The coolest distortion pedal for bass EVER?!… Darkglass Alpha Omega (unboxing!)

[@adamprado9575]

I had never heard of Karnivool before this video! Went over and listened to the Sound Awake album, and was completely blown away. Scott... you need to post a video of recommended bands/artists for us to check out. Every time you link a band/artist it always leaves me listening to new music, which I haven't done in many years. Gracias, sir!

[@briggsaxton3185]

i dont mean to be so off topic but does any of you know of a tool to log back into an instagram account..? I was dumb lost the password. I would appreciate any tricks you can give me

[@piercegavin3726]

@Briggs Axton Instablaster ;)

[@saemikneu]

For the ones who want to skip the talking: demo starts at 8:32

[@Guardian.de.cecilia]

saemikneu thank you... thank you so much

[@SebBrosig]

Yeah but the useless stuff is made fun through crafty editing...

[@mckevrock]

Great video + English accent=8 minute intro monologue.

[@SeverinoSE]

Have to agree. It's just too much talking, sorry to say.

[@danielskrivan6921]

And even then, you don't get the overdrive sound until 11:58.

[@modeltrainfan]

Wow. This is the first bass distortion pedal that doesn't sound like the buzzing of gnats. I've been jonseing for a pedal that could imitate John Wetton's sound when he was in King Crimson. I could definitely see the potential in this pedal when you plated on your Precision bass. Beautiful!

[@codydavis7481]

Hey Scott, you think this could capture a good Cliff Burton distortion? I've been using a metal muff for about 10 years in my Metallica tribute band and I love it, but this seems like it could be a little crisper harmonically. I just don't know if it would give enough grit

[@ionehkontehdiabo7627]

@@codydavis7481 darkglass… not enough grit??? WHAT?! haha I’m just bustin your chops man, overall I don’t think you should try to sound exactly like Cliff because he got real lost in the mix live and on RTL and MOP. This pedal would give a GREAT tone, but it won’t sound like Cliff to be honest. It’ll be better. This is coming from a Cliff fanboy that knows his tone isn’t really usable

[@codydavis7481]

@@ionehkontehdiabo7627 I ended up just adding the Harmonic Booster into my chain before the metal muff and it cleared up my tone drastically. Still get all the distortion I wanted from the muff, but now all my notes are precise and distinguishable on top of that 🤘

[@ionehkontehdiabo7627]

@@codydavis7481 hell yeah man the harmonic booster kicks ass

[@benvin10365]

7:58 - "... like a guitar player ... BLECH!!!" You are hilarious, Scott.

[@WernerErkelens]

Yeahhh Scott on the Darkglass team! Welcome man.

[@jorgpicone7072]

I like both blends in the middle, that brings you clarity, a smooth distortion and a bit of rawness, that cuts through the mix.... perhaps a little bit more omega 😁

[@kickassguitars3011]

badass pedal!

[@ouie-fl4qo]

Never thought I’d find a wild Werner

[@vimalrajan5710]

And btw thank you Scott for all you've done for the world of bass!

[@lonelypotato520]

If it was made by apple it wouldn't have any audio output

[@SchergeFX]

legend

[@barlitone]

Oh, it'd have output. But the AC adapter would be combined with what would normally be a 1/4" output jack into an 8-pin proprietary combination connector, to which you could attach a 1/4" output jack adapter dongle, available from Apple for the low, low price of $9.97. Why remove the 1/4" output jack on a pedal when the industry standard is to have a 1/4" output jack? One word: courage.

[@jeromekerngarcia]

+ Lonely Potato Lonely Potato - best answer EVAH1

[@MajykOyster666]

And you would buy a new one every year to make people think you're loaded.

[@LordFenixBloodstone]

If it was apple they would give you a 3 year warranty after 2.95 years after you bought it. Or use sub standard chips that fry and over heat.. Cost 2x the price to fix it... Really apple is a joke. Over priced and under powered.

