New Darkglass Products.....

[M@23]

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1506528371' post='3379383']
I must be missing something here, are these cabs not basically the same price if not a little cheaper than the berg/ vanderkley equivalent??

Edit: so Bass Direct have the equivalent Berg listed as £1499 so DG have come in cheaper, which is cool ☺
[/quote]

I don't really know DG as a brand, but Vanderkley and certainly Bergantino are tried and tested. Handbuilt, by the head honcho, using top components. These cabs aren't even built by Darkglass, are they? Not that it's a problem, really. Just, that is what you pay for with Vanderkley, Marc's own expertise and time.

[Wolverinebass]

Oh dear. Although it's cheaper now, Aguilar's 4x10 was initially priced at £1500. They saw sense and reduced the price by £300. Darkglass can now for me officially go and do one.

They won't have as much take up for these cabs as for their gradually becoming overpriced pedals. They're not offering anything new here. An almost 40kg 4x10 that costs that much is insane. People will go elsewhere. The Bergantino 4x10 is 25kg. Darkglass have went mental.

The icing on the cake of this total hubris is releasing an amp that is 400W less than the microtubes but somehow only costs £70 less. Really?!! Don't even get me started on the footswitch or the amp bag that costs £90! Come on!!

The pricing is tonto and they've messed up. A fact they'll realise eventually.

[Moog]

Zilla cabs maybe?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

It could be that they know that they're entering an already flooded marketplace with a product that no one really needs, and that they'll probably only sell them to owners of their electronics as a result of brand loyalty. That makes the number of cabs they think they can sell quite small, which raises the cost of building them, so they're pricing them accordingly.

[Count Bassy]

You're all missing the point here. The darkglass cabs obviously contain significantly more snake oil than other brands.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Count Bassy

[fretmeister]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1506547919' post='3379541']
It could be that they know that they're entering an already flooded marketplace with a product that no one really needs, and that they'll probably only sell them to owners of their electronics as a result of brand loyalty. That makes the number of cabs they think they can sell quite small, which raises the cost of building them, so they're pricing them accordingly.
[/quote]

Could be.

I also have a hazy memory of something from Economics at school - that Perrier water (I think it was them. Or another expensive water brand) was not originally called that name. It was something else and it was sold at a LOWER price that the other brands. It didn't sell at all - it was viewed as cheap.

So it was rebranded and sold at a price 50% HIGHER than everyone else and it sold. It was now viewed as exclusive and luxurious.

Same product. Just changed the bottle.

[Dood]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1506588510' post='3379698']
Could be.

I also have a hazy memory of something from Economics at school - that Perrier water (I think it was them. Or another expensive water brand) was not originally called that name. It was something else and it was sold at a LOWER price that the other brands. It didn't sell at all - it was viewed as cheap.

So it was rebranded and sold at a price 50% HIGHER than everyone else and it sold. It was now viewed as exclusive and luxurious.

Same product. Just changed the bottle.
[/quote]

Similarly, I recall that the english electronics company named Matsui simply chose the name at the time to sound like a far eastern brand and thus sell more products. Which of course, they did, because around the time, British manufacture wasn't so great.

[fretmeister]

the first "hi-fi" I ever had was a Matsui!

Record player, twin tapes, and the world's worst graphic equalizer!

And a whopping 7.5W RMS.

[EBS_freak]

I kinda like the looks of these things... but those are some serious prices that would buy you some serious gear. I doubt those 4x10s have the internals to justify those pricetags.

[Dood]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1506590423' post='3379723']
the first "hi-fi" I ever had was a Matsui!

Record player, twin tapes, and the world's worst graphic equalizer!

And a whopping 7.5W RMS.
[/quote]

We must have had the same system!!

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1506588510' post='3379698']
I also have a hazy memory of something from Economics at school - that Perrier water (I think it was them. Or another expensive water brand) was not originally called that name. It was something else and it was sold at a LOWER price that the other brands. It didn't sell at all - it was viewed as cheap. So it was rebranded and sold at a price 50% HIGHER than everyone else and it sold. It was now viewed as exclusive and luxurious.
[/quote]I can't speak to Perrier, but in the US most bottled water is tap water. The bottles it comes in cost more than the contents. It's a true testament to the notion that no one ever went broke [i](or lost an election )[/i] underestimating the intelligence of the American public.

[fretmeister]

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1506599995' post='3379834']
We must have had the same system!!
[/quote]

I got mine in about 1986

[fretmeister]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1506600326' post='3379836']
I can't speak to Perrier, but in the US most bottled water is tap water. The bottles it comes in cost more than the contents. It's a true testament to the notion that no one ever went broke [i](or lost an election )[/i] underestimating the intelligence of the American public.
[/quote]

My brother is a Foreign Exchange trader.
His mantra is "Never bet against stupid"

And he's right. He voted Remain (and fully understood the economics) and played the market anticipating a leave win.

He also assumed Trump would win because that was the stupid choice.

It's probably why he's got a London penthouse and I haven't ! (He can't play like I can though!)

[Dood]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1506603384' post='3379863']
I got mine in about 1986
[/quote]

Seriously man, are we related???? ha ha ha. I'm pretty sure mine was for Christmas probably that year. My brother had one too but a different model from nine and we used to have *cough ha ha* volume wars as to who was going to get their music through the house.

[Bigwan]

The Perrier example is almost word for word the same story as the Magners cider story my brother's been telling me for 15 years. "We'll up the price and convince people to drink cider with ice in".

