Skeptical about Darkglass

[FaithNoMan]

So...here we are. I've been lucky enough to try several drives/overdrives/preamps:
- Boss BB1x (nah...)
- Maxon hybrid bassdriver (nah...)
- Tech 21 Vt bass (reeeally good!)
- Darkglass Alpha Omega (big disappointment)
- Providence Brick Drive BDI-1 (the winner)
I can confirm what some of you said: the instrument you use is a huge difference on Darkglass. I tried with a Precision (similar to the one I use, in any case, passive) complete different sound from what I got used in demo videos. Tried with an active one...BOOM! Darkglass sound (and it was great...not too modern/compressed, just aggressive, a lot). Since I don't use active basses or similar I dropped it (too much money, anyway).

To the finals: Tech21 VT Bass and Providence Brick Drive. Both really good equalization and versatility. But, since I was looking for a sharp overdrive I ended up with the Providence. The VT Bass really was a close call, just too warm. The only downside: 12v (f*uck!). Power supply included but still a pain. Here a photo of the winner

That shows how different people's approaches to tone is.
I hated the VT Bass, worst pedal I ever used for a "dirty amp tone", and love the Alpha Omega, but also have it combined with an X or previously, a Tech21 Oxford.
But not everyone's looking for a clanky early FNM type of tone

 

[Crystalman85]

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.

Darkglass makes awesome distortion pedals for bass. I own a darkglass vintage microtubes and it is one of the best bass overdrives I've ever owned. I've treasured it ever since. the alpha omnicron is what I was thinking of buying next. this pedal is definitely for metal. it's got a heavy grind with certain mids for any style of metal. the mod control has certain sounds. the alpha side for instance has a scooped sound resulting in having smooth but heavy sound. while the omega side has a higher mids presence resulting in having a brutal and raw sound. since you've mentioned you play stoner rock, the vintage series would be right up your alley. the vintage deluxe would be a good choice for what you play.

 

[fuzzspiral]

I'm considering this combination as I already have a Boss EQ and tempted to get the EBS Multidrive (or the metal drive). What do you mean by "tone closed"? How's the tone together? Thinking of this combination or a B3K (i like a grindy mid focussed distortion). Any thoughts?

You will not be disappointed. Is a good couple, in fact I don't want to sell them. I only changed because the multidrive adds some "mid freq flavour" that I don't want anymore, just a matter of taste (and I used it with a Hartke alluminum speaker, so even more). In my experience so far, the Multidrive is a very good pedal at low drive settings, here is where it shines, in my opinion. For high gain settings I looked somewhere else. Despite the look is quite versatile. The only thing I noticed is that the EQ pedal change a bit the character of pedals in general (especially with gated style fuzzes), boosting some frequencies (example mid-low). Not that is a bad thing...you can make it growl quite well! I have the old version but I read that the new one is very similar, just a bit warmer, at least they say. For "tone closed" I mean that is not brilliant and clear, it's dark, like the difference between closed and open tones on the bass (and this is why I like it, even if now I'm looking for a different thing). Hope it helps, have fun!

 

[fuzzspiral]

So are you now able to dial up that wicked tone from the video you posted?

As soon as I try with the good amp I'll tell you! But it seems in the middle between warm tube sound and grindy

 

[boristhespider7]

You will not be disappointed. Is a good couple, in fact I don't want to sell them. I only changed because the multidrive adds some "mid freq flavour" that I don't want anymore, just a matter of taste (and I used it with a Hartke alluminum speaker, so even more). In my experience so far, the Multidrive is a very good pedal at low drive settings, here is where it shines, in my opinion. For high gain settings I looked somewhere else. Despite the look is quite versatile. The only thing I noticed is that the EQ pedal change a bit the character of pedals in general (especially with gated style fuzzes), boosting some frequencies (example mid-low). Not that is a bad thing...you can make it growl quite well! I have the old version but I read that the new one is very similar, just a bit warmer, at least they say. For "tone closed" I mean that is not brilliant and clear, it's dark, like the difference between closed and open tones on the bass (and this is why I like it, even if now I'm looking for a different thing). Hope it helps, have fun!

