Best Pedal For Bass Guitar (2024 Update)

Whenever I turn on this pedal, distortion or not it sounds like someone just woke up a beehive, The actual clean sound is pretty good but when you really dig into the pups it starts to make that pop sound louder which is a big issue for me at least, (shouldn't be due to volume increase) when the distortion is on, there's even more buzz AND it's a very bad distortion. The distortion also doesn't have a wide range of sounds and is only really usable at minimum gain and the blend knob almost all the way back, just get an OD , and an EQ pedal, trust me.Undisclosed

I typically run a clean bass signal with no effects (except for a compressor pedal). I purchased this pedal because of the DI, Equalizer control, Distortion (as needed) and 9v operation. (1) The DI sounds pretty good and records clean. (2) The Equalizer control is a little too sensitive for my taste, but it does shape the sound as expected. I feel that a +/- 12db 4-band Equalizer would have been better with frequency bands of 80Hz, 360Hz, 800Hz and 5kHz. (3) The Distortion is pretty good and fits the bill when needed. Like most distortion pedals, it is slightly thin when "on". But this pedal can balance a clean (low) and distorted tone for a good balance. (4) The pedal operates on the same 9v supply/polarity that virtually all other pedals operate on (center negative). I find this convenient when operating all pedals on my Big Joe Lithium Power Supply. In summary I'm happy with my purchase and it resides in my set-up all of the time.SLoveland

Great pedal, exceptional value for money! Sounds great, can get some real bass tones through it without sacrificing too much and with little to no feedback when cranked up. Only issue is that I’d say better quality switches could be used, feel a little cheap and heavy when switching but other than that, ace! Looks great on the board and the lighting of the knobs makes the whole board light up just the right amount Would recommend !Brett E.

The only bass pedal I have seen that fulfills my requirements. It does exactly what is on the tin. Quality is good, robustly built what is expected carrying the Fender name. Slightly disappointingly, Made in China, although now the norm.Richard B.

This pedal does exactly what it claims to do. Crossover feature keeps your low end clean and defined while the top end shimmers with the chorus effect. The ability to blend the effect is excellent. A marked improvement on the early generation of bass chorus pedals when everything gets a bit wobbly. Highly recommended.namkrowz

Build quality on this pedal is great, tone control is super. Paired up with a big muff bass pi and you've got a great sound. The crossover switch is a great addition but not one I use as I'm running a clean amp and a dirty one, so the more effects the better on the latter! Worth noting, there's no battery. This probably won't be a problem as if you are considering it you probably have a power bank or some other wired power already. Gets you 90% of the way to Come As You Are, you just need to learn the notes.toblockle-0

EHX Small Clone Bass Chorus pedal is fantastic the xover switch allows you to keep my lows whereas they get sucked away with other bass chorus pedals.Reviewed by guitarguitar custome

I was recommended this bass preamp almost 20 years ago. I've been through a TON of boutique equipment since then, trying to find 'my sound' and figured..what the heck, let me give this pedal a try. It makes EVERYTHING sound better! If you play on other peoples rigs from time to time, bring this!!! You'll be so much happier you did! You can find 'your sound' on almost any rig with this little guy. I'm a gear snob, I like 'my sound', which is clear, clean, and with a little bit of tube breakup while grinding in on my jazz. My sound is a cross between Flea and Marcus Miller. My boutique equipment gives me this on its own. When I'm forced to play a Behringer single 15" cab with no tweeter and no usable EQ because its the backline, the Sans Amp will be definitely utilized that night! Do yourself a favor and grab one of these pedals! Even if you keep it in you bag as a backup DI. It's like having a preamp and/or a DI at your disposal in case you needed to go straight to the house.DT

