Overview:
The Bass TightDrive™ overdrive pedal came about after Greg Weeks from The Red Chord tried out the 'guitar' version at the NAMM show. He really liked it, and after some tweaks, this final fine-tuned Bass version is now ready for the public. It's perfect for tweaking your bass amp's tone, anything from tightening up the attack a little to building a thick distortion for pick-driven metal bass lines.
In addition to Greg, other artists using the Bass TightDrive include dUg Pinnick of King’s X, and Sean Frankhouser with Bugs Henderson.
The biggest number of Product Idea submissions received so far were from people looking for overdrive and/or boost pedals that could provide tighter low end. This led to the Tight Control, which allows you to adjust the amp's attack, varying it from smooth and singing to chunky and aggressive attack.
- When combined with the Gain, Tone, and Volume controls, a lot of different distortion sounds are possible. The tonal variations range from thick bass tones, from barely clean and fat walking blues, to crunchy rhythm sounds, all the way up to seriously overdriving your tube amp for really heavy bass. It's also possible to use it to clean up a tube amp that might otherwise sound too floppy when you play it really hard.
- Another popular Bass TightDrive feature is the rear effects loop which allows you to add any kind of effect to this overdrive pedal, so you can customize your tone further. There's even a Pre/Post button underneath the pedal so you can move the outboard effect in front of or after the Bass TightDrive. When you bypass the TightDrive pedal, the other effect or effects will be bypassed as well. This feature is great if you want to further tweak the distortion tone with a Pre or Post EQ, or to add compression in front, or an octaver, chorus or other favorite effect.
- Due to many user requests, the Bass TightDrive is also available with an extra knob on the face that adds dry lowend back to the tone, making it easy to simulate professional dual amp rigs as used by artists like dUg Pinnick.
Features:
- True Bypass switch
- Tight Attack Control
- Gain, Tone, & Volume Controls
- Effects Loop with Pre/Post switch..tracks On/Off Footswitch
- LED lit knobs when using a power supply
- Battery disconnect switch with red indicator
- DC Adapter jack, standard 2.1mm X 5.5mm, center ground(-)
- Magnetic Battery access door opens w/o tools
- 14Ga. Steel chassis
- Handmade in the USA
- 11mA current consumption(battery)
- 26mA current consumption(9V power supply)
- Dimensions 3.75"W X 5"D X 2"H
Rear Panel Features:
Other Tips & Tricks:
- Effects like compressors, synths, and octavers tend to work best with the Effects Loop set to Pre.
- Effects like delay, reverb, EQ, chorus, vibe/tremolo, and most others tend to sound best with the Loop set to Post.
- Try putting an EQ in the Pre/Loop, to experiment with varying distortion feel, similar to the Tight controlʼs affect.
- By using very low gain/volume settings, the Bass TightDrive can prevent a small bass amp from having a floppy low end when it starts to clip the power amp.
- For a really dark, vintage bass tone, turn the Tone and Tight fully down, Volume up and Gain about halfway.
- Select Pre/Effects Send to use it as a switchable ʻcleanʼ send to another effects chain, tuner input or amp.
- Select Post/Effects Send to use it as an auxiliary send to some other effects or amp AFTER the TightDrive distortion.
- When using extremely high settings on the Tight control, you might need to increase your ampʼs bass control.
- To add some dry full range bass, use an auxiliary mixer with one input connected to the Send....which turns off with the TightDriveʼs footswitch
Specifications:
- Input impedance: 250K Ohm (effect on)
- Output Impedance: 1K Ohm (effect on)
- Current: 11mA with 9V battery, 20mA with 9V adapter(adds knob LEDs)
- Housing: 14 Gauge galvanized steel
- Weight: 2 pounds
- Dimensions: 3.75”W X 5”D X 2”H
- Adapter: 9VDC adapter w/ 5.5mm X 2.1mm positive barrel center ground