4 PEDALS EVERY BASSIST SHOULD HAVE

Stompboxes For The Bass

No matter what you play––or how you play––what you need never changes. A tuner, a compression, an octave, and an overdrive/distortion: these four essentials are must-haves for any bassist, and we’ll show you a few of our favorites. 

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DISTORTION/COMP | DARKGLASS ADAM

$549.99
The Darkglass Aggressively Distorting Advanced Machine is a powerful  and unique  distortion and compression  pedal. It combines parallel distortion and multi-band compression, a 6-band EQ , and a cab sim to  create a versatile tone  shaping pedal.

  • Advanced compression  and distortion  pedal
  • MIDI input  to externally control  parameters
  • 6-band graphic EQ
  • 5 compressor  modes
  • 5 distortion  modes
  • 5 cab sim IRs
  • Aux input  and headphone  output
  • Audio  interface capability over  USB-C

Connectivity:
  • Mono  instrument  input  (1/4")
  • Aux input  (1/8" stereo)
  • L and R audio outputs  (2 x 1/4")
  • XLR DI output
  • Headphone  output  (1/8" stereo)
  • USB-C (Audio  interface and DarkglassSuite)
  • MIDI input  (1/8" TRS)
  • Bluetooth (audio in and DarkglassSuite)
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Darkglass 10th Anniversary Edition Microtubes B7K Pedal

$329.99
Our Microtubes B7K, a pedal that changed both our lives and our bass sound as we know it, has now surpassed its first decade.

An innovative distortion immediately embraced by musicians around the world now represents the foundation of the Darkglass tone, after which followed a decade of iteration marked by a strong stamp of passion and desire for tone.

This limited edition is a celebration of the pedal that got us started - this is a tribute to every bass player that believed in the adventure of cutting into the mix and a commendation for the incredible support and loyalty that we have received since our humble beginnings.

The exclusive minimal design of the 10th Anniversary Edition features a black obsidian enclosure and textless icon-only engraving, contained within a finely crafted wooden box.

  • Limited black obsidian enclosure and engraved iconography, with wooden box.
  • Signature DarkglassMicrotube distortion engine
  • Flexible 4-band EQ and clean blend
  • Direct XLRoutputfor recording or live performance
  • Grunt and Attack switches to shape the distortion
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Bass Bits

The devil’s in the details, as they say, and when you’ve got a full bass rig to lug around, you know what that means. Sure up the little things with our bass accessories so you can worry less and play more with reliable power supplies and patch cables. 

SHOP PEDALBOARDS & POWER SUPPLIES

Pedaltrain Metro 16 Pedalboard 3 Rails 16x8 w/Soft Case Effects and Pedals / Pedalboards and Power Supplies
Pedaltrain Metro 16 Pedalboard 3 Rails 16x8 w/Soft Case Effects and Pedals / Pedalboards and Power Supplies
Pedaltrain Metro 16 Pedalboard 3 Rails 16x8 w/Soft Case Effects and Pedals / Pedalboards and Power Supplies
Pedaltrain Metro 16 Pedalboard 3 Rails 16x8 w/Soft Case Effects and Pedals / Pedalboards and Power Supplies

Pedaltrain Metro 16 Pedalboard 3 Rails 16x8 w/Soft Case

$75.00
T Rex Fuel TankChameleon Effects and Pedals / Pedalboards and Power Supplies
T Rex Fuel TankChameleon Effects and Pedals / Pedalboards and Power Supplies
T Rex Fuel TankChameleon Effects and Pedals / Pedalboards and Power Supplies

T Rex Fuel TankChameleon

$80.00
Pedaltrain Classic 1 Pedalboard w/Soft Case Effects and Pedals / Pedalboards and Power Supplies
Pedaltrain Classic 1 Pedalboard w/Soft Case Effects and Pedals / Pedalboards and Power Supplies
Pedaltrain Classic 1 Pedalboard w/Soft Case Effects and Pedals / Pedalboards and Power Supplies
Pedaltrain Classic 1 Pedalboard w/Soft Case Effects and Pedals / Pedalboards and Power Supplies

Pedaltrain Classic 1 Pedalboard w/Soft Case

$150.00
Vertex Travel Lite TL2 MKII Pedalboard 17
Vertex Travel Lite TL2 MKII Pedalboard 17
Vertex Travel Lite TL2 MKII Pedalboard 17

Vertex Travel Lite TL2 MKII Pedalboard 17"x10" w/TL2 Riser

$340.00

SHOP PATCH CABLES

Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit Carolina Blue w/5' Cable & 12 Angle Plugs
Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit Carolina Blue w/5' Cable & 12 Angle Plugs
Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit Carolina Blue w/5' Cable & 12 Angle Plugs

Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit Carolina Blue w/5' Cable & 12 Angle Plugs

$111.59
Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit Black w/5' Cable & 12 Angle Plugs Accessories / Cables
Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit Black w/5' Cable & 12 Angle Plugs Accessories / Cables
Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit Black w/5' Cable & 12 Angle Plugs Accessories / Cables

Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit Black w/5' Cable & 12 Angle Plugs

$111.59
Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit Red w/10' Cable & 10 Angle Plugs
Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit Red w/10' Cable & 10 Angle Plugs
Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit Red w/10' Cable & 10 Angle Plugs

Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit Red w/10' Cable & 10 Angle Plugs

$100.89
Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit White w/10' Cable & 10 Angle Plugs
Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit White w/10' Cable & 10 Angle Plugs
Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit White w/10' Cable & 10 Angle Plugs

Lava Piston Solder-Free Pedalboard Kit White w/10' Cable & 10 Angle Plugs

$100.89
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COMPRESSION | KEELEY BASSIST LIMITING AMPLIFIER

$199.00

From Keeley:

The Keeley Bassist Compressor provides true high-fidelity compression and limiting. Be heard and felt using performance compression by Keeley Engineering.

The Bassist Compressor is built around the exotic and extremely high fidelity THAT Corp. 4320. Think of it as very affordable studio-grade compressor in stomp box format! It uses high performance Voltage Controlled Amplifiers, on board true-RMS detector, and ultra high performance op-amps to bring you the very best quality. VCA compressors give you precise control. Therefore they are directly suited to bass guitars. The Keeley Bassist Compressor is both musical and very transparent. Where our older compressors were based on the CA3080 or the LM13700 and are perfect for single coil guitars, the new Keeley Bassist Compressor has no problems with active pre-amps and line level input signals! Not only can the Keeley Bassist handle astonishingly large signals, it has an incredible bandwidth of over 20 KHz and incredibly low noise. No detail in your bass guitar's tone will be lost. The Keeley Bassist will be a sound investment in your tone, you now have rack-mount quality at your feet.

Compression and Threshold

When bass players use the Keeley Bassist Compressor they will be greeted with a sound that is more easily amplified and heard. Using the effect as a limiting amplifier saves your speakers from clipping and distortion. Set the Threshold to look for peaks in your signal and limit distortion from your amplifier or damage to your speakers. Simply watch the Threshold Indicator light to see what type of playing you want to limit, it's that easy! Next set the Compression Ratio Control to determine how much squash you want when the signal is above Threshold. Set Compression all of the way down for no (1:1) compression and use the Gain control as a boost! Set Compression all of the way up for an above-Threshold hard-knee limiter.

A typical soft compressor setting would be 2:1 above threshold. A good starting ratio for the Compression control may be 4:1 as it generally sounds good with bass guitar. A ratio of 5:1 or 6:1 will sound great for slap or funk-style playing. For synth-bass try 10:1 Compression.

Attack and Release

There is a certain figure that just sounds good as far as compression goes; and that's 125 dB/second. With feed forward compressors that use this type of true-RMS detector you use a single time constant parameter. The timing capacitor gives you attack and release times that are adaptive to your playing level or the signal input to the compressor. Bottom line: Attack and Release times vary on program content. Attack times are generally speaking, about 100 times faster than release times.

  • Attack Time: typically 15ms for 10dB, 5ms for 20dB, 3ms for 30dB
  • Release Time: typically 8ms for 1dB, 40ms for 5dB, 80ms for 10dB, 160ms for 20dB, 240ms for 30dB
Specs:
  • Voltage Input: 9.6V
  • Current Draw: 15mA
  • Input Impedance 1 Meg ohm
  • Output Impedance: 100 ohm
  • Output Voltage Gain: +30dB Boost
  • Bandwidth > 20kHz
  • Total Harmonic Distortion: 0.1%
  • Noise: -95dBV
  • Threshold Indicator: Dual LED
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OCTAVE | MXR VINTAGE BASS OCTAVE

$159.99
From MXR:

The MXR Vintage Bass Octave upgrades the warm analog sub-bass vibes of a classic circuit with superior tracking, cleaner headroom, and the versatility that modern players demand. This pedal delivers an impressive range of smooth, musical sounds—from a tone-thickening growl to chest-rumbling dub tones—all in the space-saving MXR mini housing.

