BASS PEDALS - Light Overdrive to Brutal Distortion

Testing 10 Bass Distortion Pedals across the categories of Light Overdrive, Medium Distortion, Heavy Distortion, and Brutal Distortion!
Thanks for watching, guys!
Tabs, Backing Tracks, Guitar Pro, and Isolated Bass Stems at: / natenavarro
Nate's Bass Books: www.natenavarro.net/books
Find these pedals at...
SWEETWATER: imp.i114863.net/NA49V
THOMANN: redir.love/thocf/8f8b9n860f
REVERB: reverb.grsm.io/NathanNavarro6942

[@NateNavarro]

Thanks for watching, guys! Find these pedals at... SWEETWATER: imp.i114863.net/NA49V THOMANN: redir.love/thocf/8f8b9n860f REVERB: reverb.grsm.io/NathanNavarro6942 TABS: www.patreon.com/NateNavarro Nate's Bass Books: www.natenavarro.net/books

[@CrimsonQuandary]

2:26 Did not expect the After Shock to get that close to the Hysteria tone.

[@refractorymercury]

You can get even closer with applying right preset downloaded from the community, this pedal is just beast

[@francotirador7265]

Light Overdrive 00:29 ( Clean Tone ) Fender - American Vintage II '54 P Bass 00:39 Source Audio - Aftershock 00:49 JAM - Rattle Bass 00:58 FTelettronica - Amianto 01:07 Aguilar - Agro 01:17 Fender - Trapper 01:26 Darkglass - Microtube X Ultra 01:36 Genzler - Crash Box 4 01:45 EHX - Bass Big Muff 01:55 Ashdown - Triple Shot 02:04 TWA - Dynamorph Medium Distortion 02:14 ( Clean Tone ) Spector - Euro4 LT 02:26 Source Audio - Aftershock 02:36 JAM - Rattle Bass 02:47 FTelettronica - Amianto 02:57 Aguilar - Agro 03:08 Fender - Trapper 03:18 Darkglass - Microtube X Ultra 03:28 Genzler - Crash Box 4 03:39 EHX - Bass Big Muff 03:49 Ashdown - Triple Shot 03:59 TWA - Dynamorph Heavy Distortion 04:10 ( Clean Tone ) Kiesel - A2 04:24 Source Audio - Aftershock 04:37 JAM - Rattle Bass 04:49 FTelettronica - Amianto 05:01 Aguilar - Agro 05:14 Fender - Trapper 05:26 Darkglass - Microtube X Ultra 05:39 Genzler - Crash Box 4 05:51 EHX - Bass Big Muff 06:04 Ashdown - Triple Shot 06:16 TWA - Dynamorph Brutal Distortion 06:29 ( Clean Tone ) Lignum - NN Sub Octave Bass 06:42 Source Audio - Aftershock 06:54 JAM - Rattle Bass 07:05 FTelettronica - Amianto 07:16 Aguilar - Agro 07:27 Fender - Trapper 07:39 Darkglass - Microtube X Ultra 07:50 Genzler - Crash Box 4 08:01 EHX - Bass Big Muff 08:12 Ashdown - Triple Shot 08:24 TWA - Dynamorph ...and by the way, my favorites are "Aguilar - Agro" and "Darkglass - Microtube X Ultra".

[@SuperReverbious]

Thanks! The author should PIN this post at the top!

[@treed873]

The Agro and the Darkglass were stars as usual, but I was pleasantly surprised by the Ashdown Triple Shot. I'll have to keep my eye on that one.

[@misterg7043]

Fully agree. I used to dislike AGRO, but I've just changed my mind. DG is a golden standard (:

[@lduffin72]

Have to agree with that lot, although the Dynamorph was also pretty good...

[@ryanjd93]

The Genzler and Aguilar pedals were the unexpected surprises for me. Fender needs to bow out of the pedal game.

[@martinheath5947]

Just get a graphic EQ pedal to pair with your (non Darkglass non Aguilar) distortion

[@treed873]

@@martinheath5947 I did that, not the same. I paired a bass graphic eq with an EH bass soul food. The Darkglass sounded better.

