The Preamp/OD/DI rabbit hole

[MDBass]

So . . . I've looked at Darkglass B7K, B7K Ultra, Alpha Omega, MXR M80+, etc. but not PLAYED through any of them. The more I look, listen, read reviews, the more unsure I am.

There is not a music store in my area where I can try them out, so . . . I want to have DI and eliminate the stage amp, and I want WARM subtle OD that keeps my low end presence, especially with my B string. I have mostly MXR pedals and I generally like them, but the Fuzz Deluxe is just too much. I can use use it with the "fuzz" knob turned almost all the way down, but it still picks up too much string noise, etc (ok, that could be bad hand technique).

I'm not opposed to trial and error. I buy used on reverb, and can flip any pedal to try something different. But I'd like to at least go the right direction and the Fuzz Deluxe is NOT the right direction for me. The M89 Bass Overdrive I suspect may be an improvement, but since I want a DI as well, I'd like to kill two birds with one stone.

I play mostly Praise and Worship music and piddle around with some pop, rock and blues at home, so I don't need or want "rip your face off" distortion. The Darkglass stuff sounds like it may be more extreme than I would ever use/need, but the reviews are so good that I'm tempted to pick up a B7K. The MXR M80+ has mixed reviews, some saying they're awesome and some saying that the distortion is "not subtle." I know that the Tone hammer was once the pedal de jour, but seems to be yesterday's pedal now.

I know this is a HIGHLY subjective question, but based upon what I've described, can you steer me in the right direction, worship musicians especially. Thanks in advance.

I’ve gigged professionally with P&W bands using the Darkglass AO Ultra, Vintage Deluxe & X Ultra: they’ll all do warm/subtle drive if you understand how they work, and the cab sim on the Ultras is an added bonus.

The most flexible of the bunch was the AO Ultra, the Omega side can even cover Motown territory.

Avoid the new ADAM and Photon pedals, they’re much more complex than what you need.

I’ve also used the Tech 21 BDDI, PSA 2.0 & YYZ in worship settings, often in conjunction with their Q Strip, and those are also excellent choices: you don’t need a mid control on the BDDI once you learn how the Blend control functions.

The MXR M80+ isn’t what you’re looking for: the built in drive, though cool, is much less flexible than the other pedals mentioned above and modern/scooped rather than warm.

 

[Hypercaffium]

I've tested many of them and kept the Orange Bass Butler.

 

[secondbestcody]

I’m sure someone has said this already, but Darkglass pedals (at least I know for sure my X7) has two separate circuits for low and high end. Meaning you can have some low level OD, but it still retains the low end unlike a lot of OD pedals I’ve tried that just sound muddy on the low end. I use my X7 as my ‘always on’ pedal. I recently got a Tech 21 bass fly rig v2, and I just can’t dial in the tone I get from my X7 that is just perfect.
The only drawback from it is that it has a distinctly Darkglass tone. I’m sure if I kept playing around with the low and high pass filters I can EQ it out, but I actually like it. YMMV.

 

[secondbestcody]

OK, after reading some of these I’m now in the market for a B7K Ultra. Thanks TB.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

I don't think what everyone is saying about Darkglass is entirely true. You can get this ultra metal tone...I bought one of their amps recently and I haven't even found that tone yet. If anything, I've got a lovely warm vintage tone. Just because they film their videos to appeal to the metal audience doesn't mean that's all they do. So I wouldn't write them off personally. The microtubes circuit does exactly what it says on the tin - a tube tone. Having said that, I don't like the B3K tone so much - the VMT tone is much warmer.

 

[Pulverizor]

 

[Buck Dutt]

[This invalid link has been removed]

 

[Fun Size Nick]

The Tone Hammer is still an excellent pedal for this - I have one and love it. I used to have a Sansamp VT Bass, and it will also do what you’re looking for.

 

[The Expendable Clay]

So . . . I've looked at Darkglass B7K, B7K Ultra, Alpha Omega, MXR M80+, etc. but not PLAYED through any of them. The more I look, listen, read reviews, the more unsure I am.

There is not a music store in my area where I can try them out, so . . . I want to have DI and eliminate the stage amp, and I want WARM subtle OD that keeps my low end presence, especially with my B string. I have mostly MXR pedals and I generally like them, but the Fuzz Deluxe is just too much. I can use use it with the "fuzz" knob turned almost all the way down, but it still picks up too much string noise, etc (ok, that could be bad hand technique).

I'm not opposed to trial and error. I buy used on reverb, and can flip any pedal to try something different. But I'd like to at least go the right direction and the Fuzz Deluxe is NOT the right direction for me. The M89 Bass Overdrive I suspect may be an improvement, but since I want a DI as well, I'd like to kill two birds with one stone.

I play mostly Praise and Worship music and piddle around with some pop, rock and blues at home, so I don't need or want "rip your face off" distortion. The Darkglass stuff sounds like it may be more extreme than I would ever use/need, but the reviews are so good that I'm tempted to pick up a B7K. The MXR M80+ has mixed reviews, some saying they're awesome and some saying that the distortion is "not subtle." I know that the Tone hammer was once the pedal de jour, but seems to be yesterday's pedal now.

I know this is a HIGHLY subjective question, but based upon what I've described, can you steer me in the right direction, worship musicians especially. Thanks in advance.

I use a Sansamp Bass Fly Rig for praise and worship and it does exactly what you're describing.
Also the Darkglass Vintage Deluxe or Vintage Ultra would be great.

