I mean, I got one on my board, and just got this new DarkGlass Alpha Omega ultra, and if it were to come down to a pick between the two, well, we know who wins that battle.
1 Like
Oh hell yeah. Just been looking at the Darkglass stuff. Obviously quality with that price tag but do I really need to pay that sort of dollar if I’m only doing what I’m doing now. I think what I’m going to do is lurk around on eBay etc and try to pick up a bargain when I can
1 Like
Yes it is quality.
Yeah it is crazy expensive
Do you or I really need to pay that sort of money if we are just doing what we are doing.
The right answer is NO
The answer I would have given you 4 days ago is NO
I would still say NO if I had to buy one at full price.
The answer after getting it, playing with it for a few hours, with my bass, thru the computer, into headphones,
then playing with it while it was hooked up USB to the computer, and figuring how to connect to the Darkglass Suite and access internal controls, and load amp and cab modules.
then furthering my research and figuring out how to first FIND, then DOWNLOAD for FREE, then UNPACK (all of which took time to locate and learn) then finally LOAD into the pedal and test out the sound.
Ok, doing all that, what I said, playing with it, and all the work, really was only a few hours of time.
What was amazing was that, first I plugged in, and I started playing thru the pedal, and played with this setting - DAMN, that’s a useable sound, perfect sustain, not too much bleeding over, nice and crisp, etc…
turn a few nobs, change it up a bit, DAMN, that is a useable sound.
almost anywhere this is set is useable.
THEN when I was hooked to the computer, I was able to turn the BLEND off (that makes the DRIVES, when on be BLENDED) and when it is off, there and it is on, the 2nd footswitch toggles between the Alpha and Omega
After that, I got a whole ton more useable sounds.
Then when I loaded the IR’s that I found on the Web, I got a cab sim of my SWR amp, and loaded it and it was great, and the other ones were too, I could distinguish between them.
YES YES YES YES YES
Pedal is worth the money.
Is it worth me spending it, probably not, but the pedal is worth it.
I always have to tweak my drive and muff, especially when they are on together, then I settle on a sound. then when they are apart, I have to tweak again, then settle on a sound.
with this pedal, all the sounds are amazing, and I can easily find what I am looking for with a few tweaks that I am becoming very accustomed to.
it is right Nasty good.
4 Likes
I’m not listening…la,la,la,la 
I’d love one but at this moment in time it’s really not an option. Having said that I am going to be on the hunt for other pedals lol
4 Likes
it would never have been an option for me either. it just so happens that this opportunity for me to get one cheap thru a trade. it is a $400 pedal, and I dot it for a $200 pedal plus $70. once I realized what the Alpha Omega was ( I researched it because it was the only thing he had that I wanted to trade for, and he had to sell a bunch of pedals to buy my pedal)
and when I realized it ALSo had headphone jack, that sold me.
Because he wanted my pedal, and I didn’t want to wait a long time for him to round up the money, I decided to try to trade for this pedal, and the deal was made.
I could not be happier with the results of this trade, I think I clearly won.
lol
he got what he wanted tho. I traded him the Agiular Agro.
This was another OD that I had a hard time finding the right sound and when I did, it was a compromise where I settled for good enuf in stead of perfect. The Alpha Omega gives me perfect.
3 Likes
Yep looking at prices you’ve done well . Good thing is you both got something decent out of the deal.
What I’ve got to do now is curb my over enthusiasm and wait for good deals to come up. I’m half tempted to stick with Eletro Harmonix stuff but I don’t want to limit my options on the other hand 
2 Likes
EHX us good, some good pricing too.
There is lots of good stuff out there as well, cuz a lot of the cheap ones pedals are clones for the good ones. Some are good clones, some not so good.
JOYO is starting to make some pretty good stuff. GOKKO as well. MOOER, even some others. You can get a decent OD pedal for under $100. FuZZ too.
There are some nice looking Octave Pedals out there under $100 too, I will link you to some.
The EHX POG is not a cheaper option for that.
This is when it starts getting fun. Sometime if you find a good deal, that is enuf to decide on that pedal.
2 Likes
So I folded and ordered the Behringer DI 
3 Likes
That was too easy.
You work fast.
I better find you an overdrive pedal fast.
2 Likes
My missus is looking at $200 cowgirl hats so I reckon I could slip an o/d pedal in lol
3 Likes
@Mac, you could get the
[> Pro Co Rat](Pro Co RAT2 Distortion Pedal Amazon.com)
Or [this Caline could](Caline CP-65 Bass Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal Amazon.com) be good, Guns and Guitars have rated some of their pedals good, and he is a bass player.
This is my overdrive pedal, [the PLUMES by Earthquakes Labs.](EarthQuaker Devices Plumes Small Signal Shredder Overdrive Guitar Effects Pedal Amazon.com) Hand Made here in the US, they are very high quality. I really do like this OD, price is not cheap, but not expensive, it is a good Tube Driver with a few added features.
Or you could start with a [JOYO, like this.](JOYO R-11 Baatsin Distortion and Overdrive Pedal Multi Effect Pedal Pure Analog Circuit with 8 Different OD/DS Effects https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085G6KYH6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_tFQnFbPH7E9B1) You can’t go wrong unless you get something that is just crap, send it back. I find you can find a useable sound with lots of pedals, and if you get one that you don’t think you will use much, don’t keep it.
It’s ok to start with the cheap drives to get going, and you may need a new one or another one later.