[@spaceranger6932]

plays smooth music with distortion..... breathtaking

[@xalxfa]

If you love this, you will love Nolly! He playes so amazing with the darkglass pedals

[@georgeg5390]

#darkglassalphaomega I liked the 'bite' setting the most because I find most overdrive pedals in the bass market just give lows and highs and nothing in between so it's great to see a pedal with a very wide tonal variety rather than just a wide distortion variety.

[@bassnsax]

#darkglassalphaomega I'm leaning more toward the Omega, but it's absolutely brilliant to be able to blend the Alpha with the Omega (just to add a bit-o-grit!). The 3-band EQ, the Growl and the Bite switches make this pedal sound like a very versatile distortion pedal!

[@stevenvalenti3722]

Wow! I didn't know that about the history of that pedal. I love the SOUND AWAKE album and have always loved the tone on the Goliath song. Great! heavy song from an Awesome! Album and group..🤘🍺

[@amberb7877]

I have actually wanted a Darkglass Microtubes B3k, or B7k ;), for an extremely long time, ... but after hearing the Alpha Omega, I think I have my new obsession!! The best setting by far is at 13:35 with the growl turned on and the blend around one o'clock!!

[@amberb7877]

Johnny Noble I believe it! It just takes me a long time before I buy pedals, haha I should probably just go for it :P

[@BassBoyWes]

Who's the lucky winner of this beast of a pedal?

[@iLL3ff3ct]

#darkglassalphaomega Personally I liked the 15:06 part best and the tone would definitely sound interesting in a metal setting with stand out bass playing. Keep up the good work with the channel!

[@FlorianHolzner]

saw this week the day it released, been binge listening to karnivool since then. thank you so much for showing me.

[@tornelson7674]

#darkglass alpha/omega! Every setting is perfect. I just received a Hyper Luminal compression for my birthday. I'm sold on them.

[@krokmiten]

I loved it when the drive was all the way up and the blend is at 1 O'clock. I think this pedal would fit my music like a glove, pun intended! #darkglassalphaomega

[@bizosilva270]

#darkglassalphaomega The setting in 14:20 is great! The "bite" adds a lot in cutting through the mix, while still holding the bottom end really well. Love this thing!

[@dennisreitmar4238]

You said it perfectly regarding losing the bottom end with many distortion pedals. What i've done to resolve this, was run a boost pedal along with it to bring up the low mids. It simulates a bassy distortion, but no where near as well as the Darkglass Alpha Omega. I'll absolutely be putting this on my wish list.

[@mskembo]

#Darkglass Alpha Omega. I love the blend between the two, (about three quarters towards the Omega) I feel like this is what Cliff Burton might sound like if he were still alive.

[@xdx2653]

as a greek guy i love the names of the darkglass :)

[@HiramCintron]

"like a guitar player, bleh.." LMAO!! @7:55

[@kailasnarayan3831]

That riff was superb...just awesome!!!!

[@daysleeper320]

Alpha with 50/50 clean blend for me. #darkglassalphaomega

[@5BBassist4Christ]

I love how this pedal (and company) have completely stormed the internet (at least for pedal guys, -specifically bass players). Someday I hope to own one (so why not #darkglassalphaomega), but for the time being (unless I win), I'm still building my bass pedalboard on electro-harmonix pedals (they're great). It's cool seeing the verity of distortion. I personally prefer a little bit of spice in my bass tone when using a touch of distortion while maintaining the presence of the clean channel, so just a hint of distortion boasting the signal. It sounded like the alpha would be better at pushing towards the front of the mix, while the omega would be great at filling up the back (so I would probably prefer about 75% omega). It would also be really cool to see what kind of effects you can get on a clean signal almost using it as an eq pedal. Perhaps turning the blend all the way up, the level knob about even, and the drive knob most of the way down. Then you could do one of two things: the bite knob on, and a drop in bass, boast in mid, and about flat in high for blending the bass on a clean solo with chords without the mud of the low end. Maybe also doing the inverse, with the growl and bass boasted, and the highs and mids dropped to put a bunch of beef in your tone for some epic bass drops and amp rumbles. I've been experimenting with these techniques using combinations of distortion, chorus, phaser, and synth pedals so that I could do anything with the bass without the sound guy's preset eq killing it.

