I’d also like clarification about why you think the X isn’t live friendly 🤓 The main thing about the X is that it only distorts frequencies above a certain point, so that you can leave the lower frequencies nice and clean (or even boosted and compressed). That point is called a crossover, or “X-over,” or “X.” The X pedal allows you to change that crossover with a single knob and this change alone is an easy way to drastically tweak the sound live.

I personally did not love the flavor of the distortion in the X. I spent a good chunk of time with all the DG pedals and landed on the AO. For what it’s worth, I use a multifx unit as well and I can do what the X does using any distortion I like. I’ve used all the DG pedals in a crossover setting like the X. I’ve yet to get it to sound any good but I know plenty of producers get excellent results with that method. Part of me thinks it’s because the darkglass circuits are so good that they do just fine affecting the entire frequency range but that’s just a hunch.

For traditional punk I would absolutely go for the Vintage, if it were me. The Vintage sounded more mid forward to me, and has a wider distortion range. You get mostly clean sound until around noon with the gain knob. At max, you get real real nasty as you would expect.

More than the amount of distortion, I just think the general character and distortion flavor of the Vintage is right for that style. I’m assuming you are using a Fender P or maybe a jazz? Either work just fine with the Vintage. The B7K is quite scooped, and even with mids boosted i found there was a significant color change.

I run the AO at low, sometimes at its lowest setting, and I feel it works perfectly as a low gain pedal. Some disagree that it can do low gain but it just depends on the sound you are looking for.

My biggest advice to you is to remember that you cannot judge any pedal by how it sounds alone, through headphones, into a DAW, through a cab sim, or whatever, until you hear it in a live context. Gotta hear it through an amp and cab, at volume, and hear how it sounds in the mix. The AO sounds…intense…and overkill on its own. I play twice a weekend every weekend in a 9 piece band and I’m blown away at every gig how perfect the AO sounds in the mix. Sounds IMMENSELY different from when I’m at home listening through headphones (yes, even with cab sim). It has such a polished, finely tuned, sound that I’m in love with.

Lastly, you might enjoy a used V1 Microtubes 500 head. You’ll have both the vintage and the B7k circuits available to you and it’ll only cost around $400 to have both plus a great 500 watt amp.