[@LMaia14]

That Triple Shot surely sounds amazing, loved it in every context.

[@scottlilly3324]

For sure. Had flavors of the agro/darkglass, but less scooped.

[@peadookie]

Shocked I wasn’t aware myself. Awesome pedal

[@SullySadface]

It's so crunchy, yes please

[@Ryan-vs2dk]

Same man. I just bought it. Such a versatile little pedal

[@Gubgubgoober]

Rattler bass is awesome

[@flufficornss]

the darkglass microtubes on the light overdrive was so detailed a very hi-fi tone compared to the warmer light od from essentially all the other pedals. although i think it produced a worse result in that context i feel like it'd lend itself more towards that dingwall prog tone

[@trfmusic902]

Thats how i use mine, its great

[@sixthgatebass]

Man have we heard enough of that

[@carlosaguilera838]

I use b7k v2 and it can get some warm tube motown sounds. I think that with a little more tuning you can get than tone with the microtubes X

[@lucasgoncalvesdefaria7121]

Yeah, afterall that's what it was built for. I love it's sound, but as it is possible to hear in the video, scratches get amplified to oblivion with it, often in an unpleasant way

[@francomatiasmarron1274]

The aftershock was the one for me. Especially in the Muse bass line.

[@steffomca762]

The Agro Overdrive really shines a lot with multiscale basses

[@coryjackson8409]

I love that Aguilar Argo and the Darkglass so much. Killer video man. Peace

[@boballen2150]

Amazing video as always Nate. Love that I can share it with my kids or anyone because you are always very professional and respectful. Can’t wait to get your books!

[@PLively]

Great choice of riffs for the demo! That Darkglass Microtubes just jumps out at me every time as the sound I like best. The Ashdown is a close second. The All Pedal section is MENTAL! LOL.

[@niteshades_promise]

I love its an endless intro loop that gradually gets more intense.🍻

[@abouc]

Aftershock is my favorite of this lot.

[@otgv]

same here

[@j.juarez9526]

Also.

[@justinh8059]

Bought one based on this demo

[@justinhart8744]

That open slap just growls with the aftershock

[@tylergregory6050]

Proof that the bass itself matters more than the pedals

[@mattmeyers403]

For medium and heavy distortion the Source Audio was stellar. That attack on medium was chewy and massive! The Darkglass was just brutal across the board for the new school prog stuff. I run and ADAM and a Ultra Wave on my board and have both basses covered. Great video! Cheers

[@nicrodel]

badass comparison! I like that Agro and the Dynamorph, gonna have to check those out.

[@ChrisBevanBass]

Really intrigued by the Amianto and the Dynamorph! Fab comparison video man, much appreciated

[@Lee-bass34]

Loved the Agro, sounded great in all examples. Once you got into medium distortion and beyond, that Darkglass really came to life. I had one for a while and it’s a great pedal. Surprise of the bunch for me was the Triple Shot from Ashdown. Sounded so good. Always been intrigued by the After Shock too. Great review as always Nate

[@Schtorm_BLITZ_UNION]

I really liked that Rattler - especially how it helped the lowest notes to translate better.

[@stoutlager6325]

Me too. That one sounded nicest to me overall for all settings.

[@shankstinson]

I really love the Aguilar Agro. Wonderful sound

[@denizaksakal1293]

Big respect for using all at same time

[@JVMC_ZR1]

That Angro from Aguilar isn't backing down against Darkglass! It's nice to have great competition. My favorite one was The Rattler 🔥

[@refractorymercury]

The Aftershock can do everything. It's totally programmable with two channels stacked and a community where to get interresting presets. I paired mine with a midi pedal to directly get six different presets. My midi controls also one Zoom MS 60B so I get quite crazy tones.

[@MESSERBAND]

Wow Thanks for doing this!

[@perryborn2777]

Loves the Amianto! That thing killed it in every context! Definitely some better options for the heavy/insane distortion, but for the low and medium, I think it sounds awesome

[@DuncanTyler]

Agreed! I really liked that one for the first two. Ashdown was probably the best overall.