[@brianvillage5]

If you still haven’t managed to pick up a Darkglass pedal I would suggest checking out Neural DSP, they have a real good emulation of the vintage and BK7.

[@ionutzispas619]

I liked the sound at 13:40 the most. I love the roughness of the alpha distortion blended with the clean signal. The "growl" setting gave the sound even more balls than it already had \m/. I'd really like to play with this pedal and discover even more awesome tones than the ones shown in the video :D #darkglassalphaomega ( I hope it's not too late )

[@mattiabruschi8707]

I think this was the funniest but at the same time complete review of a bass pedal i've ever seen

[@elliottm1234]

Hey Scott, to be honest I was blown away by the opening tone! #darkglassalphaomega

[@MrChepex]

#darkglassalphaomega this is an awesome pedal, i really loved how it sounded with 100% alpha distortion, with blend at 50 and growl on, that makes a really badass tone

[@nielswitberg5377]

i love the growliness of the omega setting! it would be perfect for the rock sound i'm looking for! #darkglassalphaomega

[@mandalorthedeaf1237]

I just got myself this badboy last week. I need to experiment with the settings a bit more to get my tone, but this video certainly helps me to get this sorted. Thanks, Scott!

[@PSYMASMann]

#darkglassalphaomega The Bark!!! from the Alpha setting gives me that pick up and plug in feeling straight away. I only discovered your channel and website yesterday. Wow what a resourse you have created. Gratz:)

[@hqjsodkzbzhdjdbend]

The Casey Neistat of bass guitar

[@Qvluong]

I'm torn between the growl and the bite! Maybe both? #darkglassalphaomega

[@SchaelTeer]

You made me buy this pedal, and it's absolutely AWESOME! Love it!

[@TheAdamame]

#darkglassalphaomega blending the distortion circuits together is crucial af!

[@franciscocamerini31]

#darkglassalphaomega The setting in 15:06, it sounds like a screaming crazy whale with wings

[@rot2277]

The year is 2005, Gojira's bass player tries out a Darkglass pedal. From Mars to Sirus is born.

[@andrewcasey8580]

sounds great! Too bad I found this video a few years too late lol.

[@connoriquada5429]

I just picked up this pedal last Saturday but haven’t had a chance to use it till today. My god. Best pedal I’ve ever owned. The thing is absolutely stanky for metal

[@devinebass]

Awesome dude! 🤘🏻

[@pinksts]

#darkglassalphaomega I think I'd use this stomp with just a bit of the alpha crunch mixed with the clean.

[@sallen6949]

#darkglassalphaomega Amazing and versatile pedal. I love all the myriad tones, but my fave is 100% alpha, blend 50/50, gain max, growl off and bite on. That allows the fundamental of the bass to shine through but gives smooth saturation while providing high end to cut through. Amazing tone! I need it on my pedalboard next to my B7K Ultra! Thanks for the review, Scott!!!

[@jarednoll7291]

who "won" Scott?

[@BunchyMutt]

Does anyone know if he actually gives away the gear he claims to give away?

[@sadicband]

Good question

[@BunchyMutt]

I've searched through his other giveaway vids and I haven't found anything indicating that he did indeed give equipment. Didn't do an exhaustive search though

[@sadicband]

Questo fa di lui un cialtrone?

[@BunchyMutt]

Does this make him a...cialtrone is a slob? sloppy?

[@ken_odd]

Hey Scott! Tried this pedal when Douglas came down to Singapore for a meet and greet and was totally blown away by the raw screaming distortion that the omega side + bite brings, especially with aggressive playing. Probably love it because of how strong the mids sound in this setting. The best part about the pedal is that it is incredibly responsive to how hard you pluck, so you can control the saturation with your fingers according to how intense you want to sound. Was sold after 5 seconds of trying it. #darkglassalphaomega

[@ryan_neris]

#darkglassalphaomega I like Alpha for reminding me of the bass on Muse's "Hyper Music" and Omega for reminding me of the guitar on The Smashing Pumpkin's "Cherub Rock," and I love 'em together!

