Darkglass alpha omega ultra

[cataract]

Fair enough argument, and perhaps slimy was a bit harsh. I'm just sick of these companies constantly "improving" the circuit every few months because despite what you say above, I do believe it sets up in people's minds that their old ones are just not quite good enough, even though as you rightly say, they are. It just smacks of slightly underhanded business practices to me. I'm not saying don't introduce new pedals. I'm just saying that these things could be done a little better. Like perhaps a whole new pedal with a different name? That, to me, would be a little more kind to the consumer, even if the end pedal is the same as this one.

A lot of companies are guilty of this practice, but it makes sense for them to use already established branding that’s familiar to previous buyers, especially if it’s something essentially the same but with new or different features (how many variations of SVT has Ampeg released over the years?)
I get what you’re saying, though. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a lil miffed when I saw the A/O Ultra because I literally just got my B7K Ultra back from being repaired but now I wanna try out that danged cab sim feature.....
The cool thing is that about a week or so after this new offering’s been out, there’s bound to be one or two like new specimens rearing their grindy heads in ye olde TB classifieds!!

 

[Nephilymbass]

I'll be getting one. Eventually. It's just too damn good not to have. I'm VERY excited about the IR capabilities. Talk about cool.

Me too. It’s kind of cool that I’ve seen Doug post stuff on talkbass. Like recommending the omnicab sim and then Bam next pedal that comes out has cab IRs. Wonder if the cab IRs are based on his favorite settings with the omnicab

 

[2010P]

The cool thing is that about a week or so after this new offering’s been out, there’s bound to be one or two like new specimens rearing their grindy heads in ye olde TB classifieds!!

Lol! Yes, i definitely think you're right with that prediction.

 

[monsterthompson]

Fair enough argument, and perhaps slimy was a bit harsh. I'm just sick of these companies constantly "improving" the circuit every few months because despite what you say above, I do believe it sets up in people's minds that their old ones are just not quite good enough, even though as you rightly say, they are. It just smacks of slightly underhanded business practices to me. I'm not saying don't introduce new pedals. I'm just saying that these things could be done a little better. Like perhaps a whole new pedal with a different name? That, to me, would be a little more kind to the consumer, even if the end pedal is the same as this one.

If it was a big production company, with the capability of producing and releasing discrete and complete product lines on a single release date, then I could sympathize with this point to a greater degree. However, Darkglass is a small shop, bigger than a one-man boutique but certainly not a big corporate machine. I think Doug is releasing what he can, when he can, and building momentum. He released the AO as soon as it was ready for market, and it was successful, so he went forward with making the smaller, more affordable version. The popularity continued, and he was able to integrate some next-level technology into the Ultra. If it had been a flop of a product, I bet we would've seen the AO Ultra upgraded features on a B7K Ultra. Heck, I'm guessing it won't be long before we see a VMT and B7K Ultra with these features.

Think of the other products he brought to market in the one-year window since the AO's initial release. He added their first cabs, a 500w version of the DG MT head, and refined/upgraded the B3K and B7K. I'm no fan-boy of DG, but I can respect a small shop like his churning out those kinds of changes. I bet that guy never sleeps. Trying to bundle his business practices in with those of bigger corporate machines and their planned obsolescence practices is unreasonable.

I think he has a fair balance of getting products to market when he can, and trying to bring something new to the table with each offering.

 

[Nephilymbass]

Small gripe... I want this pedal. I bought a b7k ultra and was actually tempted by the alpha omega, because it sounded like the distortions were more pleasing, to my ear at least. And I almost forked over the 300+ euros for it.

Now here comes an upgrade. Which I may purchase. But I’m beginning to feel like I’m a fan of the “apple” of effects pedals. I buy a new pedal, it’s “obsolete” in a few months. And they’re not what you would call inexpensive.

Small gripe. And the products are tremendous.

I said the same thing once upon a time. But the thing about Darkglass if you’ve been into the brand and had several of their offerings is the resale value of their pedals are typically within $50 of new cost. In other words they hold their value a lot better than an iPhone. It’s not like line 6 pods or something where when the next one comes out the old one becomes virtually worthless. Also a lot of people don’t upgrade every time new one come out and people like different features to go with different basses and amps. Which you can see if you keep an eye on pedalboard pictures in the effects section of talkbass because there are still a lot of people rocking b3ks for example.

 

[2010P]

If it was a big production company, with the capability of producing and releasing discrete and complete product lines on a single release date, then I could sympathize with this point to a greater degree. However, Darkglass is a small shop, bigger than a one-man boutique but certainly not a big corporate machine. I think Doug is releasing what he can, when he can, and building momentum. He released the AO as soon as it was ready for market, and it was successful, so he went forward with making the smaller, more affordable version. The popularity continued, and he was able to integrate some next-level technology into the Ultra. If it had been a flop of a product, I bet we would've seen the AO Ultra upgraded features on a B7K Ultra. Heck, I'm guessing it won't be long before we see a VMT and B7K Ultra with these features.

