Darkglass B7K Ultra vs Microtubes 200 amp

[Crungy]

In your situation I'd skip the amps if you're mostly using headphones. If you're buying new and can return that's pretty safe, or even buying used you could resell and most likely not lose much.

One thing I'll add: you might want to try an Omicron in addition to whatever you choose. That pedal really shines at lower blend settings because it can be beefy as fuck. I use that quite a bit with a B7K's eq only and kind of prefer it to the B7's drive sound. It's just fuller and more authoritative across the fretboard to my ears.

 

[thrsher]

Do these amps essentially function kind of like a kemper in that you can load up an IR that is saved in a bank and use in the live setting ?

 

[Screamingdaisy]

Any opinion on the digital vs analog? Some people don’t like the digital DG stuff (aka the Infinity) so that would be a vote for the actual head. But I’m not sure if there’s any validity to it.

IMO, it's valid. The simpler the circuit, the more raw / less processed it sounds.

The caveat to that is what does the rest of your signal chain look like? The B3K sounds the rawest, but it has the least processing, which is cool if you're getting your toneshaping elsewhere and you just want to stack a relatively transparent distortion into it, but limited if you want your distortion to have more character. The B7K will let you shape the distortion for more character. The B7K Ultra has more functionality if used as a preamp, but those extra features don't really add to it's ability to function as a distortion pedal.

The Infinity takes the B7K Ultra to the next level, but is basically a distortion modeller, so it reacts differently than a distortion pedal. Whether that matters or not depends on whether you use it as a stand alone pedal (doesn't matter), or if you plan on stacking other distortions into it (might matter to you, might not). That said, you gain compression, the ability to save/recall presets, a few different distortion models, and the X crossover.

If this is for a headphone setup, my choice would be B7K Ultra or Infinity as they're both designed to function as a preamp.

IMO, the only reason to buy the Infinity is for the X crossover or because you want saveable presets. If you just want a single sound (or the ability to switch between clean and dirty) I think the Ultra is a better choice.

I'm staying away from commenting on the heads because I don't use them, but I can give you my 2 cents if you want it anyway.

I would think the quality of the build and support would be good either way.

It is.

 

[Screamingdaisy]

Do these amps essentially function kind of like a kemper in that you can load up an IR that is saved in a bank and use in the live setting ?

The IR in these is a speaker IR to act as a filter on the DI out.

 

[Achilleion]

I use an X7 preamp and HyperLuminal compressor with mine, it sounds great with headphones.

 

[Hollowway]

IMO, it's valid. The simpler the circuit, the more raw / less processed it sounds.

The caveat to that is what does the rest of your signal chain look like? The B3K sounds the rawest, but it has the least processing, which is cool if you're getting your toneshaping elsewhere and you just want to stack a relatively transparent distortion into it, but limited if you want your distortion to have more character. The B7K will let you shape the distortion for more character. The B7K Ultra has more functionality if used as a preamp, but those extra features don't really add to it's ability to function as a distortion pedal.

The Infinity takes the B7K Ultra to the next level, but is basically a distortion modeller, so it reacts differently than a distortion pedal. Whether that matters or not depends on whether you use it as a stand alone pedal (doesn't matter), or if you plan on stacking other distortions into it (might matter to you, might not). That said, you gain compression, the ability to save/recall presets, a few different distortion models, and the X crossover.

If this is for a headphone setup, my choice would be B7K Ultra or Infinity as they're both designed to function as a preamp.

IMO, the only reason to buy the Infinity is for the X crossover or because you want saveable presets. If you just want a single sound (or the ability to switch between clean and dirty) I think the Ultra is a better choice.

I'm staying away from commenting on the heads because I don't use them, but I can give you my 2 cents if you want it anyway.


It is.

I was considering the Infinity (or amp head) because of the compressor, as well. Do you use a compressor? I’m primarily a guitar player, so I don’t buy a lot of bass gear, but I love the demos where they used the compressor.

@Achilleion I am also considering the hyper luminal, b7k ultra, (and/ or b7k and element) as a headphone rig. I’ve read some people say that a stand-alone compressor is way better than what you get on the Infinity, 500/900. What do you think?

 

[Screamingdaisy]

I was considering the Infinity (or amp head) because of the compressor, as well. Do you use a compressor? I’m primarily a guitar player, so I don’t buy a lot of bass gear, but I love the demos where they used the compressor.

The compressor will boost/thicken the low end, particularly in X mode where it only affects the low end and doesn't squash the whole signal.

On that note, I'll point out that Microtubes head won't accomplish the multi-band compression+distortion that the the Infinity is capable of. You'd need an X head for that. Whether that's important will depend on what kind of sound you're going for.

Personally, I don't like full band compression (which is what most pedals do). Or, more accurately, I don't want to feel full band compression while I'm playing. I prefer it to be added at the mixing console so that I can't hear it and it doesn't affect my playing. Other players are less bothered by this, or may even prefer it if that's what they're used to.

I like compression for it's ability to glue a mix together. That said, I believe you're using this for headphone practice, so how important is this to you? Do you need $700-$800 in gear to get a basic bass sound to fuck around with headphones? That's for you to decide.

