Disappointed in Darkglass B3K

[buckshotdylan]

Why don't you just get an amp that sounds good? For 300 odd dollars you can do a lot of tweaking on the preamp of a good tube head to get an awesome dirty tone. I am sure this has been written here before but all these pedals do is try to falsely emulate something that your (tube) amp can already do.

 

[Nic.]

The pedal has a mid scoop right around 350 Hz which really helps accentuate the growl of some basses, but it also happens to be the area that a Precision has a lot of low mid fatness. So with a P, I prefer to set it to 'thin' and just blend in a sheen of upper midrange distortion on top of the clean sound.

I prefer using the Blueberry with a P bass personally, it just sounds right and both compliment each others strengths very well.

On one hand, I figure that a P through a B7K might not be what @yakmastermax needs for his stoner rock band, but on the other hand, I thought I'd just like to mention that I did enjoy using my fretless Yamaha P through a B7k for a couple of gigs. It had a really good sound for modern rock IMO. Not really the sound of a vintage P, I'd say it's more of the gritty brittle grind over some lows for rock kind of sound. I can post clips if you guys want.

 

[stevensivak]

I find that when it gets close to the sounds I wanted, that the hissing is just to much to take...
Am I saying that it might be wimpy?

 

[Rib 13]

Got a question for all youse guys familiar with this pedal: Is the goal of this pedal to simulate the natural classic SVT-ish overdrive and/or speaker breakup? Im asking because Im interested in a pedal that can do the above ( I came up with a patch on my Zoom B3 that worked well at the house but not at the gig)

And, no, I dont want it from the amp because I only (want to) use that sound on a few select songs

 

[grillman]

A bit of a rant here.

Of course you would get better results with a vintage tube amp pushed to overdrive. We all know that.

But this is the "Effects" forum so obviously we will discuss effects rather than amps.

Also it might not have occured to you that some people don't want a saturated sound during the whole song.
Or maybe that after spending 2 grand on an ampeg rig and realizing that I need a different type of overdrive for one cover I don't want to spend another 2 grand on another rig.
Hence the use for a pedal.


All the comments such as
"Get an amp"
"No pedal can do what an amp can do"
are pointless and mundane.
Also may I remind you that there are rules against this type of remarks.

Here is an analogy for you.
"My room is too hot. I want to buy a fan. Can you recommend one ?"
Smartass reply : "you should get an air conditionner."
"..."

 

[mbelue]

Why don't you recommend a good one then instead of writing this pointless comment ?

Actually i find this "pointless comment" to represent exactly how difficult it is to find the perfect dirt/overdrive/distortion.

It's such a personal thing many of us have gone through dozens of pedals and amps looking for what works best.

I consider it to be an important warning that EXACTLY the right thing may not exist for everyone. Maybe the OP will eventually have to settle for slightly less than perfect?
Nobody knows but them. Lets not get all testy.

 

[grillman]

It's such a personal thing many of us have gone through dozens of pedals and amps looking for what works best.

I agree on that, which is why I mentionned it in my first post.
And I may have misinterpreted what he meant. But calling all the pedals mentionned before mediocre at best was borderline trolling in my opinion.
First because I find it unlikely that he tried thoroughly all of them and second because it is rather insulting to the pedal makers and condescending to the people who appreciate those pedals.

 

[FunkHead]

Pedals are trial and error! Plain and simple. You can stack the odds in your favor by researching results with similar basses and amps. But there are just so many variables the affect your exact tone. While it seems impossible tome to find fault with a B3k, I must admit that I have never tried one with your rig.
As for my recommendation, that would be a Grizzly Bass. Even if you end up finding another pedal that you love, a Grizzly is a wonderful pedal to have. It can act as solely a clean boost. It can give mild to In-Your-Face fuzz. It can add mellow distortion or bone crushing growl if needed.

 

[yakmastermax]

As always thanks TB for the help.

I should clarify; we play stoner rock in terms of theme, riffs, structuring and vocals. However, the tone that we're after is certainly modern metal though. I personally am looking for something pretty Hi-Fi and modern, a la hardcore, with clank and articulation. Billy Sheehan, Dean Bernardini are my favorite bassists.

I wonder if my problem is the Fender Precision.

Yeah I know man. This pedal gets a lot if love and a lot of hype. I don't get it either.

Gotta admit it is a well made pedal though.

For me the quest for overdrive is a like the quest for fuzz. It is very personal and it is neverending.

Can you detail the kind of sound you are looking for ?