The voice of the Vintage Bass Octave is rich and throaty, and it comes in two forms—one octave down and two octaves down. Each can be dialed in separately with the Oct 1 and Oct 2 volume controls, and with a Dry volume control to dial in your clean signal, you can concoct just the right blend for your rig. For extra clarity and definition, use the Mid switch to boost your clean signal’s midrange at 800Hz by +6dB. Want even more of a boost? Just remove the bottom plate and adjust the internal trimpot to kick it up as high as +13dB. Finally, this pedal comes equipped with Constant Headroom Technology™, a custom circuit that provides clean, crystal clear headroom by producing 18-volts from a 9-volt power source (not included).

The Vintage Bass Octave is a pedalboard-friendly must-have for bass players who want to plumb the sonic depths of their instrument.

Input Impedance: 1M Ω
Bypass: THW BP
Signal to Noise: A weighted (Vref IV RMS) - 93 dBV
Output Impedance: <1KOhm
Trigger Threshold: -74 dBv @100Hz
Dry Gain: -∞ 7dB
Octave Gain 1: -∞ 1.6 dB @ 150Hz in
Octave Gain 2: -∞ 1.7 dB @ 150Hz in
Mid Switch: 400 Hz or 800 Hz @ 6 dB
Power Requirements: 9 VDC @ 45 mA (not included)
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Featured Videos

You know we’ve always got great gear to show you. See what’s bubbling in the BASSment.

To branch out from the big four, shop our complete collection of bass effects and build the rig that’s best for you. 

SHOP THE BASSMENT AT CHICAGO MUSIC EXCHANGE

SHOP BASS EFFECTS

Boss CEB-3 Bass Chorus Effects and Pedals / Chorus and Vibrato
Boss CEB-3 Bass Chorus Effects and Pedals / Chorus and Vibrato
Boss CEB-3 Bass Chorus Effects and Pedals / Chorus and Vibrato

Boss CEB-3 Bass Chorus

$135.00
Origin Effects DCX Bass Tone Shaper & Drive Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Origin Effects DCX Bass Tone Shaper & Drive Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Origin Effects DCX Bass Tone Shaper & Drive Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals

Origin Effects DCX Bass Tone Shaper & Drive Pedal

$319.00
SolidGoldFX Beta V Bass Preamp Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
SolidGoldFX Beta V Bass Preamp Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
SolidGoldFX Beta V Bass Preamp Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals

SolidGoldFX Beta V Bass Preamp Pedal

$199.00
Ampeg SGT-DI Bass Pre-Amp & DI Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Ampeg SGT-DI Bass Pre-Amp & DI Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals

Ampeg SGT-DI Bass Pre-Amp & DI Pedal

$399.99
Darkglass Noise Gate Mini Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Darkglass Noise Gate Mini Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Darkglass Noise Gate Mini Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals

Darkglass Noise Gate Mini Pedal

$199.99
Aguilar Grape Phaser V2 Grape Phaser Bass Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Aguilar Grape Phaser V2 Grape Phaser Bass Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Aguilar Grape Phaser V2 Grape Phaser Bass Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals

Aguilar Grape Phaser V2 Grape Phaser Bass Pedal

$199.99
Aguilar Chorusaurus V2 Bass Chorus Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Aguilar Chorusaurus V2 Bass Chorus Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Aguilar Chorusaurus V2 Bass Chorus Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals

Aguilar Chorusaurus V2 Bass Chorus Pedal

$249.99
Aguilar Fuzzistor V2 Bass Fuzz Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Aguilar Fuzzistor V2 Bass Fuzz Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Aguilar Fuzzistor V2 Bass Fuzz Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals

Aguilar Fuzzistor V2 Bass Fuzz Pedal

$199.99
Aguilar Filter Twin V2 Dual Bass Envelope Filter Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Aguilar Filter Twin V2 Dual Bass Envelope Filter Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Aguilar Filter Twin V2 Dual Bass Envelope Filter Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals

Aguilar Filter Twin V2 Dual Bass Envelope Filter Pedal

$249.99
Aguilar Octamizer V2 Analog Bass Octave Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Aguilar Octamizer V2 Analog Bass Octave Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Aguilar Octamizer V2 Analog Bass Octave Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals

Aguilar Octamizer V2 Analog Bass Octave Pedal

$199.99
Aguilar TLC Compressor V2 Bass Compressor Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Aguilar TLC Compressor V2 Bass Compressor Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Aguilar TLC Compressor V2 Bass Compressor Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals

Aguilar TLC Compressor V2 Bass Compressor Pedal

$249.99
Darkglass Duality Fuzz V2 Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Darkglass Duality Fuzz V2 Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals
Darkglass Duality Fuzz V2 Pedal Effects and Pedals / Bass Pedals

Darkglass Duality Fuzz V2 Pedal

$199.99

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