Think of the other products he brought to market in the one-year window since the AO's initial release. He added their first cabs, a 500w version of the DG MT head, and refined/upgraded the B3K and B7K. I'm no fan-boy of DG, but I can respect a small shop like his churning out those kinds of changes. I bet that guy never sleeps. Trying to bundle his business practices in with those of bigger corporate machines and their planned obsolescence practices is unreasonable.

I think he has a fair balance of getting products to market when he can, and trying to bring something new to the table with each offering.

I'm going to say something that's going to blow your mind since it never happens anymore......you're argument was sensible and changed my mind. I'm not gonna run out and buy one now, but I retract my first post. Now go play the lotto because something rare just happened!!

 

[monsterthompson]

I'm going to say something that's going to blow your mind since it never happens anymore......you're argument was sensible and changed my mind. I'm not gonna run out and buy one now, but I retract my first post. Now go play the lotto because something rare just happened!!

Oh no! I better get off teh internet. I'm starting to make sense

 

[Christian Soto]

If it was a big production company, with the capability of producing and releasing discrete and complete product lines on a single release date, then I could sympathize with this point to a greater degree. However, Darkglass is a small shop, bigger than a one-man boutique but certainly not a big corporate machine. I think Doug is releasing what he can, when he can, and building momentum. He released the AO as soon as it was ready for market, and it was successful, so he went forward with making the smaller, more affordable version. The popularity continued, and he was able to integrate some next-level technology into the Ultra. If it had been a flop of a product, I bet we would've seen the AO Ultra upgraded features on a B7K Ultra. Heck, I'm guessing it won't be long before we see a VMT and B7K Ultra with these features.

Think of the other products he brought to market in the one-year window since the AO's initial release. He added their first cabs, a 500w version of the DG MT head, and refined/upgraded the B3K and B7K. I'm no fan-boy of DG, but I can respect a small shop like his churning out those kinds of changes. I bet that guy never sleeps. Trying to bundle his business practices in with those of bigger corporate machines and their planned obsolescence practices is unreasonable.

I think he has a fair balance of getting products to market when he can, and trying to bring something new to the table with each offering.

the b7k ultra was released with the same features as the Alpha omega ultra at the same time.

 

[monsterthompson]

the b7k ultra was released with the same features as the Alpha omega ultra at the same time.

My ignorance proves my non fan-boy status

 

[smogg]

I’m glad Doug & Co. are still pushing things forward, though I wish they’d use basses other than Dingwalls for their demos

I'm betting it has something to do with the NG-2. Knowing it comes standard with the darkglass tone capsule DG may consider it the perfect spring board to show off their products?

 

[burk48237]

You can download an update from DG, but your pedal will run slower

What loser would have the last generation Pedal anyway, that's almost as bad as using a year old cell phone

Definitly worth checking out, I love my DG Super Symetry.

 

[Nephilymbass]

I'm betting it has something to do with the NG-2. Knowing it comes standard with the darkglass tone capsule DG may consider it the perfect spring board to show off their products?

The dingwall NG2 and NG3 have the darkglass electronics tone capsule eq in them.

local guy has one and I digged it enough I have blue ng2 on the way. The Darkglass tone capsule seems to have become a popular option on dingwalls big money Canadian basses as well. On top of that dingwall just revealed at Namm a Darkglass electronics special edition NG3. I dig that these two companies are working together. They are both forward thinking companies working together and that’s what I dig about them. If you’ve never played a NG2 it’s essentially a Modern take on a Musicman stingray. Sheldon is a big fan of Leo and I think he looks at bass design as Leo did a lot of great things and instead of trying to do something completely different dingwall basses seem to basses with modern features and tweaks to improve upon what was already classic designs. Stuff like the fan frets, small frets, Darkglass eq, and other things like improving balance and weight. Anywho the NG2 does kind of gets a bad wrap because it’s quickly become a favorite for progressive metal bassist. But do yourself a favor and look into country, blues and rock players who play them. All the metal guys run them in series mode so there’s more mids which by comparison makes the lows kind of thin imo. But watch for example Andy Irvine’s demo of the ng2. He’s a country and blues guy and prefers the parallel setting of has more of a stingray type vibe in the mids and highs but with massive low end that still has great clarity.

Since I mentioned the Darkglass electronics edition Dingwall NG3 here’s a picture. Unfortunately
They are only selling a limited number and there’s an 8 month waiting list on this bad boy.

 

[smogg]

Wow, That NG3 is sweet. The regular Combustion has the EMG preamp then?

The AO Ultra is quite a head turner. The cab sim feeding the DI & headphone jack is a brilliant idea imo. add 6band EQ and the 2 drives is just too cool. That said, since I rarely need FOH support for the size gigs I play the ultra would be overkill for my needs. But it still has me drooling.

Hoping maybe it will push the price of used Omicron or VMT down a bit as I only really use low gain dirt for what I do. Something tells me the AO Ultra would pair well with the stock pre in my Millennium though. As was mentioned earlier maybe down the road a bit it will start popping up in the classifieds here,

 

[Nephilymbass]

Wow, That NG3 is sweet. The regular Combustion has the EMG preamp then?