Bought this to see about going straight to p.a. And monitor. Initial impressions very good. Even with tone controls flat it seems to improve the sound compared to going straight into the desk. More depth and detail? Not sure if they’re the right words but they’ll have to do! It now sits at the end of the line on my tiny pedal board. Other pedals are boss tuner, boss bass chorus and ebs billy Sheehan pedal. Simples!Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Here's why I love this thing. First, I prefer passive basses. Second, when gigging I need fast access to three basic tone signatures — a mid-boosted one for a balanced mix with the band, a bottom-heavy grindy one for heavy lifting, and a scooped one for funk and solos. Program those in, and good to go, with the option to tweak them a bit for conditions without permanently altering the setting. Third, after years of lugging heavy, bulky head units I now feed the Sansamp into a 1000W ultralite power amp and have all the headroom I need, without the pain. Fourth, whenever I meet a new sound man at gigs the first thing I hear is "Sweet, a Sansamp DI." Fifth, hand-built like a tank in NYC. I'm sure I can list more, but you get the idea. I've been using it for three years now and won't ever go back to onboard preamps, either on the bass or on the head unit.Casey Ess

I got this pedal to add a distortion unit with midi functionality to my board and this doesn’t disappoint. Drive + Parametric EQ and with tons of different distortion types. Yes please. It can be routed numerous ways (my favorite being Mono effect plus dry through) and having this, or any source audio pedal to the board elevates your sound!!Matt R

A great pedal right out of the box, but infinitely tweakable parameters with the Neuro App to get the exact sounds you need. A great option if you can't decide what dirt pedals to get for your bass. You can also download various presets uploaded by other users on the app cloud. Can't say enough good things about this.madderbass

OMG FINALLY!!!! A responsive aggressive customizable BASS DISTORTION!!!!!!! I Absolutely love the tones out of this pedal. And the flexibility is endless. AMAZING PEDAL AND COMPANYStone Jamess

Wow man Wow!!! Where has this pedal been all my life ? And more importantly WHY HASENT ANYONE EVER TOLD ME ABOUT IT BEFORE!!! Have a super clean amp and just want to add a little Grit? Have a tube amp and want to push it over the edge? Going direct using a Preamp pedal and want to add a “Second Channel”? This is NOT a fuzz/Distortion. This is just an amazing gritty tone machine.Stone Jamess

I switched from the Pigtronix Fat Bass Drive to the Bass Soul Food. The review above me has said a good amount about this pedal, so I won't repeat what they said. This has just the right sound I've been wanting. Even blended all the way in, and the drive all the way over, it's not too distorted for me. It'll do a clean boost just fine as well. Really pleased that there's still good low end. Doesn't kill my tone. I mainly use it on my USA G&L SB-2 with flatwounds. I was considering the MXR Bass Overdrive but it was more expensive & I didn't like the sound of it as much. The video from EHX doesn't do this pedal justice, in my opinion. There's a couple more videos out there on YouTube that represent it a little better. This is my first EHX pedal & so far I am happy with it. Built in the USA & build quality seems good & tough. Get growling with the Bass Soul Food!Bass Playin' Trucker

Overall: I've tried several other bass boost/distortion pedals, but they were always too "harsh" or "metal sounding." They were good for that sound (grind, dirt), but it was too much for me. After reading the review on this pedal, I decided to try it. After three days, I'm thrilled! The clean boost is just that, the distortion goes from very smooth to the raunch some people like (but I don't). This pedal is perfect for setting up a boost/smooth distortion that is perfect for soloing with just that little extra edge on it. The tone control set on higher treble can also boost the upper-register tones on leads. It works, with some tweaks, on everything from my '70 P-bass to my Carvin Icon 5 fretless to my Ibanez 3006 6-string. I recommend this pedal very highly. If you want warm, tasteful distortion for your bass, this is the way to go. I'm a 30+ year Boss user, but this eats the Boss Bass Distortion alive for smoothness and taste.Lawrence

Perfect pedal for the price range, very usable, with the right amp and guitar set up it can sound very similar to an ampeg classic.sndmkr

Overall: Over the years I have owned at least a dozen bass overdrive and distortion pedals and this one is the best hands down. It sounds like an Ampeg SVT cranked with lots of warm rich tube saturation without sounding muddy or losing your low end. I was surprised at how well this pedal emulates a high gain tube amp. just like with the real deal if you dial back the volume on your bass and the amount of overdrive dials back with it. The controls are simple and easy to use and give tons of control of your sound. The volume control works to boost or cut your volume without effecting the effect leval. The blend control let's you dial in some of your clean tone to help keep your low end full. I leave the gain cranked with just a little of my clean tone mixed in and it sounds amazing. As an added plus this pedal is dead silent even when switched on. In the past I always needed to use a noise gate for my distortion pedals but this pedal is so quiet I don't need one, which helps free up space on my pedal board.Timothy

