No! Not another overdrive thread???

[Nunovsky]

Hi! I've been planning about getting a new overdrive for high gain settings. I was thinking about B3K or the new B7K Ultra (I could let go of my sansamp bddi), but I've heard some clips of small sound/big sound mini and now I'm gasing for one as well. Can anyone help with your experience with these pedals?
Thanks!

 

[Crystalman85]

I've owned a darkglass vintage microtubes(vmt) and it has a great sound. it has a transparent but a smooth warm overdrive sound. the b3k in my opinion is more of a distortion. if you want like a scooped, but a smooth metallic distortion sound, the b3k or the b7k would be a good choice for that. especially if you play metal. if you want more of smooth warm overdriven sound, definitely check out the vintage microtubes or the vintage deluxe if you're looking for more of a preamp type of overdrive.

 

[smo]

High Gain? Are we talking distortion?
If so, I'd consider something like a RAT with a clean blend.

 

[FaithNoMan]

I've owned a darkglass vintage microtubes(vmt) and it has a great sound. it has a transparent but a smooth warm overdrive sound. the b3k in my opinion is more of a distortion. if you want like a scooped, but a smooth metallic distortion sound, the b3k or the b7k would be a good choice for that. especially if you play metal. if you want more of smooth warm overdriven sound, definitely check out the vintage microtubes or the vintage deluxe if you're looking for more of a preamp type of overdrive.

I disagree. The B3K is integral to my tone and I use it as always on. The Vintage is definitely smoother, but the B3K can surprise you. What sounds even better is both pedals mixed together. I will say the prodigious low mids on the VMT for me need taming. I use 50%VMT mixed into like 80%B3K to get my favorite tones.

B3K alone(the last two show how it can fit into a different genre easily):

Dropbox - huh_ I suck at drums. shag!!!!.mp3

Invalid Link Removed

Dropbox - OMD bass playalong.wav

Dropbox - bad sebastien bass cover.wav

Both:

Dropbox - VMTintoB3K.mp3

Dropbox - 011616.mp3

 

[Feral Feline]

I believe @blindrabbit can help you with the SS/BS Mini.

 

[blindrabbit]

I believe @blindrabbit can help you with the SS/BS Mini.

That I can!

The ss/bs Mini is my favourite overdrive. I've owned it, sold it in a fit of GAS, and then bought it back after realizing that there isn't anything else out there better to my ears. The Mini has so much range to it. It can serve as a low gain OD (I've used it as an always on before), as a ripping distortion, and with the right settings it can get fuzzed out. It can have some strong compression to it at certain settings, especially if you roll back the bias, but you can *almost* dial all the compression out of the pedal if you want to. The pedal stacks beautifully, both feeding and receiving other dirt really well. IME the pedal has more than enough low end, although someone recently claimed to have measured a 2db loss of extreme lows...to me (and in the opinion of my bandmates), the pedal has ample booty to it. I could list all the other ODs I've tried and compared it to and that IMO it has beat, but bottom line is that to me it is a winner. Check out some of the demo vids of it and see what you think.

 

[Nunovsky]

The Ss/Bs Mini is such an amazing pedal. I love the lower gain settings in the videos. It sounds really transparent even without a blend knob and the higher gain settings sound great, even getting into fuzz territory. That bias knob makes a huge difference.
It's cheapper than the b3k and they have it in pink!
The only thing that keeps me balancing is the b7k ultra.
Really have to think about this. But for overdrive purposes only, I'm definetly inclined towards the Ss/Bs Mini.

 

[vitaobass]

I'm a B3K user, never played trough a B7K. But I can say that those pedals are very "plug and play" piece of gears. Very Easy to find your tone in those knobs!!
I say that because I spend a lot of time trying to find "that" tone in Sansamp Bd, Mxr DI and Guvnor. And this pedal its a "Djent"machine!!

 

[Nunovsky]

Damn it! I couldn't help it. I found a Ss/Bs Mini in a german store and my GAS took over me. When I gain control of myself again, I had already bought the pedal. It's in green (I'd prefer a pink one, but it combines with my soccer club colours). Hope I can skip it into my house before my wife sees it, or else I'll find my bags by the door for buying another piece of music gear. Damn you, GAS attack! Damn you!

 

[Crystalman85]

High Gain? Are we talking distortion?
If so, I'd consider something like a RAT with a clean blend.

The mxr bass distortion pedal is a good choice for that.

 

[Crystalman85]

I disagree. The B3K is integral to my tone and I use it as always on. The Vintage is definitely smoother, but the B3K can surprise you. What sounds even better is both pedals mixed together. I will say the prodigious low mids on the VMT for me need taming. I use 50%VMT mixed into like 80%B3K to get my favorite tones.

B3K alone(the last two show how it can fit into a different genre easily):

Dropbox - huh_ I suck at drums. ****!!!!.mp3

Invalid Link Removed

Dropbox - OMD bass playalong.wav

Dropbox - bad sebastien bass cover.wav

Both:

Dropbox - VMTintoB3K.mp3

Dropbox - 011616.mp3

the b3k's scooped nature is what make me think the pedal sounds smooth and metallic. at least based on clips I've checked out. but if you say it's more metallic then smooth, I guess I'll buy that. and yes I agree that the vmt is more smoother than the b3k. especially since I've owned a vmt, but never owned a b3k. both pedals do sound killer together. I saw a clip where someone has both pedals and use them both with his jazz bass and it sounds killer. I think darkglass should create a pedal that sounds like a combination of both. unless you can get the same results with b7k. either way, it sounds phenomenal.

