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MXR M85 Bass Distortion Pedal

2-mode Distortion Switch with Clean Low End

$159.99

Out of stock

SKU

MXR-M85

Details

The MXR Bass Distortion 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, we took a famously nasty sounding distortion circuit and re-tooled 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, theres no such needthis 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 Distortions 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.

Features

Co-designed with Fuzzrocious Pedals founder Ryan Ratajski
Based on a famously nasty distortion circuit
Separate Dry and Wet level controls
Select Silicon or LED diodes to change clipping character
Internal control sets the max output level of LED mode

Power

The Bass Distortion is powered by one 9-volt battery (remove bottom plate to install), a 9-volt AC adapter such as the Dunlop ECB003/ECB003EU, or the DC Brick and Iso- rick power supplies.

Directions

Run a cable from your bass to the M85’s INPUT jack and run another cable from the M85’s OUTPUT jack to your amplifier.
Start with all controls at 12 o’clock.
Turn the effect on by depressing the footswitch.
Use the LED/SIL switch to select between silicon and LED diodes. The default Silicon mode (switch out, blue LED off) has a biting, aggressive character with a bit of compression, while the LED mode (switch pushed in, blue LED on) has a wide open sound with a bump in gain
Rotate the DRY knob clockwise to increase direct signal volume or counterclockwise to decrease it.
Rotate the WET knob clockwise to increase distortion signal volume or counterclockwise to decrease it.
Rotate the TONE knob clockwise for a brighter sound or counterclockwise for a warmer sound.
Rotate the DISTORTION knob clockwise to increase amount of distortion or counterclockwise to decrease it
The internal LED GAIN control can be used to lower the max output of the LED mode. The factory setting is fully clockwise for a +7.5dB difference from the Silicon mode, which allows for the full expression of the LED mode’s character. If you find the volume difference to be too drastic, then remove the M85’s bottom plate and use a 3mm slotted screwdriver to rotate the LED GAIN control counterclockwise to reduce the LED mode’s max gain to a minimum of +1.5dB . Note: Reducing the max gain of the LED mode will make it less distinguishable from the Silicon mode..

Specifications