Having purchased this unit among other pedals to replace a Zoom B2.1u Multi FX unit, I found myself wondering whether there really was anything to gain from the change. I was very quickly convinced that it was worth every cent, as the MXR compressor gives you all the versatility you could want in a compressor. The LED bar graph shows you exactly how much compression is being applied at a given moment, and serves as a fantastic way to adjust your settings so that the signal is being compressed exactly where and when you want it to be. Your eyes will tell you what your ears may not! Unlike many of my other pedals, the MXR Bass Compressor stays in the state you leave it in. Other effects need to be toggled on or off to suit my 'default' sound every time the pedal board is plugged in, but thanks to the 3PDT toggle switch, this unit stays in the state you left it in. If it was on when you unplugged, it'll be on when you plug in again, and vice versa! The other benefit of this type of switch is that you get true bypass. Overall, the MXR Bass compressor is very compact, built tough, versatile, adjustable, doesn't color your tone, and leaves you believing it couldn't possibly be improved, as it's already PERFECT! I would absolutely buy another one if this was stolen and would not even need to consider the competition!leftybenno

it's hard to tell what is really happening here unless you really pay attention very closely to the sound of what's NOT happening, meaning, you are trying to focus the sound, tone, ambience, etc. yet at the same time, you want it to do what it's meant for – very hard to discern when there's no manual to go by. The manual for this unit is absolutely TERRIBLE – sure it's in every language in the world, but NO real directions for setup or how to make the sound improved. No theory of operation, nothing. Worst manual I ever opened. For anything ever bought in my lifetime. And no link to direct you to better, more detailed instructions on how to use. Very disappointed in that regard. Other than that, it does seem to make my overall sound less sloppy ( less speaker "wow" & flutter is the goal, when playing bass, with one of these compressors) so it seems to be eliminating what you DON'T want to hear, but it takes some time to get this pedal oriented correctly, with the controls. And you really have to pay attention to what you're NOT hearing, as you tweak it – that's the only way you'll know if you are improving on the sound.bass player # 69

This is the 3rd and final compressor I tried. I like the visual readout which is quite helpful. This pedal has a lot of different sounds it can help create. I play 4 to 5 times a week in two different bands. The one band is a hard rock/funk band and the other is a country band. Needless to say my tone is different in each situation. This pedal helps me get to where I need to and quickly. Once you figure out the pedal, it is really easy to use. Check out videos on youtube, there are several tutorials to help you get the sound you want/need.4stringassasin

The Battalion is great. Spent a long time trying to find the best distorted signal for my playing and finally found the right thing for me. Has plenty of options and a variety of other really useful features. The noise gate, although simple and the envelope being a bit too long is still really useful for it's intention. The Compressor is again basic but works as intended and gives the sound way more punch. The EQ is true and allows for a greater deal of control over the signal. It's just brilliant overall, feels sturdy and can imagine using it for a very long time!Samuel P.

Overall: Excellent sound and flexibility, really love the ability to blend the overdiven and natural bass sounds. good, simple, compressor. XLR output crashed within 6 months. Emailed tech support. literally ZERO response. Very disappointed. We use several of their products but the utter lack of response means we'll be smarter next time.Still gets a 3 for value because it's still usable with the 1/4" but really would like *someone* to reply when I email for help. Cannot recommend, which is a shame because it's a great pedal.James

Fantastic quality. The tone is great and although I have other overdrive pedals like Boss, this one has immediately gone on my pedalboard. Love the noise gate button addition and the equalisers mean you can change the feel really easily. Also it’s a little smaller than expected which means it fits great on the board. Front centre! Delivered quickly too so happy with the service from PMT!Mark W.

