geofio

Just purchased a new Darkglass microtubes 500v2 , managed to have a great conversation with Chris over at Darkglass, I asked him about the faulty units that have been reported , power failures, overheating etc, He explained that during the covid time and afterwards they could not get the quality parts they required to make the amps , so they basically had to make do with what they could source at the time, hence the problems, The new versions of the amp have new power modules and are marked 3 ohm rather than 2ohm on the older amps, they do not expect any issues with the new versions as all parts are up to their high standards and specifications, I was kinda relieved to hear this, as I was reading about all the problems and wondered if I had just purchased a lemon!!! The amp arrived today with the 3ohm marked above the output , so defo one of the new ones , That amp sounds incredible it really does , my Spector CST sounds like a different instrument, seriously , amazing clarity and power the harmonics are just popping from the fret board , I am very impressed with this plus the amount of control you have over the sound , The cabinet and microphone software works well too plenty of choice from factory presets, the best part for me is the graphic, it is very sensitive and makes a huge difference to the over all sound . So don’t be afraid to buy one of these amps , I did a test recording via the XLR output, you get the sound of the amp captured you just have to increase the gain on your mixer or audio interface there is no control over level via the amp , it’s ok to work with though, looking forward to capturing our next track with the Darkglass.

You can use any strings it takes standard strings of your choice , once tight you chop the ends off at the headstock, you can use any gauge too, zero fret makes life easy in that respect , it is one of those basses you dont want to put down, the neck once adjusted is solid.

Really simple, and you can put any strings you want on there, there are 4 large grub screws that hold the strings and they work well, once the thrust washers are on at the tuner end it is so nice to tune and very accurate too. there is a side screw within the saddle for intonation.

I would agree with that, but I don't feel I am lacking any bass from it, but I totally get what you are saying, it could be a better preamp in all honesty, I use external preamps.

Got mine today, The setup was a bit of a mess out the box, went to tune up, the A string just gave up, I thought the tuner mech had given up at first, but restrung the bass no problem, the saddles were all over the place, you have to physically have to press them down with your finger the first time you adjust them, fitted the thrust washers today, they do a fantastic job, well worth doing, Just had to adjust the neck the action was a bit high from the factory set up !! I went over all the screws nuts etc make sure everything was tight, construction seems very good, excellent wood choices, 7 ply neck should be pretty solid I am sure, hope the string clamp at the top holds up over time it is basically a big grub screw directly over the string, after all that, I must say it is a lovely bass to play it balances so well , I fitted strap locks, playability is excellent, I basically have the action where I want it , I tried it through a few different pre amps, it actually sounded fantastic through Head Rush MX5 , I downloaded some custom bass presets for that unit and wow, really nice sound just enough grunt behind the preamp models to do the job, very pleased with that , I also tried it through a Dark glass alpha /omega going into a dug Pinnick tech 21 preamp, that again was fantastic, a bit more growl from the bass with that setup, I love playing this bass it sounds very decent, I am normally a Ric/Spector player, for the money it is awesome, solid once set up.

For those in doubt about the Seymour Duncan pickups. https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1360217

Yup, from a small music shop in paisley, I own many Rickenbacker basses so I had to try the thing out, bloody awful, it did have Seymour Duncan pickups, whether people believe it or not, didn’t really make any difference as the bass was a pile of junk, I sold it for almost nothing to a youngster who was desperate to have a Rick lookalike to play in his band, the brand was Anniversary made in China. It looked exactly like the bass in the picture, neck, tailpiece etc. exaggerated Body shape out of proportion of course .

It is Chinese , I had one .They did use Seymour Duncan pickups, again I had one . Take my word for it . Why do people try and prove you wrong when you have had experience of that actual Bass, it’s a pile of junk incidentally. If you don’t believe my experience I can’t help you.