0175westwood29 Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 It's a bit good the AO! Few hours jamming and this is my fave setting so far [URL=http://s1380.photobucket.com/user/andybassist/media/AAD0EC7D-0E47-4965-9439-B38DEA662090_zpse3etnpuz.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah176/andybassist/AAD0EC7D-0E47-4965-9439-B38DEA662090_zpse3etnpuz.jpg[/IMG][/URL] FYI I'm not boosting bass as the pedal is cutting it just for where I wanna sit in the band mix you can have 100% blend with no low end loss unless you want that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted April 30, 2017 Share Posted April 30, 2017 Its great. I think it may be their greatest pedal. Has all the aggression of a b*k, with this extra low end heft and fullness, and obviously far stronger mids and much higher gain. This may be a one pedal solution for dirt, its incredbile! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime_BASS Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 Is their best pedal just doesn't add anything for me I don't already have. And the clean blend really needs it's own level control. Personally not sure its worth the price tag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 [quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1493650872' post='3289705'] Is their best pedal just doesn't add anything for me I don't already have. And the clean blend really needs it's own level control. Personally not sure its worth the price tag. [/quote] Wouldn't life be simple if we all liked the same things Out of interest and to bring this subject up again, what tone is it you after looking to achieve that can't be achieved with the Level and Blend control? I see this complaint quite a lot so there is clearly mileage in it. The only reason for a clean level knob that I can see for this is if you had a completely dry signal and using the pedal for its EQ only. And yes, if that is the intended use there are much cheaper pedals available to do that job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted May 1, 2017 Share Posted May 1, 2017 I'm not a fan of how the blend is implemented on these pedals either, as it makes life difficult if you want to adjust your overall output level without changing the blend ratio. It also makes it impossible to have the clean level output above unity, so you can't use the pedal to drive power amps that expect a hotter line level input. I always prefer a simple blend and master volume setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime_BASS Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 (edited) [quote name='Kev' timestamp='1493651938' post='3289718'] Wouldn't life be simple if we all liked the same things Out of interest and to bring this subject up again, what tone is it you after looking to achieve that can't be achieved with the Level and Blend control? I see this complaint quite a lot so there is clearly mileage in it. The only reason for a clean level knob that I can see for this is if you had a completely dry signal and using the pedal for its EQ only. And yes, if that is the intended use there are much cheaper pedals available to do that job! [/quote] Mimicking Dannybouy's feelings about it really. The only reason I'm being so critical is because of the commanding price tag probably. As far as tones go, the closest proximity to what I use was fairly flat aside from treble at around 1(o clock), full alpha, drive at 3 and level at 12 or 1 is(from memory) fat off off and I think the other one was on. For reference if you are interested my sound is a lot of Mad Capsule Markets bass tone around 4 plugs and Digidogheadlok album. Please don't get me wrong I loved the way it sounds and even implemented into my gear I could have thrown the BB pre-amp out. However just found the blend pretty useless for anything with what most would call a lot of drive, and it ended up just being another 'make louder' knob since you can't add any clean signal(remembering that turning anti clockwise is effectively a passive volume knob) My board consists of a pre-amp I use as a base clean sound(which I use but not often) and then the BB pre-amp is my overdrive/distortion. And I use it mostly straight into power amps, very rarely into amp pre-amps. But it's very much capable of both. This on the other hand is kind of capable but can say good bye to your clean blend if you need to use it as a standalone pre-amp. Obviously great for going straight to desks and the like though since input gain can be changed on the desk. In my opinion to make this pedal truely great is if it was setup more like the Ultra series stuff. So the distortion can be engaged and disengaged and still have a great but loud clean tone. But who am I kidding that's probably coming soon for £450 and a small version for £250. Cause that's how apple make money, and it's worked with the microtube family of pedals. Edited May 4, 2017 by Prime_BASS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Ok so actual demo video on my channel goes up tomoz morning 8am (ill post a link here) but was having fun combining the AO with other pedals on my board. love it and am actively having to tell myself to turn it of and not just use it all the time! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lInofM0hrxc&feature=youtu.be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 https://youtu.be/5ueyeeapxSU Full ao demo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted May 9, 2017 Share Posted May 9, 2017 Nice demo It is an amazing pedal, for sure. I haven't used the B3K channel on my amp alone since this pedal arrived... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 Just bought one...... incredibly impressive pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 Excellent, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 Was just about to buy one, then a used one popped up so I got in quick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 [quote name='Kev' timestamp='1494357662' post='3295350'] Nice demo It is an amazing pedal, for sure. I haven't used the B3K channel on my amp alone since this pedal arrived... [/quote] thanks man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oo.viper.oo Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 [quote name='Kev' timestamp='1493404718' post='3288169'] Won't it be marked as Class B digital because of the power supply? The pedal will be all analog, Darkglass do not use any digital circuitry. [/quote] Afaik some pedals are digitally controlled analog. I'm not saying Darkglass is, but that's how you do things efficiently nowadays. The way I understand it is that there's digital circuit translating manual controls (knobs) to actual states of various stages of analog circuit, which is then processing the signal. Advantage is that underlaying analog circuit can be much more complex and single knob can be translated to multiple "virtual" knobs controlling multiple analog stages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 (edited) [quote name='oo.viper.oo' timestamp='1498809445' post='3327137'] Afaik some pedals are digitally controlled analog. I'm not saying Darkglass is, but that's how you do things efficiently nowadays. The way I understand it is that there's digital circuit translating manual controls (knobs) to actual states of various stages of analog circuit, which is then processing the signal. Advantage is that underlaying analog circuit can be much more complex and single knob can be translated to multiple "virtual" knobs controlling multiple analog stages. [/quote] What you're describing is absolutely possible using digital pots (Tech21 use something similar on the Bass Driver and VT Bass Deluxe for presets) but the only digital circuit I'm aware of is for the control of the LEDs on the Super Symmetry Compressor and on the M900 amp and footswitch for channel switching (which is why a normal footswitch won't work!). There's the CD4049 CMOS chip that's in the M900, B*K and Vintage pedals though. It's a hex inverter buffer chip but not being used for digital logic! The Way Huge Red Llama (and a few other pedals - the Damnation Audio MBD-1 too I think) uses the same chip for distortion. Edited June 30, 2017 by Bigwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazBeen Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 [quote name='Kev' timestamp='1498682611' post='3326371'] Excellent, isn't it? [/quote] I love the B3/B7K for it's modern high gain tone but - I am a little harsh here as it is really not a 1 trick pony - it was "limited" to different variations of that great tone. The AO has that but so many added flavours it may well be the 1 pedal to rule all others. Tracked a new song with it yesterday, I am still smiling today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Mine should be arriving today. It has some serious competition to contend with as I'm very happy with my current arsenal of drives, so looking forward to seeing how it stacks up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1498820460' post='3327275'] Mine should be arriving today. It has some serious competition to contend with as I'm very happy with my current arsenal of drives, so looking forward to seeing how it stacks up! [/quote] First dibs if it doesn't settle in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 [quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1498826770' post='3327381'] First dibs if it doesn't settle in? [/quote] Not sure if I'm going to keep it yet but I will hang onto it for a few weeks to give it a chance! Immediate first impressions playing my Yamaha BB 1025X into Orange Terror Bass + Ampeg SVT210AV, were pretty disappointing. Warwick Streamer with humbuckers into a headphone amp however was a different story, sounded very nice indeed, I guess this is more like how the pedal was intended to be used, with Jon playing similar basses and going into a PA. I found the exact same thing with the B3K/B7K too. Hopefully will have some time for a bit of A/B testing over the weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjelkeman Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1493373741' post='3287830'] Deffo not digital, they are made by hand, however since they use tiny SMD components I expect they probably use a machine to do the actual soldering of components to the PCB! [/quote] The soldering is done by hand. How do I know? I watched it. [url=https://flic.kr/p/DXBw3D][/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VAMPYRE 5 Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Selling my B3K... Very dissapointed though the build quality is very much there. It's dissapointing that the volume from full clean drops by way of mix (clean signal unity my arse! That is until you move the mix to include drive). The attack was TOO harsh, settling on flat I fould it usable for cheesy Metallica cheap thrill but too harsh for anything Entwhistle string clanging, etc. Fat just bordered on farting! RAW added the classiest part of tone to the drive, full low-mid thickening. Just too 'Metal' for me & not convinced, unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted August 19, 2017 Share Posted August 19, 2017 (edited) New 'Alpha Omicron' on the way! https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/photo-8-19-17-1-04-13-am-png.1555823/ Edited August 20, 2017 by dannybuoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 (edited) [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1503182304' post='3356337'] New 'Alpha Omicron' on the way! https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/photo-8-19-17-1-04-13-am-png.1555823/ [/quote] Was close on an AO... Will probably buckle on this one... ... If I haven't sold the lot to buy a helix that is... Edited August 20, 2017 by Bigwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted August 20, 2017 Author Share Posted August 20, 2017 Is the new one basically a drive pedal version rather than a preamp? How are you AO people using the AO? Into the front of the amp or into the fx return? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolverinebass Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 [quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1503182304' post='3356337'] New 'Alpha Omicron' on the way! https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/photo-8-19-17-1-04-13-am-png.1555823/ [/quote] They've missed a trick by not calling it "Unicron." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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