This is the bass tone I've been trying to get for a long time. It's been in my head forever, and every time I hear it I get goosebumps. There is literally no other sound I like better than a Dingwall plugged into a Darkglass pedal. It's perfect. I should have my B7K soon, to use with my Stingray. I'm so excited I fell like I'm going to jump out of my skin!
5 years later, the bass has changed from a Stingray to a Harley Benton MP-4, but I still use a Darkglass Alpha Omega pedal (the Photon now!) as the cornerstone of my tone.
@@keyikush yes. I also use a Behringer BDI-21 (SansAmp clone) and both together make the best tone in my opinion. But if should sound good no matter what.
Romeo Amador Guzman Today we will be taking a look at this wonderful phenomenon called djentology discussed by Prof. Thall in his book Needs More Strings
So I guess I'll be the first point out the mildly amusing fact that Nolly, from Periphery, a band that released a dual album "alpha/omega", is demoing a product called the alpha-omega, which has nothing to do with the band or the album.
What about Mark's signature pickups? The Seymour Duncan Alpha/Omega.. also a product without any connection to the band or album :D I am waiting for a cymbal serie from Matt. The Meinl Alpha/Omega Cymbals :D
It was modelled after songs like Goliath or Simple Boy, so Alpha/Omega also has relatively little to do with the name of the pedal aside from its dual-voicing-distortion.
the best thing about nolly is every time theres a new video of him playing bass, he's improved his tone, he's always constantly tweaking and making it better.
In addition to being a phenomenal bassist, this guy is the absolute cream of the crop in terms of producers/engineers in the prog/math style these days. His drum production is especially legendary -- the new Devin Townsend record has got him at the pilot's booth, and it's got the best rhythm section production that I've heard since Eddie Jobson.
Lucas Monastirsky I WISH I COULD LIKE THIS COMMENT A MILLION FUCKING TIMES. ME AND MY BUDDY GEEK OUT SO HARD TRYING TO DOWN PICK THE WHOLE SONG OF MASTER OF PUPPETS THAT SHIT IS HARD
Recorded the 3rd album with my band Arakara with this Pedal because our sound engineer had it and i immediately bought it after we were done. The BEST tone I've ever gotten for my bass and it is a staple on my pedal board🤘🤘
Man, I spent the last two years buying and selling every Darkglass pedal except this or any of the AO series pedals. I couldn't get any of them to sound the way I wanted (even though they're all exceptional pedals). Every RUclips demo had a flubby messy tone and I bet in those cases it was user error. This video, with headphones, convinced me this is the one. I went with the AO Ultra and I'm blown away. It's got SO SO much gain, and yet it shines at low gain and a lot of dry blended in. The EQ is exceptional. Notice he's got the blend around 50% a lot in this video, and in The Way The News Goes he's even got the drive set at 0. I believe RUclipsr Rulefuzz does the exact same thing. This is the one for me. The EQ is so good alone that I don't even touch my amp's EQ anymore. There's also a ton of options you can get for cleanish sounds by playing with the Growl and Bite switches, which to my ear act like a Microtubes X in a way. Sounds like the growl setting distorts the lower frequencies and the bite switch distorts the super high frequencies. Lots of fun to be had using one or both of those options OFF in some cases. Leave it to Nolly.
Actually the unit distord all frequencie, with a strong mids presence. But the Bite boost high mid (I think before the drive) and Growl is a shelving boost (before too maybe). But I clearly prefer that over the X serie or the B7k, which was a great thing but I have my tech21 who did a better overdrive to me, and that AlphaO is way more mids focus, full and gnarly sounding (I think the amp like distorted tone is what I like, because in the AO there is a blend of different unit including a Darkglass B7k for the lowend growl and a Tech21 XXL :D )
Great tone as ever, and the consistency of Nolly's playing honestly beggars belief. That downpicking in Flatline almost sounds like a sampled picked bass (in a good way - it provides a solid foundation to build the song on top of).
@6sentient. I thought that. Saved up, sold some shitty bass stuff. Now I have an NG2 and a B7. Took a year or so. If you DECIDE you'll never have that, you won't.
@@umrasangus Naugh, push the guitars down in the mix, the bass should be the main instrument in this song (i.e. Periphery - Flatline). The era of the bass just being just an accompanying instrument needs to die.