What you don't hear in the demo videos is NOISE, but life is full of compromise. Low budget? No place to open up 50 or 100 watts? It does have nice tone characteristics. I have 3 different to test drive. A Blackstar Stereo 20, Marshall MG10, Carvin SX50 – It definitely adds to the built in varity of the Blackstar; okay with the Carvin; sounds like crap with the Marshall. You can not "overdrive" the amps natural overdrive. You have to run it into a realitivly clean sound. The noise gate peters out the signal on sustained notes, which can be taxing. I have a Charvel So Cal, Fender Tele Player, and a Kramer Beretta: the effect of your guitar's sound is marginal. The difference is in your amp. The Bottom Line: I say, test a floor model, through different amps at the music store. If you like it, buy one USED from SamAshDirect… But if you want THAT EVH SOUND – buy an amp… And keep shredding!icor57-2

This overdrive pedal is used by many pros now in their pedal chain to layer gain stages and I fully understand why now. The noise gate is an excellent addition to my chain, smooth saturation and warm distortion to screaming high gains. Don't be afraid to turn the knobs really low, you will be much more impressed if you do and will likely have better results. This staged with a tube screamer, a TC micro boost and an MXR EQ pedal is a killer setup for stage or studio. Plug in and rock!Gypsy Bones

Wasn't expecting more than a good D. I. Box. After using it at my band rehearsal it's now become essential. It has made my ashdown drive pedal obsolete, cleaned up the bottom end in my tone and the whole band. I use a Spector Legend 6 Bass. I'm In a band with two bassists, drums and vocals. We both Bi-amp. A bass amp and a guitar amp. Getting these to all work together can be a real headache… But this has improved things so much, that the other bassist has one now. Tone very comparable to an ampeg type- Growly, very tight and controllable bottom end, doesn't "fart out" on Max. Top end can be moved between airy and crunchy. Build quality It is plastic, but I have no worries. I'm sure if I stomped on the 1/4" Jack, it would damage, but I keep mine on the pedal board anyway. Value Beyond comparison. I can't think of a better spent 20. The sansamp it's cloning is at least 8 times more expensive. And although it's better in some areas, (metal casing etc), sound-wise there's little to choose between them. At this price, in the unlikely event it broke, I'd just buy another. I have recorded using this, and it has very little noise, But massive tone. If it sounds good in an amplifier, it really comes into its own recorded. Save yourself a couple of grandon an svt, and just use this. Yes, really. I would highly recommend this pedal/D.I.snailsetsnail

Obviously with Behringer you are likely trying to save some cash instead of getting something "name brand." When I would record DI bass guitar, I used to run it through a distortion or fuzz pedal to get a more natural sounding gain. The V-Tone pedal is very good in that regard. Turn the presence, drive, and blend knobs all the way up and adjust the EQ to your liking and you get a mean crunch while keeping the clack of loose strings. That is about the limit of this pedal's potential, at least for me. Any adjustment to those knobs to turn down the distortion results in a sound nearly identical with just a clean DI with no pedal or preamp at all. It's as if turning them up from 1 to 8 has no effect until you get them to 9 and 10. Another flaw I've found is the high gain settings bring along a high pitched whistle that occurs randomly during playing, though it seems to happen with a lot of string rattle from long, held notes. It doesn't stand out when it's mixed with drums and a wall of guitars, though. I've only used it as a DI for recording, never as a preamp or DI for a PA or anything like that, it's possible it could be really good for those. I am happy with it to record bass for my doom, black metal, and mathcore kind of music, but wouldn't go to it for anything else.Jacob

I recently purchased the guitar version (GDI21) and was quick to get this bass version soon after. I own a rack mount Tech21 Sansamp RBI unit which has been excellent for me thru the years live. Also, their V1 VT Bass pedal has been a mainstay for me in a live setting. This is a very good clone of the BDDI with potential issues if used in a live setting. These are: Cheezy and fragile On/Off foot switch, and Illegible knobs. I have no idea where the knobs are set at any given time. Aside from that, I like this as a desk top companion to my other tone shapers such as the MXR M80 and M81 Bass Preamps. For little money, you can't lose in purchasing this for a home studio bass pre.Reed in CA

