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Skeptical about Darkglass

#21
I have a VMT and a B3K. I dig the VMT but not really connecting with the B3K. I get OK bedroom tones from the B3K, but lost in the mix with the rest of my metal band.
Check out the DamnationAudio MBD-1. This isn't me, but it's the clip that pushed me over the edge to get one. The VMT used to be my always on pedal, but the MBD one has replaced it. It's great on it's own and brings new life to other pedals when stacked with it.
 
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#22
Ever tried the VT Bass? If you're going to for Kyuss style tones I reckon you'd be hard beating it. You can dial in heaps of gain if you want to, but it's not that DG style high end fizz. I always run mine with the gain around 12 o'clock and its just perfect IMO a good balance of drive, low end and cut.
 
#23
tom once dead said:
Ever tried the VT Bass? If you're going to for Kyuss style tones I reckon you'd be hard beating it. You can dial in heaps of gain if you want to, but it's not that DG style high end fizz. I always run mine with the gain around 12 o'clock and its just perfect IMO a good balance of drive, low end and cut.
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Yeah thanks, I already taken in consideration time ago, I think I'll come back to this one...also because, living in Italy, it's hard to find other boutiques pedals, or you pay much more through the dealers...

Thanks to all for the suggestions, I'll meditate on my quest for the sound! In the meanwhile, I'll continue with my EBS multidrive, it's great, just too tone closed, that I like but in a mix sometimes get lost, if I don't use the boss equalizer (that it's on the board just to support him :whistle: )
 
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#25
fuzzspiral said:
Yeah thanks, I already taken in consideration time ago, I think I'll come back to this one...also because, living in Italy, it's hard to find other boutiques pedals, or you pay much more through the dealers...

Thanks to all for the suggestions, I'll meditate on my quest for the sound! In the meanwhile, I'll continue with my EBS multidrive, it's great, just too tone closed, that I like but in a mix sometimes get lost, if I don't use the boss equalizer (that it's on the board just to support him :whistle: )
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If you're in Italy, you should consider the Tritonlab jFet Bass Overdrive. It's made in Europe and is a great pedal at a great price. I love it and it's really versatile with the eq and the 2 gain stages.
Also, check the EHX Nano Battalion. I think its the best bass OD that EHX has ever released. It's awesome and also super versatile.
Also, if what you're looking for is a more grindy mid cutting distortion, a RAT pedal is always a great option. You have the MXR Bass Distortion that sounds great and also the Mosky Black Rat that sounds killer with bass.
For my part, I never bonded with the DG signature sound. It always felt overly processed and compressed. But the Alpha Omega and the X pedal are 2 units that seem to bring something diferent it that area. I wish I had the chance to try one live before deciding on whether buying or not.
 
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#26
fuzzspiral said:
Hi all! I really like overdrives by Darkglass (at least in the hundreds of reviews...) because they seem to be really "drive", and they don't cross into the fuzz territory.
Since I already have fuzzes on my board a darkglass style is what I look for.
BUT. They sound, I don't know how to put..."hollow". I mean, they seem to have a lot of great frequencies but they stay "around", not very direct. Very aggressive but soft, if I can say this. I could only try the Vintage and this sensation got confirmed.

Can you give me some feedback please? Especially in a live situation with other instruments...considering my budget I'm interested in the Alpha Omicron but I can't try before buying it. In this forum they all talk good about it.
The others two that I've taken in consideration are the SS/BS Mini (I love it!), but it seems fuzzy, and since I already have the TAFM and the EHX Green Russian Reissue it's a bit redundant, I think. The other one is the Boss BB1X bass driver
I play a Precision standard, Gallien Krueger 700RBII, Ampeg svt410hlf.
Thank you very much
PS I like stoner rock.
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oZZma said:
I only tried the B3K, but what you are saying is more or less the reason why I sold it. It's dirt without the dirt :p Very tight, great definition, blah blah BUT... maybe suitable if you want that polished "modern sounding" :atoz: djent tone, not if you want to sound nasty.

Have you taken into consideration a Rat clone instead?
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It's so good to see this coming out. Seemingly ironically, the Darkglass sound is not nasty, unruly, or down and dirty. "It's dirt without the dirt" describes it well.

In my lexicon and generalizing, what you want is Albert Collins, but what Darkglass offers is Dragon Force (examples are at the end of this post).

