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Just ordered the Darkglass Microtubes X

D

dwade

Feb 15, 2013
197
232
Cincinnati, OH
#1
I just bit the bullet & pulled the trigger on the Darkglass X. I want the smallest possible package. I sure we bass players could pop into a store to check things out. I've been using the same OD for over 20 years & never really liked it. I don't use it much, so it wasn't really a priority tp make a switch. Suddenly, I'm on a mission I ordered the Tech 21 DUG pedal as well. I don't think I'll use it live but I'm curious about it. And I love DUG! The Darkglass X series looks to have put some thought into their designs. We'll see what happens!!
 
#5
cnltb said:
To me , far more interesting than you buying some new pedal is the question as to which one did the job for you for the last 20 years or so!
Which one is it?
Click to expand...

The pedals I used years ago sound like utter garbage to get the tones I want compared to what I use now.
I have all the recordings from them and can directly compare.
I had the ODB-3 as well.
Great for some tones, but for what I wanted it didn’t even get near the ballpark.
 
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#7
dwade said:
What are you using these days?
Click to expand...

Alpha-Omega fed into an X.

I just ordered a Damnation MBD1 but I felt it didn’t add anything that my A/O already had for my sound. The X is there pretty much to add sheen, whereas the Alpha-Omega gets my main tone. Namely the midrange frequencies.

Just before that, I used the Tech21 Oxford fed into the Alpha-Omega. Another great pairing. I have quite a few soundclips(mostly with dead strings on my Ric - that’s because I wanted to see how much clank I can bring out of dead strings before settling on a pedal)

The X is a great pedal as well. Let us know what you think. It definitely has the ability to make old strings sound better.
 
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#8
I received the X yesterday. I've played around with it a bit & I like it enough to put on the pedal board for a real test onstage. It's noisy but that's to be expected with high gain. I'll have to really dig in & do some serious tweaking. Almost immediately, I love what it does to the low notes. It seems to affect the higher notes a lot more. Possibly too much. I'll have to be patient & see if I can find the sweet spot.
 
#9
dwade said:
I received the X yesterday. I've played around with it a bit & I like it enough to put on the pedal board for a real test onstage. It's noisy but that's to be expected with high gain. I'll have to really dig in & do some serious tweaking. Almost immediately, I love what it does to the low notes. It seems to affect the higher notes a lot more. Possibly too much. I'll have to be patient & see if I can find the sweet spot.
Click to expand...
Please define noisy... my X7 is very quiet.
 
#11
dwade said:
I don't want to say........

Boss ODB-3
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Nothing wrong with that. that's usually the first distortion pedal most bassists buy. some like them some don't. I on the other hand had a digitech bass driver. that pedal is considerably tamed compared to the boss odb-3. I have since then retired it and now have a darkglass vintage microtubes.

About the microtubes x, I've heard how killer that pedal sounded. especially after hearing MrExcane's demo of the pedal. I was thinking of getting the microtubes x7 to go with my vmt sometime in the future.
 
#13
vivaknoxvegas said:
My X7 is a bit noisy too. I still really love it. No other dirt pedal I’ve ever owned sounds as good to me, and I’ve run through a lot the past 2-3 years. I’ll have to swap it soon as I have one that needs repair, not sure if that could be some of the noise issue or not.
Click to expand...
The X7 has really changed how I hear dirt.
 
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#14
dwade said:
I just bit the bullet & pulled the trigger on the Darkglass X. I want the smallest possible package. I sure we bass players could pop into a store to check things out. I've been using the same OD for over 20 years & never really liked it. I don't use it much, so it wasn't really a priority tp make a switch. Suddenly, I'm on a mission I ordered the Tech 21 DUG pedal as well. I don't think I'll use it live but I'm curious about it. And I love DUG! The Darkglass X series looks to have put some thought into their designs. We'll see what happens!!
Click to expand...


I have both too. A tip about the DP-3X... if it sounds harsh in the bedroom that means its gonna sound brilliant in the mix :thumbsup:​
 
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#15
Crystalman85 said:
Nothing wrong with that. that's usually the first distortion pedal most bassists buy. some like them some don't. I on the other hand had a digitech bass driver. that pedal is considerably tamed compared to the boss odb-3. I have since then retired it and now have a darkglass vintage microtubes.

About the microtubes x, I've heard how killer that pedal sounded. especially after hearing MrExcane's demo of the pedal. I was thinking of getting the microtubes x7 to go with my vmt sometime in the future.
Click to expand...

It wasn't my first but I have a bunch of them & since I didn't use it much, just sort of stuck with it.
 
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#16
TodaysTomSawyer said:
I have both too. A tip about the DP-3X... if it sounds harsh in the bedroom that means its gonna sound brilliant in the mix :thumbsup:​
Click to expand...

I plugged the DP-3X in for a second & I didn't like it. At all. I don't have room for it on either of my pedal boards anyway. I was really curious about it and wanted to give it a shot.

I do like the X & I now have 2. Nice, versatile unit that doesn't take up much real estate.
 
#17
I am already paired my AOU with Digitech Ricochet (-2th) and Fairfield Barbershop ME (a boost before). Yesterday i have just ordered an X7. I was thinking of Damnation MBD1, then may be later, someday... Hyper Luminal is on the wait-list.
 
#18
dwade said:
It wasn't my first but I have a bunch of them & since I didn't use it much, just sort of stuck with it.
Click to expand...

I sticked with my digitech bass driver. even though I've retired this pedal, I have kept it for sentimental reasons. plus this pedal is no longer in production. which is another reason why I've kept it. I have since then been using darkglass and t.c electronics pedals after trying out a number of distortion and modulation pedals.
 
#19
vivaknoxvegas said:
My X7 is a bit noisy too. I still really love it. No other dirt pedal I’ve ever owned sounds as good to me, and I’ve run through a lot the past 2-3 years. I’ll have to swap it soon as I have one that needs repair, not sure if that could be some of the noise issue or not.
Click to expand...

Really?...it's noisy? I knew it was kinda bright sounding but I never knew it had noise issues. I was gonna buy that pedal sometime in the future. I guess I'll go with my other choice. the darkglass vintage deluxe.
 
#20
Crystalman85 said:
Really?...it's noisy? I knew it was kinda bright sounding but I never knew it had noise issues. I was gonna buy that pedal sometime in the future. I guess I'll go with my other choice. the darkglass vintage deluxe.
Click to expand...

It shouldn’t be noisier than our other pedals at comparable gain settings.
The X circuits have significantly more gain on tap than the other Microtubes or Alpha Omega.
 
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