[CameronJ]

I've stayed away from Darkglass because they charge such insane amounts of money for drive pedals which, let's be frank, don't cost a whole lot of money to develop and build. The ludicrous pricing of these cabs is the final nail in the coffin for me. Unjustifiable prices fuelled by indefensible motives. I'll take my custom elsewhere!

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1506612661' post='3379957']
The Perrier example is almost word for word the same story as the Magners cider story my brother's been telling me for 15 years. "We'll up the price and convince people to drink cider with ice in".
[/quote]It's like 'premium' fuel for your car. In the vast majority of cases it works no better, but since it costs more the masses are convinced that it must work better. In fact, owners of higher priced cars feel shorted if there isn't a sticker inside their fuel filler door that says high octane fuel is at the least recommended, if not required. And then there's the 'Fender Special Design' stickers that have adorned their drivers since the 1960s. Most of the time the only thing special about them was the sticker.

[xgsjx]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1506617178' post='3380000']
It's like 'premium' fuel for your car. In the vast majority of cases it works no better, but since it costs more the masses are convinced that it must work better. In fact, owners of higher priced cars feel shorted if there isn't a sticker inside their fuel filler door that says high octane fuel is at the least recommended, if not required. And then there's the 'Fender Special Design' stickers that have adorned their drivers since the 1960s. Most of the time the only thing special about them was the sticker.
[/quote]
In the US your Regular 91 fuel is about the same as UK standard fuel. We have 95 octane as regular & 98 octane as premium (which usually has additives such as stock 50 in it to help keep things clean).
For performance cars with a decent sized engine, then it does make a difference. Friend of mine has a BMW M3, which he'd been filling with 98 octane from new. after about a year, he thought he'd try saving some pennies by using the 95 octane. After a few months, the car didn't start on 1st turn & the MPG was down about 5. He switched back & shortly after, it was running like it was before.

My Qashqai only warrants 95 octane. If I could get the 89 octane in the UK, then that would be more than ample for the crappy engine in it.

Edited September 28, 2017 by xgsjx

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

I have a BMW 328, and it works the same with regular, premium or super premium. The M3 is a different engine entirely, so it can benefit from higher octane, by allowing more advanced timing. But those with the standard BMW engines only fool themselves when they think using more expensive gas saves them the price of buying an M.

[Painy]

Careful now taking about high octane fuel, somebody will mention those posh power cables next and that'll be a another can of worms opened!

[P-ZARN]

Andertons price for the M900 today is £925 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday it was £795 ?????????????

That's a price hike of just over 16%

Edited September 28, 2017 by P-ZARN

[Al Krow]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1506525498' post='3379348']
[b]As for these speakers, I don't see the point.[/b] They carry a price tag that could only be justified if they had new and/or superior technology, and there's no evidence of that.
[/quote]

+1000!!

Cuzzie has been egging me on (indeed from the very start of this thread) to share my views on DG and I've been (for once!) attempting to hold back on telling it like I see it.

But when Bill, who knows FAR more about cabs than most of us do, confirms what I've been thinking for a while, well ok...So here are my views with both barrels on DG gear generally:

[b]Over priced, over hyped and last year's sound.[/b] Pointless speakers? Well actually once the short lived buzz about the transient metal sound has fizzled out, IMHO [b]A pointless product range[/b]. There I've said it...

[Osiris]

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1506635594' post='3380151']

[b]Over priced, over hyped and last year's sound.[/b] Pointless speakers? Well actually once the short lived buzz about the transient metal sound has fizzled out, IMHO [b]A pointless product range[/b]. There I've said it...

[/quote]

Reading between the lines, am I right in thinking you're not too keen on Darkglass?

[Cuzzie]

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1506635594' post='3380151']


+1000!!

Cuzzie has been egging me on (indeed from the very start of this thread) to share my views on DG and I've been (for once!) attempting to hold back on telling it like I see it.

But when Bill, who knows FAR more about cabs than most of us do, confirms what I've been thinking for a while, well ok...So here are my views with both barrels on DG gear generally:

[b]Over priced, over hyped and last year's sound.[/b] Pointless speakers? Well actually once the short lived buzz about the transient metal sound has fizzled out, IMHO [b]A pointless product range[/b]. There I've said it...
[/quote]

Al, you held your opinion back a bit, but we may just get the message.....

[Jack]

Welll let's not be too hasty here. We need to remember that BC regulars are not representative of bass players at large. We're the ones who are geeky enough to find this place.

Having said that, my opinion is that 'the 99%' out there pretty much buy Ashdown or Ampeg, so maybe Darkglass won't sell anything to them either.

I recently sold my Kemper because I wanted to go back to something simpler and more analogish. Buttons, knobs, that kind of thing. Now, to be blunt, I have the money. I had a Kemper (and briefly a Helix too on loan that I was evaluating to replace the Kemper with) into one or a pair of FR800s. I happily paid £300 for the GK Plex as it's feature-laden and sounds great. I simply refused to pay £300+ for the Darkglass stuff, it's overpriced not in terms of absolute price but in terms of value for money. The cabs look the same, people pay that for Bergantino, Aguilar, MAS, etc all the time but I doubt they'll pay that kind of coin for a standard, heavy 4x10" with stock drivers simply because it says Darkglass.

Mind you, they still sell plenty of the pedals, so I hope they sell the cabs too! Always good to support the little people and help local businesses.