Cost and availability aside, look more to the fringes for dirty and soulful dirt. Several that come to mind are
  • Fuzzrocious Cat King (originally Rat King) or Dark Driving with treble mod (what a glorious, moody mess, and one of Fuzzrocious's best)
  • Menatone Wreck'T 4-knob (one of the nastiest, gut bucket amps in a box) or Workingman's Blue 8-knob (or other versions) or Kar Krash (you will never find one, but it's an ultimate amp in a box bass preamp)
  • Arcane Analog Buzzaround with master volume (some of the heaviest, most raw sounds possible)
  • Big Game Solace State (forget the midrange and just play it loud)
  • Dunwich Amplification Volt Thrower
  • Lovepedal Les Lius
  • runoffgroove Azabache (formerly made by VFE for some time)



 
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#28
love my b3k. i actually bought a dug pedal based on some comments here at talkbass and couldn't get into as much as my b3k. full disclosure is that i use a ton of always on effects so it might not be an apples to apples comparison as my b3k goes through a thumpinator, steel leather, and pog.

my advice/lessons learned are that although the b3k may look simple it takes a lot of time to dial in the tone/learn its secrets. i also notice a huge difference between the bedroom practice vs full volume practice/show. i would have a sweet tone dialed in when playing in my bedroom only to find it didn't translate to when i am pushing volume/the amp. the tone i love at high volumes doesn't sound too rad at low volumes in the bedroom.
 
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#32
Ive gotta be honest... their stuff sounds great and its fun to mess with... but right now, in metal... its THE bass tone and its a very specific sound. Im not about to go pay a few hundred bucks so I can cop the same tone as every other band out there. Its as if labels are handing out dingwall/darkglass packs to new metal bands.
Like I said, great tone... but getting played out real quick.
I could be wrong... but i think born of osiris was one of the first with that tone in recent time when their single for "Follow the Signs" came out. A good way to describe the tone is "applying vinnie pauls kick sound to a bass guitar"
 
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#33
MordBass said:
Ive gotta be honest... their stuff sounds great and its fun to mess with... but right now, in metal... its THE bass tone and its a very specific sound. Im not about to go pay a few hundred bucks so I can cop the same tone as every other band out there. Its as if labels are handing out dingwall/darkglass packs to new metal bands.
Like I said, great tone... but getting played out real quick.
I could be wrong... but i think born of osiris was one of the first with that tone in recent time when their single for "Follow the Signs" came out. A good way to describe the tone is "applying vinnie pauls kick sound to a bass guitar"
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Lol! GReat post. So true. The inevitable backlash/falling out of favor is coming for the Darkglass sound. Hopefully DG is aware of this and making plans for something different soon. I call them the "auto-tune of the bass effect world." Such a common and boring sound nowadays.
 
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#34
2010P said:
Lol! GReat post. So true. The inevitable backlash/falling out of favor is coming for the Darkglass sound. Hopefully DG is aware of this and making plans for something different soon. I call them the "auto-tune of the bass effect world." Such a common and boring sound nowadays.
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Agreed. Its VERY cool in the right mix, like Periphery. But overall, it's just everywhere in certain genres. I will say this though, kudos to DG for making a sweet line of pedals that help metal bassists sit above and below the mix rather than kicking through it. Its a very cool product.
 
#36
All I'm saying is that when I played through my alpha omicron for the first time, I just went "yep". It's a very angry distortion and with the blending of the two circuits, you can get that raunchy wall of sound, or just focused, mean drive with good saturation of the lows. I find it's not "classic" by any means, even at lower gains. I also dont care if the darkglass sound is becoming trite. The classic lo-fi p-bass with flats is a pretty trite sound, yet it sounds perfect for some genres.
 
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#38
2010P said:
Only kink in that argument is the genres where flats sound best are a just a wee bit more timeless than Djent metal.
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I'd say it's been around longer, but we have yet to see how timeless it really is. Music that's 50 years old isn't exactly "timeless" relative to classical music that is hundreds of years old still being played today. I get your point though.
 
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#39
I think that Darkglass products are all interesting and versatile, they are great and really well made, the Alpha Omicron is really tempting. It's just a pity that I can't try their pedals in a live situation, maybe they're just too subtle and fine for me (the Beast, in the west wing of the castle, is looking the petals of the rose falling one after the other).
 

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