My Personal Picks

This page will show my current favorites in no particular order.

1. BJFe Blueberry Bass Overdrive. This pedal does something to the midrange that I can only describe as “exciting”. It is a low gain drive and sounds very organic. I’ve never heard anything similar, not even from the many Blueberry versions that do not come from the Master’s own soldering iron.
2. Origin Effects Bassrig Super Vintage. Strictly speaking, this is a fully featured preamp with DI out and cab sim, but used as a drive pedal, you get the ultimate tool for shaping your tone. Three band with semi parametric mids pre drive and then another two band post drive – which makes this pedal somewhat unique. Also, the grindy, beefy tones that come from this SVT copy are rich and organic.
3. Xotic BB Bass Preamp. It’s a simple device. No magic components. A two band EQ and a gentle drive, but it sounds exactly like I want a low gain pedal to sound.
4. Origin Effects DCX Bass. This is two pedals in one. A great tone-enhancer preamp with fantastic dynamic range and a mean overdrive pedal that really sits perfectly well in a dense mix. It’s not biting through and it’s not drowning. It’s perfectly audible, but not front and center. Like a bass should be in guitar driven music.
5. Audio Kitchen Fake Plastic Trees. This pedal is fantastic. It’s literally an amp in a box. With a tiny little power amp driving a tiny little powersoak. It has an incredibly simple knob layout and is super easy to use, but nonetheless yields a complexity that is stunning. You can use it to create a very gentle driven sound, a roaring sound and even venture far into synth territory.
6. 3Leaf Audio Doom 2. This is, IMHO one of the best, if not the best fuzz pedal for synth bass use.