Darkglass B7K Ultra vs A/O Ultra?

[sc_precision]

I am interested in getting one of these mainly for home practice because of the headphone jack. Just curious if the A/O Ultra is worth it for the EQ section that allows more fine tuning than the B7K Ultra but am curious if it would be better to get the B7K Ultra and just get the standard A/O pedal to put before or after.. or maybe vice versa if that works as well? Guess doesn't really matter as will use the headphone jack anyways but just curious which one you all prefer? Mainly interested in differences in the drive sound.

Save the Sansamp recommendations because those don't have a headphone jack and already tried a couple Ged pedals with my amp at the time. I liked the drive but had to sell the amp due to no longer needing a 800 watt amp.

 

[viking power]

Nothing to add but interested in Darkglass and what answers you get back.

 

[Chris Chong]

I am interested in getting one of these mainly for home practice because of the headphone jack. Just curious if the A/O Ultra is worth it for the EQ section that allows more fine tuning than the B7K Ultra but am curious if it would be better to get the B7K Ultra and just get the standard A/O pedal to put before or after.. or maybe vice versa if that works as well? Guess doesn't really matter as will use the headphone jack anyways but just curious which one you all prefer? Mainly interested in differences in the drive sound.

Save the Sansamp recommendations because those don't have a headphone jack and already tried a couple Ged pedals with my amp at the time. I liked the drive but had to sell the amp due to no longer needing a 800 watt amp.

owned a MTVU and AOU, I heard some noise in the phones out, not keen on that since.

For Sansamp bass driver, you can plug the headphones jack half way in and it will work.

 

[sunbeast]

owned a MTVU and AOU, I heard some noise in the phones out, not keen on that since.

For Sansamp bass driver, you can plug the headphones jack half way in and it will work.

Curious how old your Darkglass pedals were? At some point after the release of the original AOU they upgraded their digital/headphones/IR section to a lower-noise/higher-headroom one. I had an original AOU and an XU (which was the first of their pedals to have the updated digital circuitry) and the noise floor drop was significant between the two.

 

[sunbeast]

I’ve had Ultra versions of all the DG pedals and definitely prefer the graphic EQ of the AOU and XU for the extra EQ bands. That said, the drive tones of all the pedals are quite different so I’d probably figure out which drive tone you prefer and go from there. The Vintage and AO circuits have my favorite drive tones. I actually had a small DG Vintage run into an AOU in one of my bands and that was a killer combo for my tastes

 

[sc_precision]

owned a MTVU and AOU, I heard some noise in the phones out, not keen on that since.

For Sansamp bass driver, you can plug the headphones jack half way in and it will work.

I believe they upgraded the headphone jack to handle 16 ohms or something like that.

I’ve had Ultra versions of all the DG pedals and definitely prefer the graphic EQ of the AOU and XU for the extra EQ bands. That said, the drive tones of all the pedals are quite different so I’d probably figure out which drive tone you prefer and go from there. The Vintage and AO circuits have my favorite drive tones. I actually had a small DG Vintage run into an AOU in one of my bands and that was a killer combo for my tastes

Thanks. I do have a AOU on the way and will check out the drive. I did compare on a few youtube channels the B7K Ultra and A/O Ultra. Many people said you can get the B7K Ultra drive sound on the A/O but just wasn't sure if the flexible EQ on the A/O was better than the mid switches on the B7K.

 

[Kerem Koseoglu]

Unsolicited advice: Any Darkglass Ultra pedal I've tried has introduced noise into my signal chain, while the deluxe ones haven't. If you have any plans of putting them on your pedalboard later on, make sure to check for noise early on.

 

[Bassinga]

The AOU is more midrangey and darker whereas the B7KU is more grindy and scooped to my ears. I've owned both. I prefer the AOU to be honest, it sounds fuller.

 

[Gigas444]

I have a B7K ultra and a "standard" A/O (the one with DI out, but without the headpone out), this because I use the B7k to add a little grit into the "clean" sound and use the A/O for high gain situations, in my experience (or for my taste) the A/O is much more aggressive (more dist and more mids) and the B7K is better for lower gain situations, it depends by what you're searching for, but you can't go wrong with Dakglass anyway in my opinion

 

[sunbeast]

I believe they upgraded the headphone jack to handle 16 ohms or something like that.



Thanks. I do have a AOU on the way and will check out the drive. I did compare on a few youtube channels the B7K Ultra and A/O Ultra. Many people said you can get the B7K Ultra drive sound on the A/O but just wasn't sure if the flexible EQ on the A/O was better than the mid switches on the B7K.

