New Darkglass A/O amp

[NancyJohnson]

'Candygram!  Candygram for Mr Anthony!'

[Daz39]

So if it's standard Amazon style packing, you'll discover that the Amp is a keyring sized version

[NancyJohnson]

OK, first impressions.  Loud, gnarly, distorted, gwaaaaar.  And so on.  My initial preference is for the Alpha side...it just sounds more controlled.  I'll have a play over the weekend and report back. 

I would say that I tried it with the Barefaced Big One, lovely, but with the Aguilar SL112s it didn't procure such a happy result, so I suspect these will appear in the For Sale section over the weekend (don't worry mods, I'm paid up); it's simply not a happy pairing, they're simply not aggressive enough and I just feel that they're trying too hard to smooth things out, so there's little point in keeping them.  I'm hoping at some point to try these out with a pair of Barefaced BB2 courtesy of @Graemeross

More later...

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said:

OK, first impressions.  Loud, gnarly, distorted, gwaaaaar.  And so on.  My initial preference is for the Alpha side...it just sounds more controlled.  I'll have a play over the weekend and report back. 

I would say that I tried it with the Barefaced Big One, lovely, but with the Aguilar SL112s it didn't procure such a happy result, so I suspect these will appear in the For Sale section over the weekend (don't worry mods, I'm paid up); it's simply not a happy pairing, they're simply not aggressive enough and I just feel that they're trying too hard to smooth things out, so there's little point in keeping them.  I'm hoping at some point to try these out with a pair of Barefaced BB2 courtesy of @Graemeross

More later...

Congrats on the new purchase! And Paul, I love the fact that you're sharing how you're finding it 'warts and all' - makes it sooo much more useful hearing what you have to say - so thanks very much for that.

[Al Krow]

And just so that your box is not feeling too lonely, here's what arrived on the Krow doorstep this morning too 😀😂

[Al Krow]

...and, in case I'm at risk of misleading, it's not a DG A/O but something a hundred times less sexy! 

Just thought it an amusing coincidence we both had a Thomann box on the same day 😊

Edited April 5, 2019 by Al Krow

[NancyJohnson]

@Graemeross kindly dropped over his pair of BB2s and I've been ramping things up.

The AO certainly suits the BB2s over the Aguilars, so I'll concentrate on these for the review element.

It's a truly lovely head...despite the 900w rating, this is into 2ohms, so expect 375w into an 8ohm configuration.  I'm leaning more towards the Alpha side tonally; it just has more scooped mids and is more dUg sounding.  It's very suprising to me how different my basses actually sound through this; the 5 string Lull is way phatter than the JAXT4 despite sharing the same pickups and loom.  The old Aria P-bass is just gnarly.

Of the head itself, little tweaks make so much difference.  A touch of anything affects everything elsewhere.  I prefer to run things flattish tonally, but the graphic is very sensitive.  The cabinet emulation/shaping option on the rear doesn't seem to have any real effect, maybe in a bigger room it may.

Anyhow, that's it for now.

[Cuzzie]

Looking sweet, and sounding sweet too by the inference.

Keep playing!

[Al Krow]

59 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

It's a truly lovely head...despite the 900w rating, this is into 2ohms, so expect 375w into an 8ohm configuration. 

Actually you're going to get a LOT more juice through an 8ohm than that, methinks.

900W is into both 2ohms and also 4ohms, right, on the DG amps?

So expect nearer 650W through 8 ohms.

Bottom line: copious headroom.

Edited April 6, 2019 by Al Krow

[NancyJohnson]

30 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Bottom line: copious headroom.

This is something I try to explain to my wife when she asks why I need 900w.  

I've A/B'd with Graeme's BB2s and my Big One; in terms of how they sound, they're both pretty thunderous, but to my ears the BB2 cabinets (these are 3rd Generations) edge things on the tightness side, while the BO is a tad looser and warmer.  A little tweak on the EQ makes them pretty indistinguishable from each other, so I won't be rushing to buy any additional enclosures.

What a great way to spend a Saturday.

[Al Krow]

41 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

This is something I try to explain to my wife when she asks why I need 900w.  

I do get abuse from some of my BC mates when I mention I look for a minimum of around 500W (at 8 ohms) in my amps

Ok, so I may not need anything like that much for most gigs (300W output should cut it), but it's good not to have to push your amp to the max every time you use it; if, for nothing else, just from a wear & tear / reliability perspective.

Btw - love the garden you've got too  

Edited April 6, 2019 by Al Krow

[NancyJohnson]

24 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Btw - love the garden you've got too  

When we looked at this place, honestly, it was semi-derelict.  The place hadn't been touched in 40+ years or more.  The room I have my gear in is a brick extension that the previous owners were using for storage, we took the roof off and put in a glass roof in, doors into the garden etc.  We use this more than our regular lounge.

[Al Krow]

Sounds wonderful! 

[fretmeister]

I was under the impression that the cab sims only wrk on the DI and the headphone out? Not the speaker outs?

[NancyJohnson]

3 hours ago, fretmeister said:

I was under the impression that the cab sims only wrk on the DI and the headphone out? Not the speaker outs?

From the manual - there's no inference that this setting is exclusive to DI or cans:

CAB SELECT: Switches between 3 different cabinet impulses and bypass this section for a rawer sound.

[dannybuoy]

3 hours ago, fretmeister said:

I was under the impression that the cab sims only wrk on the DI and the headphone out? Not the speaker outs?

I could be wrong but I think Doug from @Darkglass confirmed this in another thread elsewhere a while back?

[Al Krow]

2 minutes ago, dannybuoy said:

I could be wrong but I think Doug from @Darkglass confirmed this in another thread elsewhere a while back?

