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MXR

collapse expand iconDescription

The MXR Bass Distortion effects pedal dishes out big gnarly tones with all the low end your bottom-dwelling heart desires. Working closely with indie pedal phenom, bass dirt guru and Fuzzrocious Pedals founder Ryan Ratajski, MXR took a famously nasty-sounding distortion circuit and retooled it for the modern working bass player.

Back in the day, if you wanted to use a distortion pedal and keep your low end intact, you had to split your clean and dirty signals between two amps. With the MXR Bass Distortion, there's no such need. This pedal puts control over the clean/dirty mix right at your feet with separate Dry and Wet level controls. The Tone control, which only affects the distortion signal, is a simple high-cut filter for dialing back the top end, and the Distortion control sets the distortion signals intensity.

Finally, the MXR Bass Distortion's raunchy sound comes in two flavors, selectable via the LED/SIL switch. The default SIL setting uses silicon clipping diodes for an aggressive, biting sound and a bit of compression, while the LED setting uses LED diodes for a more wide open sound and a nice gain bump.
MXR M85 Bass Distortion Effects Pedal

collapse expand iconFeatures

  • Codesigned with bass dirt guru/Fuzzrocious Pedals founder Ryan Ratajski
  • Based on a classic distortion circuit famous for its nasty sound
  • Separate Dry and Wet level controls
  • Select between Silicon and LED clipping diodes
  • Internal control sets the max gain level of LED mode
  • Get the sound of a split clean/dirty signal chain in a single box

collapse expand iconWarranty

All pedals - one year parts and labor warranty.

Featured Articles

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4.83

6 Reviews

100%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend

I would buy it again
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  1. Performances5
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  3. Outdoor Events / Games3
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  5. Amateur Recording2
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  1. Experienced5
Pros
  1. Excellent Sound Quality5
  2. Versatile5
  3. Responsive4
  4. Compact3
  5. Good Selection Of Effects2

Reviewed by 6 customers

  • Awesome sounding pedal

    5

    Verified BuyerVerified Buyer

    submitted7 years ago

    byJess

    fromUtah

    This pedal is great! I got it because I'm trying to become proficient in metal, and it just doesn't sound right without that distinctive distortion-type sound. It's hard to write intense and epic lines without that sound at your fingertips. I'm glad I'm coming in when you can get a pedal like this where it's all you need to add to your setup--I had no idea people used to have two amps to run signals to. This pedal has a lot of versatility in sound, but I'm surprised that the tone settings on my bass make about an equal difference in the end result (I play a Fender American Elite Jazz Bass with a lot of tone controls).

  • Sho nuf

    5

    Verified BuyerVerified Buyer

    submitted7 years ago

    byROBERT

    fromundisclosed

    Product use for crunchy chorus or intros and breaks parred up with a Russian fuzz pickle pedal soundz monstrous

  • I would buy it again

    4

    Verified BuyerVerified Buyer

    submitted9 years ago

    byJosh

    fromWV

    FINALLY I can accomplish the "tame impala" sound with it as well as use it sort of like an OD pedal with the led option for low volume grit/warm. Was kinda nervous thinking it was going to be too heavy of a distortion but is suppperrr versatile and can suit all of your bass distortion needs (for me at least). So if you're thinking about getting one, get it is all i have to say :)

  • Powerful Distortion

    5

    Verified BuyerVerified Buyer

    submitted9 years ago

    byPDA

    fromHartford, Connecticut

    I was impressed at how much gain you get out of this small compact pedal. I like how you can dial in both the clean and wet signals so you lose no bottom end. You can also dial in the level of gain you desire. I use this effect during heavy rock songs when I need to cut through two loud guitars and this pedal does the trick no problem.

  • Versatility

    5

    submitted9 years ago

    byBearded bassist

    fromTexas

    I was in the lookout for a bass distortion for a long time and had hard time deciding but glad to say made the right choice. Compared with the other distortion bass pedals in the market there is no other pedal that will give this tonal range and versatility for this price. You can get anything from nice fat fuzz to thick distortion.

  • The Best Bass Distortion!

    5

    submitted10 years ago

    byJino_f_a

    fromBrooklyn, NY

    The MXR M85 is just what I was looking for! It can go from crazy fuzz to heavy distortion to almost no drive at all. The best feature is that it keeps the clean bass sound so you hear two sounds, clean and drive at the same time (if you don't like to hear them both, you can dial out the clean). I use the M85 turned on all the time with almost zero drive. It's amazing how much it adds to the sound of my Warwick Streamer LX 5. What ever style or sound you're after, I'm sure that the M85 has it for you!

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collapse expand iconQ&A

Have a question about this product? Our expert Gear Advisers have the answers.

  • submitted6 years ago

    asked byMatt

    fromSanford, FL

    Would this pedal be good to get the same kind of distortion that can be heard on the bassline for some Rage Against The Machine songs? Specific example would be "Killing In The Name" - the bass end has distortion for the intro before the first verse.

    Would this pedal be good to get the same kind of distortion that can be heard on the bassline for some Rage Against The Machine songs? Specific example would be "Killing In The Name" - the bass end has distortion for the intro before the first verse.

    Open Reply - Kenneth
    We would recommend a fuzz pedal as opposed to distortion for RATM bass tone