Guest Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 There was a time a few years ago when I bought multiple Darkglass pedals for an alt rock band I was in. Then I left that and played indie stuff for which Darkglass was inappropriate. Then earlier this year I returned to the same previous alt rock band and decided on a completely fresh approach to how I was going to add dirt to the bass. So I got out my old Darkglass pedals (B7KUv2, X, Duality fuzz) and yuck, I couldn’t stand what I previously thought sounded great, whatever settings I tried! I put them back on the shelf and tried my Sansamp Bass Driver v2 and it ticks the boxes for this band so much better. That clanking, abrasive Darkglass sound just isn’t for me now, and it’s got me wondering - is the Darkglass sound now maybe a bit passé, stale? Or was it always only really appropriate for the harsher forms of metal music? Or do bass players just get less into distortion when they get older? I welcome your thoughts… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 (edited) Sell them and get something new! Try something analog. I'm 50 and i just got a new custom distortion pedal so i dont think it has anything to do with age! Edited May 23, 2023 by lidl e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 22 minutes ago, lidl e said: Sell them and get something new! Try something analog. I'm 50 and i just got a new custom distortion pedal so i dont think it has anything to do with age! Yes I should sell them. I’m pretty happy with the Sansamp to be honest. At least for now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDinsdale Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 I think the Darkglass stuff is quality gear and can be dialled in for way less of that well known tone. Tastes change, I've gone the opposite where I only ever really used a little compressor a few years back but now my board is full of snarly grit and clanky drives. There are a lot of flavours of distortion out there to sample, some more nourishing than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted May 23, 2023 Share Posted May 23, 2023 7 minutes ago, Lord Summerisle said: Yes I should sell them. I’m pretty happy with the Sansamp to be honest. At least for now! Get crazy and get a multi effects heavy on modulation and filters! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 I think it became too much of a 'let's get that clanky darkglass distorted tone' on the bass on a lot of metal/heavier music. I still prefer the Tech 21 pedals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 1 hour ago, Musicman20 said: I think it became too much of a 'let's get that clanky darkglass distorted tone' on the bass on a lot of metal/heavier music. I still prefer the Tech 21 pedals. Agreed. And at some point the actual purpose of a bass guitar can be lost with that clankiness - the bass is mostly about providing bass and mids rather than loads of treble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted May 24, 2023 Share Posted May 24, 2023 I really love the V2 Bass Driver. The mids feature just gives the sound so much more character than the old v1. However, I would highly recommend running a Darkglass overdrive into a Bass Driver with both pedals set to low gain and with the Darkglass upper end boosts turn to 'off' to reduce the clank. I run a v1 Alpha Omega into the Sansamp and it sounds great. In fact I have generally found that a Bass Driver improves the sound of most linear non-preamp overdrives. However, I totally get what the OP is getting at. I far prefer the sound of the Bass Driver or the VT Bass as an actual preamp compared to the B7K Ultra (though I haven't tried the Vintage Ultra which is probably more my thing). I still have a B3K which I have been using for 6/7 years but I have never been entirely sold on it. The old Aguilar Agro I had just had a lot more character, however the absence of a blend or EQ meant it needed an additional EQ. The Darkglass gear is good, however the marketing style is really off-putting to me, despite me running three Darkglass pedals on my board for the best part of 6-7 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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