Hi-Fi modern clanky growl with lots of articulation. I play in a three piece, fingerstyle only.

I much preferred the B7k when I tried them (and the VMT) in a store. But... don't return it until you hear it in the mix.

Mess with it more. And try it in the mix. It really does much better in the mix.

I used it at rehearsal yesterday evening. Cut through as normal but with a pretty round and tame tone. If I turned the drive or blend up I got more of a fuzz and true distortion tone. I have my Fuzz pedal for that.

Very bad pedal for that genre. Just Not meant to do that job.
The B3k is more of a djent or technical metal kind of distortion.
It does the job everybody wanted an ODB3 for in the 90s(that one never really delivered).
I think your looking for a tuned RAT style distortion. The new MXR would work great. Fuzzerocious has several that do the trick as well. Very popular with sooner rock bassists.

My fault for not being more clear. I overlooked the VMT precisely because I'm going for a more technical and modern sound. Stray From The Path comes to mind.

It's not all the pedal can do, but if you were looking for grindy, ultra aggressive "all the time" tone, nothing beats it, imo. Well, except having a VMT in front of it!

If you were not looking for that and a more organic earthy tone, you probably looked in the wrong place, honestly. I can make it sound round as well, but I'd say other pedals have a monopoly on that. S.S. grind is the B#K family for sure.

Grindy and Aggresive is exactly what I'm after, not organic and earthy.

On one hand, I figure that a P through a B7K might not be what @yakmastermax needs for his stoner rock band, but on the other hand, I thought I'd just like to mention that I did enjoy using my fretless Yamaha P through a B7k for a couple of gigs. It had a really good sound for modern rock IMO. Not really the sound of a vintage P, I'd say it's more of the gritty brittle grind over some lows for rock kind of sound. I can post clips if you guys want.

It might be the passive P-Bass...

In the meantime I'm going to hold on to the pedal because they hold their value well.

Thanks TB!

 

[99Z3]

My only thought is this, when you are unsure about something as in say a pedal, you have no experience with it, would it not be better to have bought one used and try it? It might have lessened your disappointment for the pedal.. I am thinking out loud here.. what say you sir?

Hey TB!

NPD for me, I got a Darnkglass B3K Microtubes. I have been playing without a distortion for a while and finally bit the bullet.

I was considering several cheaper options, a Fulltone OCD, the Spark and Dark Matter by TC electronic, and the Ibanez TS9B Tube Screamer.

I decided to go against my typical judgement and opt for the more expensive option. Normally I'm a pretty frugal guy, always trying to squeeze out the best value with used mid tier stuff that saturates the market and comes up for cheap. This time I went with a brand new boutique pedal and I'm afraid I've made a mistake.

For $240 I guess I was expecting something pretty magical because honestly it doesn't sound that fantastic. I messed with the settings quite a bit, dialing in a medium overdriven/distorted tone. I play in a prog stoner rock band so I use fuzz occasionally, but I was looking for an overdrive/distortion tone to have always on except for mellow bridges and stuff like that. The tone I'm getting is good, but not as good as I was expecting for the price. You know what they say about diminishing returns. I seriously feel like I could get similar tone out of my EHX Big Muff Deluxe with enough tweaking, or some other cheaper pedal for that matter.

Right now I'm playing a MIM Fender Precision through a Carvin BX700 and two TC K212s.

I want to carve out a killer tone, something with character and uniqueness, the kind of tone that will make the ears of bass players in the audience perk up. I thought the B3K would have been the ticket but it has left me disappointed so far. Can anyone offer me any advice?

Thanks TB.

 

[FunkHead]

Sounds like the B3K IS what you need. But you also need to get your P-Bass sounding the way it needs to. Strings and Pickup choice should be your next step IMO.

 

[ole Jason]

Got a question for all youse guys familiar with this pedal: Is the goal of this pedal to simulate the natural classic SVT-ish overdrive and/or speaker breakup?

No not at all. Think more clankity clank modern Meshuggah or aggressive metal sounding tones. It does that better than anything else on the market. The b3k/b7k ARE a little more versatile than people give them credit for but that is what they really excel at. Most people using them for more "vintage" or "natural" settings would be better served with something else IMO. The hype sells a lot of pedals.

 

[yakmastermax]

Sounds like the B3K IS what you need. But you also need to get your P-Bass sounding the way it needs to. Strings and Pickup choice should be your next step IMO.

Med GHS Bass Boomers just put on yesterday as well.

Not as bright as the d'adarrios that were on their before but I like em.

