Darkglass B7K Ultra vs A/O Ultra?

[sc_precision]

I ended up returning the AOU because the distortion sounded too farty? and the headphone out was way lower even at full master volume (and I just couldn't be bothered to boot up the computer to adjust the volume level). I might just stick with a Sansamp. More my taste. Appreciate the input.

 

[sunbeast]

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.

Again, if that was the first iteration of the AOU (before the Aux-in jack), it had an inherently noisier EQ section than the later update starting with the XU (which was the first o the Ultra pedals to be released with the fully updated EQ and digital sections). I had one of the early AOUs with the hissy EQ section and lower-headroom digital section, and the XU was a huge improvement from those. The first version of the X7 had issues too- specifically the compressor section had headroom (distortion and noise) issues when run at 9V. I bought one new and had to send it back twice, but the 3rd update was the charm and I upgraded to the XU when those were released. The X series distortion was my least favorite in the DG lineup though and I ended up making my own crossover FX Loop setup inspired by the XU.

 

[sunbeast]

I ended up returning the AOU because the distortion sounded too farty? and the headphone out was way lower even at full master volume (and I just couldn't be bothered to boot up the computer to adjust the volume level). I might just stick with a Sansamp. More my taste. Appreciate the input.

That's a shame, but you gotta go with your taste! Did you play much with the two distortion voicing switches? For me having at least the Edge switch engaged was vital (I usually had both engaged though). I also generally prefer to avoid digital additions to analog pedals, though when I had a few Darkglass Ultra pedals accessing the added features in the app was vital

 

[sc_precision]

That's a shame, but you gotta go with your taste! Did you play much with the two distortion voicing switches? For me having at least the Edge switch engaged was vital (I usually had both engaged though). I also generally prefer to avoid digital additions to analog pedals, though when I had a few Darkglass Ultra pedals accessing the added features in the app was vital

I did and didn't like the sound. Too aggressive and distorted. Maybe just didn't blend enough signal in but may try the Vintage deluxe instead.

 

[sunbeast]

I did and didn't like the sound. Too aggressive and distorted. Maybe just didn't blend enough signal in but may try the Vintage deluxe instead.

I will say that my main blanket criticism of all the Darkglass analog drive units is a lack of low-gain range with typical instruments. Most of my time playing DG pedals I was using relatively low-output Rickenbacker basses and so I could dial in genuine low-gain tones with all of them without much clean blended in, but with even a basic passive P-bass the minimum amount of gain I could dial in was noticeably crunchier. I often ended up using pedals earlier in the FX chain to drop my volume down a bit when using basses other than my Rickenbacker when I was looking for lower gain sounds. I do think the Vintage pedals have the widest amount of low-gain tone available and the drive tone is definitely smoother (less aggressive) than the AO unless you use the Attack boost.