[@Ryan-vs2dk]

I love the triple shot. Just bought it. All cool pedals though. Liked agro and dark glass too

[@BARTFUNKBASS]

Like this front camera quality. Totally instructional DVD vibe 😁

[@YouVWatcher]

It got me checking the upload date like 3 times

[@meyersguitars2196]

The Source Audio to me was the best overall sounding pedal. It could handle all the different examples the best to me. The Dark Glass was my least favorite as it sounds way too harsh and brittle and nothing but sub bass. The bass muff was my second favorite. Great video.

[@LECHATBOITDELEAU]

I hope Nate will share the presets used there on the Neuro Cloud ! :)

[@57precision]

I agree. It's also the most versatile, and can do a lot of stuff in a small format which is a consideration if you only want to have one dirt pedal on your board.

[@TheOldmandaddio]

Eyes closed I liked the Amiarto then the Argo then Ratteler, NATE out of interest what size pick do you use when if you use one or are you like me where my nails grow literally round to my fingers shape which dies give another good tone, impossible to clip them like most bassists fingers 😀

[@senna138]

That Second riff is so good. I like the amianto and the darkglass.

[@valendis]

Voting for that AfterShock Bass Distortion from Source Audio. I don't like distortion that affect the clean signal as much as the aguilar one.

[@BoomChockolaca]

Aftershock sounds absolutely amazing in every type of sound. So happy I bought it several years ago! Very flexible pedal. I also like darkglass on low gain setup. On the high gain it highlights highs a bit too much, but overall seems like a very very capable pedal

[@1234drums]

Love all of them 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@alexandergreiner8838]

Did you take the stock settings of the Aftershock? Amazing how good this unit sounds.

[@alexskibicki2262]

Awesome clip, Nate 😎🤘🏻🎸 my top 5 favorites on this clip are the source audio aftershock(since I do own one), the Aguilar agro, the animanto bass distortion, the darkglass microtubes x ultra, and the ehx bass big muff.

[@Kickbasser]

Great comparison man! 👍

[@michaelcarroll5199]

After picking up my Darkglass Alpha Omega Ultra I sold my Eden bass amp. I also use a Neve RNDI DI box. These two devices have become the core of my setup but I'm a music producer and no longer play live. As far as bass distortion, I would also check out the fuzzrocius pedals line and the rusty box. The Source Audio and the Jam pedals definitely gave the Darkglass some competition. I do like the sound of my Alpha Omega more then the Darkglass pedal demonstrated in this video however. Great video. Keep up the good work

[@jboogie325]

Crash box gets an easy last place across the board. The triple shot was such a pleasant surprise

[@freezedriedicecream]

I thought it sounded interesting. Kinda synthy but not my favorite

[@smokerman81]

The Agro and ashdown paired excellently with the Keisel. Keisel pickups have always been super glassy and uncolored. Always loved my LB70 for that.

[@Knotdead73]

That was awesome Thanks

[@SuperBrictson]

My favorite is Electro Harmonix "Bass Big Muff" for its muffled but still clean sound. But if you love the shredding of the strings, TWA "Dynamorph" or Darkglass "Microtubes X-Ultra"

[@gabrieltettamanti1862]

I love it!! Awesome!! ❤❤

[@justinreed8792]

As a person with that darkglass pedal i was actually blown away by the agro that thing is sick! Still love my microtubes ultra though!

[@CHEWYCHEWYQQ]

Thanks so much for making this video! Bass distortion has become extremely centered around DarkGlass lately, and it's nice to see that there are actually a lot of options out there. As someone who loves mids, I hadn't heard pedals like the Rattler or Trapper, which let you have a really smooth mid heavy sound. Loved both of them.

[@jonsidell3338]

Darkglass really has…saturated the market! The Trapper can be found for around $100 and it is a very versatile unit. Check out Nate’s review of it, if nothing else you get to listen to more bass badassery.

[@CHEWYCHEWYQQ]

Right after watching this video I watched Nate's dedicated review of it. Might sound odd, but all the reviews I've seen were on Fender basses, but I think it might actually sound better on more modern basses, like the Keisel in this video. Love a good music pun by the way. @@jonsidell3338

[@taylorhilyard8661]

Rattler is great. Been on my board for a while.