The B7K and AO definitely have distinct drive tones- dialing in the same tone between them would be impossible in my experience. I suspect people talking of noise had earlier versions of the Ultra pedals. If you make sure to get the latest version (versions with the "Aux-in" jack) and power it with clean power you shouldn't have extraneous noise issues in my experience

 

[gregmon79]

I am interested in getting one of these mainly for home practice because of the headphone jack. Just curious if the A/O Ultra is worth it for the EQ section that allows more fine tuning than the B7K Ultra but am curious if it would be better to get the B7K Ultra and just get the standard A/O pedal to put before or after.. or maybe vice versa if that works as well? Guess doesn't really matter as will use the headphone jack anyways but just curious which one you all prefer? Mainly interested in differences in the drive sound.

Save the Sansamp recommendations because those don't have a headphone jack and already tried a couple Ged pedals with my amp at the time. I liked the drive but had to sell the amp due to no longer needing a 800 watt amp.

If you're wanting/looking to add OD and or dirt to the signal, the AOU would be your better bet. The B7KU can get dirty too, but not to the extent that the AOU can. With that said, I loved and used the B7K then the B7KU for years. It was a splendid preamp and tone shaper for me. With my personal setup, the AOU added a lot of noise to my signal which led me to not use it and go on to sell it. Not saying its a bad unit by any means. Many use it to great success and tone. I felt the B7KU's EQ and voicing options was more useful and tonally better than the AOU's.

Both are great pedals and serve their own purposes. But if you're just wanting a strong, versatile preamp to practice with at home, I'd recommend the B7KU far and away over the AOU. The only way the AOU weights out the B7KU is the fact that AOU has more dirty, overdriven colors and ranges whereas the B7KU is more polite. It can get dirty, just not like the AOU. So it comes down to if you want more range of dirty tones or more of a clean powerful preamp to me. But its not up to me.... Again, not saying the B7KU is a clean machine. It excels at it better than the AOU does while still being able to do some nice, driving tones. The AOU can be clean as well. Just better at doing a wider range of drive tones.

 

[gregmon79]

I have a B7K ultra and a "standard" A/O (the one with DI out, but without the headpone out), this because I use the B7k to add a little grit into the "clean" sound and use the A/O for high gain situations, in my experience (or for my taste) the A/O is much more aggressive (more dist and more mids) and the B7K is better for lower gain situations, it depends by what you're searching for, but you can't go wrong with Dakglass anyway in my opinion

I also would agree with this. I echoed what you stated here pretty much. I plan to recoup the OG A/O at some point. What a great dirt box. It's one of DG's best IMO. I much preferred the A/O to the AOU. Yes, I wasn't happy with the noise floor but I got a very early version of the AOU. So there's that. It's also how I ran it. I had a lot going on in my chain. I don't blame that on DG. But I was very happy with the A/O and I regret flipping it. It has so many great dirt sounds.

 

[EricOnTheBass]

I like the Deluxe versions because I prefer knobs to the touch screen stuff.

 

[ItsmeSantiago]

Only annoying thing about the Ultra pedals is the headphone volume out has to be adjusted in the desktop app. Other than that, the AOU is fantastic for a broader range of drive sounds. Clean without the dirt and the drive goes from mild dirt to full on deranged.

 

[sunbeast]

If you're wanting/looking to add OD and or dirt to the signal, the AOU would be your better bet. The B7KU can get dirty too, but not to the extent that the AOU can. With that said, I loved and used the B7K then the B7KU for years. It was a splendid preamp and tone shaper for me. With my personal setup, the AOU added a lot of noise to my signal which led me to not use it and go on to sell it. Not saying its a bad unit by any means. Many use it to great success and tone. I felt the B7KU's EQ and voicing options was more useful and tonally better than the AOU's.

Both are great pedals and serve their own purposes. But if you're just wanting a strong, versatile preamp to practice with at home, I'd recommend the B7KU far and away over the AOU. The only way the AOU weights out the B7KU is the fact that AOU has more dirty, overdriven colors and ranges whereas the B7KU is more polite. It can get dirty, just not like the AOU. So it comes down to if you want more range of dirty tones or more of a clean powerful preamp to me. But its not up to me.... Again, not saying the B7KU is a clean machine. It excels at it better than the AOU does while still being able to do some nice, driving tones. The AOU can be clean as well. Just better at doing a wider range of drive tones.

If I’m not mistaken, you (like myself) were an early-adopter of the AOU. The graphic EQ on the original release definitely added some high-frequency hiss regardless of settings, but they fixed this after the release of the XU (which featured an updated version of the same EQ section). They also updated the entire digital section (headphone amp, IR loader, DI signal) with a lower-noise and higher-headroom chip when the XU was released, so all the subsequent new versions of all the Ultra pedals are much less noisy though the DI and headphone outs as well (you can tell the updated versions as they have the added “aux-in” jack)

 

[_Some Dude]

The B7K does a better job of maintaining the sound of my bass and adding dirt to it.

