11 Best Bass Amps for Gigging: Your Buyer’s Guide

Darkglass have been on a tear of late, releasing a spate of excellent pedals, amps, and cabs and finding a home with many bassists where previously there lived vintage gear. Partly that’s down to the exceptional quality of their gear, while the other part is evident in this very unit.

This is the second version, which upgrades what was formerly a four-band EQ with a six-band EQ with LED-lit sliders. The Gain knob adjusts the pre-EQ volume and gives you flexibility between totally clean and a bit of breakup. The Gain knob is further governed by the VMT/B3K switch, which selects between a modern percussive sound (B3K) and a warmer vintage tone (VMT). There’s also a switch for matching Passive or Active pickups, and of course a Master volume knob and a Mute button.

The rest of the controls modify the Microtubes Engine, which Darkglass calls an ‘extra channel.’ Effectively, this channel allows you to dial in a usable combination of compression, drive, and EQ that pushes you out ahead of a mix. You can use this section for heavy drive, light breakup, and anything in between. This section is controlled with Comp, Drive, Level, Tone, and Blend knobs.

If you were to replicate this on a pedalboard, it’d be like changing amp channels and stepping on a boost and a compressor all at once. As a matter of fact, this is controllable with the Intelligent Footswitch from Darkglass for that express purpose.  A switch on the front of the amp enables it, but really, you’ll want the switch.

On the back panel, there are switches for 2/4 ohms, Post and Pre EQ and Ground Lift for the DI out, Footswitch in, FX send and return, Aux In, Headphone out with independent volume control, MIDI input, USB input, and a Cab Select for three cabinet impulse response emulations for the DI out.

Rick’s notes: Large spectrum of sounds in this head, from smooth vintage tone to modern sounds. Very easy to use interface, choosing between the vintage series preamp and the more aggressive Mircotubes preamp.

If you want something for driven sounds, go for the Alpha-Omega 900 instead.

See The Bass Channel demo for an overview of all it can do.

These are pricey, no question. Both this version and the original version can be found used on Reverb, sometimes for a considerable savings.

Specs:

• Wattage: 900 watts
• I/O options: DI out
• Speaker output resistance: 2 or 4 ohms
• Effects loop?: Yes
• On-board compressor?: Yes
• Dimensions: 10.5 by 10 by 2.75 inches
• Weight: 6.39 lbs.
• Country of manufacture: Finland