The Flattley Bass Poison Ivy is a bass pedal from Flattley Guitar Pedals that covers both fuzz and overdrive in one box. Reviewed by Guitar World in July 2022 alongside its sibling, the Bass Chief, it was listed at $3491. The maker describes both as highly user-friendly pedals, and the pair were recently updated for a more convenient layout1.
What it does to a bass signal
The Poison Ivy has two sides to its character. Rolled into its second hemisphere with the Fuzz control maxed out, Guitar World's reviewer Joel McIver found you can achieve "a thoroughly screamy distortion"1. Backed off, it works as an overdrive instead.
What sets it apart from the Bass Chief is clarity. McIver wrote that the Attack control "gives you an overdriven tone with more clarity than its sibling thanks to the presence of an Attack control"1. In his verdict, the "Attack control on the Poison Ivy dials in welcome clarity"1.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Volume | Sets the pedal's output level |
| Attack | Dials in clarity in the overdriven tone1 |
| Blend | Blends effected and clean signal, a standard feature on bass drive pedals |
| Fuzz | Sets the amount of fuzz and distortion |
The Blend control matters for bass players: keeping some clean low end underneath the driven signal is usually what makes a bass drive pedal work in a mix.
Power, bypass and build
The pedal runs on 9-volt DC, the standard voltage for most pedalboard power supplies1. It is true bypass, so it removes itself from the signal chain when off1. It weighs 11.4 oz and is made in the UK1.
How it compares
The Bass Chief, reviewed at the same time and at the same $349 price, is the Poison Ivy's sibling in Flattley's bass line1. The two were updated together for a more convenient layout1. Within the wider Flattley range, the company also builds guitar-oriented drives such as The Joker and the Revolution dynamic overdrive, but the Poison Ivy and Bass Chief are its bass-specific drive pedals.
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Questions
Is the Flattley Bass Poison Ivy true bypass?
Yes. Guitar World's review lists the Poison Ivy as true bypass, meaning the pedal takes itself out of the signal path entirely when switched off, so your bass reaches the amp unaltered when the effect is not in use.
Where is the Flattley Bass Poison Ivy made?
The Poison Ivy is made in the UK. Guitar World's 2022 review of the pedal lists its country of manufacture as the UK, and Flattley's pedals are built by the company's UK operation, Flattley Guitar Pedals.
What power does the Flattley Bass Poison Ivy need?
The Poison Ivy runs on 9-volt DC power, as listed in Guitar World's review. That is the standard pedalboard supply voltage, so it fits alongside most other pedals on a typical power supply.
What does the Attack control do on the Poison Ivy?
According to Guitar World's reviewer Joel McIver, the Attack control dials in welcome clarity. He found it gives the Poison Ivy an overdriven tone with more clarity than its sibling pedal, the Bass Chief, thanks to the presence of the Attack control.
How much does the Flattley Bass Poison Ivy weigh?
Guitar World's review gives the Poison Ivy's weight as 11.4 oz, alongside a figure of 12.3 oz for the Bass Chief, its sibling pedal reviewed at the same time.
Sources (1)
- Flattley Bass Chief and Bass Poison Ivy review, Guitar World, 2022-07-14