Wasn't expecting more than a good D. I. Box. After using it at my band rehearsal it's now become essential. It has made my ashdown drive pedal obsolete, cleaned up the bottom end in my tone and the whole band. I use a Spector Legend 6 Bass. I'm In a band with two bassists, drums and vocals. We both Bi-amp. A bass amp and a guitar amp. Getting these to all work together can be a real headache… But this has improved things so much, that the other bassist has one now. Tone very comparable to an ampeg type- Growly, very tight and controllable bottom end, doesn't "fart out" on Max. Top end can be moved between airy and crunchy. Build quality It is plastic, but I have no worries. I'm sure if I stomped on the 1/4" Jack, it would damage, but I keep mine on the pedal board anyway. Value Beyond comparison. I can't think of a better spent 20. The sansamp it's cloning is at least 8 times more expensive. And although it's better in some areas, (metal casing etc), sound-wise there's little to choose between them. At this price, in the unlikely event it broke, I'd just buy another. I have recorded using this, and it has very little noise, But massive tone. If it sounds good in an amplifier, it really comes into its own recorded. Save yourself a couple of grandon an svt, and just use this. Yes, really. I would highly recommend this pedal/D.I.snailsetsnail

Obviously with Behringer you are likely trying to save some cash instead of getting something "name brand." When I would record DI bass guitar, I used to run it through a distortion or fuzz pedal to get a more natural sounding gain. The V-Tone pedal is very good in that regard. Turn the presence, drive, and blend knobs all the way up and adjust the EQ to your liking and you get a mean crunch while keeping the clack of loose strings. That is about the limit of this pedal's potential, at least for me. Any adjustment to those knobs to turn down the distortion results in a sound nearly identical with just a clean DI with no pedal or preamp at all. It's as if turning them up from 1 to 8 has no effect until you get them to 9 and 10. Another flaw I've found is the high gain settings bring along a high pitched whistle that occurs randomly during playing, though it seems to happen with a lot of string rattle from long, held notes. It doesn't stand out when it's mixed with drums and a wall of guitars, though. I've only used it as a DI for recording, never as a preamp or DI for a PA or anything like that, it's possible it could be really good for those. I am happy with it to record bass for my doom, black metal, and mathcore kind of music, but wouldn't go to it for anything else.Jacob

I recently purchased the guitar version (GDI21) and was quick to get this bass version soon after. I own a rack mount Tech21 Sansamp RBI unit which has been excellent for me thru the years live. Also, their V1 VT Bass pedal has been a mainstay for me in a live setting. This is a very good clone of the BDDI with potential issues if used in a live setting. These are: Cheezy and fragile On/Off foot switch, and Illegible knobs. I have no idea where the knobs are set at any given time. Aside from that, I like this as a desk top companion to my other tone shapers such as the MXR M80 and M81 Bass Preamps. For little money, you can't lose in purchasing this for a home studio bass pre.Reed in CA

They have gotten expensive over the years (along with everything else) but it's history and reputation speaks for itself. I've had various Boss pedals over the course of 30 years and I have never, ever, not once had one that failed or malfunctioned. I wanted a cheaper alternative but what made me commit to this pedal, once again, was it's true bypass/buffer capabilities. I'm using this one differently than I've customarily have used them in the past. This is to be used in a pedalboard dedicated to an electrified Kalimba (pictured below). I'll be wiring it up soon. The Boss is the ONLY new pedal that will be on that board. All that are there now I've had sitting for years and decided to put them to use.Christopher

Perhaps EQ is not the most exciting of pedals compared to other effects, but this really does make an enormous difference to your sound and help you get the best from the rest of your gear. Boost the mids to stand out from bass. Scoop the mids and boost bass/treble to sound like Metallica. Use the independent Level control as an overall volume boost (or limit – but who wants that?!) Extremely easy to set up and configure, in Boss's usual bullet-proof format. Highly recommended.Steve M.

