Which Darkglass stomp into VTBass? (B3K vs A. Omicron)

[FaithNoMan]

Update: I've kind of pulled the trigger and contacted a seller for a near mint Alpha Omicron.

Based on all comparisons I saw and on some Karnivool demos (not that I want/need to play like Jon, but I admire what's behind his tone), I kinda dig that growly yet precise and defined grunt and the grind in the upper mids towards the alpha spectrum. It sounds like a really versatile drive and the meater, fuller-sounding tone (compared to the B3K) can actually be beneficial in context. My ODB3 into a VT covers my fuzzier needs way better than a BBMuff does.
I know I'd go into buying remorse if I went for a B3K v.1 just to save around €30.

We'll see how it goes. Thanks for all your feedback.

I had the Alpha Omega, and the first time I heard it demoed "There's the grunt"

I too love high mids, chunky metallic overdrive with a hint of "fuzz". I think that's the difference between it and the B3K style. It's got some guts and character in the mids.

 

[EmaTheMirror]

I too love high mids, chunky metallic overdrive with a hint of "fuzz". I think that's the difference between it and the B3K style. It's got some guts and character in the mids.

Yeah, I can easily colour it great to stomp on it and get some great Dug-ish "Dogman" tones without too much pain, save for the 12-string tracks. Ok, I actually have my poor man 12-string bass: a SubNup finely tuned via toneprint, lol .

Jokes apart, I already mentioned why I wasn't looking for Dug's pedal given my setup, and I bet the AO will sound great on the Alpha side into a cleaner and tight VT preset, Character around 10 o'clock and 3-band eq to taste, accordingly. It might replace my needs for driven VT tones with cranked character and cut mids

 

[EmaTheMirror]

The pedal's here and so far so good, I'd say.

I can sort of hear the inspiration stemming from the ODB3 (J. Stockman had a couple of them before DG and the AO was around, afterall), but the AO is definitely tighter, has better control in the high end and the voicing is "more engineered", so I'm quite happy for now, through my IEM. I noodled a bit on my old Ibby BTB (MIJ '99, DFR pre-Bart pickups) and I get the modern click when I boost the active treble. I'm looking forward to trying the setup with my Fenders and my bands.

Small complaint: the DC plug placement is a bit of a pain, I had to juggle with my wiring underneath to reach it. Plus, it clashes with the extremely close pancake jack. Anyway...

I can still keep the ODB3 for fuzzier tones and I think the BBMuff is gonna come out - so long "dry mode".

The knobs set as pictured on my 2nd photo (both switches are on) IMO sound very nice into a cleanish VT Bass patch that adds some punch and tightens the mids.
@FaithNoMan - I'm glad I have plenty of "grunt" on tap: the blend and my VT Bass take care of further tightening the low mids.

 

[FaithNoMan]

Nice!
That VT looks battle-hardened.

 

[EmaTheMirror]

Nice!
That VT looks battle-hardened.

I taped the area around the switches to colour-code the presets, as they're slightly wider than the standard buttons and the coloured caps don't fit.
Plus, I taped the bank leds with my bands' initials and two different colours - as silly as it sounds, I'd rather save myself from overthinking on stage as much as I can. The same goes with all my power cords/plugs and cables: I want to know what I'm unplugging from badly lit power sockets next to one another or what cables go back to my case when I'm exhausted or need to clear the stage in a hurry.

Re. the "reliced" effect: it's not as battle-hardened as it looks, it's just that these Tech21 deluxe pedals have terrible, flaky face prints. The paint peels off with whatever piece of tape you might happen to stick there, and some. Plus, those LEDs are hard to see in daylight scenarios, but I still love that pedal.