Good Distortion to pair with Darkglass B7K

[TomWIC]

My Darkglass B7K handles my always-on tone but as we’ve gone from two guitarists to one in recent years, I sometimes wish there was something “more” when it drops down to just me or the guitar is playing higher stuff.

I really like the idea of dialling the overdrive on the B7K down a little bit and adding in a separate distortion but I’ve been off the pedal scene for ages now and not sure what’s worth looking at. Another Darkglass; Alpha Omega/Omicron/Microtubes? Or is there something else that pairs well with the B7K?

Ballpark tone reference: Vman of Slipknot (Birth of the Cruel), Ali Dean of Architects.

[Cuzzie]

What guitar /pick ups is your guitarist using?

And Whats their sound like?

How distorted/crunchy

[TomWIC]

13 minutes ago, Cuzzie said:

What guitar /pick ups is your guitarist using?

And Whats their sound like?

How distorted/crunchy

LTD and Epiphone LP in Drop A# and Drop C respectively. He runs through a Kemper with a driven EVH and TubeScreamer tone.

[Cuzzie]

Ok......I’ll give my opinion- happily ignore!

So now that you only 1 guitarist it actually gives you both a whole heap of space to work.

He has big buckers popping out a whole heap of mid heavy over driven tone.

The B7K can give a really meaty sound, but in some ways you may need to get under him and over him if you want a distorted sound. For that you are looking at a crossover type pedal and if you are wedded to Darkglass Sound X7 would be your friend here.

Alternatively you may find there is too much fizz going giving an unclear sound if you and the guitarist distort, so you may want to consider going a lot cleaner either with the B7K or IMHO the AO is a way better engine not just for clean sound, but also the distortion engine compared to the B7k - it’s a proper evolution.

I love slipknot and if you go way back to bands like Pantera they are actually running a very clean bass sound.

Are you wedded to DG, if not, I may have other ideas  either to stack or in isolation.

What I will say is don’t stack the VMT and B7k, it’s crap

[TomWIC]

Cheers for the reply, got some good stuff to go on from that.

I like what I've heard online with a B7K and Alpha Omega paired together, but definitely (and my wallet will testify) not glued to adding another Darkglass pedal so am open to other options too.

[Cuzzie]

Ok,

You May find that the B7k alone clean and fattened up gives you exactly what you need in this scenario.

If your wallet is harbouring moths then a really budget friendly preamp often overlooked and built like a tank is the Hartke VXL (1st gen). They can be gotten for around 50 squid second hand.

This is prob about the best demo out there on it, and it can go a little dirty too. Works off standard mains or battery

https://youtu.be/C91FNiALTFY

[Cuzzie]

And i have paired it with the b7k and it works well

Edited January 14, 2020 by Cuzzie

[Cuzzie]

 

and this

[dannybuoy]

The Alpha Omega is a fine choice. You might miss the EQ if you go for the Omicron, I know I did!

You don’t need a high gain monster when stacking, as even a very mild overdrive that sounds subtle by itself will make a big difference when pushed into the B7K.

[thodrik]

4 hours ago, Cuzzie said:

Ok......I’ll give my opinion- happily ignore!

So now that you only 1 guitarist it actually gives you both a whole heap of space to work.

He has big buckers popping out a whole heap of mid heavy over driven tone.

The B7K can give a really meaty sound, but in some ways you may need to get under him and over him if you want a distorted sound. For that you are looking at a crossover type pedal and if you are wedded to Darkglass Sound X7 would be your friend here.

Alternatively you may find there is too much fizz going giving an unclear sound if you and the guitarist distort, so you may want to consider going a lot cleaner either with the B7K or IMHO the AO is a way better engine not just for clean sound, but also the distortion engine compared to the B7k - it’s a proper evolution.

I love slipknot and if you go way back to bands like Pantera they are actually running a very clean bass sound.

Are you wedded to DG, if not, I may have other ideas  either to stack or in isolation.

What I will say is don’t stack the VMT and B7k, it’s crap

Another recommendation for the Alpha Omega here. Though actually, I prefer using a B3K as my always on 'thick, nearly clean' basic sound with the AO set as a more high frequency 'grind' tone. I run the drive fairly low on the AO but the resulting stacked tone is fairly savage. Less is more when it comes to the gain. 

However, for an unsubtle, 'screw you guys, I'm turning the fuzz on' excess the Darkglass Duality is tough to beat. However, with the Duality there is no way of really tweaking it to being a moderate overdrive the sits well in a mix. 

I prefer using the AO for dirt rather than clean. Don't get me wrong, the clean sounds are great, however the drive is so flexible that I feel it is far more suitable as an extra drive source. I like the B3K on lower settings, but the higher gain settings are not to my tastes. I think that I would have the same views on the B7K. The AO has great flexibility allowing you to really tailor the drive to suit the characteristics of your bass. 

I also enjoyed using the Aguilar Agro as an extra drive on top of the B3K,  but it lacks the girth of the AO with the 'grunt' switch or any EQ capabilities. The Aguilar and AO though are great.