Buying Guide: Darkglass Bass Amps and Effects

No matter which Darkglass bass amp you choose, you'll have a ton of tonal flexibility at your fingertips.

The Alpha Omega 900 head is a 900-watt amp based on the Alpha Omega overdrive pedal. Like the Darkglass Microtubes, it offers a six-band EQ and VCA compressor to sculpt your sound. When it's time to add some dirt, you've got the choice of two distinct drives -- the Alpha's tight and punchy voice, or the brutal and untamed Omega side. The two circuits are blendable, so you can dial in just the right mix of each.

The Microtubes 900 pairs two of Darkglass' signature drive circuits, the B3K and the Vintage Microtubes, giving you controls to dial in anything from touch-sensitive overdrive to classic-voiced distortion. A six-band EQ makes it easy to sculpt your tone to suit any situation. The Micro 900 footswitch will open up the functionality of your Microtubes 900 amp, making it easy to switch channels, choose your overdrive tone or mute the output.

Adding a Darkglass pedal to your rig is a simple way to transform your tone. While their vast roster of overdrive and distortion pedals might be intimidating at first, it's easy to organize them by feature set and tonal profile.

The Alpha Omicron features super-flexible distortion that can go from tight and focused (Alpha) to chaotic (Omega). The Alpha Omega distortion builds on that platform with a 3-band EQ and direct and parallel outputs. The Alpha Omega Ultra is the crown jewel of the collection, offering an active 6-band EQ, and cabinet simulation, making it a fully functional DI box.

The Vintage Microtubes captures just what its name implies -- vintage tube-style overdrive you can dial in via the Era control, which takes you from midrange heavy '70s warmth to punchier '80s and '90s tones. The Mircrotubes X is a hairier distortion pedal with switchable low- and high-pass filter frequencies, and a mix control to blend between the two filters. The Microtubes X7 adds the functionality of direct and parallel outputs, plus a tone-sculpting four-band EQ.

For those who need more dirt, there's the Duality. This fuzz pedal pairs two discrete circuits -- a gated sawtooth fuzz, and a high-gain distortion, which, in typical Darkglass fashion, can be blended to your taste. A blend control lets you smoothly add in your clean tone as well, making this a super-versatile fuzz.