As someone who has owned multiple Canadian Dingwalls, there is nothing at all "second rate" about the NG-2; it sees more playing time than my Afterburner basses ever did, and is arguably easier to play than my SJ3X.
The Afterburner has a different neck profile, which is a little thinner (I personally prefer the thicker necks). They also don't make one with the same pickup placement/preamp as the NG-2, which form a large part of its sound.
They absolutely do. Any 3X Afterburner has a "middle and bridge in series" setting (which is the same as the NG-2) on the rotary switch, and can be ordered with a Tone Capsule as well; that's how mine was spec'ed.
True. It still has a different neck profile though, and a different type of wood used in the neck (which would help the overall balance, as wenge necks tend to add a lot of neck weight IME).
As it stands, it goes to show how much of Stockman's tone is in his fingers and style, he really hits the instrument hard. With a pick playing very even notes, this doesn't translate across quite so well. However this may give some reference to bass players who seriously use a pick.
Yeah naturally, plenty of people use picks and Jon definitely uses them for inbetween sounds, I'm not saying it doesn't work, just referencing specific tones. I'm sure if you're using a compressor as many of us do, it's not really the sort of problem anyone is going to run into ever anyway. nbd
It's both his style and the particular basses he uses; nothing else really sounds like a Thumb, in a similar way to how nothing else really sounds like an NG-2. Not sure why you don't think this translates well, the tones he's getting on "Absolomb" and "The News" are arguably just as good or better than what he laid down on the record.
Coming from a 8 string guitar player, this bass tone, especially the 6 string bass, is some of the best and has just as much punch as a 8 string. Might have to buy one and this pedal after hearing this.
I actually bought both at the same time, and for my bass, I preferred the B7K Ultra. I can get the clean hyped darkglass sound, then kick in the ANGRY. The voicing of the A/O went from "B7Kesque" territory to ratty, woofy neo-fuzz. It just didn't work with my particular bass - Kiesel AW5. Kept the B7K, sold the A/O.
The biggest factor for why I went with the B7K is because I needed an EQ pedal with a separate distortion switch, so I bought the Ultra version. Though I guess the Alpha·Omega will receive a similar upgrade in the future.
The tone he gets for Flatline is literally the greatest I've ever heard. I wish he was still with Periphery.
He pretty much still is lol
He leave officially the band, not just for touring.
But c'mon, they're still friends and Nolly helps to record Hail Stan.
He still does the bass work. He’s kinda in, kinda not. He’s definitely amazing though!
@@jacobesmagobes8664 So basically he's Schrödinger's bassist.
@@TierRune take my like damnit
Holy shit it's Michael Stevens
Vsauce here : *proceds to fcking crush a bass guitar*
Hey Vsauce Michael here! *(Proceeds to fucking demolish a bass riff)*
Ye
I love how a Dingwall can sound like anything from a growly beast to straight up MIDI sequencing.
I'm a Simple Boy. I see Michael from Vsauce playing the bass and I hit like
Thanks for the joke, you're free to go.
David Erro Joke's on you, Michael also plays bass.
This joke has so many layers it's impressive
Tree tops ! ! !
Can't like comment cuz it would ruin that perfect 420
This is the bass tone I've been trying to get for a long time. It's been in my head forever, and every time I hear it I get goosebumps. There is literally no other sound I like better than a Dingwall plugged into a Darkglass pedal. It's perfect. I should have my B7K soon, to use with my Stingray. I'm so excited I fell like I'm going to jump out of my skin!
5 years later, the bass has changed from a Stingray to a Harley Benton MP-4, but I still use a Darkglass Alpha Omega pedal (the Photon now!) as the cornerstone of my tone.
I don’t have pedals and junk. Pretty much just a low end bass I rarely use. But I’d totally get this thing.
@@drphalanges1520 I'm planning on getting the Alpha Omega pedal. But i only use an average Cort Action V bass. Do you think it'll work great?
@@keyikush yes. I also use a Behringer BDI-21 (SansAmp clone) and both together make the best tone in my opinion. But if should sound good no matter what.
@@drphalanges1520that's what I do too lol. It gets very close to this nolly tone when you use them both together
hey vsauce michael here
Hahaha!
Came to comment just that. Too late
same here
Romeo Amador Guzman Today we will be taking a look at this wonderful phenomenon called djentology discussed by Prof. Thall in his book Needs More Strings
i like memes you went full savage mode
So I guess I'll be the first point out the mildly amusing fact that Nolly, from Periphery, a band that released a dual album "alpha/omega", is demoing a product called the alpha-omega, which has nothing to do with the band or the album.
