We saw no shortage of incredible gear at NAMM this past January, but few products impressed us as much as Darkglass’ new range of digital and analog combo bass amps.
Consisting of four offerings – the Infinity 500 Combo 210 and Infinity 500 Combo 112 digital bass amps, and the Microtubes 500 Combo 210 and Microtubes 500 Combo 112 analog bass amps – the amps are loaded with 500 watts of power and custom-made Eminence speakers.
As for how they sound? Check out our visit with Darkglass’ Marcos Barilatti and Chris Kollias, who walk us through the amps and provide a live-on-site demo.
First, Chris plays through the Infinity 500 Combo 210 digital amp, which, according to Marcos, "packs a lot of DSP blocks," including three distortions – the Alpha Omega, Microtubes B3K and Vintage Microtubes. “There’s also a compressor that you can select to put at the beginning or the end of the signal, an Octaver with physical knobs, it’s fully preset-able, and it comes with a MIDI footswitch,” he says.
Feature-wise, the digital combos also boast built-in tuners, as well as a USB audio interface that makes it possible to record with the amp. And you can store up to seven IRs. “We decided to make a combo that packs all the features that we believe are needed today,” Marcos says.
The analog combos, Marcos continues, essentially incorporate Darkglass’ Microtubes 500 bass amplifier head, “meaning it’s fully analog.” But, he adds, the combos “bring the B3K and the Vintage distortion as well. And they also connect with external speakers.”
Overall, Marcos says that the new combos were produced “consciously thinking that it’s all about the low end,” he says. “We are bassists, we are a bass brand, so we need them to push air. We really made a conscious effort for them to be powerful on that low end, and super-crisp and super-clear. And we’re super happy with the outcome.”
To find out more about Darkglass’ Infinity 500 digital and Microtubes 500 analog combo amps, head to Darkglass Electronics.