[@devinebass]

Dude... "Cherub Rock"... best tune EVER!

[@ryan_neris]

I enjoyed your machine gun slapping warmup after you plugged in! Do you find it easier to slap/pop on standard Fender string spacing vs your custom basses with tighter spacing?

[@betoverano]

I saw this video and even commented on it hours ago. Right after that I suddenly felt this urge to listen to Cherub Rock (and now I'm deep in Smashing Pumpkins territory on Spotify). It's surreal to see you had the exact same impression based solely on a bass drive tone! Music is so powerful... Cheers!

[@ryan_neris]

Right on! Cheers

[@ryan_neris]

Scott's Bass Lessons Scott, I wanted to thank you for expanding my effects universe for the second time. First, you introduced splitting and blending signal chains with the Line Selector, and now you got me layering different distortions in parallel instead of saturating them in series. I'm finally closer to somewhat replicating fav recordings with my humble setup. You rock Dude!

[@jasoncollins5949]

#Darkglassalphaomega I preferred the omega to the alpha but the mix of the two combined I liked a little more

[@jeroenriquez4412]

" your gonna sound like a guitar player ,,,eyyuckkk ..LOL

[@JosephSmith-lm4ri]

Even with the clean signal gone, there is still quite a bit of bass in the mix from what I can hear. It's not preferable, but it's still kinda neat.

[@citykids9555]

#darkglassalphaomega Alpha "Bite" setting was dope af!!

[@jonathanpont2557]

#darkglassalphaomega 5:27 That tone is sick

[@tomservo999]

Seriously...every setting on that pedal was amazing...my EHX Soul Food is looking at me funny now... #darkglassalphaomega

[@guigaceni]

Same here dude! My homemade fuzz pedal is sounding exquisitely crappy after those tones.

[@danielhawkins4783]

I'm not a bassist but I enjoy this posts/lessons

[@panchamk3721]

Karnivool !!!

[@devinebass]

Love them... so good!

[@tordurhansen333]

I didn't know about them. I've GOT to check them out! Sounded amazing!

[@RossHoekman]

+1, I'll be checking out Karnivool too. :)

[@WesBass]

Great Aussie band!!!

[@SiennaArmstrong]

Set fire to the Hive :o)

[@PorpaTM]

#darkglassalphaomega THE ZEST! Man I totally dig that salty tip on the distortion. Both the modes sound huge, but I guess I'm more into the Alpha one!

[@grimblesqueem2291]

One word: KARNIVOOL

[@markmendoza57]

Got mine on my birthday BUT had to wait couple days an actually plug in and play. Honestly I spent ALL day w/it, playing it and getting amazing tones out of it. I love this thing sooo much, and only took a yr to actually get it

[@MrMatts182]

#darkglassalphaomega ALPHA with GROWL great review

[@corysears256]

Who won?

[@fndrb]

I like the alpha effect, but a blend of both sounds great also. #darkglassalphaomega

[@ferox965]

That sounds unbelievable. I don't usually use pedals...but I might have to search that out...Thanks for the demo.

[@annonuem]

#darkglassalphaomega “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1.8 So I think both Distortions are the Lords Choice!!!

[@zepedroandrade8342]

I loved the tone @ the 12 minutes mark. Not too fuzzy, not too clean. Great pedal! #darkglassalphaomega

[@dialect64]

Although I have an 18v preamp/eq on my bass, I still love the added eq (I have the Ultra version). Now the pedal is a nice transition from smooth grooves, to crunchy riffs with more grit, and then the amazing distortion options for dominating the mixdown. Sits very nicely after my synth fx and octavers. Such a versatile stomp box! I have been unimpressed with most bass distortions and this nails every detail I could have wanted!

[@geokinetic4174]

Pedal sounds amazing and looks really practical. I never realised how important it was to include a little bit of clean with your blend, I think it improves the tone a lot with either the Alpha or Omega circuit, definitely my favourite sound from the video. #darkglassalphaomega

[@RH-xs8gz]

I bought an AlphaOmega 900 a few months ago. I haven’t left my house since! 😂

[@coopergatine1126]

i liked when the drive was all the way up and the blend was all the way up on the omega cause it gave it an interesting sound id never heard before

[@jwstout007]

Just commented on the EH freeze, will put it here too - we need to get you a pedal board / display setup for less struggle. Love what you do, keep schooling me, cheers!