That Pro Co rat IS the one that many others model.
It is a great price. It is a very raspy blunt in your face overdrive bordering on a Fuzz pedal. There is also a model of it in the Zoom B1 four that you could play around with. It is a pretty accurate model as well.
There are others, I will list later. i have not hit the OVER $100 pedals yet.
I can find some good ones that you can tag people in your family with for your birthday present. Lol
I will get back to ya in a bit.
2 Likes
I’m going to be the fly in the ointment here…
Is a compressor even necessary in your pedal chain?
I’m far from being an expert on effects, so this is just an innocent question.
The reason I ask is because I have tried some compressor sims on my Zoom B3n, and they always seem to ruin the sound of the other effects.
Specifically, right now I’m working on something using the Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer (sim), and it sounds great. But if I add a compressor, it seems to lose a great deal of quality. Perhaps I’m doing something wrong, but for the moment I feel as if I’m better off leaving a compressor out of the party. (Yes, I’ve tried it at different positions in the chain)
I’ve also read that performers seldom use compressors. I’m not sure how true that is.
4 Likes
of course, NOTHING is necessary. and i used to listen to the youtube vids demonstrating compression and have a really hard time hearing that it was doing anything at all. ditto for playing with the compression on the zoom. it wasn’t until i got my spectracomp and used some of the preconfigured settings that the light went on, instantly made everything sound much better and not subtly either. hell, even my wife can hear it 
it’s one of my “always on” pedals now. i’m sure there are a ton of stage guys that don’t use it, and a ton that do. but the key i think is, it is pretty much the only thing that i think almost all studio guys use. there has to be a reason for that. i think it’s really a matter of getting it dialed in to suit you. i personally do the opposite with compression vs other effects, and max it out to start and go down from there.
6 Likes
i might also add that it tends to be most noticeable with more dynamic playing styles, like pick, slap, or just aggressive fingerpicking. much to my surprise i have discovered that i have a super light plucking style, so i need more compression (and dynamic based effects like envelope filters).
5 Likes
@PamPurrs if you’re having the compression make things sound worse you are definitely doing something extreme 
I’d recommend running the compressor before your distortion (unless you want to be very, very metal) and use light settings, just enough to add sustain and even things out. Compression for most styles is usually a really subtle effect - generally if you can easily hear it compressing noticably, it’s probably cranked a little too high. In general, it should just be making things sound more “even” and “better”.
As for compressors not being used much - I have no idea where you read that but it is completely incorrect in my experience. In extremis, I would be willing to bet that nearly 100% (not an exaggeration - either 100% or close to it) of recorded music today has had some form of compression applied at some point, if only by the sound engineer, even for purely acoustic instruments (and sometimes especially for clean guitar).
Guitarists use compression a lot in lots of styles, even more than bass, and I’d also be willing to bet it’s one of the most common pedals bassists buy too. Especially for slap and pick but also for other styles. But this isn’t even style-limited; as a random example, compression is apparently considered vital for country/western guitar tone these days:
And when you think about it it makes sense - levelling both the sharp twang and the sustain of your typical country guitar sound is a perfect application for a compressor. Quote from the article nails it:
Compression is one of the most vital thickening effects for country guitar because of its ability to add more sustain to fatten up clean runs and smoothly tame the sharp peaks of chicken pickin’ licks. It also adds a beautifully lush and boosted clean tone that can sound incredibly dynamic if you have great technique.
That’s actually a good description of compression across a lot of genres. There’s a reason people refer to their compressors as “always on.”
Could you share the source for that information you read? Now I’m curious.
3 Likes
I’m not posting this vid because it’s my pedal I swear 
but it has a lot of easy to hear examples of what compression does for you, especially the slap guy at around 2:30. They tend to run the pedal at 12:00, I have mine a little higher at around 2:00.
5 Likes
unrelated but Josh Dubois’ red NG2 in that vid 
3 Likes
I have been impressed with JOYO pedals. I don’t own one, and have returned some, but not because there was anything wrong with them, just because they were going against a noticeably better (and more expensive) pedal.
I have had good results with GOKKO as well, and same thing, I don’t own one, but for the same reason. I sent the GOKKO Creepy Reverb back, and still have the Boss RV-6 (3x the cost of the GOKKO) and I am not sure that the Creepy was not a better pedal for me. I may be sending back the Boss, and keep the hunt for a Reverb pedal alive, and it may go full circle back to the GOKKO Creepy pedal in the end, who knows.
I actually have not seen this JOYO MOON BASS. maybe its a regional thing, but it looks like it could be a good simple OD that will certainly do the trick in your line after the compressor. Did it say weather it is a HIGH GAIN pedal or CLEAN Gain or LOW GAIN pedal? Not that it matters, but if it is clean or low, it can be the perfect pedal to pair with a high gain, or fuzz pedal. of course a High gain could be perfect to pair with a Low or clean gain, or fuzz pedal.
Thing about pedals, this goes for you too @PamPurrs, if you like the result, you did it right, if not, keep tweaking til you do, or get a different pedal and tweak it til you do. when you like the sound you are getting, you did it right
1 Like
Here is a great JHS PEDALS video talking about stacking pedals. These are for guitar, but same premise for bass. keep in mind they are just SOME examples of what you can do, and he urges you to just keep playing with things and finding what you like.
Sadly, he does not stack anything with a compressor, but it is just something you need to test out til you like it.
1 Like