Darkglass Microtubes 900 Class D Amp

[alembicbones]

I have a M900 scheduled for delivery today, so it could be a NAD. There is one catch though. I requested that the FedEx package be signed for upon delivery. This duty has been entrusted to my 17 year old daughter who is home for winter break. Here's hoping she comes through!

Bones

 

[alembicbones]

UPDATE! Just spoke with daughter and the amp has been delivered. Apparently the dog made things a bit of a challenge but she made it work. Today is an official NAD. Looking forward to putting it through its paces tonight.

Bones

 

[Wicked G]

UPDATE! Just spoke with daughter and the amp has been delivered. Apparently the dog made things a bit of a challenge but she made it work. Today is an official NAD. Looking forward to putting it through its paces tonight.

Bones

So have you played with it yet? What do you think?

 

[alembicbones]

It's really like no amp I've ever owned. I'm running it through an 8 ohm Fender 410 Neo cab. There's clearly lots of room for clean volume. With the Microtubes Engine engaged, I've never had such cool distortion at my fingertips. I think this amp is a winner. I'm psyched to use it in a band setting.

Bones

 

[John D Harris]

I think for the tone I'm after, I'd rather have a Vintage Ultra into something like the Quilter BB800.

 

[monsterthompson]

I think for the tone I'm after, I'd rather have a Vintage Ultra into something like the Quilter BB800.

I’ve got the Quilter and the BB800. I thought I’d have an easy time deciding which to keep and which to sell. There’s definitely not a clear winner. But there’s always a case for the right tool for the job, and each has strengths.

 

[Wicked G]

Update:
I played my Microtubes 500 again last night with 2 TCE K212 cabs and was pretty much experiencing the same thing with different EQ settings and the Gain at about 10:00. I finally got fed up and switched over on the second set to the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.2 and the difference in weight, girth, heft, everything was dramatic. Even my sound guy said the Genz was heads and shoulders above the Darkglass.

I don't know if there is something wrong with my Darkglass or not, I don't think so, but I am just going to return it this week. I was expecting an amp with 2 distortion channels and a clean channel and what I got was an amp with 3 distortion channels instead. The clean can sound clean until you begin to play hard at volume, then it tends to break up quite a bit more than I would like. But the VMT and B3K are pretty awesome which I believe is the main reason to buy this amp. For distortion, this amp is killer.

Now some people may actually like how this amp breaks up at volume, but it's just not what I was expecting. Especially with it having the newer Ice chip and for what it cost me. I think Tuesday I am going to return it and just go with my original plan of getting a Magellan 800. And for the record, I did not post on here to troll, I just wanted to let everyone know of my actual experience. I really wanted to like this amp.

 

[CoarseBass]

Update:
I played my Microtubes 500 again last night with 2 TCE K212 cabs and was pretty much experiencing the same thing with different EQ settings and the Gain at about 10:00. I finally got fed up and switched over on the second set to the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.2 and the difference in weight, girth, heft, everything was dramatic. Even my sound guy said the Genz was heads and shoulders above the Darkglass.

I don't know if there is something wrong with my Darkglass or not, I don't think so, but I am just going to return it this week. I was expecting an amp with 2 distortion channels and a clean channel and what I got was an amp with 3 distortion channels instead. The clean can sound clean until you begin to play hard at volume, then it tends to break up quite a bit more than I would like. But the VMT and B3K are pretty awesome which I believe is the main reason to buy this amp. For distortion, this amp is killer.

Now some people may actually like how this amp breaks up at volume, but it's just not what I was expecting. Especially with it having the newer Ice chip and for what it cost me. I think Tuesday I am going to return it and just go with my original plan of getting a Magellan 800. And for the record, I did not post on here to troll, I just wanted to let everyone know of my actual experience. I really wanted to like this amp.

Good post...not everyone has to like everything.

That said, might want to talk to @Darkglass and see if there is an issue with your clean channel.

Update:
I played my Microtubes 500 again last night with 2 TCE K212 cabs and was pretty much experiencing the same thing with different EQ settings and the Gain at about 10:00. I finally got fed up and switched over on the second set to the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.2 and the difference in weight, girth, heft, everything was dramatic. Even my sound guy said the Genz was heads and shoulders above the Darkglass.