 

[Nunovsky]

the b3k's scooped nature is what make me think the pedal sounds smooth and metallic. at least based on clips I've checked out. but if you say it's more metallic then smooth, I guess I'll buy that. and yes I agree that the vmt is more smoother than the b3k. especially since I've owned a vmt, but never owned a b3k. both pedals do sound killer together. I saw a clip where someone has both pedals and use them both with his jazz bass and it sounds killer. I think darkglass should create a pedal that sounds like a combination of both. unless you can get the same results with b7k. either way, it sounds phenomenal.

I think the new vintage deluxe covers that territory.

 

[monkeyfinger]

 

[Guinness20]

I disagree. The B3K is integral to my tone and I use it as always on. The Vintage is definitely smoother, but the B3K can surprise you. What sounds even better is both pedals mixed together. I will say the prodigious low mids on the VMT for me need taming. I use 50%VMT mixed into like 80%B3K to get my favorite tones.

B3K alone(the last two show how it can fit into a different genre easily):

Dropbox - huh_ I suck at drums. ****!!!!.mp3

Invalid Link Removed

Dropbox - OMD bass playalong.wav

Dropbox - bad sebastien bass cover.wav

Both:

Dropbox - VMTintoB3K.mp3

Dropbox - 011616.mp3

Great clips man! Do you finger pluck? Reason I ask is those demos sounded a little warmer than most darkglass demos, tbf on a lot of them guys are using picks and getting really grinding/harsh sounds.

The clips of both together sound lovely, quite subtle. How did you get that sound?

 

[FaithNoMan]

Great clips man! Do you finger pluck? Reason I ask is those demos sounded a little warmer than most darkglass demos, tbf on a lot of them guys are using picks and getting really grinding/harsh sounds.

The clips of both together sound lovely, quite subtle. How did you get that sound?

Thanks!

I use a hard pick, Dunlop Tortex 1.5mm, on everything. I think a lot of the demos you probably hear online are with active basses. My Ric has great upper mid response, and I changed out for more aggressive pups, but it's still a passive instrument, so maybe that's why. I feel like there's probably a lot more midrange in there. Active basses seem to have less mids and more treble for the most part, and tend to sound more hollow in the mids to me.

One thing I like about the VMT/B3K combo is that you can set it to not lose your attack, but it's a very balanced sound. I like the metal edge there(Chuck-era FNM for example), and you can hear how the low mids get filled out and there's the attack still:
Invalid Link Removed

I'm such a hack, but I feel like people talk too much about what something sounds like and nobody gets to hear it. Plus, it's fun messing around with noise
Sometimes a thing with "Too much!" can sound just right to another person. That was certainly my case with Darkglass, as I tried a lot of aggressive pedals and they did nothing for me, and sounded too bland up high(Aguilar Agro, for instance). Funny that as I was trying pedals, I was falling upon Doug's old posts where he tried the pedal before me and wasn't satisfied. I'm anxiously awaiting on Doug's new "Karnivool" overdrive set for the spring, as he's excited about it.

 

[timv]

Damn it! I couldn't help it. I found a Ss/Bs Mini in a german store and my GAS took over me. When I gain control of myself again, I had already bought the pedal. It's in green (I'd prefer a pink one, but it combines with my soccer club colours). Hope I can skip it into my house before my wife sees it, or else I'll find my bags by the door for buying another piece of music gear. Damn you, GAS attack! Damn you!

I ordered one of these today also because of those demo vids!

 

[blindrabbit]

Damn it! I couldn't help it. I found a Ss/Bs Mini in a german store and my GAS took over me. When I gain control of myself again, I had already bought the pedal. It's in green (I'd prefer a pink one, but it combines with my soccer club colours). Hope I can skip it into my house before my wife sees it, or else I'll find my bags by the door for buying another piece of music gear. Damn you, GAS attack! Damn you!

I ordered one of these today also because of those demo vids!

You guys chose well. You'll love the pedal, I have no doubt.

 

[Feral Feline]

Your work is done hare, BlindRabbit!
Yet, maybe elsewhere, in another thread or even another forum, there is still another plaintive cry for overdrive.
Go now, at the speed of a bass signal down the copper innards of an instrument cable, the speed of electricity, about 66% of the speed of light—or 122,760 miles-per-second (the speed of light being approximately 186,000 miles per second), to those in overdrive-desparation and spread your sound advice of SmallSound/BigSound's Mini, and let no need for overdrive be left wanting.

 

[Nunovsky]

Lol!

Your work is done hare, BlindRabbit!
Yet, maybe elsewhere, in another thread or even another forum, there is still another plaintive cry for overdrive.
Go now, at the speed of a bass signal down the copper innards of an instrument cable, the speed of electricity, about 66% of the speed of light—or 122,760 miles-per-second (the speed of light being approximately 186,000 miles per second), to those in overdrive-desparation and spread your sound advice of SmallSound/BigSound's Mini, and let no need for overdrive be left wanting.

 

[MGR]

the mini seems like a really great overall pedal for the OP's needs. It's one I don't own, but would love to. Check out the Mr. Black Bass OD as well if you want something much more conservative than the Mini. The Black OD is pretty low gain, but more than makes up for it with it's rich and muscular tone. Plus, it's a limited edition which means it will retain its value....at least I hope.