The AO takes over my signal and makes it sound like its going through an AO.

I think the B7K is a better tone shaper/always on type preamp, and I think the AO is a better distortion pedal.

As a bonus, the AO into the B7K sounds great.

IMO/YMMV

 

[gregmon79]

If I’m not mistaken, you (like myself) were an early-adopter of the AOU. The graphic EQ on the original release definitely added some high-frequency hiss regardless of settings, but they fixed this after the release of the XU (which featured an updated version of the same EQ section). They also updated the entire digital section (headphone amp, IR loader, DI signal) with a lower-noise and higher-headroom chip when the XU was released, so all the subsequent new versions of all the Ultra pedals are much less noisy though the DI and headphone outs as well (you can tell the updated versions as they have the added “aux-in” jack)

I had the same issue with the X7U. Got that almost as soon as it came out too. Took me a while to sell it but it just couldn't get to where I wanted it with the noise. Plus by then I moved on to other tones. I still love DG like a mofo. My tonal tastes just changed. It came down to the "baked in mid curve" that almost all their pedals have (I say that positively mind you). I think my ear just grew away from it over time and I eventually just wanted other voicings. Sucks too in a way because now I feel very disconnected to DG and the community we've grown here. Nothing lasts forever I guess. But I got many years of great use from their pedals.

I will have another A/O one day soon. I was looking at one online again a couple days ago in fact haha That pedal has got such a killer voice all its own. Still DG but its got its own thing. I think of all the pedals I've owned and tried of theirs, the A/O and Vintage are the ones without that hard baked in mid presence. Even thought the Vintage does have it, it's not as pronounced as the rest. IMHO.

 

[gregmon79]

The B7K does a better job of maintaining the sound of my bass and adding dirt to it.

The AO takes over my signal and makes it sound like its going through an AO.

I think the B7K is a better tone shaper/always on type preamp, and I think the AO is a better distortion pedal.

As a bonus, the AO into the B7K sounds great.

IMO/YMMV

My thoughts exactly. Other than the B7K letting my bass come through. I think it coated my bass's base tone. Which is fine and great. That's why I loved it so much. But yes, the AO sounds like the AO but I like that even more because I too used it as a dist pedal, not a preamp. That's how I plan to use it when I get another one. I used the AO into the B7K (later the U) for years. It was my sound for a long time.

 

[sunbeast]

I had the same issue with the X7U. Got that almost as soon as it came out too. Took me a while to sell it but it just couldn't get to where I wanted it with the noise. Plus by then I moved on to other tones. I still love DG like a mofo. My tonal tastes just changed. It came down to the "baked in mid curve" that almost all their pedals have (I say that positively mind you). I think my ear just grew away from it over time and I eventually just wanted other voicings. Sucks too in a way because now I feel very disconnected to DG and the community we've grown here. Nothing lasts forever I guess. But I got many years of great use from their pedals.

I will have another A/O one day soon. I was looking at one online again a couple days ago in fact haha That pedal has got such a killer voice all its own. Still DG but its got its own thing. I think of all the pedals I've owned and tried of theirs, the A/O and Vintage are the ones without that hard baked in mid presence. Even thought the Vintage does have it, it's not as pronounced as the rest. IMHO.

Interesting- I didn't find the XU noisy at all in my rig, but with the 1st gen AOU I definitely had an inherent hiss (not so bad hat I got rid of it for that reason though- in my rig the hiss was pretty mild). I also didn't use the gain or compression set high on the XU at all though (that comp could squash pretty hard in full-range mode and would probably raise up any existing noise floor quite a bit). Were you daisy-chaining the XU power with other pedals? I've found the digital Darkglass pedals (including the Ultra pedals with the digital headphone/IR circuits) really don't daisy-chain well

 

[gregmon79]

Interesting- I didn't find the XU noisy at all in my rig, but with the 1st gen AOU I definitely had an inherent hiss (not so bad hat I got rid of it for that reason though- in my rig the hiss was pretty mild). I also didn't use the gain or compression set high on the XU at all though (that comp could squash pretty hard in full-range mode and would probably raise up any existing noise floor quite a bit). Were you daisy-chaining the XU power with other pedals? I've found the digital Darkglass pedals (including the Ultra pedals with the digital headphone/IR circuits) really don't daisy-chain well

It may have been the first ver of the X7 now that I think about it. I only had the AOU and the B7KU of the Ultra line. The X7 just didn't get me anywhere I wanted to be tonally. I did like it, great pedal. But that was when my ear was on the way out so I was somewhat turned off by it when I got it. But yes, I tried the AOU on it's own with an isolated power sup and it was still very noisy. I think I even had them send me another one and it was the same. Not trying to hate on DG. It just was what it was at the time. They tried to make it right for sure. Their cust ser was always top notch and above most.