That's really helpful, thanks!

 

[smogg]

As soon as I try with the good amp I'll tell you! But it seems in the middle between warm tube sound and grindy

Looking forward to your review.
(And maybe you could do sound sample of doing that song? )

 

[fuzzspiral]

Well, I don't know almost nothing about home recording, and with the phone it's no use.
Up until now I can say that is the best drive/overdrive pedal I used. It can be from warm to almost grindy, playing with the presence knob. The blend is good and, in any case, with the three band eq, plus another mid freqs adjustement little knob, it's impossible not finding the settings that suit you the best.
I like to use it at low up to middle drive settings, but also all cranked up it can be very aggressive and dirty, I'll keep it for sure!
One thing that I forgot to mention is that the drive stucks very well with the fuzzes, not changing their character

 

[sunbeast]

I’m amazed but not surprised by all the Darkglass “tone” generalization in this thread. They have several different pedal lines, each with with very different tones on tap (and each are usually fairly versatile pedals in themselves- especially the Deluxe/7/Ultra ones) ! They are definitely partially responsible for this reputation though, because the company tends to post a lot (mostly?!) of demos from people within a fairly homogenous tone world (using active 5+ string basses, dialing in tight/bright scooped tones with a lot of gain). As someone who has tried pretty much all of their drive/preamp pedals at this point and has no relation at all to that tonal universe I can say that there are a ton of great Darkglass tones that are very underrepresented in their reputation (still mostly focused on the B7K world) and their demos.

 

[Jantelagen]

I’m amazed but not surprised by all the Darkglass “tone” generalization in this thread. They have several different pedal lines, each with with very different tones on tap (and each are usually fairly versatile pedals in themselves- especially the Deluxe/7/Ultra ones) ! They are definitely partially responsible for this reputation though, because the company tends to post a lot (mostly?!) of demos from people within a fairly homogenous tone world (using active 5+ string basses, dialing in tight/bright scooped tones with a lot of gain). As someone who has tried pretty much all of their drive/preamp pedals at this point and has no relation at all to that tonal universe I can say that there are a ton of great Darkglass tones that are very underrepresented in their reputation (still mostly focused on the B7K world) and their demos.

I'm glad the OP found what works best for him too

 

[sifrancis]

Thanks to all for the informations but the Alpha Omega is out of range considering my budget, this is why I'm more into the Omicron. I'm trying a sound of saturated amps, not interested in all-out distorsion (Kyuss bass player, for example)

Example:
this one is to give the idea but the amps that these kind of review videos use, can make a garbage sound like gold, so I can't understand where the good amp finish and where the drive starts



@oZZma "maybe suitable if you want that polished "modern sounding" djent tone, not if you want to sound nasty.
Have you taken into consideration a Rat clone instead?"

that's the way I feel, too. Yes the Rat seems cool but loses too much bottom ends, for my taste, at least

If I were going for the tone in that video, I would most likely be starting with the Tronographic Rusty Box.
The Darkglass Alpha Omicron is the only DG pedal I'd consider for that tone personally (I find it the least "baked in" tone-wise of all the DG pedals).
Other considerations would be EQD Westwood, or COG 66.
However, for that clanky but mid-characterful drive in the referenced video I would start with the Rusty Box, and then I'd turn to the Alpha Omicron if I felt I needed more distortion available and clean blend.

 

[IronLung1986]

I’m amazed but not surprised by all the Darkglass “tone” generalization in this thread. They have several different pedal lines, each with with very different tones on tap (and each are usually fairly versatile pedals in themselves- especially the Deluxe/7/Ultra ones) ! They are definitely partially responsible for this reputation though, because the company tends to post a lot (mostly?!) of demos from people within a fairly homogenous tone world (using active 5+ string basses, dialing in tight/bright scooped tones with a lot of gain). As someone who has tried pretty much all of their drive/preamp pedals at this point and has no relation at all to that tonal universe I can say that there are a ton of great Darkglass tones that are very underrepresented in their reputation (still mostly focused on the B7K world) and their demos.

