Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

6 Preamp Pedals for All Styles of Bassist

6 Preamp Pedals for All Styles of Bassist
- YouTube

Whether you’re taking your instrument to the stage or the studio, these bass preamp pedals have you covered.



Genzler Amplification

Magellan Preamp/DI Pedal

This all-analog, full-featured bass preamp pedal offers all of the functions and performance from Genzler’s Magellan series bass amps.

$299 street

genzleramplification.com

Darkglass Electronics

Microtubes B7K2

Tone-crushing overdrive and super transparent modern sound is the essence of the Microtubes B7K. There’s no compromise of the original sound of the instrument: It enhances presence in the mix.

$349 street

darkglass.com

EBS Sweden AB

EBS MicroBass 3 bass preamp

This feature-packed, analog, 2-channel bass preamp includes a built-in drive, operates with a professional-grade signal level, and can blend or switch between channels.

$399 street

ebssweden.com

Electro-Harmonix

Battalion Bass Preamp & DI

Packed with a 4-band EQ, MOSFET distortion, compressor, gate, and a comprehensive I/O, this is an all-in-one tone tank for your bass guitar.

$174 street

ehx.com

Aguilar

AG Preamp

Revered for its tight, fast response and wide tonal flexibility, this preamp takes the beloved AG sound and places it in a compact pedal/DI.

$299 street

aguilaramp.com

Radial Engineering

Bassbone V2

This pedal combines high-quality audio performance with unmatched flexibility in a 2-channel bass preamp and DI box. It features separate level controls, powerful EQ, and a PZB booster for piezo pickups.

$399 street

radialeng.com

Lollar Pickups introduces the Deluxe Foil humbucker, a medium-output pickup with a bright, punchy tone and wide frequency range. Featuring a unique retro design and 4-conductor lead wires for versatile wiring options, the Deluxe Foil is a drop-in replacement for Wide Range Humbuckers.

Read MoreShow less
Supro Montauk Mini Rocker Amp Demo
- YouTube

A 6L6 power section, tube-driven spring reverb, and a versatile array of line outs make this 1x10 combo an appealing and unique 15-watt alternative.

Read MoreShow less

This month’s mod Dan’s uses a 500k linear pot, a 1.5H inductor (L) with a 0.039 µF (39nF) cap (C), and a 220k resistor (R) in parallel.

Drawing courtesy of singlecoil.com

This simple passive mod will boost your guitar’s sweet-spot tones.

Hello and welcome back to Mod Garage. In this column, we’ll be taking a closer look at the “mid boost and scoop mod” for electric guitars from longtime California-based tech Dan Torres, whose Torres Engineering seems to be closed, at least on the internet. This mod is in the same family with the Gibson Varitone, Bill Lawrence’s Q-Filter, the Gresco Tone Qube (said to be used by SRV), John “Dawk” Stillwells’ MTC (used by Ritchie Blackmore), the Yamaha Focus Switch, and the Epiphone Tone Expressor, as well as many others. So, while it’s just one of the many variations of tone-shaping mods, I chose the Torres because this one sounds best to me, which simply has to do with the part values he chose.

Read MoreShow less

The two-in-one “sonic refractor” takes tremolo and wavefolding to radical new depths.

Pros: Huge range of usable sounds. Delicious distortion tones. Broadens your conception of what guitar can be.

Build quirks will turn some users off.

$279

Cosmodio Gravity Well
cosmod.io

4.5
4
4
4.5

Know what a wavefolder does to your guitar signal? If you don’t, that’s okay. I didn’t either until I started messing around with the all-analog Cosmodio Instruments Gravity Well. It’s a dual-effect pedal with a tremolo and wavefolder, the latter more widely used in synthesis that , at a certain threshold, shifts or inverts the direction the wave is traveling—in essence, folding it upon itself. Used together here, they make up what Cosmodio calls a sonic refractor.

Read MoreShow less