I don't know if there is something wrong with my Darkglass or not, I don't think so, but I am just going to return it this week. I was expecting an amp with 2 distortion channels and a clean channel and what I got was an amp with 3 distortion channels instead. The clean can sound clean until you begin to play hard at volume, then it tends to break up quite a bit more than I would like. But the VMT and B3K are pretty awesome which I believe is the main reason to buy this amp. For distortion, this amp is killer.

Now some people may actually like how this amp breaks up at volume, but it's just not what I was expecting. Especially with it having the newer Ice chip and for what it cost me. I think Tuesday I am going to return it and just go with my original plan of getting a Magellan 800. And for the record, I did not post on here to troll, I just wanted to let everyone know of my actual experience. I really wanted to like this amp.

 

[Wicked G]

Thanks. Since it is within the return period, I was just thinking about contacting Sweetwater Tuesday. I was just playing it again right now at home and man does it sound sweet at home, but that has been my problem with this amp. It sounds great at home where I don't play it hard.

IDK, I don't want to be that guy to complain and return it for another and then the next one comes and it does the exact same thing. Maybe, maybe not, IDK. It would be cool if someone else owned the 500 also and chimed in with their experience.

 

[Darkglass]

Ok, so it is now early Tuesday morning and I did say that I would be reporting back on how the amp did again over the weekend with 2 days and 3 bands of use. I used 2 Sterling Ray 34's and the ESP B-4Z pictured. Here is a picture of it from the Friday night show:
View attachment 2847704

You can tell from the settings that I lowered the gain and Hi Mid and the amp sounded better to me. On Sunday I decided to dime the Master and control the volume with the gain which sounded even better, but the DI level was too low for FOH below 10:00 so I had to leave the Gain there and adjust the volume with the Master. Sounded good but there is still some grind at high volume that is just not going to go away. Not bad but it is definitely there.

This amp is loud, cuts through with ease and is very articulate, but the clean side is still not completely clean. It is very reactive to how hard or soft you are playing. I received compliments from another bass player in the crowd who was impressed that it was a Darkglass and was seriously thinking about purchasing a B7K pedal even more so now. He plays in an original metal band so I can definitely see this amp totally being his thing.

I am liking the amp more now since it is different from my other amps and somewhat similar to a GK with the boost kicked up, but with 2 really good distortion pedals built in. The VMT with Blend cranked to about 3:00 and Drive at 12:00 did a pretty convincing Ace of Spades while the B3K with Blend at about 10:00 and Drive at 12:00 sounded great on Slither.

Pros:
Very loud an punchy.
Articulate and cuts through easily. You will not get lost with this amp.
Great distortion with the VMT and B3K.
The fan is silent.
Amp is still cool after an all night show.

Cons:
With the Microtubes Engine off the amp is still not completely clean, but not bad if that's your thing.
Gain needs to be at 10:00 or higher for a decent level out through the DI.
The writing on the front of the amp is too small to read on stage so you better learn it.
Doesn't come with a footswitch like the 900.

A small part of me keeps thinking that I should have purchased the Magellan 800 instead as I really like the Genz Benz amps I own, but when I play Let There Be Rock, Slither, Ace of Spades and For Whom the Bell Tolls I can't help but smile. This amp was definitely made for that type of music.

Hi! A few quetsions to rule out possible issues:

1) Did you experience saturation with the DI? If so make sure the Phantom power on the console was off (Phantom can make protecion diodes clip and cause a pretty ugly saturation).
2) Were you using the amp on passive mode? With hot basses the EQ and clean channel's Gain stage might saturate unpleasantly.
3) If answers to 1 and 2 were "no" please send us an email to [email protected].

Kind regards and Merry Christmas!

 

[Wicked G]

Hello Douglas. Thanks for the reply.

I was playing active basses each time with the pad on. Sterling Ray 34, ESP B-4Z and Dean Vendetta. The amp would range from clean to sort of a clipping sound to distortion. I had to keep the gain below 11:00 or it would distort too much and above 9:00 or the DI signal was too low for FOH.

I just spoke with the sound guy and he said that he does run Phantom power for the drum mics. Which now explains why it sounds good at home but does weird clipping and distorting things at the show.

