What is the Best Bass Overdrive Pedal?

Mar 21, 2025

With bass overdrive pedals, we are trying to recreate the sound of a driven tube amp. The goal is to add some grit and character to the bass tone without losing the low end.

Every overdrive adds its own charateristic flavor of rumble and growl to the bass tone. Some are more subtle, others are more aggressive.

Earthquaker Devices Blumes Low Signal Shredder

The EQD Blumes, which is a modified version of its older sibling the Plumes, adds some nice midrange definition while leaving your bass riffs plenty of fatness and girth.

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Also check out my full bass demo.

JHS Colour Box V2

The Colour Box is a great allrounder studio tool and definitely a go-to for many bass players. You can use it as a preamp and EQ for more subtle coloration.

But it can easily be pushed into distortion, with that unique preamp clipping and all the tone-shaping capabilities to make it sit well in a mix.

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I also did a full guitar demo of the JHS Colour Box V2.

Catalinbread SFT

If you’re talking distorted rock bass tone, you can’t get around mentioning a classic Ampeg SVT. The SFT is a great pedal to get that sound in a box.

The active EQ knobs for bass and treble give you some options to adjust the tone to your liking and signal chain.

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Check out my dedicated guitar demo of the Catalinbread SFT.

Way Huge Pork & Pickle

Pork & Pickle has that classic mixture of clean blend and fuzz on tap that many bassists are going for. This ensures that the low end stays intact and the fuzz adds some extra character.

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You can here the Pork & Pickle in action in my full demo.

MXR Bass Preamp

The MXR Preamp is a more subtle tone sweetener. I’s got a great EQ section and especially the mid controls give you a lot of options to shape your tone.

You get a more pronounced bite when dialing up certain mid frequencies or make space for a crowded mix by cutting some mids.

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Check out my full demo of the MXR Bass Preamp.

Signal Chain

JMJ Fender Mustang*, La Bella Flats*, played with fingers, tone 100%
One of these fine overdrive pedals
Bogren Digital Bassknob STD set to clean
UAD Pultec EQP-1A* to shape some mids (makes the bass stand out a little more against the drums and it’s easier to hear differences between the pedals)
Some more EQ with the stock Logic Pro X Channel EQ to make the bass sit well in the mix