What about Mark's signature pickups? The Seymour Duncan Alpha/Omega.. also a product without any connection to the band or album :D I am waiting for a cymbal serie from Matt. The Meinl Alpha/Omega Cymbals :D
Yeah Alpha/Omega is a pretty overused concept/name in music though.
Don't forget Karnivool's song: Alpha Omega too!
That's where the name of this pedal comes from.
It was modelled after songs like Goliath or Simple Boy, so Alpha/Omega also has relatively little to do with the name of the pedal aside from its dual-voicing-distortion.
0:35 Absolomb - Periphery
1:18 The Way The News Goes - Periphery
1:55 Flatline - Periphery
enjoy
go up!!
the best thing about nolly is every time theres a new video of him playing bass, he's improved his tone, he's always constantly tweaking and making it better.
In addition to being a phenomenal bassist, this guy is the absolute cream of the crop in terms of producers/engineers in the prog/math style these days. His drum production is especially legendary -- the new Devin Townsend record has got him at the pilot's booth, and it's got the best rhythm section production that I've heard since Eddie Jobson.
A darkglass tone capsule into a darkglass...epic
It is not wrong to use that. Better use your ear than just looking at the brand name if you want to make a tone
Nolly - *pulls out six string*
Me - *jizzes everywhere*
Cant take you anywhere
Captain Pie Fox oof
@Trey Fontenet If you aren't jizzing to Nolly's bass tone on a 6 string, I think you need to get that looked at.
Djizzes*
@Cock A Doodle Doo Nah bro. It's completely straight.
The amount of downstrokes on here is simply ludicrous. This is pure dedication to tone.
This tone is MEAN!
i wish the bass tracks on the album sounded like this
Pretty close, just lower in the mix.
ye a little more punch to these performances too
I thought the Absolomb was better on the album
I prefere the tone on the album, but this is good too.
Right!? It would be so awesome. Maybe Nolly could make a solo album so we get to bathe in this bass tone.
You can see how well setup his bass is. I love it. It must feel great to play.
Man the bass riffs from Flatline are Godlike!! 🤘
Damn, all that downpicking during Flatline...
Jeez yea. I wonder why that is? String tone purposes?
Lucas Monastirsky I WISH I COULD LIKE THIS COMMENT A MILLION FUCKING TIMES. ME AND MY BUDDY GEEK OUT SO HARD TRYING TO DOWN PICK THE WHOLE SONG OF MASTER OF PUPPETS THAT SHIT IS HARD
thats nothing compared to Jason newsted.
how can i speed up my downpicking?
practice at slow tempo
I'm a simple man; I see Nolly, I click like.
Are you sure you're not a Simple Boy?
Underrated!
I was going to say Simple Boy, DAMN IT!
And you'll get good
I'm a simple man. I see a comment about liking Nolly, I click like
Recorded the 3rd album with my band Arakara with this Pedal because our sound engineer had it and i immediately bought it after we were done. The BEST tone I've ever gotten for my bass and it is a staple on my pedal board🤘🤘
Just checked some of your band stuff and got hooked with "Hell Arrow"
Hey Darkglass- Put out a new video everyday please because these demos (Nolly/Stockman) are awesome. Such great bass tones.
Sounds dope! I can listen to this ALL DAY
He is so proficient with the pick!! And the tone is butter to my ears!!
Man, I spent the last two years buying and selling every Darkglass pedal except this or any of the AO series pedals. I couldn't get any of them to sound the way I wanted (even though they're all exceptional pedals). Every RUclips demo had a flubby messy tone and I bet in those cases it was user error. This video, with headphones, convinced me this is the one. I went with the AO Ultra and I'm blown away. It's got SO SO much gain, and yet it shines at low gain and a lot of dry blended in. The EQ is exceptional. Notice he's got the blend around 50% a lot in this video, and in The Way The News Goes he's even got the drive set at 0. I believe RUclipsr Rulefuzz does the exact same thing. This is the one for me. The EQ is so good alone that I don't even touch my amp's EQ anymore. There's also a ton of options you can get for cleanish sounds by playing with the Growl and Bite switches, which to my ear act like a Microtubes X in a way. Sounds like the growl setting distorts the lower frequencies and the bite switch distorts the super high frequencies. Lots of fun to be had using one or both of those options OFF in some cases. Leave it to Nolly.
