Darkglass Vintage Deluxe vs Aguilar Tone Hammer

[AinsleyWalker]

So I've had my Vintage Deluxe for ages and always used it as a drive pedal, but I'm finding myself needing a preamp lately so I've started using it as a preamp/EQ section early on in my chain.
I see a lot of people using the Tone Hammer for a similar role and I wondered how the two compare.
Anyone have any opinions on the two pedals and the their abilities as drive/preamp pedals? 

[Lozz196]

I’ve no experience of the Darkglass but the Tonehammer is great if wanting a warm, vintagey, valley sound. Due to the immense hike in volume if you apply the AGS it’s not really any good to use as a 2 channel pedal but you could set a great eq sound from the TH then add in the DG for drive, or do the opposite depending on which pedals tone you prefer as your always on eq/sound.

[AinsleyWalker]

11 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I’ve no experience of the Darkglass but the Tonehammer is great if wanting a warm, vintagey, valley sound. Due to the immense hike in volume if you apply the AGS it’s not really any good to use as a 2 channel pedal but you could set a great eq sound from the TH then add in the DG for drive, or do the opposite depending on which pedals tone you prefer as your always on eq/sound.

Yeah I've heard about the volume hike which is a real shame because if not, it'd solve both my EQ/drive needs

Edited August 23, 2019 by AinsleyWalker

[CameronJ]

I wonder if anyone has ever modded the gain in the AGS circuit on a Tonehammer to make it more useable?

[dannybuoy]

You’d need to use a different foot switch that introduced a secondary master volume control when AGS was on. Probably possible, but like the Vintage Ultra, you’d really want separate EQ settings between clean and dirty, making the whole two channel option less appealing.

Both very different pedals... the Darkglass adds a layer of distorted mids onto your clean tone, keeping the low end clean and uncompressed. The EQ is brilliant, 3 selectable bands for both high and low mids. The Tone Hammer on the other hand is more of a full range drive, so your low end can get a bit blurry. Also the mid control is pre-drive, so you can keep it flat or boosted for a Motown vibe or scoop it right back for a Sansamp style drive, two sounds that the Darkglass can struggle to replicate.

Edited August 24, 2019 by dannybuoy

[AinsleyWalker]

9 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

You’d need to use a different foot switch that introduced a secondary master volume control when AGS was on. Probably possible, but like the Vintage Ultra, you’d really want separate EQ settings between clean and dirty, making the whole two channel option less appealing.

Both very different pedals... the Darkglass adds a layer of distorted mids onto your clean tone, keeping the low end clean and uncompressed. The EQ is brilliant, 3 selectable bands for both high and low mids. The Tone Hammer on the other hand is more of a full range drive, so your low end can get a bit blurry. Also the mid control is pre-drive, so you can keep it flat or boosted for a Motown vibe or scoop it right back for a Sansamp style drive, two sounds that the Darkglass can struggle to replicate.

Thanks for the insight! I'm using the Vintage Deluxe not the Ultra though, by the way!