THE DARKGLASS ALPHA OMEGA'S UNEXPECTED VERSATILITY

I’ve searched far and wide for dirt pedals that fit my needs. I’ve had and have some obscure ones that I tell everyone about who will listen, but some of those are older versions of their more modern counterparts that aren’t made any longer, and some are custom jobs that are always slightly different from pedal to pedal. In the end, though, my curiosity got the better of me, and a few days later a package showed up on my doorstep. I, of course, opened it immediately and got right to work.

Early on, I noticed how versatile the Alpha·Omega is. I was immediately stunned and excited to find out that I could get incredible low-gain sounds, and with plenty of midrange that didn’t stray too far from my original dry bass sound. Wow! That was not at all what I was expecting!

A TOUR OF THE FEATURES

BLEND KNOB

With having played so many different drive pedals in the past, I immediately wanted to hear how well the blend knob worked. Recently, more companies have realized how important a proper clean blend is to bass players. The earlier designs always sounded like two completely different signals, with the dirty sound overlapping the clean, and with no coherence at all. I’ve been really happy to hear the development that clean blends have had more recently, and the blend in the Darkglass Alpha·Omega is part of that great trend.

Your clean signal is always at one hundred percent, while the drive sound is slowly blended in. I’m happy to say it’s incredibly well executed and the dry and dirty sounds are wonderfully blended into a seamless single source. Well done!

EQ OFFERINGS

I next wanted to explore the extensive eq that the pedal has to offer. So many pedals offer your typical two band eq section, or even a simple passive tone control, so seeing the three band eq along with two switches for high and low boost options was exciting. I first listened to what the two switches, bite and growl, bring to the table.

As written on the Darkglass website, the bite control “boosts high mids (2.8kHz) for additional presence and definition”. This adds to that well-known Darkglass sound if you’re looking for that. It’s not a subtle boost, but it’s also not obnoxious. If you want that trademark glassy Darkglass sheen from your drive sound then it’ll instantly get you there with the flip of a switch.

The growl control is a favorite feature of mine from the Alpha·Omega. Per their website, it’s a “shelving bass boost for a fatter tone and increased low end saturation”. I don’t know technically what’s happening when you flip that switch, but for someone like me, it’s exactly what the dirt doctor ordered. Not only does it fill in the low end of your affected signal, but it also allows more of that low end to be pushed and driven into saturation. This results in a bigger, fluffier low end that extends right up into the low midrange. Think “full range signal pushing power tubes” kind of low end. The best part is, with the bass knob of the three band eq pulled back a little, it won’t collide with your clean signal when you choose to blend in some of your unaffected bass sound. This is such a well-designed pedal.

The three band eq has a great deal of range and is a perfect way to further dial in your desired sound after you’ve adjusted the Alpha·Omega knob, the clean blend, and then the switches. It’s a great last-in-the-chain adjustment to tie it all together.

The Bass control is +-12dB @ 80Hz. It’s set at the perfect place to add depth without getting bloated or too extreme, and as previously mentioned, it’s equally suited for cutting bass when you engage the Growl switch to keep your low end from becoming overwhelming.

The Mid control is +-12dB @ 500Hz. I have to admit that I hear it boosting at a higher frequency, as it seems to add more upper midrange bite than I had expected from 500hz, but I will say that whatever it’s doing it’s most certainly adding to that traditional Darkglass character. I found that if you want to dial in a more traditional, less mid-scooped sound, then the Mid control is great for punching through with some clarity without boosting the high end. It’s super usable and practical regardless of what exactly the midrange curve is doing.

The Treble control is +-12dB @ 5kHz. I’m not one to ever boost the treble eq, but I really like where it’s set for this pedal. I found that if I wanted a brighter and more aggressive sound, then boosting the Treble control not only gave me what I wanted, but it was never harsh or shrill. It’s also incredibly helpful for warming up your dirty signal without ever losing clarity by dialing the Treble back. This is useful when using the pedal for lower gain sounds (more on this later).

MOD CONTROL

Let’s talk about the control at the heart of the entire pedal, the Mod control. The pedal is made up of two distinctly different drive circuits, Alpha and Omega.

