Best Overdrive Pedals for Bass in 2021

The Big Muff line of pedals has a legendary reputation for its versatility and beautiful tones. With its three dials, which let you control volume, tone, and sustain, the Big Muff can quickly become an asset in your pedalboard.

The device features a three-position toggle switch, which you can use to create unique sounds.

The boost mode, as the name suggests, enhances the frequency of the distortion. The middle position is the Norm Mode, which gives you classic distortion tones. Finally, in Dry mode, you can mix the unprocessed signal from your instrument—aka the clean or dry signal—with a distortion signal to create interesting signal combinations.

The Big Muff isn’t just for generating overdrive. In fact, you can tweak the controls to get anything from rich overdrive to extremely high grunge-like distortion.

When the design team at MXR partners up with the legendary musician Eddie Van Halen, you get a mighty pedal capable of producing an impressive range of overdriven tones.

Thanks to its multi-stage MOSFETs and highly adjustable controls, the EVH 5150 has exceptional flexibility and pairs well with a variety of amps and speaker cabinets. So, it works great both on stage and in the studio. The circuitry is inside high-quality, durable housing, which means it’s also excellent for the road.

The device covers the whole spectrum of Eddie’s tones—from his early classics to his modern high-gain sounds. According to some users, it sounds most natural when connected to a tube-amp.

Despite its wonderful features, the pedal is more suited to distortion than overdrive, since the gain levels are much higher than what you would expect for an overdrive pedal.

This is probably one of the most advanced effects pedals for bass, and it’s not just for overdrive. It’s actually a pedal/pre-amp/DI box. The price tag is a bit steep, but the premium output quality is well worth the cost.

It boasts a dual-circuit design: the Alpha gives you heavy, punchy signals with clear definitions while the Omega generates raw, grungy sounds. The best thing is, you don’t have to choose between one or the other; you can actually mix the two modes for infinite tonal possibilities.

You get two toggle switches that let you take things to the next level in addition to the standard drive, volume, blend, bass, and treble knobs. The Bite switch creates more definition while the Growl switch gives your signal a boost and makes it fatter.

Oddly enough, the device doesn’t come with an adapter, and it doesn’t take batteries. So, you should expect the inconvenience of finding a matching 9V adapter. For such a high price, it’s a mystery why the manufacturer decided not to include a power source.

With the MXR M89 Bass Overdrive, you can expect midrange-heavy tones that vary from slight overdrive to regular distortion. While this is not the best overdrive pedal on the market, it’s a solid unit that delivers tube-like overdrives and doesn’t lose the low-end.

The pedal features three controls that let you manage the tone, overall volume, and the overdrive signal. It also includes a clean knob that lets you add some of the clean signal to your overdrive. In other words, it’s not a blend from completely clean to completely overdriven.

The most common complaint with this device is that the clean signal isn’t completely distortion-free—even with the clean knob set all the way to clean.

If you need a bass pedal for metal, the TC Electronics Dark Matter is just what you need. Its rich harmonics and superior clarity make it the best option for playing sparkly metal tones or Satriani-style leads. But if you’re into death metal and ultra-high-gain tones, you might be disappointed.

This is probably the best bass overdrive pedal if you’re going to stay on the clean channel. The circuit components are entirely analog, which means it can generate fuller and more realistic sounds. It also means you can push the signal a level higher without making it sound too distorted.

The pedal comes with a two-band equalizer, and it has two knobs to control the bass and treble of your signal. So, you’ll have plenty of control over the shape of your signal.

What’s more, the voice switch lets you increase the bass if you want a modern metal sound or cut it to get a more vintage tone.

This Behringer device is the best cheap overdrive pedal. It offers extremely high value and creates better sound compared to its more expensive competitors. It also comes with a 2-band EQ and a blend knob, as well as a treble and bass boost. It’s unusual for pedals at this price range to offer so many options. So, the BOD400 is definitely a bargain.

If you’re buying your first effects pedal and do want to go overboard, it’s one of your best options.

But, as with any electronic device, you get what you pay for. You can’t expect cheap bass pedals like this one to have the flexibility of a 100-dollar alternative. Also, the casing is made of average plastic, which means it’s not very durable.

Some buyers say it sounds noisy, and it adds a layer of effects that make the signal sound synthetic and unnatural.

You can think of this device as the Big Muff on steroids. This beast is one of the best bass distortion pedals on the market and comes with seven adjustable controls as well as a toggle switch (0 and 10 dB) that lets you make the best use of active and passive pickups.

The volume, tone, and sustain knobs work the same way as they do in the original version, with the volume knob acting as the master control for the entire pedal. The blend knob is an addition to the new deluxe version that lets you infuse the dry and distorted signals to create everything from warm, rich overdrives to deep, overpowering sounds.

Using the other controls, you can adjust the amplitude and frequency of the dry signal entering the overdrive pedal.

The crossover option is especially appealing if you want more control over the distorted and clean parts of your signal. The switch applies a high-pass filter on the distortion and low-pass filter on the dry signal.

Like other Boss products, the ODB-3 Bass Overdrive doesn’t disappoint. It’s quite durable and built to sustain the rigor of touring. Setting up the device is also really simple and doesn’t take a lot of effort.

The pedal is specifically designed for bass. So, you won’t lose any of your low-end signals. It’s perfect for basses with four or five strings.

Its four knobs give you a lot of room to unleash creativity. You can play around with the settings to get countless combinations of tones—anything from mild overdrive to harsh, aggressive distortions.

With its competitive price, the OBD-3 is your best bet if you’re looking for a low-priced pedal with superior performance.

The Ampeg Scrambler is a true bypass pedal, which means it doesn’t affect the signal when it’s disengaged, and lets the signal just pass through without any change.

It comes with four knobs that let you adjust the volume, treble, drive, and blend. The drive knob controls how much distortion you dial into the signal while the blend knob mixes the distorted and clean signals.

However, some customers complain about its low gain since you have to turn it up all the time to get a strong enough sound.