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Disappointed in Darkglass B3K

#61
...I do see a trend of my posts being in the con side of DG advocacy. It really isn't meant to be any kind of attack. I get the impression TB support is so great for their products that situations like those the OP is in arise. I'm never posting my impression to say the products aren't good, but instead that they don't work for every single user. I respect the way DG has evolved and the way they operate.
 
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#62
monsterthompson said:
It is funny. Everybody is different. There's a TB'er near me and we have traded gear over the years. Our collections and tastes have been nearly identical, from pedals to cabs to amps to basses.

I've really wanted the DG stuff to work for me but it doesn't. I've had the same experience with Dingwall basses. I hear others use those tools and get great sounds, but my fingers must be the wrong gauge ;)
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Totally hear that. I remember what I first joined tb I was sorta surprised at some people's reactions to certain things. But it's so true. One guys Klon is another's clone. I like that though. We'd all sound pretty similar otherwise.
 
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#65
I tried a Vintage Microtubes when it first came out and it was decent but not quite what i wanted. Then the VMT deluxe was released so I picked one up thinking the EQ might benefit me. It also fell short. After hearing folks rant & rave about the B7K, I bought one to try but the EQ points just didn't do it for me and I couldn't jive with the OD, too modern I guess. Now I have a Pike Vulcan XL on the way and I'm optimistic since the EQ points seem to be more my speed and the OD sound seems more capable of traditional tones. The OD quest never ends it seems.
 
#66
Do more research before spending money. The B3K, B7K, and VMT are OD pedals and won't drive your tone to blunt-smoking, chain-saw hacking discord. In terms of an appropriate Darkglass pedal that might fill that stoner-prog distortion void, try the Duality.
 
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#67
Distortion, fuzz, and overdrive are probably the hardest pedals for any individual to find. I don't think I know anyone who bought one pedal that did any of those things and never kept looking. I left it to last on my pedal board just because I've been down that hole before and dread doing it again.

The best advice I can give is to ignore TB's opinions and try every one you can using your own ears.

I get the sense that there is a lot of of TB'ers that all are shooting for the same/similar tone that are very vocal about praising what they like and don't mind panning what (and who) they don't like.
 
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#69
JackANSI said:
That is one I keep forgetting about. Thanks
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I've spent lots of money, too. Although not to totally discount the forums, TB has lead me towards some interesting options that I wouldn't have found by myself, the Blower Box by Idiotbox is a great example of a forum find.

Tone chasing will always be an endless pursuit, but thankfully i've found a lot satisfaction with my Darkglass stuff.

This guy has a great channel that previews stomp boxes.
MrExcane
 
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#70
I'll stick to a Way Huge Saucy Box, Fulltone Plimsoul, EHX Soul Food, EHX East River Drive, Caitlinbread's Dirty Little Secret or a J. Rockett Archer for that sort of thing - even though I seldom see the need for something like that with bass. Guitars on the other hand can often benefit from that category of effect. But to each their own. It's all in what sounds best to you.

grillman said:
Why don't you recommend a good one then instead of writing this pointless comment ?
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Um...because maybe if he did find one he liked he could have; but since he said he hadn't found one he ever liked, he couldn't? ;)
 
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#71
SlugThrower said:
I've spent lots of money, too. Although not to totally discount the forums, TB has lead me towards some interesting options that I wouldn't have found by myself, the Blower Box by Idiotbox is a great example of a forum find.

Tone chasing will always be an endless pursuit, but thankfully i've found a lot satisfaction with my Darkglass stuff.

This guy has a great channel that previews stomp boxes.
MrExcane
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Excane is more than well known around here. I stay far away from his vids because the times I have bought pedals based on his vids, they never sounded like his vids. Something about his rig and bass is very particular to him and doesn't translate at all to my setup.
 
#72
Darkglass gets a lot of praise, but when I sit and think about it I don't really see many threads on behalf of other pedals saying "I TRIED XYZ PEDAL, AND IT SUCKED! W T F TB!?!?"
I guess it's because the DG peeps are a little more outspoken about their love for Doug's products. I'm one of them. But I'm also realistic with telling people that it might not be for everyone. For some of us, the line of Darkglass is the end of the rabbit trail for an aggressive grit. For me, the EQ on the B7K is MONSTER. I use the drive, but it's set pretty low. I run the B7K as the main pedal in my tone shaping. I pair a B3K before it which is where I add distortion from. The B3K is grindy with a modern edge. The VMT is more of a warm Tube driven kind of tone. I had a VMT and ended up trading it for a B3K after I found that I really didn't use it much.

One thing that I will say and vouch for..... don't get rid of it until you try it in the mix. I've played gear where no matter what I do to my tone I just sit right under the mix. With the B7K and the edge that I dial into it for tone.... I'm able to punch through even with a smaller cabinet.
 
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#74
gregmon79 said:
I know it's probably not the answer you're looking for, but maybe the B7K will get you there. The EQ and voicing options go a REALLY long way.

In the end, the DG sound may not be what you're looking for. The other pedals you named on your consideration list are quite different from all the DG offerings aside from the possibly the VMT. I'm a huge fan of the OCD. The only issue I started having with it was its lack of low end presence in the mix. In fact I still have plans to get a custom built OCD with either a clean blend or more suited for bass one of these days. I really like the fulltones character and drive. But it's completely different from the DG sound on most their pedals. All the DG pedals have a baked in flavor (I'm sure most are tired of seeing that term, but it's true) that some either love or don't. I love it. I've been using the B7K for almost 4 years now I think and I don't plan to change any time soon. In fact, I just ord an Ultra :) but when I run all my other dirt pedals into the B7K, they come to life.

So maybe the B7K is the answer. Maybe it's not. There are so many dirt pedals out there for bassists nowadays. You seem like you like the tube screamer and OCD variants. Check out Big Game. Ryan makes the Bedlam drive that is OCD based. I also have one of those as well and I really like it.

Welcome to dirt nirvana my friend! Haha there are so many great options out there for bassists today. This is good and bad. It's great because we have all that to choose from, otoh, we sometimes have to go through a handful of dirt pedals to find the right one for us. It's fun IMO. But can take time and money. So good luck @yakmastermax!!
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This and
Perhaps it's your current setup that's not working? As in old strings/equalization?

The tone in that video sounds super scooped, like granades and lasers, but in the mix it just compliments everything really well and the note definition is really sexy.

The B7K is also able to do some not so zingy and growly tones, but you gotta keep in mind the basses being used. The musicman Bongo won't sound like Karnivool's Warwick thumb.
 
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#77
MGR said:
Excane is more than well known around here. I stay far away from his vids because the times I have bought pedals based on his vids, they never sounded like his vids. Something about his rig and bass is very particular to him and doesn't translate at all to my setup.
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I'm with you. I don't dig that guy's demos. He's clearly popular, but something there isn't working for me.
 
#78
yakmastermax said:
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.




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






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.



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.



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



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!
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For all of the bass sounds you're looking to emulate, a standard P bass is definitely not the right choice.

The B3k/7k is arguably the best pedal around for modern and articulate distortion tones, especially when down tuning, but it won't make a P bass sound like it has a bridge pickup ;)
 
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#80
MDBass said:
For all of the bass sounds you're looking to emulate, a standard P bass is definitely not the right choice.

The B3k/7k is arguably the best pedal around for modern and articulate distortion tones, especially when down tuning, but it won't make a P bass sound like it has a bridge pickup ;)
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Thanks for the advice man. I agree, I think that an active bass might do me good. We play in drop C#

Just to clarify I'm not looking for a fuzz or heavy overdrive. I'm not looking for a vintage sound.
 

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