The Fulltone Bass-Drive is an analog overdrive and booster pedal aimed first at bass players. RockBoard's PedalPedia describes it as giving bassists "their day in the sun, providing tones that are nice and dirty, but with the rich bottom-end they crave"1. It is part of the same family as the Full-Drive overdrives: RockBoard's PedalPedia calls it "a close cousin to the Full-Drive 2 overdrive, but voiced with an extra octave of expanded bass coverage"1. That extra octave of low-end reach is the whole point of the pedal: it lets the drive and boost character come through without thinning out a bass signal the way a guitar-voiced overdrive can.
What it does
The Bass-Drive covers two jobs at once, functioning as both an overdrive and a booster1. For a bassist, that means it can push an amp or add grit to a clean signal while keeping the low fundamentals intact, which is what the expanded bass voicing is there for. Fulltone's own description of the result is tones that are "nice and dirty, but with the rich bottom-end they crave"1.
It is not exclusively a bass pedal. RockBoard's PedalPedia notes that "tone-conscious guitarists have also found the the Bass-Drive to be a useful tool, too!"1, so a guitarist after a low-full overdrive voice, or a second drive on a board alongside something like the Fulltone OCD, can put it to work as well.
Power and practical notes
The pedal runs on 9V DC, center negative, and draws 18mA1. That is within reach of most standard pedalboard power supplies.
The Bass-Drive is an analog circuit1, so it needs no special power considerations beyond a standard 9V DC center-negative supply with enough current for its 18mA draw1.
Videos
Bass Stuff
j Wag
kamehiro on Bass
Questions
Is the Fulltone Bass-Drive only for bass guitar?
No. Fulltone designed it to give bassists overdrive that keeps a rich bottom end, but the maker notes that tone-conscious guitarists have also found the Bass-Drive to be a useful tool. It works as an overdrive and booster for either instrument.
How is the Fulltone Bass-Drive related to the Full-Drive 2?
Fulltone describes the Bass-Drive as a close cousin to the Full-Drive 2 overdrive, but voiced with an extra octave of expanded bass coverage. That extra low-end reach is what makes it suitable for bass, while keeping the dirty tones of the Full-Drive family.
What power does the Fulltone Bass-Drive need?
It runs on 9V DC, center negative, and draws 18mA. A standard pedal power supply or daisy chain that delivers 9V DC center negative with enough current headroom will run it.
Sources (1)
- Bass-Drive by Fulltone, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