 

[TonyP-]

I believe @sushibox is going to be coming out with a new preamp with germanium boost that people will like.

 

[Schmo_bass]

I am on a similar quest for a DI/pre box, and have similar tonal goals as yours.

But I would add my requirements include to provide a variety of routing options and not introduce a lot of noise/hiss into the DI signal chain so that it’s suitable for recording/studio work.

I’ve tried a bunch of the ones mentioned here and of those so far I can definitely recommend the EBS micro bass 3. Very very flexible, and while it takes a while to try all the options, it’s capable of some really interesting tones. The OD can be set to be quite subtle. It’s got TWO completely silent DI’s that can be used in several ways (pre/post, multichannel, or even “stereo” post effects if using say a stereo delay).

I have NOT yet tied the Radial Bassbone OD or the Mesa. Those are high on my list to try.

 

[Lowbrow]

From your description sounds like you'd want the Darkglass Vintage Ultra or the Aguilar Tone Hammer.

 

[JovialOwl]

Id recommend shift line Olympic even though it's a little outside your range. I really like mine! They also have a new one called called a+ flex that could be just within your range

https://shift-line.com/olympic
https://shift-line.com/flex

 

[Alper Yilmaz]

Among the ones mentioned so far, I am familiar (I might have missed few others) with EBS Microbass, Aguilar Tonehammer and SansAmp BDDI which are on the affordable side. To me Tonehammer, by far, is the best of the three. Some people find it a bit difficult to dial in a good tone, but once you understand how it works, it is a great preamp with a nice drive section and the DI is pretty good. The form factor with the earlier versions was an issue, but Aguilar has corrected that a while ago.

 

[RGerhart]

You might try a company called Pedal Genie out of Florida. It's like the Netflix of pedals. You get three different tiers of subscriptions depending on how many pedals per shipment, they ship them to you, you try them out for however long you want, ship them back, and start the process over. I did it for a bit to find the right DI/preamp box for me and it was great. Much less work involved than buying and returning or flipping pedals. In the end, between these I chose the Q strip:

Tech 21 Q-strip
Aguilar TH
EBS Microbass 3
MXR M81
Darkglass B7K (I already own this one)
Darkglass Vintage Microtubes

 

[Jeremy Jones]

I tried the GK PLex, Fender Downtown and the Bass Fly rig. I settled on the fly rig. The thing I did not like about the Plex and the downtown were that to me the XLR and 1/4 out sounded different to me where the Bass Fly rig did not

 

[EMoneySC2]

@Ed445 Do you have an interface to your computer? If you do, you could do a free trial of the B7K and Vintage Ultra with the Neural DSP “Darkglass Ultra” plug-in. You could get a feeling for the Darkglass X pedal series with Neural’s “Parallax” plug-in, too.

 

[Ed455]

@Ed445 Do you have an interface to your computer? If you do, you could do a free trial of the B7K and Vintage Ultra with the Neural DSP “Darkglass Ultra” plug-in. You could get a feeling for the Darkglass X pedal series with Neural’s “Parallax” plug-in, too.

I do not have a computer interface. It's an interesting idea.

 

[EMoneySC2]

I do not have a computer interface. It's an interesting idea.

I use my MacBook and a Motu M2 to run my sound when I do worship music these days. I’ve got a DI plugged into the M2, and I run Neural DSP plug-ins on the MacBook. I can run acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and bass through my “rig” and it sounds great.

 

[pbassnut]

So . . . I've looked at Darkglass B7K, B7K Ultra, Alpha Omega, MXR M80+, etc. but not PLAYED through any of them. The more I look, listen, read reviews, the more unsure I am.

There is not a music store in my area where I can try them out, so . . . I want to have DI and eliminate the stage amp, and I want WARM subtle OD that keeps my low end presence, especially with my B string. I have mostly MXR pedals and I generally like them, but the Fuzz Deluxe is just too much. I can use use it with the "fuzz" knob turned almost all the way down, but it still picks up too much string noise, etc (ok, that could be bad hand technique).

I'm not opposed to trial and error. I buy used on reverb, and can flip any pedal to try something different. But I'd like to at least go the right direction and the Fuzz Deluxe is NOT the right direction for me. The M89 Bass Overdrive I suspect may be an improvement, but since I want a DI as well, I'd like to kill two birds with one stone.

I play mostly Praise and Worship music and piddle around with some pop, rock and blues at home, so I don't need or want "rip your face off" distortion. The Darkglass stuff sounds like it may be more extreme than I would ever use/need, but the reviews are so good that I'm tempted to pick up a B7K. The MXR M80+ has mixed reviews, some saying they're awesome and some saying that the distortion is "not subtle." I know that the Tone hammer was once the pedal de jour, but seems to be yesterday's pedal now.

I know this is a HIGHLY subjective question, but based upon what I've described, can you steer me in the right direction, worship musicians especially. Thanks in advance.

I like my Sushi Box Slampegg Bee Pre X pedal. It's a 12AX7 tube driven stomp box that emulates the legendary Ampeg B-15 preamp section. I like to run mine clean, but you can dial up some overdrive with its gain/master setup if that's what you want. It doesn't have an XLR output to run through a PA system. However, there are a plethora of options for inexpensive DI boxes you could use with it. I have a Whirlwind IMP-2 that I got used for a song that has served me well with my various preamp pedals.