Thanks for the info.

 

[ole Jason]

Without the Microtubes turned on it is just an ICE module with a nice EQ preamp. There shouldn't be any distortion in that mode unless something is wrong. I've never had issues with my active basses but I don't have any of the models you mentioned so it is possible that's where the difference lies.

 

[Wicked G]

No it isn't my basses and it isn't phantom power either cause it first popped up on a practice with no PA.

I have 8 amps and none of them give me problems. This one is just going back.

 

[Darkglass]

It's really like no amp I've ever owned. I'm running it through an 8 ohm Fender 410 Neo cab. There's clearly lots of room for clean volume. With the Microtubes Engine engaged, I've never had such cool distortion at my fingertips. I think this amp is a winner. I'm psyched to use it in a band setting.

Bones

Thank you for the update and kind words.

What types of settings have you explored so far?

Kind regards,
D.

 

[Wicked G]

Thank you for the update and kind words.

What types of settings have you explored so far?

Kind regards,
D.

Good morning Douglas, hope you had a Merry Christmas.

I have tried different EQ settings from about 10:00 to 1:00. I have tried running the gain at anywhere from 9:00 to 3:00 and of course master to taste while always having the pad engaged. What I have liked the best was Bass at about 1:00, Low Mid at 11:00 with the button engaged at 250 I believe, the High Mid at 12:00 with the button not engaged, the treble at 12:00, Gain at 10:00 and Master where needed which was at about 1:00 if I remember correctly.

That yielded the best results for me so far. Lowering the gain below 10:00 was not an option because the DI signal was too weak for FOH. After thinking about it some more, I still have a couple more weeks on the return policy with Sweetwater, so I am going to give it another try on my gig New Years Eve with the Gain at about 9:30ish. See if that is enough signal for FOH and maybe run a little cleaner.

Just to let you know, I do not like a full clean sound. I like some grit but was getting quite a bit more than that. I love the Microtubes Engine with both VMT and B3K so I am going to try it again. Didn't mean to hijack this thread, but I do appreciate the info and help.

Thank you.

 

[Darkglass]

Good morning Douglas, hope you had a Merry Christmas.

I have tried different EQ settings from about 10:00 to 1:00. I have tried running the gain at anywhere from 9:00 to 3:00 and of course master to taste while always having the pad engaged. What I have liked the best was Bass at about 1:00, Low Mid at 11:00 with the button engaged at 250 I believe, the High Mid at 12:00 with the button not engaged, the treble at 12:00, Gain at 10:00 and Master where needed which was at about 1:00 if I remember correctly.

That yielded the best results for me so far. Lowering the gain below 10:00 was not an option because the DI signal was too weak for FOH. After thinking about it some more, I still have a couple more weeks on the return policy with Sweetwater, so I am going to give it another try on my gig New Years Eve with the Gain at about 9:30ish. See if that is enough signal for FOH and maybe run a little cleaner.

Just to let you know, I do not like a full clean sound. I like some grit but was getting quite a bit more than that. I love the Microtubes Engine with both VMT and B3K so I am going to try it again. Didn't mean to hijack this thread, but I do appreciate the info and help.

Thank you.

Thank you for the update!

If the DI presents issues due to phantom, it would be worth trying with a separate DI via the FX Loop Send.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,
D.

 

[ole Jason]

No it isn't my basses and it isn't phantom power either cause it first popped up on a practice with no PA.

I have 8 amps and none of them give me problems. This one is just going back.

Definitely sounds like an actual problem with the amp. I'd return it but let them know it is messed up so they don't just resell it as new.

 

[Wicked G]

Definitely sounds like an actual problem with the amp. I'd return it but let them know it is messed up so they don't just resell it as new.

Oh yeah, I would definitely let them know there is a problem so that someone else doesn't purchase my headache.

And I have been having a PM with Douglas Castro, so I am going to give a shot again this coming New Years Eve.

 

[Pleasurewizard]

Put in my order for a micro tubes 900. Pretty excited.

 

[Lammchop93]

Seeing the new Darkglass A/O Ultra at NAMM this year, I'm wondering if we are going to see a v2 of the head with the new cabsim feature built in. What do you all think?