Designed after the venerated X series pedals, the Microtubes X 900 sets a new standard for precision and control. We have integrated an all-analog preamp, a 900-watt Class D amplifier, and an ultra-quiet 6-band graphic equalizer inside to sculpt tones ranging from crystal clear to aggressive and saturated.
Front Panel Features
Input
Use this jack to connect your instrument via a standard ¼" mono cable.
Passive/Active
Use this push-button to switch from passive to active mode. If your bass is active, it may have a hotter signal, causing the amp to distort earlier (feel free to use it if such extra distortion is desired).
X
Use this push-button to engage or disengage the Microtubes X engine, which allows you to compress and distort your bass signal in two separate bands, solidifying clear lows and distorting the highs to taste, from articulate to aggressive. The Microtubes X engine operates before the EQ section.
Clean Comp
Use this push-button to engage the compressor circuit for the clean channel.
Vol (Clean Comp)
Sets the level of the clean channel when the compressor is engaged.
HPF (High Pass Filter)
Controls the cutoff frequency of the high-pass filter that is applied before the clean signal is sent to the distortion circuit. From 100 Hz (for thicker, fuzzier saturation) to 1 kHz (for ultra-sharp definition).
Drive
Sets the amount of distortion for the high-pass side.
Mix
Controls the mix between the compressed lows and the distorted highs.
LPF (Low Pass Filter)
Controls the cutoff frequency of the low-pass filter that is applied before the clean signal is sent to the compression circuit. From 50 Hz (for lows only) to 500 Hz (to preserve some clean mids).
Comp
Controls the amount of compression for the low band when X is engaged. Both threshold and makeup gain are controlled to maintain a constant level. This control is also used to control the amount of compression when the compressor is engaged for the clean signal. The clean compressor is full-range.
Level
Sets the output volume of the X channel.
Bass
+-12 dB at 80 Hz.
Mids
+-12 dB at 250, 500, 1.5k, and 3 kHz.
Treble
+-12 dB at 5 kHz.
Master
Sets the overall volume of the unit.
Mute
Use this push-button to mute the amplifier.
Dimensions
Width: 26.7 cm / 10¼”
Length: 25.5 cm / 10″
Height: 7.1 cm / 2¾”
Weight: 2.4 kg / 5.3 lb
Using the desktop version of the Darkglass Suite allows you to select and use any of our impulse responses available in our supplied library, in addition to loading your own custom impulse responses. Furthermore, you can control the amp channel settings for the Super Intelligent Footswitch.
Rear Panel Features
Speaker Output
Use this connector to connect the amplifier to your cabinet. This speakON combo jack allows for operation with either a speakON or ¼" speaker cable. The outputs are connected in parallel with a minimum load of 2.5 Ω.
WARNING: Do not use an instrument cable with this jack. Using an instrument cable may damage your amplifier.
Send
Use this output to send the signal to effects units.
Return
Use this input to receive the signal from effects units. The master volume control is after this input.
Ground Lift
Use this control to lift the ground of the XLR DI outputs. If you experience ground noise in your DI signal, try changing the setting of this control.
Pre-DI Output
Use this connector to send a balanced copy of your clean signal to the console, mic preamp, interface, etc.
Post-DI Output
Use this connector to connect the Microtubes X 900 preamp to balanced equipment (mic preamp, recorder, compressor, audio interface, etc.) via a standard XLR connector. Through this connection, you have a signal processed by the amp's preamp section (gain, distortion, compressor, EQ, cab simulation, etc.).
USB
The USB-C connector allows you to use the Darkglass Suite to load different cabinet impulses or change different settings on your amp (MIDI; compressor on/off, etc.).
Headphone Output
Connect your headphones and enjoy the processed signal chain with impulse response cabinet emulation.
Headphone Volume
Controls the volume of the headphone output.
Aux In
Connect to the headphone output of your laptop, mobile phone, MP3 player, etc. The aux input signal is sent only to the headphone output.
Cab Select
Switch between 3 different cabinet impulses or bypass this section for a rawer sound.
MIDI
The MIDI input allows you to control the amp's channels via a standard MIDI controller. MIDI PC and CC can be configured in the Suite.
, disable the Clean Comp button on the front panel as engaging/disengaging the Clean Comp will be controlled by the footswitch.
· You can use a regular mono instrument cable to connect the amplifier to the footswitch.
· You must remove the cable from the footswitch jack on the rear panel if you want to control the amp from the front panel.
Fan
The fan forces air inside the amp to help the heatsink system cool the amp. The fan speeds up when the temperature rises to help cool the system more effectively while keeping noise to a minimum. Ensure you never cover the air vents.
AC Socket
Use this connector to power the amp. The X 900 features an auto-switching power supply that supports 100-240 VAC at 50/60 Hz.
AC Power ON/OFF
Use this switch to release the audio power of your bass.