Darkglass Alpha-Omega Photon Bass Distortion/Compression Pedal Reviews
For many bassists, the Darkglass Alpha-Omega pedal represents the pinnacle of modern bass tone. With the Alpha-Omega Photon, you can channel that sound in an optimized format with enhanced flexibility. By taking a few cues from the Darkglass Aggressively Distorting Advanced Machine, the Alpha-Omega Photon forgoes the original layout for streamlined knobs and touch-sensitive EQ settings. Under the hood, you get five different distortion and compression modes to explore, with a 6-band graphic equalizer to tweak your tone to taste. When it comes time to hit the road, built-in cabinet sim IRs let you leave the heavy cabs at home, which is ideal when needing a fly rig for last-second gigs and practice sessions. Hook the Alpha-Omega up to your Mac or PC via USB-C, and this pedal turns into a formidable audio interface for quick and easy tracking. Complete with an aux-in and a headphone output for private practice sessions and even Bluetooth audio streaming, the Darkglass Alpha-Omega Photon Bass Distortion/Compression Pedal rightly earns its place in any discerning bass player's rig.
Earn $28 back in Bonus Bucks† OR pay $23/month with 24 month financing*
$28 Earn $28.00 back in Bonus Bucks† on this purchase when you use your Sweetwater Credit Card without financing. Select your offer in checkout. Terms
As low as $23/month
with 24 month financing*
See all payment options
Customer Reviews
Customer Added Media
Share Your Thoughts
Help other music gear aficionados by sharing your opinions of gear you've purchased.
Questions about the AlphaOmegaPh?
Or call us at (800) 222-4700
Sweetwater's Sales Engineers are regarded as the most experienced and knowledgeable professionals in the music industry, with extensive music backgrounds and intense training on the latest products and technologies. They are available to offer you personalized product advice any time you need it.
Highest Rated Reviews
Solid pedal
This pedal is awesome for anyone looking for that punchy metal tone
Darkglass makes HEAT
Love this thing. I'm now able to keep my amp in my band's practice space instead of lugging it to and from home. I take my Photon back home so I can still practice with amazing tone and save myself back pain. Best part is that you can save your presets so you never have to worry about remembering your setup or taking a picture only to realize it just doesn't sound the same as "that one time you had it set up perfectly."
I thought the app that Darkglass pushes was going to be one of those useless apps that every smart appliance comes with nowadays, but the app actually has amazing functionality (the noise gate alone is great).
I enjoy that this pedal does so much, and it does it all well. In my opinion you can ditch your EQ, compressor, tuner, and noise gate pedals and just use this bad boy. The cab sims are great once you find whatever tone you were looking for. When playing around by myself I often use a variety of different ones, but for serious playing I tend to stick to a 810 or 410. The distortion modes have a wide variety of uses, thought DG is known for it's modern metal tone, I am able to get nice drive tones that aren't transparent and work well in different subgenres of rock. The compressor also works very well considering DG's minimalist approach to its use. It's also got a tuner that was completely nonsensical to me until I saw a video on someone explaining it; after figuring out how to use it I realized how handy it is. Admittedly I'm hesitant about the longevity of the touch screen EQ, but as of now it works fine. It's also a great DI box and it comes with the previously mentioned noise gate. One cool thing about its 3 main outs is that you are able to customize each individual's output (e.g. I can use the DI into the PA with every function enabled, and I can use one of the balanced outs into my amp and cab without the cabsim enabled at the same time).
Alpha time
Very happy with this Darkglass equipment. Let's me practice with same tones as my alpha omega 900 and 212 cab. Love the the portability. The app makes set up and adjustments a breeze.
The best pedal I have
Out of all the pedals on my board, this is the only one i now consider to be truly needed. I had the omicron and the ultra, this is closer to the ultra, but more clear. The eq is insanely responsive, the drive engine on this is just phenomenal, and the added cab sim...just amazing. Didnt think i was going to care about the bluetooth connection til i actually used the app. And while the app isn't the best, it's still awesome to use. This is definitely a pedal i will not be letting off my board any time soon....atleast until darkglass comes up with something better....but good luck to them on that.
Next Level Tone, Comprehensive Control and Versatility out the Wazoo!