They are definitely optimized for exactly that sort of playing though: technical metal, hardcore, djent, whatever you want to call it. For that stuff they are almost objectively the "best", much as we try to avoid such terms here. Outside of those genres though I think other brands start to sound more at home. If you run a DG pedal in a low gain fashion there's a sense, to me at least, that it's suboptimal and that there are better tools for the job out there. You almost feel like a DG pedal should rightfully be doing what it was made to do, which is ripping people's heads off with motorcycle sounds. Which is glorious. For the more subtle stuff I prefer pedals that were built for that purpose rather than trying to fit an iconic high gain dirt monster into that role. So in that sense I feel DG's marketing is very honest and on-point. They are getting these things into the hands of the people who will love them the most.

 

[Matt Dean]

I agree with the last few posts... but I use my X7 for tight, punchy low gain drive in my acid jazz/funk band, and I use Dunwich drive pedals at higher gain levels in my more metal rock projects.

 

[flyingfinbar]

They are definitely optimized for exactly that sort of playing though: technical metal, hardcore, djent, whatever you want to call it. For that stuff they are almost objectively the "best", much as we try to avoid such terms here. Outside of those genres though I think other brands start to sound more at home. If you run a DG pedal in a low gain fashion there's a sense, to me at least, that it's suboptimal and that there are better tools for the job out there. You almost feel like a DG pedal should rightfully be doing what it was made to do, which is ripping people's heads off with motorcycle sounds. Which is glorious. For the more subtle stuff I prefer pedals that were built for that purpose rather than trying to fit an iconic high gain dirt monster into that role. So in that sense I feel DG's marketing is very honest and on-point. They are getting these things into the hands of the people who will love them the most.

That’s a solid, well-thought perspective on this whole thing!

 

[Jantelagen]

They are definitely optimized for exactly that sort of playing though: technical metal, hardcore, djent, whatever you want to call it. For that stuff they are almost objectively the "best", much as we try to avoid such terms here. Outside of those genres though I think other brands start to sound more at home. If you run a DG pedal in a low gain fashion there's a sense, to me at least, that it's suboptimal and that there are better tools for the job out there. You almost feel like a DG pedal should rightfully be doing what it was made to do, which is ripping people's heads off with motorcycle sounds. Which is glorious. For the more subtle stuff I prefer pedals that were built for that purpose rather than trying to fit an iconic high gain dirt monster into that role. So in that sense I feel DG's marketing is very honest and on-point. They are getting these things into the hands of the people who will love them the most.

 

[sunbeast]

They are definitely optimized for exactly that sort of playing though: technical metal, hardcore, djent, whatever you want to call it. For that stuff they are almost objectively the "best", much as we try to avoid such terms here. Outside of those genres though I think other brands start to sound more at home. If you run a DG pedal in a low gain fashion there's a sense, to me at least, that it's suboptimal and that there are better tools for the job out there. You almost feel like a DG pedal should rightfully be doing what it was made to do, which is ripping people's heads off with motorcycle sounds. Which is glorious. For the more subtle stuff I prefer pedals that were built for that purpose rather than trying to fit an iconic high gain dirt monster into that role. So in that sense I feel DG's marketing is very honest and on-point. They are getting these things into the hands of the people who will love them the most.

For sure the B3K/B7K and Alpha-Omega range were clearly designed with a lot of these tones in mind, but there is a whole VMT range and the new X/X7 range that are capable of completely different things. I don’t see how anyone who has owned both a B3K and a VMT could say they sound particularly similar at most settings? And what makes any of these pedals “optimized” for high gain? Lots of users use them at low gain- all it takes is turning the gain knob down...

The Vintage was marketed as a pedal made to reproduce vintage tube recorded tones, which is not really something I associate with those genres. You can get a guy with a low-tuned Dingwall with low action to demo one at high-gain and with high blend settings and it’ll still sound like that guy but that’s more a testament to the versatility of the pedal than proof that it is most capable of sounding like that guy. Having played through mostly tube amps (SVTs and a variety of Mesas, with a few other random Fenders, etc) for 20 years, I can say that the best tube amps don’t have “a” sound, they just make what you put into them sound better.


