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New Darkglass A/O amp


Cuzzie

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Oof! If new V2s are coming on at £1069 (and new V1s soon be out of stock), then I can't see that putting too much pressure on used V1 prices at their current circa £650 mark.

Ok I guess that's good news as an existing DG M900 owner, less so if you're looking to get a V2. 

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A grand is what I expected. At least it's not £2500 like for the Tech 21 Dug amp which isn't even remotely amusing. 

I'm much more inclined to this with several caveats. Okay, Darkglass aren't doing rack gear, but at least sell some ears or a mounting kit so we can do that if we wanted to. 

Seriously, midi presets. Just implement them! Not just channel switching, I mean recalling the position of every knob or fader. Think about that. It then becomes much more than an "on/off" 2 channel amp. Tech21 did this in 1989 with the PSA. Yes, that long ago. If I ever replace that, I want something that's got the same functionality or better. 

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20 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Oof! If new V2s are coming on at £1069 (and new V1s soon be out of stock), then I can't see that putting too much pressure on used V1 prices at their current circa £650 mark.

Ok I guess that's good news as an existing DG M900 owner, less so if you're looking to get a V2. 

Both safe for now then: £1,069!! 

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@Wolverinebass the feet at the bottom are screw in and screw out so it can be rack mounted - I remember someone on Talkbass showing how he did it a couple years back.

Also on that recent video he did nod towards someone out there, or maybe them who are producing official racks for it.

Pretty sure you can get a dUg Ultrabass cheaper 🙏🏾😘🤫

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I've been finding that using the V1 M900 VMT with my active J basses and the B3K with my passive P basses seems to provide me with the best results and I'm starting to use these combinations more regularly, live. 

But these new amps have got me thinking about what difference the AO (and X) dirt bring to the party? Is it a noticeable difference, or pretty nuanced and likely be lost in the mix? 

Would anyone who's tried them all like to have a go at summarising the difference in drive sounds between the VMT, B3K, AO and X? 

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20 hours ago, Al Krow said:

I've been finding that using the V1 M900 VMT with my active J basses and the B3K with my passive P basses seems to provide me with the best results and I'm starting to use these combinations more regularly, live. 

But these new amps have got me thinking about what difference the AO (and X) dirt bring to the party? Is it a noticeable difference, or pretty nuanced and likely be lost in the mix? 

Would anyone who's tried them all like to have a go at summarising the difference in drive sounds between the VMT, B3K, AO and X? 

I wouldn't say I'm an aficionado by any means, but I own a B7K (which I understand is very similar tonally to the B3K?) and an AO, and got to have an extended noodle with an X recently:

I think they serve slightly different purposes (for me at least). The B7K/3Ks are very much an "always on" pedal - they just do something buttery with the mids that gives my bass a lot of presence and makes me cut through a mix with two guitarists. It's fantastic. I feel the AO and X serve to add a bit of grind on top of that when needed.

I find the difference between the AO and X is that the X is a much more trebly and abrasive sounding pedal, whereas the AO seems to have more focus in the midrange. As a result I think the AO feels more part of a mix whereas the X comes above it at the expense of mids. To my ears the AO sounds like a smoother grind if that makes any sense? I think the AO is more versatile whereas the X is more a one trick pony, however it does its one thing amazingly well. The caveat to this would definitely be that I didn't find the X user interface particularly accessible, so there's a fair chance my lack of understanding stopped me from exploring its abilities completely. I honestly think it's very much a horses for courses thing between the two. The X doesn't do it for me but I can see how for someone who wanted that particular tone it is perfect.

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I have the B3K and the Duality. 

B3K for me is fine for low gain levels but I don't like the higher gain settings. It has replaced my Aguilar Agro which I used for nearly ten years and loved dearly but fell apart through use at so many gigs. Much as I loved the Agro, while it didn't so much have low end loss, it just doesn't have the girth that the 'grunt' switch on the B3K provides. 

Duality is great but only for fuzzed out passages or bass solos where I want the bass to sound like a guitar. It is great for that but not great as an always on fuzz.I am in the process of buying an Alpha Omega which will hopefully cover the middle ground between the duality and the B3K. This will mean that despite not being a Darkglass fanboi that I will own three Darkglass pedals...

Can't say I was that impressed with the X7 demos I have heard. The drive sounds a bit high and fizzy to me, which almost reminds me of my EBS Billy Sheehan drive I have been meaning to sell for the last year or so but can't be bothered to go up in my attic to find...

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On 24/01/2019 at 11:24, Wolverinebass said:

Well look, it's not what either of us want which is midi recallable presets. So you can rest assured you'll be disappointed.

I can't understand the reluctance to implement this. It makes gear so much more flexible.

I'm such an old fart that I just tend to set up so I sound lively and leave it at that.

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9 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

I'm such an old fart that I just tend to set up so I sound lively and leave it at that.

Midi has been around for nearly 40 years. It just annoys me when they proclaim "midi functionality" when it'll be nothing more than turning the distortion on and off. Maybe possibly even changing the cab IR, but I doubt it.

Come on!! A manual with no implementation chart isn't indicative of something that's worth considering as it suggests a lack of functionality. If that thing had proper midi presets I'd get it. It doesn't, so therefore it's not as good as my trusty Tech21 PSA1.1. If I can't change the distortion, eq and fx settings of the preamp and outboard gear with one foot controller button press then it's just not flexible enough.

Just my take on it. Quite a few of the things I do these days need that level of flexibility. A couple don't. If I didn't have it for some of the more involved projects I'd be stuffed with some of the effect chains I'm using.

Darkglass are making great stuff. This is a bit of an omission.

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8 hours ago, Wolverinebass said:

Midi has been around for nearly 40 years. Etc.

I suppose the thing with MIDI is that I never saw a place for it in what I was doing, so that whole area of technology never really had any impact on the sixteen notes a bar noise I've been churning out for years.

Anyhow, decision pretty much made here; I want to do a side by side with the A/O and the v2...providing I can nail the tone I want (which doesn't appear to be an issue; you know where I'm at now tonally), I'll just pull the trigger and then have a fire sale.

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37 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

I suppose the thing with MIDI is that I never saw a place for it in what I was doing, so that whole area of technology never really had any impact on the sixteen notes a bar noise I've been churning out for years.

Anyhow, decision pretty much made here; I want to do a side by side with the A/O and the v2...providing I can nail the tone I want (which doesn't appear to be an issue; you know where I'm at now tonally), I'll just pull the trigger and then have a fire sale.

What amp / cab set up are you currently using? 

Guess I'm just wondering whether an used AO ultra pedal might not be just as effective and a whole lot cheaper? 

Edited by Al Krow
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1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

What amp / cab set up are you currently using? 

Guess I'm just wondering whether an used AO ultra pedal might not be just as effective and a whole lot cheaper? 

Racked power plus a choice of GED, dUg, BDDI.  Rack tuner.

I'm pretty much of the mindset that I'm ready for a change to be honest; I don't need all this stuff and money isn't an issue!

As soon as Andertons have stock, I'll  A/B the two heads and see what's best.

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19 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

Racked power plus a choice of GED, dUg, BDDI.  Rack tuner.

I'm pretty much of the mindset that I'm ready for a change to be honest; I don't need all this stuff and money isn't an issue!

As soon as Andertons have stock, I'll  A/B the two heads and see what's best.

Personally, I'd imagine that the alpha would suit you better.

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