Every now and then, comes along a title for a review that completely captures all that needs to be said about an item. Also note that anything likened to the mighty wazoo should never be taken lightly.
However, and only because "my friends at Sweetwater" requested that I tell them what I think, I would be remiss should I fail to mention that not only is it wazoo worthy, it also provides the user, potential band mates and any of the blessed whom may experience its rich characteristics, a journey into the land of KickAssdom where women, children and even the least among us writhe in its glory.
Absolutely amazing
I previously had the Darkglass Alpha Omega Ultra, which was by far my favorite pedal on my extensive pedalboard. The Alpha Omega Photon is such a step forward that it makes the Ultra look like junk in comparison. In addition to the wide range of fully customizable distortion sounds, the clean presets are incredibly full sounding.
I had my first gig with it the other day, and after we got off stage, I was swarmed with people asking about my bass (ESP Ltd B-1005 Multiscale) and commenting on how amazing the tone was. The bass is great, but I play that bass regularly without all of those compliments. The difference was just the Photon running in my chain. It is worth every single penny of it's price and I would recommend it to anyone regardless of genre.
Elvis Has Left the Building!
The KING!!
A most amazing tool that you must consider to cover so many tasks and dirt sounds. Darkglass has really outdone themselves this time...
Awesome features from such small footprint
After watching Amos Heller on YouTube I was hooked on the tones and flexibility of tones this unit can provide. I made the leap and im very impressed even out of the box the tones were amazing. The real bread and butter is when you connect to the darkglass suite from phone or computer. There are hidden settings and things you can change only through the darkglass suite. All in all the tones are monsterous! Only two downsides are on unit directly you can only have access to three presets (ABC) but you can use six presets through midi (ABCDEF). And the day my Alpha Omega Photon shipped, Darkglass announced the Microtubes Infinity. Not a con on Alpha Omega Photon but I might get the Microtubes infinity as well.
Awesome features from such small footprint
After watching Amos Heller on YouTube I was hooked on the tones and flexibility of tones this unit can provide. I made the leap and im very impressed even out of the box the tones were amazing. The real bread and butter is when you connect to the darkglass suite from phone or computer. There are hidden settings and things you can change only through the darkglass suite. All in all the tones are monsterous! Only two downsides are on unit directly you can only have access to three presets (ABC) but you can use six presets through midi (ABCDEF). And the day my Alpha Omega Photon shipped, Darkglass announced the Microtubes Infinity. Not a con on Alpha Omega Photon but I might get the Microtubes infinity as well.
Versatile and Useful
I've been chasing this sound for literally years. Sounds, I guess. I've been trying to cut down on the amount of equipment I lug around with me to travel lighter, which led to trying out a number of different DIs and preamps over the last couple of years. The Photon has a very nice clean sound, and both flavors of distortion sound like ... drive and/or distortion, without the artificial fizzy sound that has plagued me with other preamps. I'm still tweaking things to find the tones I like *best*, but I currently have three sounds that work enough for pretty much everything I play: clean, a bit of alpha grit, and bonkers omega fuzz. (Finally, I can happily play "Song 2" or "Ace of Spades"!)
Not a full five stars, for two reasons. One is the lack of an effects loop, which I of course knew about. I was tempted to wait for another possible future version, but the acquisition by Korg gave me pause, and I figured it was time to make a move. The other reason is that the transition from one preset to another involves a (barely) perceptible delay. I don't do a lot of switching sounds in a single song, but if that's a part of your playing you should be aware of it.
Everything but filters
The sound-shaping process for lo-Fi, sometimes pop rock, Indie rock, was easy AF. Might maybe want a LPF with it but can't say there's much else t complain about.
Its Darkglass
It retains all the features you expect from Darkglass - built well, feature rich and tone tone tone. It may be a little intimidating to learn to use this unique interface (same as on their ADAM) but it became real intuitive real quick. Its really the only pedal a typical bassist would need, you get a tuner, a compressor, an EQ, an audio interface, aux in, DI and headphones out. If you dont want to lug around a Helix ( I do, I won't live without it) then the Photon is a clear must have.
Nod to my SW rep Henry Morre, he always makes it easy.
