The Microtubes X Ultra bass drive promises to be another hugely versatile option for onstage, studio or bedroom from Darkglass Electronic’s Microtubes X series.
The Finnish-made Microtubes X Ultra has a six-band EQ and splits your sound through two variable low-pass and high-pass filters. The high-pass handles mostly the mids and high-end and, like the others in the Microtubes series, is distorted with CMOS circuitry. The low-pass is left clean and subsequently processed by the the pedal’s built-in compressor, which is easily adjustable.
Why does this matter? Well it allows the mids and highs to handle the dirt and crunch, from which you can tease all kinds of harmonics and overtones, while the clean lows add weight and clarity. This neatly sidesteps those issues of unwanted fuzz and rumble when the low end distorts and keeps your bass sound huge, which is how you want it.
Other features that will come in particularly handy include the balanced XLR output with switchable impulse response cabinet simulation, and switchable distortion and bypass. The LEDs on the six-band EQ are a nice touch for adjusting in low-light situations – like onstage or Pagan rituals.
With an auxiliary input and headphone output, with cab sim, you can connect the pedal to your PC and play silently through headphones, unacccompanied or along with a backing track – making for a great practice tool.
See Darkglass Electronics for more details.
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