The AO Ultra is quite a head turner. The cab sim feeding the DI & headphone jack is a brilliant idea imo. add 6band EQ and the 2 drives is just too cool. That said, since I rarely need FOH support for the size gigs I play the ultra would be overkill for my needs. But it still has me drooling.

Hoping maybe it will push the price of used Omicron or VMT down a bit as I only really use low gain dirt for what I do. Something tells me the AO Ultra would pair well with the stock pre in my Millennium though. As was mentioned earlier maybe down the road a bit it will start popping up in the classifieds here,

Yep
combustion = EMG
NG2/NG3= Darkglass

 

[donahue]

I WANT IT ALL!!! ALL!!!! ALL I SAY!!!!
SO FRIGGIN SWEET!!! AAAAAAHHH! HEAD GOING TO EXPLODE!!!

I want every version of every DG pedal on my board at once. Shut the door and slide a sandwhich through once a day!!

 

[wizay]

This looks like one of the most complete preamps atm, imo. Cab sim, drive on-off, eq, headphone out,

 

[Darkglass]

If it was a big production company, with the capability of producing and releasing discrete and complete product lines on a single release date, then I could sympathize with this point to a greater degree. However, Darkglass is a small shop, bigger than a one-man boutique but certainly not a big corporate machine. I think Doug is releasing what he can, when he can, and building momentum. He released the AO as soon as it was ready for market, and it was successful, so he went forward with making the smaller, more affordable version. The popularity continued, and he was able to integrate some next-level technology into the Ultra. If it had been a flop of a product, I bet we would've seen the AO Ultra upgraded features on a B7K Ultra. Heck, I'm guessing it won't be long before we see a VMT and B7K Ultra with these features.

Think of the other products he brought to market in the one-year window since the AO's initial release. He added their first cabs, a 500w version of the DG MT head, and refined/upgraded the B3K and B7K. I'm no fan-boy of DG, but I can respect a small shop like his churning out those kinds of changes. I bet that guy never sleeps. Trying to bundle his business practices in with those of bigger corporate machines and their planned obsolescence practices is unreasonable.

I think he has a fair balance of getting products to market when he can, and trying to bring something new to the table with each offering.

This. Man, you really, really nailed it.
One of the reasons technology has advanced as far as it has in recent years is that almost all businesses will sooner or later get disrupted, this is especially true when all that makes your product is technology that can be copied, improved-upon, or replaced by others' breakthroughs.

The only way to survive and thrive in the long run is to do your best to stay ahead, and that means improving things constantly and indefinitely, which can certainly become overwhelming at times as you have no chance to sit back, relax and enjoy, there is always a new mountain to climb.
The good news for you guys is that this means that the products you like using, in all industries are highly likely to become better, more efficient, and more affordable as time goes on.

 

[AndyLES]

Small gripe... I want this pedal. I bought a b7k ultra and was actually tempted by the alpha omega, because it sounded like the distortions were more pleasing, to my ear at least. And I almost forked over the 300+ euros for it.

Now here comes an upgrade. Which I may purchase. But I’m beginning to feel like I’m a fan of the “apple” of effects pedals. I buy a new pedal, it’s “obsolete” in a few months. And they’re not what you would call inexpensive.

Small gripe. And the products are tremendous.

This is one reason I've avoided pulling the trigger. That, and (*puts on flame proof suit*) I don't hear that much of a difference between what darkglass does and what lower cost options do. Yes, my purchased-used VT Bass and any Darkglass unit sound different from each other, but honestly, I don't find the difference so earth shattering as to justify spending so much.

Ok, I've said it. Flame away at me as you wish! *ducks*

PS: Not bashing Darkglass - in fact, the features of this pedal are VERY interesting and useful, and would probably help me consolidate my gear. Just stating an opinion on tone based on the demos I've heard so far...

 

[jwr]

Well I know for that sure the AO Ultra is a must have for me.

So all I have left to say is

My boner!

 

[jwr]

This is one reason I've avoided pulling the trigger. That, and (*puts on flame proof suit*) I don't hear that much of a difference between what darkglass does and what lower cost options do. Yes, my purchased-used VT Bass and any Darkglass unit sound different from each other, but honestly, I don't find the difference so earth shattering as to justify spending so much.

Ok, I've said it. Flame away at me as you wish! *ducks*

PS: Not bashing Darkglass - in fact, the features of this pedal are VERY interesting and useful, and would probably help me consolidate my gear. Just stating an opinion on tone based on the demos I've heard so far...

I guess it just depends on what you want. I have owned all of the Darkglass stuff at some time or another (expect the VMT Ultra). I found that for the sound I want, the B7K and VMT are perfect. I stack them too.

It is a lot of money for sure, but I value the sound that they give me, so I'm willing to pay that price.

I also dig the Sans Amp stuff but I prefer the Darkglass treble over the Sans Amp. It just more pleasing to my ears personally.

So, I think it's just a "what do I like" deal. Doesn't mean either is the bad or wrong way to go.