Darkglass Microtubes B3K v2
Whether The Rasmus, Him, Nightwish or many more - Finland is one of the European music nations with an international impact far beyond the continent. So it is only logical that high up in the north there are also manufacturers who develop the necessary tools in top quality. Darkglass founder Doug Castro had already made a name for himself with various bass preamps like the B3K or the Vintage Microtubes with greats like Tony Levin, Alex Webster or Bootsy Collins. However, resting on his successes does not correspond to Castro's ambitions and self-confidence as head of Darkglass and bassist in his own person.
So it was only logical, about a decade after the release of the original, to have a worthy successor build on the success of the popular B3K. The construction is just as clear and actually self-explanatory. Instead of the previous mini-switches, the B3K v2 has two small buttons below the knobs. These consist of Blend (controls the dry/wet mix ratio), Tone (replaces the previous Attack switch and controls the highs in the range between 3 and 8 kHz), Level (controls the overall volume) and Drive (controls the distortion level), The Grunt switch was retained; this adds a massive bass boost to the signal. In order to remain present and articulate even with extreme overdrive sounds in the mix, the Mid Boost switch adds a 6 dB boost to the signal in the range from 300 Hz to 1 kHz.
Soundwise, the B3K v2, like its predecessor, masters a fairly wide range of nuances that can be shaped from slightly smoky distorted to a hearty frying pan sound. The sound always feels clean without becoming too spongy. The components, workmanship and design can only be described as first-class, making the B3K V2 an ideal and extremely flexible overdrive pedal for all bassists.
- Build type: analog
- Circuit: Hybrid JFET/ CMOS
- Mono/ stereo: mono
- Controls: Blend, Tone, Level, Drive
- Switches: Grunt, Mid Boost
- Input: 1x 6.3 mm jack
- Output: 1x 6.3 mm jack
- Power supply: 9 V power supply (-) inside (not included)
- Power consumption: 20 mA
- Battery operation: not possible
- Bypass: True Bypass
- Dimensions: 113 x 75 x 45 mm
- Weight: 295 g
- Made in Finland
- Cap missing from switch.
Options
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Scope of Delivery
No
Construction
Stompbox
Bass Overdrive