Then there’s the X7, which does tons of tones from Chris Squire to even cleanish cutting preamp tones- you can have a djent dude come in and make it sound djent, but I can use it to sound like me (just better!).

The Alpha-Omega range also happens to excel at a lot of midrangey tones that I don’t associate with those musical styles either (though obviously that one was designed for a particular user who does play in that world). It certainly doesn’t sound much at all like a B7K though.

I picked up a B3K then later a B7K back when they were the only DG stuff available and did feel like I was running them non-optimally as you say, fighting the inherent voice of the pedal. Compared to other pedals on the market then (and trust me I had tried most of them), it was still one of the best pedals to get punchy amp-like tone. When the VMT came out, it’s low gain tone was exactly the tone I was looking for. I think the Vintage line and X7 both excel at low-gain tones just as well or better (for me) than high-Gain tones where they can lose their punch. I’m not sure what beats personal experience to show me that! There are plenty of non-DG demos of the Vintage line to show this, and some good ones of the X7 too- Darkglass just seems to focus on a limited scene of players when they do official demos.

 

[fuzzspiral]

Hi! Update: YES, I FOUND THE SOUND.......with a SVT Classic.

Instead of keeping collecting pedals and never being fully satisfied, I made THE big decision (dimensions, weight and money included ) and I found the sound I was running after, since I was 13 years old, when I started to play. I always had a lot of doubts because of the money and I was worried to make a mistake: all the doubts are now vanished. Two months salary well spent.

"And all those drive pedals will be lost...in time...like...tears, in rain".

(I'll keep the overdrive anyway, as soon as I'll have a decent recording I'll post it)

 

[FaithNoMan]

That’s great you found your sound. The SVT is the antithesis of my sound but for many it is the One.

For me, it’s a Mesa Bass 400 and my Alpha Omega with a trebly pedal in front of it.(Like the X)

 

[fuzzspiral]

Well, in all honesty there wasn't much choice in my area...the classic or the VR. The shop assistant talked very good about the Mesa (he has one, eh eh...). I was also very curious to try the Orange 200w but unfortunately I couldn't find it for a test.
In any case, as soon as I started playing, the sound in my mind translated in reality and for me that's enough.
He was also trying an Alpha Omega 900 before shipment: a lot of distortion!

 

[FaithNoMan]

Well, in all honesty there wasn't much choice in my area...the classic or the VR. The shop assistant talked very good about the Mesa (he has one, eh eh...). I was also very curious to try the Orange 200w but unfortunately I couldn't find it for a test.
In any case, as soon as I started playing, the sound in my mind translated in reality and for me that's enough.
He was also trying an Alpha Omega 900 before shipment: a lot of distortion!

Ah, all of those are good solid tone machines. I’ve certainly heard some SVT tones I liked. Didn’t mean to sound a negative Nancy. Its awesome when you find a tone you love.

 

[EmaTheMirror]

Zombie resurrection (after a Google search):

I quickly went through the pages and followed the evolution of the thread - I'm glad the OP went for the "ultimate" decision of a SVT, as I was actually thinking VT Bass (I own the deluxe) after reading the initial posts.

Besides "the Ampeg tone", I think MXR's bass distortion would be another (unmentioned so far, IIRC) sensible option for gnarly, stoner-sounding drives: the film... ehm... demo by Dunlop actually features High on Fire's Jeff Matz and it seems appropriate:



Re Darkglass: I once demoed a B3k and I think it sounded killer as a precise, modern drive going into a VT Bass: the VT Bass tightened the overall tone, gave it some more punch and grind in the high-mids (the famous 3k bump of Tech21's pedal) and in the end it seemed to me that it improved the B3k's drive noticeably, to my taste. It was a while ago and I didn't really try it extensively, but I wondered if anyone had my same thoughts of that combo: since the OP went for the actual SVT, I'd bet the microtubes would be a killer modern drive into such an amp tube.