Does kinda make very good sense though.

Why would you want to put a cab sim through another cab?

If you want to go FRFR you can do via the DI.

[fretmeister]

Yup, an IR into a real cab would sound very dark indeed. 

 

Ive done it by accident with my Helix and it sounds like derrière. 

[fretmeister]

Darkglass User group on FB appears certain the IRs are not on the speaker outs. 

[thodrik]

On 06/04/2019 at 10:44, NancyJohnson said:

@Graemeross kindly dropped over his pair of BB2s and I've been ramping things up.

The AO certainly suits the BB2s over the Aguilars, so I'll concentrate on these for the review element.

It's a truly lovely head...despite the 900w rating, this is into 2ohms, so expect 375w into an 8ohm configuration.  I'm leaning more towards the Alpha side tonally; it just has more scooped mids and is more dUg sounding.  It's very suprising to me how different my basses actually sound through this; the 5 string Lull is way phatter than the JAXT4 despite sharing the same pickups and loom.  The old Aria P-bass is just gnarly.

Of the head itself, little tweaks make so much difference.  A touch of anything affects everything elsewhere.  I prefer to run things flattish tonally, but the graphic is very sensitive.  The cabinet emulation/shaping option on the rear doesn't seem to have any real effect, maybe in a bigger room it may.

Anyhow, that's it for now.

Love the set up. I think that I have the same TV! Cheers also for the review. 

I just have the Alpha Omega pedal. I also very much prefer the Alpha side.

[Al Krow]

8 minutes ago, thodrik said:

Love the set up. I think that I have the same TV! Cheers also for the review. 

I just have the Alpha Omega pedal. I also very much prefer the Alpha side.

Am I right in thinking that the drive goes from subtle to fuzz, but the Omega is more of a 'fizzy' drive compared to Alpha at any given drive setting?

[thodrik]

58 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Am I right in thinking that the drive goes from subtle to fuzz, but the Omega is more of a 'fizzy' drive compared to Alpha at any given drive setting?

Personally, I don't find that the Alpha/Omega is really subtle enough for my 'always on' type of sound. . 

In terms of my favourite overdrive pedals (the Aguilar Agro and B3K) at very low gain settings you can an almost 'pre breakup' sound, that sounds like valve amp being driven hard before heavy overdrive or fuzz is generated  (basically a bit of good old 'clank'.). I love that sound as my basic 'go to' sound. I bought the A/O as a 'bit of crunch' setting because I really don't like the inherent top end 'fizz' of the B3K. The Alpha side of the A/O is a great 'crunchy overdrive' sound which is a good effect for certain parts. For complete full on fuzz though I think that the Duality I have is better than the A/O pedal, even with the extra EQ on the A/O pedal. 

In terms of the Alpha/Omega pedal at least, I have found that there is always quite a bit of 'hair' in the signal. The Omega side to me is more of a fizzy high end, square wave type of distortion, that I think would be great for more modern metal sounds. The Alpha side is more of an old school fuzz/distortion which sounds great when paired with a Fender style bass. It is more subtle, but you can always hear a good deal of grit in the signal. 

Basically, if I was still playing in a Djent band, I would be playing with the Omega side. Now that I back playing 70s inspired rock it is the Alpha side. In total honesty, since buying the Mesa Big Block I can get pretty much get my ideal basic sound by plugging straight into the amp and my ideal fuzz sound with the onboard overdrive with the amp which is like a Duality+ on the high gain settings. 

It sounds like I am overly criticising the A/O pedal, but I want to make clear that it is a really well designed and highly flexible pedal. I just don't think that the initial design of A/O pedal warranted the quick release of the Omicron pedal and A/O Ultra pedal immediately after. I thought the same with Mesa releasing the D800, then quickly releasing the D800 plus. It might be me being cynical but it seems that bass gear is being marketed like smart phones in that products are slowing being released in stages purely to maximise financial gain. Release product A, knowing that you already have Product A+ and product A- pretty much ready to go, knowing that a certain percentage of your fanbase will buy product A and then product A+ or product A-. 

I know companies and people in the music industry have to make money (I am lawyer these days, so pot kettle black), but some of the Darkglass social media hype and 'OMG' product launch videos and social media 'reviews' that are really paid advertisements are a big turn off for me, even though I will freely admit that every aspect of is extremely well done. It is why I find Basschat so valuable, because people are actually willing to give 'warts and all' real world reviews of gear and are willing to be critical of gear they have bought and actually really like!
 

Edited April 7, 2019 by thodrik

[Al Krow]

@thodrikgreat review, thanks! 

It sounds like the VMT / B3K on the M900 v1 should suffice from a dirt perspective for my needs then. From what you are saying, the AO circuit seems to be a different flavour of DG dirt, but still very much recognisable as a DG dirt in the same family as VMT / B3K. 

[thodrik]

46 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

@thodrikgreat review, thanks! 

It sounds like the VMT / B3K on the M900 v1 should suffice from a dirt perspective for my needs then. From what you are saying, the AO circuit seems to be a different flavour of DG dirt, but still very much recognisable as a DG dirt in the same family as VMT / B3K. 

I would recommend trying out an A/O if you can though to see if you prefer the flavour. I haven't tried the VMT drive yet. I would probably prefer it to the higher gain settings of the B3K.

[Al Krow]

13 minutes ago, thodrik said:

I would recommend trying out an A/O if you can though to see if you prefer the flavour. I haven't tried the VMT drive yet. I would probably prefer it to the higher gain settings of the B3K.

I suspect my taste is more in line with yours if your favourites are the B3K and Aggie Agro, but if I happen across an AO pedal on my travels (eg at Wunjos) I'll certainly give it a try.