Quick Look – MXR M89 Bass Overdrive Pedal

This Article Was Originally Published On: July 1st, 2014 #Issue 14.

First Impressions

The Bass Overdrive sports an attractive grey finish on the case, with a slightly metallic sheen and a hint of sparkle to the paint. It’s not easy to make grey exciting or showy, but the paint job on the M89 is professional-grade, without being over the top. The layout is pretty straightforward, with one 1/4″ input jack (1 MOhm impedance) and one 1/4″ output jack (<10 kOhm impedance), and an input jack for the 9V DC power adapter (not included). The pedal can also be powered via a 9-volt battery. A very bright white LED indicates when the overdrive is engaged.

The four knobs on the box include controls for Clean (which blends in a tuned clean signal – comprised mostly of the lower frequencies – with the overdrive signal), Volume (which controls the overall output volume), Tone (which adjusts the color of the overdriven signal), and Drive (which controls the amount of overdrive). No surprises on those last three, which are fairly common types of controls. But the inclusion of a clean blend is a welcome (and increasingly seen) feature which is all about maintaining a solid low end, while dialing in a satisfying level of drive.

Like the rest of the Bass Innovations pedal line, the construction feels sturdy, and the size of the Hammond 1590B style box is familiar and convenient. All connections (input, output, power adapter) are located on the sides of the enclosure.

A Closer Look

With just four, easy to comprehend, knobs, the Bass Overdrive is very plug and play friendly. It has a very broad “sweet spot,” so you don’t have to hunt around for those one or two magical combinations of knob settings. It also exhibits good touch sensitivity, and I could dial it in to where the drive was definitely in the background, or very much out in front, depending on how hard I dug in. Although it claims to only adjust the color of the overdriven circuit, it seemed to me that the Tone affects both the clean and dirty signals.

Rumor has it that the M89 is based on (Dunlop’s own) Way Huge Pork Loin overdrive pedal – specifically, that it is a darker, higher-gain iteration of the Pork Loin. That makes some sense, as the Pork Loin uses a modern, soft-clipping BiFET overdrive gain stage, and the Bass Overdrive seems to behave like a soft-clipping device. The attack is definitely on the “softer” side, and it presents a darkish, warm overdrive, with a nice range of useable drive settings available. In some ways, it sounded/behaved more like a fuzz than an overdrive (softer attack, warm/fuzzy tone). With my basses and my fingers, it shined most brightly when copping a mild overdrive. Perhaps because of the blending of the clean (tuned) lows and the overdrive, the M89 does not do “full clean” or “full dirt.”  Rather, it dials up variations on the blend of the two.

When playing in one of my bands with just one guitar player, engaging the M89 helped me to occupy a bigger slice of the sonic real estate. I was very pleased to find that even with some of the higher overdrive settings, my bass lines never lost coherence or that “foundational support” in the mix. This makes it a pedal that you can use to your delight, without really pissing off any of your bandmates.

Lasting Impressions

When it comes to overdrive/fuzz effects, things get to be quite subjective, and one player’s “holy grail” can entirely miss the mark for other players. The M89 Bass Overdrive is not an extreme pedal, so it’s less likely to be as polarizing as some other pedals I have tried. What the M89 does, however, is offer a range of very compelling, mildly overdrive tones which sound quite appropriate on bass, while ensuring that your bass lines still land with authority and articulation. Every pedal we’ve tried so far from the MXR Bass Innovations line has proven to be a solid performer, and the Bass Overdrive is no exception.