Actually the unit distord all frequencie, with a strong mids presence. But the Bite boost high mid (I think before the drive) and Growl is a shelving boost (before too maybe). But I clearly prefer that over the X serie or the B7k, which was a great thing but I have my tech21 who did a better overdrive to me, and that AlphaO is way more mids focus, full and gnarly sounding (I think the amp like distorted tone is what I like, because in the AO there is a blend of different unit including a Darkglass B7k for the lowend growl and a Tech21 XXL :D )
I've heard of Periphery, but I have not listened to their music. That will change after watching this video!!!! Fantastic!!!
The way the news goes bass line makes me want to just tear up. That line is so DAMN EMOTIONAL.
Great tone as ever, and the consistency of Nolly's playing honestly beggars belief. That downpicking in Flatline almost sounds like a sampled picked bass (in a good way - it provides a solid foundation to build the song on top of).
That bass sounds so damn good
Such great tone and I love that bass too
I must own this pedal! Nolly has killer grooves and tone!
With all these high gain fuzz boxes and demos I yearn for more of the core bass sound blended in. Alas.
What a fantastic demo and playing. You made me purchase this pedal!
I love that he shouted out John Stockman from Karnivool. Those guys are my favorite rock band of modern time. And Stockmans bass tone is ultimate.
Really Martine sounding set up. I dig it.
LOVE the growl and the crispness.
nothing makes me happier than finding a new nolly video
What an absolute beast tone!! 🔥
I only play guitar but that is one seriously good bass tone!
I love Molly's bass tone it's one of my favorites along with Ryan martinie's
Everything you touch and do sounds amazing
I'm too late to make a Vsauce joke.
You can still make Adam Neely jokes
2 years later and I am too late sir. My regards to future generations who will also look for this joke.
Wow it adds two strings on your bass !!! Litterally
No
@@moriyokiri3229 why not?
Hey, Vsauce! Michael here.
Leonidas Desert And today's topic is **DJENTS HARD AS FUCK**
I was thinking the same thing
came to this video just to say this
Λολ
Love that sound.
Holy hell, ok, I'm ordering one. I'm sold after the various demo's.
To be honest, all i heard was Nolly's sound!! That plum kicking thump and zing.....like a boss!
Oh yes, we need more
The tone of this man is all I dream of as a bassist...
I've watched this video like 50 times by now
I like how they immediately started with "does it djent"
I like how his hair has slowly shifted from the top of his head and onto his face. its truly a marvel of science
Mans tone is SO GOOD.
my heart cannot bear the weight of the knowledge that I will never be able to own and play a dingwall + darkglass combo...
6sentient not with that attitude, strive to make a change in your life. You can do anything if you set your mind to it (as cliche as that sounds)
@6sentient. I thought that. Saved up, sold some shitty bass stuff. Now I have an NG2 and a B7. Took a year or so. If you DECIDE you'll never have that, you won't.
It’s not a yacht.
I have a novel suggestion...
How about finding your own sound instead of trying to emulate everyone else's?
I forgot all about the pedal and got lost in pure Nolly bass-shred heaven within seconds of the demo starting.
that 6 strings bass though
I saw periphery live a few weeks ago and they played to a fucking pre-recorded bass track. Never been so disappointed.
1:54 - Well that escalated quickly! The song should have been mixed like this with the bass hogging the mix and the guitars in the back.
There is something called balance which makes the mixes overall just better
@@umrasangus Naugh, push the guitars down in the mix, the bass should be the main instrument in this song (i.e. Periphery - Flatline). The era of the bass just being just an accompanying instrument needs to die.
God I wish Dingwall would do a Made in Canada version of the NG-2. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Why not just get an afterburner?
As someone who has owned multiple Canadian Dingwalls, there is nothing at all "second rate" about the NG-2; it sees more playing time than my Afterburner basses ever did, and is arguably easier to play than my SJ3X.
The Afterburner has a different neck profile, which is a little thinner (I personally prefer the thicker necks). They also don't make one with the same pickup placement/preamp as the NG-2, which form a large part of its sound.
They absolutely do.
Any 3X Afterburner has a "middle and bridge in series" setting (which is the same as the NG-2) on the rotary switch, and can be ordered with a Tone Capsule as well; that's how mine was spec'ed.
