Darkglass Electronics Introduces The Squid Bass Preamp

August 12, 2020 · 4 sources

Darkglass announced "The Squid," a limited-edition version of its Microtubes B7K Ultra V2 bass preamp and overdrive pedal, with a run of just 1,000 pieces worldwide¹². The Squid is built on the same Microtubes dynamic saturation circuit used in Darkglass's B3K V2 and B7K V2, and adds a four-band equalizer plus a dedicated footswitch to engage the overdrive section independently¹.

The pedal's enclosure sports new art from Ignacio Bazan Lazcano, which sets the limited edition apart from the standard model¹. No Treble described the underlying Microtubes B7K Ultra V2 as the company's all-time best-seller, with The Squid retaining its features and adding an auxiliary input².

Guitar World characterized the pedal's range as:

Controls and connections:

• Blend, Level and Drive knobs, plus a Master Volume that controls the overall unit level¹
• Four-band EQ with Hi and Lo-Mid frequency switches, and six selectable mid-band frequencies²³
• Attack and Grunt switches, and a three-way toggle offering additional control for each mid-range section¹
• Separate bypass and distortion footswitches¹
• A quarter-inch instrument input and an aux input for backing tracks³
• A headphone output, plus balanced XLR and quarter-inch output sockets³
• A balanced XLR output with ground lift and switchable IR cabinet simulation¹
• A Micro-USB B port to connect to a PC or Mac to load a different Virtual Cabinet through the Darkglass Suite⁴

The 3.5mm stereo aux input lets players practice along with backing tracks from a smartphone or laptop, and the 3.5mm headphone output includes cabinet simulation⁴.

The Squid was priced at £399, approximately $520¹.