Darkglass Vintage Microtubes Bass Overd

I was looking for a tube-like bass overdrive pedal for long time and had been struggling between several other overdrive and fuzz pedals until I bought this one. I can truly say, that when I found it, it was the easiest decision I've ever made.. about buying a pedal that is.

All the features are very easy to understand but can be pretty versatile sound-wise. When using the "blend" knob which adjusts the ratio between clean and overdriven signals, it doesn't loose any low-end and maintains the middle range frequency that gives it it's natural warm-tube like sound. With "era" knob it is possible to change your sound from more warm and mid-focused tone to more define and cleaner sound as it gets slightly more agressive and actually start to sound like one other Microtubes pedal - B3K. The versatility of tone really gives you that kid excitment and gets you playing with it.

The only minor thing that got me conserned was the placement of power supply jack but when using it on a pedalboard it doesn't matter so much.

I definitely recommend this pedal to anyone who can afford the price. It really is worth every cent.

Had been struggling to choose between this and the Darkglass B3K, in the end I waited till I saved up enough for both - best decision I have made in a long time. Both pedals have their own distinct character, however Id say this is perhaps a little more versatile. I was expecting a fairly low gain overdrive pedal however it can get pretty filthy (in a good way) with the gain cranked. However seeing as im using it as an 'always-on light overdrive' effect I rarely need the gain much more than half way.

The sound of this pedal is great, and as mentioned previously its really versatile. Capable of covering a lot of sounds and styles. I play in a prog metal band with guitarists who use 8 strings so needed something which will cut through the mix nicely. The ERA knob is definitely the key in defining your sound, with the dial fully anti-clockwise it gives an old school vintage tube sound, and with the dial fully clockwise it gives a slightly more modern take on the sound. Iv been having a lot of fun dialing in a geddy lee type bass tone and this thing nails it pretty well.

As with the B3K this pedal is built to last and again my only minor gripe is with the placement of the power supply jack. Would I recommend this pedal? YES

This is a pretty great sounding pedal. There's been a lot of hype surrounding it but thankfully it's pretty justified.

I bought it to have as an always-on overdrive after hearing demos on low gain settings but it's actually got more gain on tap than I'd imagined, making it pretty versatile.

Build quality is great as well and the soft touch switch is a nice feature and makes switching on/off completely silent.

I'd argue that the blend knob is fairly redundant, though. I've been using it without any clean blend (fully wet) and it still retains enough of the bottom end and presence to be heard in a dense band mix.

The only gripe I would have is that the LED is blindingly bright.

All things considered, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who can afford it. It's probably the best sounding overdrive I've used.

One of my favourites Drives for bass. I own 6 different drive pedals, each one with its own character of course. But the Darkglass Vintage Microtubes is something really special. I am using it since months now, so I review it on a long time based experience ; ) Its circuit provides a great sound. The DRIVE knob defines the amount of drive. Since this affects the overall level, with the LEVEL knob you can compensate it or get a volume boost when adding drive and raise the overall level as it fits to your need. The ERA knob makes the Vintage Microtubes pedal unique. Turned all the way down, you get a darker and more mid-focused tone that may remind you of the 70's, and as you turn it up the tone becomes gradually more modern. The BLEND adds a lot of versatility in building up your favourite sound: you can mix dry and wet signal as you like. Blending in some of the dry sound helps preserving a sense of the original tonal attack, something very useful in most situations. Very well manufactured pedal, great quality materials, from the chassis to the knobs: high end stuff! I would preferred to have the power supply input on the upper side of the pedal instead of having it on the jack input side of the box, but this issue is maybe just personal. All in all this pedal is really a good value for money. I LOVE IT

Has read a lot about this pedal before I purchased it...

It was all true.

This little box is brilliant. Darkglass are a bass players best friend. I can get warm hairy tones or else I can go for a big overdriven broken up sound so easily.
The trick lies in the Era know, turned counter clockwise we go back to the 70s and the Tube amps of old, as we go clockwise though we begin to enter a modern era and get a more cutting overdriven sound.

The only warning I would give is if you plan on using this with a passive bass I would recommend having some sort of preamp or EQ in front of it as I think it performs better this way. Alternatively Darkglass have released a Deluxe version of this pedal with a 3 band EQ that should work amazingly.

In conclusion, I can't really recommend this enough.