Darkglass Electronics Microtubes X7

Distorting bass has always been a very challenging engineering endeavour. In order to achieve a punchy and aggressive distortion, that is also full and fat-sounding, you really need to reconcile two contradicting conditions. The tightness comes from attenuating bass frequencies before saturation, which will also result in a very thin signal, however boosting the lows can also result in additional, unwanted fuzz. To solve this paradox, audio engineers have been using multiband distortions in the studio for a few decades now.

The Microtubes X7 is our solution to this issue, but in a compact yet flexible form, just right for any touring or home bass setup. The audio is split by two variable low-pass and high-pass filters at the very start of the signal chain. The high-pass signal (mostly the mid and treble tones) is distorted using CMOS circuitry, just like the other Darkglass Microtubes pedal circuits.

The low pass-signal (all bass) is left clean and then is processed by the variable built in compressor. This lets the high frequencies be all crunch, attack and full of rich harmonics, all while mixing back in the undistorted lows to add gargantuan size to the overall mix. The result is virtually unlimited fullness, size, aggression and definition, regardless of how old the strings are or even if your instrument is just boomy or thin sounding. Microtubes X7 offers all of this plus a 4-band graphic equalizer with perfectly tailored mid controls for maximum tonal flexibility. In addition, with regular parallel, affected and balanced XLR direct outputs, you’re sure to find a way to hook up the pedal that fits your rig perfectly. Plus when the pedal is engaged, it features a low pass filter to perfectly sculpt the distorted signal for direct applications.