Brilliant on-the-spot tone-shaping tool. Opens up virtually infinite sound possibilities, very handy when stacking overdrives with some or a lot of overlap in their tonal voicings. Also great for approximating the tones of completely different styles of pickups. Small adjustments tend to work best, a subtle nudge of the slider in the problematic frequency band is often all you need. Equally, you can throw that out and morph the tonal profile to something incredibly different. After my tuner it's hands-down the most indispensable pedal on my board. Allows me to shape the one tone control on the Pro Junior IV into even more harmonic/percussive/airy/creamy/bell-like territory. Been guitaring more or less 20 years now and i could probably count on one hand the amount of reviews I've been compelled to write, if that's an indicator of how game-changing the GE-7 has been to the fundamental way in which i dial in a tone.Mark

Sounds great and is really small, so handy for folks with busier pedal boards. Also overdrive and fuzz in one unit. Nice features too with the ability to blend in clean tone over the overdrive – so you dont loose too much clarity and bottom end. Perfect for bassists like me!Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Exactly as your find in the videos and reviews online. Only issue I had was the power cord. Had to use another which sent buying one. But not enough of an issue not to buy it.csmi8204

Distortion/overdrive/fuzz pedals are difficult to get right. There are different "flavors" of dirt, differing amounts available, and there's the issues around EQ coloration and loss of low end. The Aguilar Agro has a nice flavor (kind of retro tube instead of overly modern), a wide range of amount (from none to pretty fuzzy), but best of all what it does and does not do to your overall tone shape. I find that it does not lose my fundamental low frequency and it does not impose a baked-in EQ (such as a mid-scoop) for me to struggle against. It's just my bass, sounding just as it always does, but with a really nice crunch added to it. Simple. But hard to get right. Nice job, Aguilar.scottfeldstein

Minus one star because it's frankly overpriced. Otherwise this pedal is excellent and the best use of 4 knobs in any current envelope filter. You can get a little more out of some of the filters with 6 or 8 controls. But for effective simplicity this pedal is fantastic. You can get a modest variety of albeit similar sounds, but nearly every setting is usable. This alone is more rare than it should be in pedals. The twin filter is incredibly well tuned. And generally easy and pleasurable to use. The only issue I have is with its price. I design audio electronics professionally and can guess at the cost to produce. And the main circuit they sadly chose to pot. Someone looking to "steal" this non-patentable design could still do so but it makes modification and repair near impossible. They should ditch the potting and set a lower price because they should be selling more of these very good pedals.Marty McFlurr

With this pedal I'm able to get the perfect amount of grit for my bass while keeping the "sound" of the pickups and keeping 98% of the low end. Love this pedal! Will definitely purchase again if and when this one dies.Kevin

great value; plenty volume on tap; treble and bass very usable; does color tone a bit but in a good thick way; less bass helps clear up the sound a bit. with small toggle switch in down pos perhaps a little more transparent and with toggle up adds a little more girth to the tone. flat response with vol around 1 o'clock, gain at 7 o'clock, bass at around 10 o'clock and treble around 3 o'clock (at least with my circuit…); gain begins to gets very "gainy" adding significant volume at around 10 o'clock and from will continue to increase to an extreme full tone slightly mid scooped distortion. not designed to be a big bumble bee crackly fuzz but like its label states an "overdrive" and will defiantly push your amp into breakup from mild to extreme.baycman

This pedal has gotta be one of the most underrated OD pedals out there…. especially given its price point. I have A,B'd this thing against modded BD-2s, modded OD-3's, and the SD-1W and the Mojomojo is just bigger and less tinty. I dont want it to be, but it is. It is a wonderful sounding OD and is great for OD rhythm sounds. It is in the cranked Marshall class of OD's so not to be confused with the green OD pedal. The only area that some of my modded ODs beat it in is sustain. It does tail off on lead stuff sooner than some more expensive pedals. That is the only area that it doesn't win though. You can also use this as an always on boost as well. All in all this thing always seems to knock more expensive pedals off my board time and time again. Highly recommend this pedal and at it's price point it should be in all OD aficionados collection.KL

I can get this pedal to do three things: a very subtle reverb that adds a touch of space, a room-like reverb, and a super long-tailed ambient reverb that's so expansive it almost sounds like it's mixed with delay. There are other reverb pedals for a bit more money that have more options built into them-spring, plate, hall, room, shimmer, modulated reverb, and so on. With this pedal I find it difficult to switch between the different sounds since it's a lot of knob fiddling. It does sound absolutely killer, which is why I gave it 4 stars, but I don't recommend it if you want to easily switch between different types of reverb. For me it will be more of a "set and forget" pedal for long ambient reverbs.Andrew