The Mod knob allows you to choose either the Alpha side or the Omega side of the pedal, or you can blend the two circuits any way you see fit. It’s incredibly rare to find a pedal that not only allows you to choose two completely original drive circuits but also allows you to blend them to get any sound in between. Considering how different each drive circuit sounds, I was surprised at how seamlessly each one blends with and into the other. They’re incredibly complimentary, and I can’t imagine anyone playing this pedal who isn’t able to find a multitude of sounds that they weren’t super excited about using. The overarching quality of each drive sound is clarity. No matter how you set the Mod knob, how you eq that sound, and where you set the drive amount, the result will be superb clarity from your drive signal.

ALPHA AND OMEGA

Let’s talk about the differences between Alpha and Omega. Per the Darkglass website, “Mod selects or mixes between the two distinct distortion circuits: Alpha is punchy, tight with a lot of definition, whereas Omega is simply brutal and raw.” Their description of Alpha sounds spot on to me, but their description of Omega sounds like marketing speak, and doesn’t inform us of the expected sound at all.

So in other terms, Alpha is exactly what we’ve all heard and have come to expect from the traditional Darkglass offerings; that tight, bright, and mid-scooped drive and distortion. It’s become the standard bass distortion sound for most modern metal music today, and Darkglass was at the forefront of that trend. If you’re looking for that sound then the Alpha side of this pedal is for you, AND you get the further tone shaping of the Brite and Growl switches, as well as the three band eq. There’s a lot of further tone shaping to be had to dial in the exact metal sound that you want. Very impressive, indeed.

So what does the Omega side do? The Omega side is for the rest of us. It brings back your midrange for a much more balanced drive sound across the board. Remember, we never lose the clarity that’s expected from their previous pedal offerings, but now we have a fuller, more natural sound to work with.

Between just these two sounds on their own, this gives us a great deal more options than we’re used to from a single pedal. From bright and aggressive to warm and full by turning the Mod knob from hard left to fully right.

The good news? If you don’t want one extreme or the other, there are a plethora of shades of drive in between the two sides. Is all Alpha too mid-scooped for your liking? Turn the Mod knob to the right until you hear the midrange that you need. Is all Omega too full and taking up too much space in the mix? Turn the Mod knob to the left until you hear the drive leaving more space for the other instruments in the band. The best news is that there are many, many sounds for every player and every musical situation in this one pedal. This is one of the most versatile drive pedals that I’ve ever encountered.

DRIVE CONTROL

The drive control itself has a great deal of range. At its lowest setting, the drive is barely audible but effective. It adds a wonderfully growly pillow of support in the low end that can help your bass come forward in a mix, but still in a supportive way.

This is a sound that I’ve learned to use more and more in a band situation, as well as for recording, and something that isn’t as easy as you’d expect to find from a pedal. Add in some dry signal with the blend knob and you’ll have the most wonderful low-gain sound.

Once again, this was not a sound that I had expected to find from a Darkglass pedal. To me, this feels like a new type of offering from them.

As you turn up the Drive you’ll notice the wonderful sweep through the range of the knob. This is where you’re able to dial in just the right amount of drive for almost any sound that you could need. This was not designed to be a fuzz pedal, so you won’t find that here. What you will find however is any low gain drive to high gain distortion that your heart desires, and with great note to note clarity even at the higher range of the knob.

With the Drive all the way up while playing dyads (two-note chords), or even more consonant sounding full chord voicings, the clarity of what you’re playing will always come through. I think that’s a unique character of this pedal and one that can’t be overstated as a huge advantage to playing with full-on distortion.

This is also a pedal that likes to be driven further by a boost pedal or another drive pedal in front of it. You can set the Alpha·Omega as a great low to mid-gain drive for a wonderfully saturated sound during certain sections of a tune, or as your “always on” sound, and then push it further with your favorite boost before it. You’ll be rewarded with the sound of an amp being pushed to the brink, and you’ll be sure to melt the faces in the back row of the venue. Who could ask for more?

THE ALPHA·OMEGA AS A PREAMP?

Can you use the Alpha·Omega as a preamp? The short answer is yes, but keep in mind that at the lowest setting of the Drive knob, you’ll still hear a slight amount of breakup. In a mix, it most likely won’t sound as if your signal is being driven, but it will certainly liven up your sound and give it a pleasing character. You could also favor your clean sound with the blend and dial in the pedal as a preamp to your liking.