Stock pickups, cap and pots upgraded with stew-mac parts.

 

[Mosfed]

The advice people are giving of: try it in mix, doesnt really hold. it will only tell you if the pedal works in the mix, but you will still dislike its character.

Personally, although I did not like the B3k/b7k character too much on its own, I do like that character when complimented by other instruments in the mix. It's like the parts I don't like get swallowed up and aren't as important and the parts I like, shine right through. ymmv

 

[99Z3]

Next time you change strings.. try a set of DR Pure Blues.. I have found that they have a texture that is hard to walk away from !

Med GHS Bass Boomers just put on yesterday as well.

Not as bright as the d'adarrios that were on their before but I like em.

Stock pickups, cap and pots upgraded with stew-mac parts.

 

[FunkHead]

Med GHS Bass Boomers just put on yesterday as well.

Not as bright as the d'adarrios that were on their before but I like em.

Stock pickups, cap and pots upgraded with stew-mac parts.

The B3k would sound 100% different with Rotosound rounds versus the Boomers. The boomers aren't really what I would chose for the tone you seek. Also, using the 2 switches on the B3K has a huge affect......

 

[hintz]

When I hear 'stoner' rock I think overdriven SVT, Orange, Sunn and such through large cabs. Maybe the Vintage Microtubes would be a better match?Check out the Darkglass club thread for some settings to try. If the pedal doesn't work for you it shouldn't be hard to sell due to its popularity. Good luck!

I'd also suggest a VMT
I play similar music and use it like you are describing
I owned both a B3K and the VMT for about a month. The B3K was definitely more metal
The B3K will not be hard to sell and you could probably find someone who would trade for a VMT

I agree with both of these responses! Even though I don't play Stoner/doom/prog I bet that the VMT would get you that sound no problem *and* you could find someone willing to trade,or at least get most of your money back!!

Over the last couple years I've bought/sold/traded numerous overdrive pedals and the VMT slays them all!! I've tried the Swell and bk butler pedals for real 12ax7 sounds, the fulltone OCD and bass driver, the rat tail, the hardwire tube overdrive, empress multidrive(just off the top of my head) and they were all great, but the VMT does the exact same touch response the real tube pedals do and similar tones plus with the era knob I can get it from old school to modern clank that a fulltone OCD excels at!!

If you wanna save some money, the hardwire tube overdrive is excellent at nailing the swell bpeg tone too!! I've never tried the Barbershop, but those go for $150 new and are highly spoken of, for the same price you can get a SA OFD that does tube sounds very well and another preset(unless you get the HUB, then its what, like over 100 presets!??)...

Anyways, I owned the B3K and B7K and I just didn't like the drive on it, now I have a VMT deluxe and couldn't be happier, its the best for me !! I use it always on for my power metal band and it works wonders in the mix, good luck on your tone quest

 

[MGR]

I think the problem mainly lies in the OP's approach. One pedal will not fit all situations. Especially one as focused and idiosyncratic as a B3k. The pic below is my trio that covers all bases.

Mr Black Bass OD-Fat, juicy yet uncolored natural and touch sensitive drive that is pretty low gain. I find myself using this one primarily.

Microtubes B3K-Ultra baked in, medium gain, modern, aggressive and articulate. Impossible to make sound like any other pedal and no other pedal comes close to what it does best i.e. grindy aggressive articulate overdrive.

Idiotbox Dungeon Master-Ultra high gain, sludgy, doomy distortion. Best used sparingly. With all three, my OD/Dist/Fuzz needs are met.

I have a lot of other OD's, Fuzz and Distortion pedals, but these are the "Three Kings" that cover every possible situation.Sound clips below pics.

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[Buzz E]

Med GHS Bass Boomers just put on yesterday as well.

Not as bright as the d'adarrios that were on their before but I like em.

Stock pickups, cap and pots upgraded with stew-mac parts.

Geezer Butler PU's and Dunlop Super Bright Nickels...!

 

[DavC]

sadly pedals work very differently for all of us in our own situations ..!

i tried the B7K , Barbershop , Beta , Spark full size , Wampler Low Blow ... within the last year ... i think their usefulness is in the order they're listed , from least to most for me . The Wampler Low Blow was probably the most useful of that bunch , with the most variety ..

But , i've gone the pre-tube pedal route ... right now my warmth is provided by a Carl Martin Bass Drive ..
with a lower gain ( 70% ) 1957 NOS JG5751 ... touchy, like a tube amp .

the cheapest for just a bit of dirty edge = Spark full size

as always - YMMV