MXR M 89 Bass Overdrive

I've been searching a while for the perfect overdrive and have been through quite a few along the way. I'm in a rock setting mainly doing covers. I needed something to add some grit without sounding muffled or get buried in the mix. I had a few contenders along side the MXR. Mainly from Aguilar and Darkglass. The MXR, for me was the clear winner. One strong issue - it doesn't scoop the mids. Scooped mids may be ideal for various types of metal and sound really great and aggressive soloed. But in a band setting it is easily buried especially with distorted guitars on top.

The MXR M89 is super easy to dial in. The clean knob is really subtle and is great in order to preserve the punch and definition, especially at higher drive setting. The drive goes from slightly overdriven (very tube amp like IMO) to full out distortion. The tone control is great for fine-tuning your attack. I sometimes wish it could boost the treble a bit more, but over all very effective. The sound of the pedal is best described as dark and aggressive. My favourite sounds are achieved with drive between 7 and 12 o'clock. For more over the top distortion I prefer my MXR M80 or M84.

There may be alternatives with more features and tonal options, but at this price point this is really tough to beat. If you're looking for a pedal to push your bass through the mix with attitude this is it!

I own various bass overdrives as everyone has its own character. I use it since months now, so I review it on a long time based experience.I love this MXR OD because of its reach and juicy sound. I sometimes use it just turned on and without any drive, I mean with the DRIVE knob set to zero, just to add the beautiful juice provided by its circuit. By the way with the DRIVE knob I can get all the amount of effect desired depending on many different needs, from soft to hard but always getting a great and harmonically reach OD sound. The TONE pot gives me the possibility to vary the sound on a quite large EQ range, giving to this pedal an appreciable versatility. With the CLEAN knob I can mix dry and wet signal as I need, very useful to preserve the original tonal attack of the bass and so always get the sound I like. And with the VOLUME knob I can adjust the overall level to both match the general level on my pedals chain and/or to boost it. I appreciate this OD as stand-alone pedal or in front of its MXR bro, the Bass Envelope Filter, to give to this second one the right amount of bite I like.

Very well manufactured pedal, great quality materials, from the chassis to the knobs. I would have preferred to have the power supply input on the upper side of the pedal instead of having it on the jack input side of the box, but this issue is maybe just personal. All in all this pedal is really a good value for money.

I fell in love with this pedal!
It's brilliant for adding that little bit of grit without losing low end, but you can also crank it and really make your bass squeal. It pairs really well with other pedals too.

The only thing that I would change would be the brightness of the LED (it can be a little blinding in a dark club!) but I've covered it with tape and that seems to have done the trick.