The real advantage to using this as a preamp is the incredible flexibility of the eq section. Whether you want a bright, grindy sound with the midrange cut back, or you want a more flat sound to begin to eq from, or even if you want a sound that will echo the great Motown recordings that we all know and love, you can absolutely find what you want from this pedal.

When I received the Alpha·Omega for review I noticed the Parallel Output on the pedal. I know some players that won’t even consider a pedal like this without a parallel output, and unfortunately, that isn’t an option that you see often. In that moment I simply thought it was a nice addition that some may use, but most may not.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I found myself in the studio recording some new music with a great band that I play with. I had brought one of my longtime favorite dirt pedals. It’s a version that doesn’t have a clean blend, and when we listened back to our first take the engineer immediately mentioned how the low end had dropped out when I turned the pedal on. We ended up running my direct sound clean before the amp and running my sound with the pedals into the amplifier and cabinet.

It made all the difference in the world. It gave the engineer the ability to blend in my clean sound to keep the low end of the bass while my high-gain drive pedal was activated. We ended up with the best of both worlds. That was the moment that I understood the incredible benefit of having a parallel output, and I wish it was a more universal option with this type of pedal.

Can you achieve the same thing with a separate blend pedal, or a splitter, or a separate DI? You sure can, but why not have all of those options in one pedal?

A FEW CRITIQUES

Now that I’ve written extensively about everything that I like about this pedal, I should mention a few things that I feel could be better. The main one is that there is a slight delay when you press the footswitch before the pedal turns on. This is something that I’ve noticed on a few other pedals more recently, and I believe it has something to do with the type of switching that’s being used by some builders these days. Keep in mind that we’re talking about a split second for it to respond, but it is present and should be noted.

I would prefer if the ins and outs of the pedal were top-mounted, as this allows pedals on a pedalboard to be fit more closely together to save space. Considering there’s a DI built into the pedal and the size of the pedal, I’m certain that this wasn’t an option on this pedal, but it’s still always my preference when possible.

The parallel output is in a strange place considering it’s below the pedal's input, and not next to the main output, but I’m sure it’s a matter of fitting everything into the pedal.

The DI out is where the parallel output would normally be, so I think this was probably the best decision.

The last thing is that the footswitch to turn the pedal on and off should have been placed lower on the pedal. It’s closer to the controls than I would want to see, but once again I’m assuming that this was a matter of space inside of the enclosure size that they chose to use. It looks like with the DI out where it is, the footswitch may not have been able to be placed lower. You won’t however have a problem pressing down the footswitch with the toe of your shoe to turn the pedal on and off.

With all of that said it seems Darkglass decided that the smaller enclosure was the way to go, and they most certainly designed an incredible pedal rich with options to fit into it. I really can’t argue with the final product considering all that it offers.

A PEDAL FOR ALL OCCASIONS

I think by now I’ve made the case that this is a pedal for almost anyone who wants an incredibly versatile drive pedal with an extensive eq section, one that is equally as useful for stage and studio and can also be used as a preamp with some hair to the sound. I would suggest this pedal to nearly anyone looking for a drive pedal, whether you need a low-gain or high-gain sound. This is truly a Swiss Army knife of drive pedals. Darkglass has created a pedal that any bass player playing any style would enjoy. This is a wonderful addition to their growing list of offerings.

FAVORITE SETTINGS

Lastly, I’d like to suggest three more uncharacteristic Darkglass settings that I’ve found and enjoy myself:

1. Low-gain setting for a warm and supportive sound

• Blend: 11 o’clock
• Growl: up
• Level: 10 o’clock
• Bite: down
• Drive: fully to the left
• Mod: 4 o’clock
• Bass: 11 o’clock
• Mid: 1 o’clock
• Treble: noon

2. High-gain with clean blend

• Blend: 3 o’clock
• Growl: up
• Level: 10 o’clock
• Bite: down
• Drive: fully to the right
• Mod: just above 3 o’clock
• Bass: 11 o’clock
• Mid: 1 o’clock
• Treble: 1 o’clock

3. High gain without clean blend

• Blend: fully to the right
• Growl: up
• Level: 9 o’clock
• Bite: down
• Drive: fully to the right
• Mod: fully to the right
• Bass: 11 o’clock
• Mid: 1 o’clock
• Treble: 11 o’clock