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the best bass overdrive/distorsion?!!-darkglass electronics b3k

Rusty Box as OD effect.. I'll try it as a pre with a Crown XLS 2500 (currently performing duty as a home practice amp lol) Getting a bit off-topic, but is your Rusty Box kinda noisy?

not at all. only time it makes any unwanted noise is when the gain and volume are WAY high or when rotating the gain knob. they know about the inherently scratchy pots when they're moved, but it's sort of a product of the design.

does yours get too noisy?
 
not at all. only time it makes any unwanted noise is when the gain and volume are WAY high or when rotating the gain knob. they know about the inherently scratchy pots when they're moved, but it's sort of a product of the design.

does yours get too noisy?

Hm, seems noisier than other pedals.. guess I'll check the patch cables. Tried the b3k with a Xerograph last night.. seemed to play well together.
 
Hi Douglas, and all...

Not sure if this has been covered (still on page 4, making my way thru it...) but looking at getting a Harmonic Booster to use as a clean booster, and a B3K as an overdrive. How well do those pedals interact together? I like having a boost before the overdrive to push the OD a little harder and get a bit more grit out of it when needed... I'm guessing this combination of pedals should do that nicely.

Not sure how many Australians have this pedal, but my mate with one should be round in a few mins so I can demo it...fingers crossed this is the holy grail I think it might be... :)
 
Just got my b3k last week or so! still haven't recorded any samples though. it's the sound i've been looking for. it blends well with the sound of my band (metal) so i guess that's about it. oh, and my (atk) bass loves it too. damn, why did i just discover darkglass this year? basically, i just realized this year that collecting pedals will drain your bank account and savings! damn you internets! :) i also wish that i could have used this on my recording, i finished all my bass tracks for our upcoming release last 2011. kinda lazy to rerecord everything again.
 
I just bought the "ZVEX Woolly Mammoth", very nice distortion! you can listening here:

Probando Distorsion Nueva - YouTube
Yeah, the Wooly Mammoth is vicious sounding! I'm hoping to get that sound (and many others) out of an Oxide that I should be getting in a few days.

But the B3K is in a different category. I wouldn't use it as a fuzz, but it really is a great always-on box. I usually use it with almost no overdrive, it just gives a bit of grit when I dig in. But the overall effect on the eq is really nice, it gives me that glassy top I associate with a big tube amp, and makes the sound a bit more mean and penetrating.


I'm using a Darkglass B3K with a Darkglass Harmonic Booster...Spendy combo but money well spent for such a great tone and versatility...plus the owner/maker rules
Even after hearing the demos, I'm still not really sure what the Harmonic Booster does... Is it basically a low-midrange enhancer?
 
Even after hearing the demos, I'm still not really sure what the Harmonic Booster does... Is it basically a low-midrange enhancer?

Ok bare with me - im not a techy. one issue i've had with a lot of bass amps/pedals/tone is that whenever you try to cut through a mix its just a bunch of chest thumping lows and you lose the mids/high accents - especially when in heavier bands.

I know a lot of people love low smooth tones, but i'm more from the Russian Circles/Jesus Lizard bass tone where I like the lows rolled off and for it to be more of a super low guitar like tone with tons of distortion. even with amp EQ's its hard to dial in and this pedal has made it super simple.

i've only had it for a few days so i'm still tweaking it, but it cuts right through the mix without a bunch of low end -so you are probably right about it exciting the mid-high fequencies.

sorry my explanation is probably painful to read :)
 
Got mine yesterday. Love the sound so far, BUT the thing is noisy! I'm getting a high frequency noise at all times which changes in amount by raising drive, blend, or level. Is that normal? Could my unit be broken? Is it the power supply? I used a visual sound 1 spot and also a no-name one. What are you guys powering it with?
 
Got mine yesterday. Love the sound so far, BUT the thing is noisy! I'm getting a high frequency noise at all times which changes in amount by raising drive, blend, or level. Is that normal? Could my unit be broken? Is it the power supply? I used a visual sound 1 spot and also a no-name one. What are you guys powering it with?

Hello!

As for the noise, the power supply you're using (1spot) is the same one we use, so I doubt is the power supply (they tend to hum when they're the problem).
Is easier for me to help you out if you explain us what's your rig!
Also, devices like phones, mp3 players, halogen lights, tv's can induce noise through your pickups (which will be then amplified by the pedal).

A customer of us wrote us asking if the noise was normal and then he told me that the problem was solved by taking his iPhone out his pocket while playing :D.

Well, this should get us started, let me know and we can take it from there!

Regards

Doug.