And that's not to be an asshole, I'm just trying to inject some realism here. Bassists have recorded platinum selling albums with a Rat. You could get started with a B7K Ultra and skip the compressor and Element. Plug in your phone and some headphones and jam away.

 

[Hollowway]

The compressor will boost/thicken the low end, particularly in X mode where it only affects the low end and doesn't squash the whole signal.

On that note, I'll point out that Microtubes head won't accomplish the multi-band compression+distortion that the the Infinity is capable of. You'd need an X head for that. Whether that's important will depend on what kind of sound you're going for.

Personally, I don't like full band compression (which is what most pedals do). Or, more accurately, I don't want to feel full band compression while I'm playing. I prefer it to be added at the mixing console so that I can't hear it and it doesn't affect my playing. Other players are less bothered by this, or may even prefer it if that's what they're used to.

I like compression for it's ability to glue a mix together. That said, I believe you're using this for headphone practice, so how important is this to you? Do you need $700-$800 in gear to get a basic bass sound to fuck around with headphones? That's for you to decide.

And that's not to be an asshole, I'm just trying to inject some realism here. Bassists have recorded platinum selling albums with a Rat. You could get started with a B7K Ultra and skip the compressor and Element. Plug in your phone and some headphones and jam away.

Perfect response, thanks! I do not want to dump a bunch of money into this, as all I initially wanted was a headphone practice method with some way to get some good overdrive/distortion. I'm in agreement with what you're saying there, so I appreciate that. I know that, in the absence of a cab sim (or at least high end cut) the tone can get irritating, so that's what made me start going down this rabbit hole of getting something that can have some sort of headphone out with speaker sim. I'm just looking for something inspiring, as all I'm doing now is plugging into an old Vox bass plug or playing without plugging in at all. I've looked into multiple different things, like the Tech21 stuff, the Palmer stuff, etc., but I keep coming back to DG for the features and the Microbes tones I like. I was initially going to buy the MT200, but then looked at the B7K ultra, and then moved onto the Infinity. Each one has more features than the other, which made me think that maybe it's better to just get it now, and not have to worry about adding those features later, should I want them.

 

[Screamingdaisy]

Perfect response, thanks! I do not want to dump a bunch of money into this, as all I initially wanted was a headphone practice method with some way to get some good overdrive/distortion. I'm in agreement with what you're saying there, so I appreciate that. I know that, in the absence of a cab sim (or at least high end cut) the tone can get irritating, so that's what made me start going down this rabbit hole of getting something that can have some sort of headphone out with speaker sim. I'm just looking for something inspiring, as all I'm doing now is plugging into an old Vox bass plug or playing without plugging in at all. I've looked into multiple different things, like the Tech21 stuff, the Palmer stuff, etc., but I keep coming back to DG for the features and the Microbes tones I like. I was initially going to buy the MT200, but then looked at the B7K ultra, and then moved onto the Infinity. Each one has more features than the other, which made me think that maybe it's better to just get it now, and not have to worry about adding those features later, should I want them.

To be honest, that up-selling in terms of features (or FOMO) is how I ended up with a B7K Ultra when I would've been better off with a regular B7K, and I currently use a B3K after I realized I didn't need all that stuff and it was actually hindering what I was trying to accomplish.

I also have an Infinity, but realized that I'm more into the Ampeg/BDDI sound and prefer to use a BxK as a distortion and not a preamp.

In your case, I think the B7K Ultra will keep you happy for a long time. I wouldn't worry about the compression and stuff unless you get into playing bass live, and for recording I'd use plugins.

 

[Hollowway]

To be honest, that up-selling in terms of features (or FOMO) is how I ended up with a B7K Ultra when I would've been better off with a regular B7K, and I currently use a B3K after I realized I didn't need all that stuff and it was actually hindering what I was trying to accomplish.

I also have an Infinity, but realized that I'm more into the Ampeg/BDDI sound and prefer to use a BxK as a distortion and not a preamp.

In your case, I think the B7K Ultra will keep you happy for a long time. I wouldn't worry about the compression and stuff unless you get into playing bass live, and for recording I'd use plugins.

Appreciate your responding to these posts - thanks!

Since you have experience with the B7K, do you find you're using the switches much on there? I can get a MT200 for less, and get the same B3/7K, headphones, and cab sim. But I'd lose the grunt, attack, and mids switches.

 

[Screamingdaisy]

Appreciate your responding to these posts - thanks!

Since you have experience with the B7K, do you find you're using the switches much on there? I can get a MT200 for less, and get the same B3/7K, headphones, and cab sim. But I'd lose the grunt, attack, and mids switches.

I consider the switches key to the Darkglass sound, particularly if you're looking for that modern/prog bass tone they're famous for.

I think you're able to access the switches within the Darkglass Suite. I'm pretty sure the original heads had a physical switches, then they replaced them with virtual switches on the newer versions. I'd ask around to confirm that last detail as Darkglass website/manuals aren't particularly good at explaining what features are controlled within the software.

 

[tedtan]

Do you not have a modeler (AxeFX/Kemper/Helix/etc.) for your guitars? They work well for bass, too, and are perfect for headphones applications.