, you might want the distortion eq to be different from your clean eq, and that's where the built-in eq of the B7K might really come in handy.

Anybody want to trade a B7K for my B3K plus some cash?

[Vlad5]

Yo Doug and Spencer!

Is the eq section on the B7K pre or post the drive section? That is, does the eq shape the input signal, then go to drive/gain? Or does it go input > drive > eq > out?

Just curious, as I'm deciding where to put my Bass Mid Control (BMC) relative to the B3K to similate the B7K.

Thanks!

[Darkglass]

Originally Posted by Envincibal

I was quite excited when I got my B7K today ... but that turned to disappointment - I get nothing but noise from the 1/4" and the XLR when the pedal is engaged (ok, my bass is way in the background). No issues when the effect is turned off - my clean signal goes through... did I miss something with the pedal (I know there's no manual with it)... basically I get an overpowering ground hum as soon as I engage the pedal.

I can hear my bass under the noise... the blend and level controls add to the hum (they have to be nearly off to get the hum to stop), and the grunt swtich; in Fat and Raw mode, it just makes the noise completely overbearing.

I'm really disappointed that a $400 pedal can go out the door without being checked... and now I'll have to pay to send it back and I guess I'll have to pay for shipping to have another one sent to me (I'm hoping I can just get my money back and not have to deal with this).

again, if I missed something with this, please chime in... yes, I am using a working 9-volt adapter (works fine for my Sansamp Programmable BDDI), used several basses, and used the ground lift button - all with the same results: completely unusable.

Hey mate!
Do not worry, we always stand for our products!
If the Hum goes away with the Blend at minimum. Then I am certain that is the power supply. (The EQ and DI sections are OpAmp only, which are very resilient with AC ripple in the power supply. Discrete components like the FETs and even CMOS used in the drive section will only be quiet using pedal power supplies)
You should use the Microtubes with a power supply designed for pedals. I always use and recommend a 1spot because is dead quiet and affordable!
Give it a shot.
I will reply to the email you sent me as well!

Regards,
Doug.

[Spencer!]

Originally Posted by Vlad5

Yo Doug and Spencer!

Is the eq section on the B7K pre or post the drive section? That is, does the eq shape the input signal, then go to drive/gain? Or does it go input > drive > eq > out?

Just curious, as I'm deciding where to put my Bass Mid Control (BMC) relative to the B3K to similate the B7K.

Thanks!

The EQ is after the drive and blend controls - it's the last section before the output jack.

[Vlad5]

Cool, thanks Spencer!

[Veldar]

Does the EQ affect it if the Drive is turned off?

[Darkglass]

Originally Posted by Veldar

Does the EQ affect it if the Drive is turned off?

Yeah, with the Blend set at minimum you can use the B7K as a clean Preamp/EQ/DI!

Regards,
Doug.

[Veldar]

Originally Posted by Darkglass

Yeah, with the Blend set at minimum you can use the B7K as a clean Preamp/EQ/DI!

Regards,
Doug.

But will the EQ still effect my siginal if I turn the light on the B7K off?

[Durden26]

Off = off... How confusing would that be otherwise?

[Veldar]

Originally Posted by Durden26

Off = off... How confusing would that be otherwise?

Yeah but I think mines affecting my EQ when it's turned off.

[ysand]

Finnish ones:

Off = No di signal, no output signal, the b7k is just a few extra inches of your cable.


USA ones:

Off = Buffered clean di signal, clean output signal, EQ affects signal.



Waiting for Doug or Spencer to correct me if i'm wrong

[Spencer!]

The EQ is out of the circuit when the pedal is bypassed. The B7K is buffered bypass, so the bypassed output is just a low impedance version of your input signal. The DI outputs a balanced version of whatever is coming out of the 1/4" output.

[Gmclachlan]

Wow, I'm a little exhausted after reading that whole thread. I think the OP maybe hasn't returned after getting his B3K, but after buying and using both the B3K and B7K, using the B3K with a separate EQ is the way to go for me. The B7K eq worked well, but if you're talking the be all/end all, might be using different basses, separate EQ is a more than worthwhile expense, as well as a loop pedal to activate both together. The MXR 10 Band or 6 Band are both less than the bump for a B7K, and have all kinds of other uses.

[Darkglass]

Originally Posted by Veldar

Yeah but I think mines affecting my EQ when it's turned off.

Originally Posted by Spencer!

The EQ is out of the circuit when the pedal is bypassed. The B7K is buffered bypass, so the bypassed output is just a low impedance version of your input signal. The DI outputs a balanced version of whatever is coming out of the 1/4" output.

It's possible that if you're using long cables with a passive bass the Buffer on the B7K is actually matching the impedances, which is a good thing. If you plug your bass directly to the amp using a foot long cable it'll most likely sound the same as with the B7K's bypass .

[Veldar]

Originally Posted by ysand

Finnish ones:

Off = No di signal, no output signal, the b7k is just a few extra inches of your cable.


USA ones:

Off = Buffered clean di signal, clean output signal, EQ affects signal.

I've got the US one but I really like the Sound when I turn it off as well as the OD, Or mabye I just got good at EQing

[4001]

Originally Posted by Gmclachlan

Wow, I'm a little exhausted after reading that whole thread. I think the OP maybe hasn't returned after getting his B3K, .....

Hey, I'm here. My B3K is great!
As far as an EQ I am going to try, just for the heck of it, my SansAmp clean just using the tone settings on it, running just after the B3K in my pedal setup just to see what effect adding any tone settings will have on the sound of the overdrive, just because I'm that kind of expirimenting type of guy. I'll post back here once I do that in a couple of days.

UPDATE: 11/21/2012
OK, I tried it and it didn't work. Both before and after the B3K in the signal path. The sound is better without adding the SansAmp and just using the tone controls on my GK with the B3K.

[Durden26]

Originally Posted by Veldar

I've got the US one but I really like the Sound when I turn it off as well as the OD, Or mabye I just got good at EQing

You should have started a thread that reads "I love my clean tone."

[Veldar]

Originally Posted by Durden26

You should have started a thread that reads "I love my clean tone."

I would be I don't have the time.