True. It still has a different neck profile though, and a different type of wood used in the neck (which would help the overall balance, as wenge necks tend to add a lot of neck weight IME).
That tone at Absolomb. Oh gosh. Please Nolly, marry me
I'm eagerly awaiting the day that 6 string ng is on the market.
I find myself watching this video every day^^
If only every metal music have this bass boost sound would be incredible
As it stands, it goes to show how much of Stockman's tone is in his fingers and style, he really hits the instrument hard.
With a pick playing very even notes, this doesn't translate across quite so well. However this may give some reference to bass players who seriously use a pick.
Yes. I use a 4003 with a pick much of the time and I can attest to the A/O's awesomeness. It has better grind in the mids than the B3K I had.
Stockman uses picks sometimes tho...
Then there's also guys who use a pick hard(Billy Gould)
Yeah naturally, plenty of people use picks and Jon definitely uses them for inbetween sounds, I'm not saying it doesn't work, just referencing specific tones. I'm sure if you're using a compressor as many of us do, it's not really the sort of problem anyone is going to run into ever anyway. nbd
It's both his style and the particular basses he uses; nothing else really sounds like a Thumb, in a similar way to how nothing else really sounds like an NG-2.
Not sure why you don't think this translates well, the tones he's getting on "Absolomb" and "The News" are arguably just as good or better than what he laid down on the record.
why does the best guitar player in this band play bass?
Because it's fun and challenging to play compared to guitar
cuz there's a lot more guitar players than there are bands
@@MrSuperstarsi
did you just really say that bass is harder than guitar....
@@ihavewaited90daystochangem51 Not at all, just that if you're primarily a guitarist, then it's fun and challenging to learn and play bass.
@@ihavewaited90daystochangem51 Playing the same riff will always be considerably harder on bass due to having to move around and stretch a lot more.
Is playing with a pick recommended when using overdrive/distortion? I guess it adds clarity, definition and attack?
Not really. What's recommended is practicing.
Yes. Unquestionably.
Yes, it also give aggressiveness to the tone
Coming from a 8 string guitar player, this bass tone, especially the 6 string bass, is some of the best and has just as much punch as a 8 string. Might have to buy one and this pedal after hearing this.
the five string sounds outstanding
Samael it's a 6
oh yes youre right, i really need to get that pedal
Soooo good...infact i really like that tight low B.
Tone is freaking awesome
I can honestly say, this is the first fanned fret bass I have seen
vsauce, michael here, today we'll be demoing the alpha omega by darkglass
Whatta sound, whatta melody!!!🔥
Your bass guitar looks amazing
That's a great looking bass Nolly is playing.
1:53 I wish I could make my 4-string transform into a 6-string....
3 years later, still yup. The tone for Flatline is so stupidly enormous
Cool sound, cool plectrum technique.
wow, this might be one of the best bass players out there that uses a pick. I never realized that he used one
I'm actually gonna cry this is beautiful
i love the sound
So good
Oh man, Nolly has to be the most accurate picker out of the 4 axe guys in peri, damn that was tight!
sounds sick nolly is a beast
Brutal. Awesome.
The action in that bass is ridiculous
i knew you guys would have nolly demo on this
Look at that low action. Seems so comfy
Sick sound! Sick!!
Nolly is the man.
I love it!
every time i hear periphery without the vocals i think i should give them another shot.
Holy shitballs what a tone! I mean, wow!!
Fun fact this is the pedal nolly used for the official recording of absolomb(and likely most of p3)
Tone of the gods !!!
It sounds like the bass is exploding every time he hits the strings
That’s sounds so fucking good like wow
I can't wait to own a Dingwall
B7K or Alpha Omega? That's the important question....
Gotta say while I like the sound and idea of the A/O, I'm not keen on losing out the hi/low mid pots (which are important to me).
I actually bought both at the same time, and for my bass, I preferred the B7K Ultra. I can get the clean hyped darkglass sound, then kick in the ANGRY. The voicing of the A/O went from "B7Kesque" territory to ratty, woofy neo-fuzz. It just didn't work with my particular bass - Kiesel AW5.
Kept the B7K, sold the A/O.
+S Walton Can you make a demo with your aw 5 of b7k ?
The biggest factor for why I went with the B7K is because I needed an EQ pedal with a separate distortion switch, so I bought the Ultra version. Though I guess the Alpha·Omega will receive a similar upgrade in the future.
BOTH!!! :)))
king
That tone is T H I C C