Ah, so that is what I heard… I really wasn’t sure what it could have been I was hearing (just not too familiar with all these gizmos and the artifacts they might or might not create), but this makes a lot of sense now! Thanks for clearing that up
Yeah you can hear it on the clean bass track pretty clearly. Embarrassing
hey @howard, at least I had the time to listen to all your samples carrefully on the VXT8s. to me everything sounds a bit “too much”, but I suppose that’s mandatory to show (to us but also to yourself) the range of the preamp/pedal.
what’s interresting to me is that it keeps a pretty clean and deep low end even with the relatively high gain saturated higher frequencies. that low end is really only a low end, with no low mid content, and I think that’s a big part of what gives this distinctive modern sound.
I’m pretty sure you will find an excellent tone !
Yep I was more or less min/maxing some of the knobs there. The low pass filter is wide open the whole time too.
I kept the mids down for most of it as well, good ear
One thing I did not do was roll the hi pass on a lot while it was overdriving - that results is a huge ton of nice distortion but wasn’t what I was looking to illustrate.
It’s actually really flexible. The low pass filter controls the clean signal while the hi pass is what gets diverted to the drive. There is a huge mid scoop that you can undo with the mids control. The Mix knob conntrols the low/clean vs hi/dirty balance. the top two are level and drive, as you would expect.
The only thing missing is the dual distortion circuits like the Alpha Omega/Omicron - that’s what differentiates them from this. This one is more like a new take on the B3K.
yeah I understood it’s based on a crossover filter that starts everything, and then the signal is treated as two different components, then re-combined together.
that was the logic of the old Klon Centaur, at the time everybody was in love with this crazy expensive overdrive. I was not the biggest fan myself, but I never tried with a bass (it was a guitar overdrive) and what I didn’t like was actually the very clean ending sound. that’s not what I want with a guitar, but it makes much more senses with a bass because the lower frequencies are very prone to sound very dirty (in a non-musical way).
so, yeah, I also undersood your demo sampes were a bit extreme, that’s necessary to get familiar with new gear ! and I’m pretty sure you have now everything to get a pretty excellent tone ! a BDI21, then a Battalion, then a Microtube … what’s next ? a Bass POD ?
Hehehe yep, if there’s one thing I have, it’s dirt
And a lot of tone control too, <3 the Battalion.
Here’s an example that is still a little overdone but more punchy with mids rolled on, but still with the high pass limiting the drive to a very tight, modern clanky buzz at over 1Khz, and the full clear lows:
The low-pass filter tops out at 500Hz and the mids knob boosts at 500 as well, leading to some nice low-mids synergy between the two.
oh yeah, this last one sounds much better to me. still sounds very “darkglass” but more natural, more lively. I like this one very much !
500 Hz is pretty high for low mid (if it means something ) but that’s nice, it gives a fuller tone yet scooped and clean in a modern bass tone way.
BTW I forgot to mention, you might be in luck - recently I am seeing a lot of B3K clones for sale. I think someone is manufacturing them. Here’s a few I saw recently:
That’s just a search for “darkglass b3k”. The clones are taking over the top hits on the search
not a big surprise since the schematics have been published on two blogs recently, but yeah that’s a good news for us (and less for Darkglass). might get one if I find one at a good price in France, that’s a good idea !
keep it simple stupid.lows mid range and compressor. we dont do treble learn how to own those places the rest comes easy no love above the 5th. not a chugger im just a slugger press the pedal and go!
I just ordered this pedalboard, thanks to the recommendation of @JoshFossgreen in this tread.
https://www.templeaudio.com/shop/product/duo-17-309?category=7
I only have 4 pedals right now, but they have become unruly, sliding around on my wood floor so I can’t seem to keep them together.
two words “rubber mat” maam i only have one it all about the ol school for me its a daneletro compressor i love that old crimson and clover sound and it gives me that i can pull some great fills with it
@steeler.fan51 Are you saying all you use is a rubber mat?
I’m not sure how I missed this before but the Microtubes X Ultra has a parametric cab sim built in to its DI out. It’s updatable parametrically via software. That’s a cool feature, something their other top tier DIs like the Alpha Omega or the X7 don’t have, as far as I know anyway.
I really like my Microtubes X; the X Ultra is just over the top. That would make a great standalone preamp or all-in-one too.
Of course, it also costs more than many basses. A $500 pedal better bring some game
@PamPurrs, I liked the look of that pedalboard, it seems great. More then I wanted to spend tho.
I opted for this r $55, with bag and Velcro from Amazon. I also did not want to order from multiple sellers, and wait a week or more for it, that was a decider as well in not getting what you got.
This was gonna have to do
Then I was at the only music shop open in my area, the Guitar and pawn.
Saw this on the floor. Wheeled and dealer to get t t the door for $45.
The other one will be Amazon credit on my account, and turn into a pedal of some kind. Just like magic.
But I have plenty of space on this one, and it’s already got Velcro all over, and under for power supply
Anyway, congrats on yours, can’t wait to s it together.
Speaking of DI boxes @howard, can you explain these settings to me? I cant figure out what the heck the switches are. I opened the box looking for them. What am I missing, am I just an Idiot?
Wait, don’t answer that.
Lo.
I have no idea what those switches are. The “mic” looks like settings for a cab sim. What is that from?
edit: looks like you got the manual for a GDI-21, not a BDI-21
The BDI-21.i thought you would know how to do the cab sims on it. Sorry for not being clear.
Pretty sure that’s a GDI-21 manual. BDI-21 doesn’t have anything like that. GDI-21 does.