[@refbassist]

Genzler, big muff and ashdown sounds great in all 3 cases

[@niccmckeown2329]

I was really hoping that I'd find the song that the 3rd riff came from, only to find out that you had written it yourself for the video. Please make it into a full song! 😅 it's sooo good!! 💯 Great video, Agro and Darkglass for the win.

[@leegallatin480]

Awesome video ! I would have loved to see the Tech 21 DP-3X in the mix . the triple shot was my pick in this one

[@thierry18]

The Aguilar and Ashdown were my favorites, and worked thr best at every level. I liked the Darkglass too, but not as much

[@pCeLobster]

I went with the X Ultra a while ago and haven't looked back. It makes a great clean preamp too with the full range clean compressor. As a distortion I use it only at very low gain and it works great in a band. I'm not a high gain metal guy at all, and the X is maybe an unusual choice for low gain, but I find that it actually works better in a band setting than pedals that are specifically designed to be low gain. It sits in the mix and cuts through at the same time, where most pedals only do one or the other.

[@ramoniak6]

Damn that Dynamorph really brings some OOMPF in your clean tone

[@joshuaworman4022]

definitely will pick up those books.

[@bassicnate7409]

JAM Rattler for the win! The Dynamorph was great too.

[@robertyoung7027]

The dark glass sounds fantastic

[@austincash168]

Listening on my nice sound set up and that after shock is hands down the best and holy crap that thing sounds heavy. Dark Glass better watch out!

[@talkstream]

Thanks for it!

[@NateNavarro]

🤯 Thanks a ton!

[@snegs11]

Thank you for the awesome demo. Overall, the Source Audio did it for me. The way Hiuge pork and pickle which wasn’t in the demo is my fave next to the aftershock tones. Cheers for helping a noob make a wise purchase 🤙🏼

[@alvarhanso6310]

The AfterShock and Darkglass were my favorites, with the Aguilar being my favorite for that third one. Just sold my AfterShock yesterday, but still have the UltraWave, so all good on distortion needs with that. Oh, and I listened on crap speakers.

[@danielgonzalez2049]

Badass riffs

[@stepestrella]

Subscriibed you from pinn panelle days, pls do make a band like that! those hand control efx were sick

[@B3D5X]

The After Shock sounded great in every variation

[@davecurrall3154]

The aftershock pedal is one i own. Not only do you have three knob controls there are built in patches that connect to your mobile phone. You can modify so many different things! duplicate the dark glass and or just merge 2 patches together! And burn it into the pedal. I spent like 2 hours and there were so many parameters to change i forgot the original tone i was chasing. You can get any distortion from overdrive, fuzz, nu metal, industrial, you name it. This pedal has any tone got need....

[@abouc]

Agreed. Aftershock is incredibly versatile if you're willing to spend some time in the software. The ability to stack drives and then leverage an expression pedal is pretty amazing. You can even go completely clean and use it as just an EQ or noise gate.

[@jaimeeva187]

Good job!!!!!!!

[@michaked6990]

Darkglass / Ashdown / Aguilar - my favors!

[@sheppy951]

the darkglass and the Ashdown are my favourits

[@willrouse2351]

That kiesel sounds wild with the Aguilar and dark glass

[@TAZnator]

great Video, the After Shock is my favorite, but the Rattler and the Dynamorph are also very good. @NateNavarro Whats your favorite pedal for each style?

[@SheWasAsking4it]

I was looking towards getting an Aftershock, but I might look into the AGRO or Triple Shot instead. Some of these pedals sounded really awesome.

[@redsunstudiomixrec5017]

My favorite fuzz for bass in this moment is the pharaoh black art toneswork

[@ROOTMANZERO]

Ashdown overall for me. DG always sounds great. Agro also awesome!

[@kurdtjohn]

Triple Shot sounded really great. Though I am biased towards Darkglass.

[@eduardojorgeii1465]

Rattler and Amianto are sounding awesome to me (especially Amianto)

[@bearbear6771]

That last one was a Lignum Bass? My God I am so in love with that beauty...Please Please Please I need this in my life ......