I was recently using one pedal board for all my guitars, and the chorus I had was mainly designed for use with acoustic guitar. Now I'm rearranging things to have one board just for my electric guitars and all I needed was a basic chorus pedal of quality build and tone. I knew from reviews the JHS 3 series was perfect for me. I've been playing for 57 years and have owned pedals in the $100 to $500 range to provide my chorus effects. No matter if I had mulitple options in some stomp boxes I usually settled on a good subtle setting, so I knew there was no need for me to get anything fancier than the JHS. It sounds are good as the little blue Boss Chorus I bought way back in 1980.Jon

I'm glad I decided to give this pedal a try. It's extremely versatile, but did take a little bit of time to find the sound that I wanted. With this pedal, you can achieve everything from a clean boost, to a soft clipping blues drive, to full on distortion if need be as the higher gain settings straddle the line between overdrive and distortion. It can even get a bit fuzzy at times depending on your settings. For me, I'm playing through a Fender '59 Bassman ltd. set to the edge of breakup (about 5 or 6) so I use this pedal on the low gain setting to push the front end and achieve a sweet blues/classic rock sound, and when I need that extra volume/top end push for solos I have the boost function right there! Honestly, that's one of the main things that attracted me to this pedal in the first place since I couldn't decide whether to get an overdrive or a boost. The solution being one pedal that does both very well! I would definitely recommend this pedal to anyone looking for a quality dirt box as this can give you the sounds you want for almost any style of music you play. Whether it's blues, rock, country, even metal (except maybe djent), this thing can handle it!Mpifer

I absolutely love this pedal. Sounds amazing and is built like a tank. I bought this pedal for a covers gig of mainly marshall style guitar music. My amp is a Swart Atomic Space Tone Pro (6V6 tubes) and I wanted to get a mix of low gain to cranked Marshall sounds from it – it's a great amp but will not do the marshall thing by itself. I tried using a Sansamp GT2 which I had lying around but it just wasn't getting me there – far too scooped with no way near enough midrange. Seconds after plugging in the La Grange I was hearing all the sounds I'd been looking for. It blends very well with the pokey midrange of the Swart but I think would be even better through a Fender Twin. In practice I mainly used the Medium gain setting, whilst rolling back the volume on the guitar for cleaner sounds. With the the La Grange on Medium I was able to dial in the perfect gain for the earlier rock styles (AC/DC, early Aerosmith etc) but a quick switch to the high gain setting and I was in Van Halen/RATT territory. As stated in many videos online this is not a high gain monster and you can't get to JCM 900/SL territory…but that's not why you're buying this pedal. It's fat and ballsy with lots of midrange oomph. I'm sure the La Grange could get a little hotter with a boost pedal behind it – something I still need to test. This things cleans up really well with the guitar volume knob and there's a huge about of volume and gain on tap with the Boost circuit engaged, which I found great for solos and actually gives that early Angus lead sound. The eq on this pedal is quite interesting as there's no Treble, Middle or Bass. However, between the Tone, Presence and Ch. Blend controls it's super easy to dial it in. The Tone knob is super sensitive so I found only slight adjustments from 12 O'Clock were required. I haven't tried the expression pedal input but I can imagine this being very useful especially if you're playing a wide variety of styles. Personally found the Variac mode a little saggy for my taste. The Swart, when pushed already has enough sag so not required for me. The only thing I'd change on this pedal is to make the knobs a little tighter. I find that they can get knocked very easily, but as long as you know where they're supposed to be it's not an issue. Hope this helps other people thinking about purchasing this pedal.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

This is a great pedal, worth the money. I found it works best with a great clean amp – think Marshall non-master volume, Fender twin etc. Set up your amp with a great clean/rhythm sound. Then dial in the LaGrange for all your dirty work. IF you really spend some time dialing it in, you can get even more versatility out of it by reaching down and flipping some of the switches on the fly, or for whatever song might be coming up next in your set. It's responsive to guitar volume changes, just like a good Plexi. The clean boost switch is super welcome, too. Variac setting seems to work best with single coil guitars. Over-all, it's like adding another great channel to single channel amps. Would probably work great with power block type amps that mount to your pedal board.PrestoStark