[@bwells6381]

Nice peddle, looks easy to use, and great sound, sorry I missed the contest.

[@JackChambersWard]

#darkglassalphaomega When you cranked the Omega just after the 15 minute mark, I loved it. That extra mid in a distorted bass tone is what makes it for me.

[@TNStutorials]

That's some serious grit there!

[@theLonelyOld]

#darkglassalphaomega 14:03! WOW that is a sound! In all honestly every sound sounded great, very harmonically rich and brutal. It sure would sound great through my Blackface Bassman 2x15 JBL cab......... Thank you Mr. Scott for all the great music, keep it up brother!

[@seanfarrow1926]

Had one, got rid of it for a Source Audio Aftershock. Funnily enough the tone I run is one based off the AO... but it sounds heaps better. Better mids.

[@mikehoffman1136]

Gimme that tone at 14:10. #darkglassalphaomega | I really enjoy how when the Bite switch is combined with the Growl switch, it keeps the low end while still giving the signal an extra trebly punch. Blending the Omega and Alpha at about 60% Alpha and 40% Omega would be absolutely delightful.

[@OlettaLiano]

Nice sounding peddle, and it was fun watching you noodling with it, but I get my sound with just my amp alone.

[@shrillbert]

#darkglassalphaomega. The alpha or omega distortion with a 12:00-2:00 blend to keep the clean bass signal along with the distortion, so as to keep one's lows, is probably the most impressive aspect of the pedal. Most bass overdrive pedals, in my experience, take too much away from the clean bass sound and low end that is needed in a live or studio setting. The fact that the pedal has TWO distinct overdrive channels that both allow one to keep the clean signal at the same time is incredible.

[@VinnieBatten]

#darkglassalphaomega I really loved the final Alpha tone you dialled in at before at 14:41 before swapping over to the Omega circuit. I'm recording a solo project at the moment, and trying to get a really good tone entirely in-the-box is quite frustrating, so getting this sound out of a single pedal is exactly what I need. Thanks for running the giveaway!

[@afonsofilipe3518]

Those boxes would be a very nice christmas gift ahahah

[@StuBradleyMusic]

The tone at 16:44 was rad! Super usable pedal Scott! Thanks for the demo! #darkglassalphaomega

[@EdvardHansson]

I have tried the Darkglass microtubes 900, sounds very very good.

[@grzegorzw.9650]

This is definitely one of the coolest pedals by Darkglass! Perfect it is not though... It is hard to comprehend why it features only one knob for mids while all other pedals in their 2nd level (B7k, X7 etc) have 2. Having high and low mids separately is not asking for too much in this price range and would make a massive difference IMHO.

[@infectioushobo]

Gotta say more on the Omega side, with the growl on. I like that more pedals are adding that little blend option, I just bought a boss LS-2 so I could do it with any pedal ~_~ This pedal sounds so sick, gotta start saving my pennies if I ever wanna afford one.

[@pavelplaysbass]

Both distortions are incredible but I just love how the 'Alpha' distortion sounds. My favorite setup includes the blend at 3/4 (maybe at 12 o' clock) and the distortion all the way up (I'd love try out at 3/4 too to not saturate completely the signal) with the 'Growl' up and the 'Bites' down. I play progressive metal and my problem with each distortion is that the low end has no power once you hit the pedal and it creates a lack of energy on the song, so you have to add another effect in the chain to replace it, that's what I love in the Alpha°Omega, this is the kind of energy that the riffs need to sound properly with power. This pedal is so versatile that I really love it so much!!! Btw, thanks for the review, Scott, I needed this :) #darkglassalphaomega

[@247closetoheaven]

What an entertaining and funny dude. Plays decent bass on top of that 🤩

[@Hualrus]

Great review Scott! #darkglassalphaomega I liked best the alpha with the growl on! I'm sure you can get even grittier tones out of it!

