Darkglass Microtubes 900 Class D Amp

[Slpbass81]

Anyone complaining about microtubes not containing tubes have clearly never played through one

No need to play through a preamp pedal when I play through all tube amps 100% of the time. I always keep an eye on technological advances when it comes to amps containing tubes. This got my hopes up.

 

[ustabawannab]

Wow as a B7k owner but one who is seriously looking at the Berg B-AMP, this new Darkglass Class D looks like the B-Amp antichrist

 

[jasonbraatz]

best part of this thread has been watching amp forum hermits react to Darkglass

Like the tonehammer amps, the beauty of this is the lack of guesswork needed to know how the preamp will sound, due to it being an implementation of current pedal designs.

It'll be $$, but well worth it if you loves some Darkglass tones.

I chuckled when people were posting semi-angst at the lack of tubes/ and how it wont emulate an SVT.

Yeah, I guess for those of y'all who don't already know & love DG stuff this isn't a big deal, but this is a big deal.

I already have a B3K & a beloved big-iron head, but this guy would fill the role of backup / grab & go perfectly where I can have my B3K tone without bringing my pedalboard. I'll pay a little bit extra for that vs. a B7K ultra and some other class D head just to have it all in one thing.

 

[Matt Dean]

So a Class D amp....called microtubes...without tubes...weak.

"Most musicians were happy with compromising sound and power by saving money, weight and space."

I'm taking that phrase of their announcement as "we are going to charge almost double in comparison to other brands for pretty much the same tone"

That phrase is unfortunately marketing forked tongue speak... as there are some killer Class D powered amps currently or coming onto the market. I'm thinking of the Mesa Boogie D800 in particular.

 

[Nic.]

No need to play through a preamp pedal when I play through all tube amps 100% of the time. I always keep an eye on technological advances when it comes to amps containing tubes. This got my hopes up.

as mentioned, the attraction is not the traditional tube tone. IMO it's more of creating a tone that sounds like the post-production bassline on a modern metal song.

 

[Dave Hill]

Somebody's got to step up and be higher priced...Im guessing this one

 

[NOLA Bass]

No need to play through a preamp pedal when I play through all tube amps 100% of the time. I always keep an eye on technological advances when it comes to amps containing tubes. This got my hopes up.

I use a Darkglass B3K into my tube amp (Fender 100T). I think mixing in the Darkglass distortion with the overdrive of my all tube head makes for a better tone.

I"m psyched about this amp. It would be an ideal second amp/light rig for me that would not require pedals.

 

[monsterthompson]

The DG crew is forward-thinking, responsive, and have proven their success in the pedal/pre world. I'm expecting there will be a good sized group of satisfied customers, and that it won't sound like other amps currently on the street.

 

[Inertialsky]

No need to play through a preamp pedal when I play through all tube amps 100% of the time. I always keep an eye on technological advances when it comes to amps containing tubes. This got my hopes up.

Have you ever even tried a Darkglass pedal with one of your many tube amps?

The title of this thread clearly says "Class D Amp", So if you expected an all tube amp I dunno what to tell ya...

 

[NoxNoctus]

This is the marketing issue. Keep the cache you have from your pedals, or reposition. The pedal world gives zero f's about the "tube" naming. It's evident the amp world is going to have a significant number of grumbles over this point.

Not really sure it's as big of a deal as one or two grumpy people are making it out to be. Was I livid that the GK MB Fusion didn't harness the power of the Sun to amplify my bass tone? You bet! Was I FURIOUS that my Verellen Meatsmoke BARELY even warms up, let alone enough to smoke meat? You're dogdarn right! WAS I DISAPPOINTED THAT THE FENDER BASSMAN CABINET DIDNT ACTUALLY COME WITH A BASS MAN INSIDE? I think that goes without saying.

 

[husky123]

Not really sure it's as big of a deal as one or two grumpy people are making it out to be. Was I livid that the GK MB Fusion didn't harness the power of the Sun to amplify my bass tone? You bet! Was I FURIOUS that my Verellen Meatsmoke BARELY even warms up, let alone enough to smoke meat? You're dogdarn right! WAS I DISAPPOINTED THAT THE FENDER BASSMAN CABINET DIDNT ACTUALLY COME WITH A BASS MAN INSIDE? I think that goes without saying.

OMG, greatest post ever. This guy gets it!

 

[husky123]

I am still laughing uncontrollably.

 

[nostatic]

WAS I DISAPPOINTED THAT THE FENDER BASSMAN CABINET DIDNT ACTUALLY COME WITH A BASS MAN INSIDE? I think that goes without saying.

You forgot the comma. It actually is a Fender Bass,man. And it comes with a fish. The problem is that is was a carp, not a bass, and the thing really stunk up the place. I mean, why would Fender put a fish in an amp?

Now if it was Fishman Electronics, then I could see it. In that case I'd also expect a half fish, half man in the amp. But that's just getting silly...

then again, there's always sharks with lasers...

 

[Justice Graves]

Considering Aguilar Tone Hammer pedals sell for about $230, and Darkglass pedals are around $385...

That would give us a price differential of 1.67.

Tone Hammer amps sell for $1.40/watt, which would mean a DarkGlass amp might be around $2.34/watt (1.4 x 1.67).

So, my new estimate is $1,640.

I might go just a shade lower, but like how you got here. Just using the price points of the two pedals that are in this unit plus the cost of what other companies are offering class D heads at price wise. Don't forget to add a little more cost for the R&D required to actually make this a reality. When you add all those factors together your looking a $1200 to $1500. Still cheaper and less back breaking than full size tubes.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

The title of this thread clearly says "Class D Amp", So if you expected an all tube amp I dunno what to tell ya...

They could at least put a tube pre-amp in it, if they're going to name it using "tube".

 

[Plutonium244]

Here's a higher resolution photo from Facebook for our speculating needs.

View attachment 777576

Thanks for the higher res photo. It's partly fatigue, but I was staring at that bottom right knob in the low-res photo wondering what the "waster" knob does.

 

[jasonbraatz]

I'm going to guess $999.

 

[Ninevolt]

Microtubes

Could be Vacuum Nanoelectronics and RF-CMOS, or just a catchy marketing slang for SS tube emulation?

A little blurb: Invalid Link Removed

 

[Hallic]

nice, the b7k ultra is 380 euro. This is the vmt(also 380ish) and b7k in one housing and just adding an power amp, definitely under 1k euros.

 

[jacolyte]

One notable feature is the B3K/VMT switch.

wonder what it does.