Microtubes X 900

900W Bass Amplifier

Uncompromised precision.

Designed after the revered X series pedals, the Microtubes X 900 sets a new standard for accuracy and control. We packed an all-analog preamp, a 900 watt Class D amplifier, and an ultra-quiet 6-band graphic equalizer inside to sculpt tones from crystal clear to aggressive and overdriven.

Front Panel Features

Input

Use this jack to connect your instrument via a standard mono cable.

Passive/Active

Use this push-button switch to change from passive to active mode. If your bass is active it can have a hotter signal, making the amp distort earlier (feel free to use if such additional distortion is desired).

X

Use this push-button to turn on or off the Microtubes X Engine which allows you to compress and distort your bass signal in two separate bands, solidifying the clean low end 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 switch to activate 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 which is applied before the clean signal is fed to the distortion circuit. Ranging 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 blend between the compressed lows and the distorted highs.

LPF (Low Pass Filter)

Controls the cut-off frequency of the low pass filter which is applied before the clean signal is fed to the compression circuit. Ranging from 50 Hz (for only sub-bass) to 500 Hz (to preserve some clean mids).

Comp

Controls the amount of compression for the low band when X is activated. 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 enabled for the clean signal. The clean comp is full-range.

Level

Sets the output volume of the X channel.

Bass

+-12 dB @ 80 Hz.

Mids

+-12 dB at 250, 500, 1.5k and 3 kHz.

Treble

+-12 dB @ 3 kHz.

Master

Sets the overall volume of the unit.

Mute

Use this push-button to mute the amplifier.

Dimensions

Width: 26.7 cm /10
Length: 25.5 cm / 10
Height: 7.1 cm / 2
Weight: 2.4 kg / 5.3 lb

Back Panel Features

Speaker Output

Use this connector to connect the amplifier to your cabinet. This speakON combo jack allows for either speakON or speaker cable operation. The outputs are connected in parallel with the minimum load of 2,5 .
WARNING: Do not use an instrument cable with this jack. Using an instrument cable can 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. Master volume control is after this input.

Ground Lift

Use this control to lift the ground of the DI XLR outputs. If you are experiencing 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 preamplifier to balanced equipment (mic preamp, recorder, compressor, audio interface, etc.) via a standard XLR connector. Using this connection you have a signal processed by the preamp section of the amp (gain, distortion, compressor, EQ, cab sim, etc.).

USB

The USB-C connector allows you to use the Darkglass Suite to load different cabinet impulses or change different parameters on your amp (MIDI; compressor on/off, etc.).

Headphone Output

Connect your headphones and enjoy the processed signal chain with the impulse response cabinet emulation.

Headphone Volume

Controls the volume of the headphone output.

Aux In

Connect this to the headphone output of your laptop, cellphone, MP3 player, etc. The Aux In signal is fed 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 channels of the amp via a MIDI standard controller. MIDI PC and CC can be configured in the Suite.

Footswitch

The Intelligent Footswitch is a proprietary digitally controlled device that allows you to remotely engage and disengage the X Engine or to mute the amplifier. Plugging in the footswitch disables all front panel buttons except the passive/active switch and the clean comp push-button which will remain operational for the clean channel.

When using the Super Intelligent Footswitch, disengage the Clean Comp button on the front panel as the clean comp on/off 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 in 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 will speed up when the temperature rises to help cool the system more efficiently while keeping the noise at minimum. Be sure to never cover the vent holes.

AC Socket

Use this connector to feed electric power to the amp. The X 900 has an automatically switching power supply that supports 100-240 VAC at 50/60 Hz.

AC Power ON/OFF

Use this switch to release the audio energy from your bass.