[@1976oswald]

Nice !!! I'm a big Muse fan :)

[@fnduran]

The DARKGLASS is incredible!! The best!!!

[@johnmclaughlin2392]

The Darkglas tone always catches my attention.

[@dwa.kabelki]

For me the top are: AGRO, Tripleshot and DG X ❤

[@jjs3890]

Aftershock and dark glass killed it.

[@Philly3Philly3]

Thanks for this! Off-topic: do you hold the pick with three fingers? Cheers

[@deangordon2215]

Nate, I got one of your bass books for Christmas. Loving it. I've had a Digitech X-series bass driver for years and was getting a little fed up with it. It's good but it kinda squeels and I felt like the actual distortion part of the blend was getting lost. Guitarist gave me his Earthquaker Plumes which I used for a while - it has a lot of upper harmonics and sounds good in a rehearsal, but I've realised in the studio that it cuts too much low to be used for bass in my opinion. In my band's style anyway. So I'm currently back to the Digitech, but I'm thinking the Aftershock is the upgrade up I'm looking for.

[@GeezEU]

Ashdown is a beast! wow

[@drkangel1134]

Having a microtubes XU of course I’m gonna say it won but I’m suprised how the aftershock performed!!

[@silkyb9869]

I gotta have all those pedals to get that final tone now

[@MrAlecksTv]

the Aguilar Agro and the Microtubes sounded great for hard rock and metal .. was surprised the Fender pedal sounded smooth and still kept a lot of the bass sound.

[@markbass354]

cool , I want one

[@marcuspatzer2392]

Very beautiful Video my Friend 👍👈🎶🎵 Best Wishes from Germany ! 🕊️🎹🐯

[@eric3921]

Aguilar,Aftershock and Rattler,in that order.I like the big muff too,be best for classic distortion tone👍

[@jdjk7]

I must say, the only one I liked consistently was the Aftershock, followed by the Rattler and the Big Muff. A lot of the other drives were either treble-heavy or scooped, which really isn't my thing. I tend to either like an even spectrum or a slight mid focus.

[@LovingGoodContent]

Such a sick jacket. Jacket stole the show.

[@edwardmooneyhan1928]

DG Aggy and Big Muff all sounded great in every context

[@thevengefulone57]

The Trapper and Triple Shot really surprised me with how versatile they were.

[@flogginga_dead_horse4022]

so in summary I must buy them all and turn them all on to get the best sound!! perfect

[@kevon217]

Fuckn excellent sonic guide. Wish there was a polling feature to rate each pedal during your demos.

[@enriquekikzdelapazbichain1126]

The ashdown and the darkglass were the winners on the most distorted tones, for light dist i liked the fender and the first yellow pedal

[@user-sx4dy6bs9e]

My top: 1. Light - Aguilar 2. Mid - Aftershok 3. Hard - Jam/Afterdhok 4. Brutal - Aguilar

[@rl-ub9hx]

The Ashdown really surprised me!

[@DaviDuarteRocha]

For the lower levels i prefer the Big Muff and the Genzler. But for the more heavier stuff sure the Agro and Darkglass

[@LeftiBassist]

Hi Nate, Are the Etudes and songs from your book Bass 4-String available for purchase? I looked on your Patreon page and didn't see them. Thanks for all you do for this 63 y/o novice bassist.

[@HelterSkelter117]

To me, the Aguilar, Ashdown, and Darkglass all sounded great on medium and heavy distortion.

[@DiogoBaeder]

Nice demo! The only pedal I definitely didn't like - contrary to many of the commenters here - is the Darkglass one. It takes out too much mids and the notes are less distinguishable because of that. On the opposite side, the Fender one sounds way too "nosy", too much mids going on there, but I wouldn't say to a point where I "don't like it". Not sure I have a favorite one though. The Dynamorph with medium distortion is probably the most interesting to my ears - it almost sounds like it was mixed with a synth bass -, but medium distortion is not really my vibe overall, I prefer light distortion at max, and in that case I'd go with either Aftershock or Rattler Bass.

[@user54389]

Im in love with the tone of the Agro but overall I think the Darkglass is the most flexible. I dont play with distortion thankfully, otherwise my wallet would be in pain right now!