Darkglass Electronics
Darkglass makes the pedals everyone else's bass tone is pretending to be.
Doug Castro started Darkglass Electronics in Helsinki in 2009 because the bass-drive options back then were, charitably, guitar pedals that happened to tolerate a bass. If you were a forum goblin at the time, you felt it. The B7K arrived in 2012 and quietly became the most-copied bass preamp circuit of the decade. The Microtubes line followed, then the Alpha Omega, then the amps and cabinets, and most recently the Anagram, a full bass modeller that does the work of about six pedalboards.
The shorthand: if you have recorded a modern bass tone in the last ten years, you have probably touched a Darkglass somewhere in the chain. Producers reach for them by default. That is not marketing, that is just what happened.
Bass Freaks is an authorised Darkglass dealer in Europe, and we keep the pedals, the amps and the Anagram in stock at our Louvain-la-Neuve showroom.
The Darkglass range
| Category |
Examples |
What it is for |
| Preamp / DI / distortion pedals |
B7K Ultra v2, B3K v2, Alpha Omega Ultra, Vintage, Element |
The core. A studio-grade bass DI with the famous Darkglass drive baked in. Go straight to the desk or front-of-house and sound like the record. |
| The Anagram |
Anagram, Anagram Press |
Darkglass's bass workstation and multi-effects modeller. Amps, cabs, effects and routing in one box, with a touchscreen and MIDI. Their answer to the modelling era. |
| Amps & heads |
Microtubes 900 v2, Alpha Omega 900, Alpha Omega 500, Exponent 500 |
The Darkglass tone as a full amplifier. Class-D power, the signature drive on board, light enough to carry with one finger. |
| Drive, fuzz & tools |
Microtubes X / X7, Harmonic Booster, Hyper Luminal, DFZ Duality Fuzz, ADAM, Kaamos |
The rest of the toolbox: compression, harmonic saturation, fuzz and heavier distortion for when the B7K is not filthy enough. |
| Onboard |
Tone Capsule |
A preamp you fit inside the bass itself. The Darkglass EQ voicing, always on, no pedalboard required. |
Darkglass, frequently asked
What is the Darkglass Anagram?
It is Darkglass's bass workstation: a full modeller and multi-effects unit with amp and cab sims, effects, a touchscreen, deep routing and MIDI. Think of it as their answer to the whole modelling era, built by the people who defined modern bass drive. For a lot of players it replaces a pedalboard and an amp. It is also the single most-searched Darkglass product right now, and yes, we stock it.
B7K, B3K or Alpha Omega, which Darkglass do I want?
The B3K is the pure overdrive. The B7K is the B3K plus a full studio DI and a four-band EQ, the all-in-one workhorse. The Alpha Omega is two distortion characters (Alpha is tighter, Omega is more aggressive) that you can blend, the most flexible and the most modern-metal-friendly of the three. Want one box that does everything? B7K Ultra. Want the widest range of dirt? Alpha Omega.
Does Darkglass make amps, not just pedals?
Yes. The Microtubes 900, Alpha Omega 900 and 500, and Exponent 500 are full Class-D heads with the Darkglass drive built in. All the tone, a fraction of the weight of an old valve rig.
What is the Tone Capsule?
An onboard preamp you fit inside your bass. It brings the Darkglass EQ voicing to the instrument itself, so you get that clarity and presence without adding anything to your pedalboard. It has quietly ended up in a lot of studio basses (Nolly Getgood is a fan).
Are Darkglass pedals only for metal?
No, that is just where they got famous. Dialled back, a B7K or an Element is one of the best clean bass DIs you can buy, the drive is optional. Plenty of players run them purely for the EQ and the direct sound.
Browse what is in stock below, or get in touch if you want a hand choosing.