[@manipicao]

#Darkglass Alpha Omega. Eq at 12 o’clock, omega blend full right. Clean/dirty blend at 11 o’clock. Low boost switch on. Mid boost off. Distortion at 2 oclock

[@Davepotnoodle]

Great demo :) Just a suggestion, maybe invest in a looper for future demos (not that you really need it because your playing is so consistent anyway) it'll make tweaking the settings that much easier for you

[@rklp77]

Hi Scott Good demo of this pedal, thanks. I already own a couple of Darkglass pedals and this one seems more versatile than the B7K, which on my opinon was the best distorsion pedal out there, until now. By the way Goliath bass sound is something I believe most of us have tried before tons of times without success, good to have Doug on the business Anyway, here´s my opinion#darkglassalphaomega I feel it sounds more interesting closer to omega with drive might be not on his top. Probably something closer to what you tried at the end of the video, from 15:00

[@manchee3]

I thought the mix between the alpha and omega struck the perfect middle ground of the punchy mids from the omega and the clarity in the alpha.

[@allanlyons1527]

Car keys as a knife LOL Love it. Do it all the time!

[@creazur]

#darkglassalphaomega wins my heart at 12:54 when you crank up the distortion! Next time I was truly impressed was at 16:45 when combining both, that takes the second place for me

[@oniinside123]

The rain in the background is relaxing 🤣

[@Stringbassman112]

#darkglassalphaomega First off, I really think this is a superior distortion pedal. I love that you can balance clean and distorted sound and the two different kinds of distortion. Really brilliant. I think my favorite sound would have been the growl, but I don't think I got the full sound from my phone speaker. If not the growl, the the alpha distortion with a little clean sound. So suite!

[@Z_jeep]

#darkglassalphaomega when you kicked in the omega side of the pedal. it had that cut through the mix tone. awesome. coming to you from the west coast.....San Diego. it doesn't hurt that you have the mad licks to demo pedal. CHEERS

[@bradoir452]

#darkglass alphaomega. For sure you've got to love the deep down and dirty omega. been a vool fan for years since i'm an aussie. Pro playing to feature this amazing pedal mate.

[@JokerLokison]

...did you say "honkie"?! Lol! Jive ass turkey!! 🤘🏻😆🤘🏻

[@CamiloPefaur]

Just by hearing it from here, it looks like a nice rock setting could be blend at 2 o'clock, Distortion type around 10 or 2, depending on how it interacts with the bite and growl switches, and Drive... should be adjusted according to the pickup output. Then Eq it the way you want...

[@benpeterson2418]

#darkglassalphaomega I think the Omega side gives that punch that is necessary to cut right through the mix, especially in a mix that is a bit rougher and distorted, specifically a metal oriented context. I have the B7K Microtubes and have always appreciated Darkglass's capability to provide the thick grit distortion that suits the bass frequencies, without losing the depth of those frequencies. After discovering Karnivool, I heard the bass tone I always wanted. Finding out at that time, that the B7K was an integral part of John's tone, I was keen to discover what it would be like. And the answer has been unreal. When I first heard about the Alpha Omega pedal, I was beyond stoked to see what Darkglass and John would do together. Everything I am seeing, is proof that it is unreal. Your video, as I respect you and your approach to bass in general very much, is what I needed to have total faith in this new product. Thanks, Scott!

[@dansadiqui]

#darkglass Alfa Omega. I corrected the hashtag message. The highest settings to the max. It really turned your bass into a mad, mad electric monster. Keep it cranked up to the max!!! Keep doing the great vids.

[@musicman3351]

I like microtubes, gives a nice aggressive crunch for metal settings

[@skorpus5336]

#DarkglassAlphaOmega I'd have to say that I really liked the Alhpa setting with the blend on just over half! (I played with one today before seeing the video!) The Growl switch is awesome too, I love to feel the low end! Just for the amp I was playing through, it was a Ashdown RM-800-EVO with a Mexican Fender Jazz Bass. Keep on "Slappin Da Bass", Scott!! RM-800-EVO RM-800-EVO RM-800-EVO