The Orange Bass Butler is a preamp pedal for bass, announced by Orange at NAMM in January 202012. Orange describes it as a bi-amp preamp pedal that splits your signal into two paths: a clean, full-frequency bass channel and a gain-laden guitar channel, each with its own EQ and volume controls3. The idea is that you get thunderous clean low end and gritty, guitar-style distortion at the same time, with the distortion treated like a parallel guitar amp in your bass rig3.
Guitar World's 2026 guide to the best bass preamp pedals named the Bass Butler the best all-round bass preamp pedal, calling its second, "guitar" channel "where you can make the floor cave in, through the high-gain distortion stage, which can be either always on or blended via external expression pedal"2.
Two parallel channels: clean bass and dirty guitar
The core of the pedal is the parallel signal split. Bass and guitar-style preamps run in parallel, which Orange says delivers full tonal range with added gain and grit4. The clean channel keeps your low end intact while the guitar channel layers distortion on top, rather than pushing your whole bass signal through a gain stage.
The bass channel delivers what Orange calls a super-clean, full-range signal with five-band EQ and studio-style compression3. Orange voices it "to sit perfectly in a mix as solid, sculpted, and endlessly musical"4. When Gearnews covered the NAMM announcement, it described the bottom row of pots as the clean channel, with control over Volume, Treble, Bass and Compressor5.
The guitar channel adds searing distortion inspired by classic Orange guitar amps and gain circuits, sculpted via a simple treble/mid/bass tone stack3. Gearnews described the top row of pots as the dirty channel, with Volume, 3-band EQ and Gain potentiometers5. Guitar World's guide notes the high-gain distortion stage can run always on or be blended in with an external expression pedal2.
| Channel | What it does | Controls |
|---|---|---|
| Clean (bass) | Super-clean, full-range signal with studio-style compression3 | Five-band EQ, compressor3; Volume, Treble, Bass, Compressor pots5 |
| Dirty (guitar) | Harmonically rich distortion inspired by classic Orange gain circuits3 | Gain, treble/mid/bass tone stack, volume35 |
The controls
The two rows of knobs map onto the two channels. Gearnews's NAMM coverage laid it out plainly: the bottom row is the clean channel and the top row is the dirty channel5.
- Clean channel: Volume, Treble, Bass and Compressor potentiometers5, with five-band EQ and studio-style compression per Orange3
- Dirty channel: Volume, 3-band EQ and Gain potentiometers5, voiced through a treble/mid/bass tone stack3
- Expression input: a 1/4″ jack socket for an expression pedal to blend the distortion stage32
- Ground lift switch: for the XLR outputs3
Connections and power
The rear panel carries the input, the expression socket, the ground lift switch and three outputs34:
- Bass Guitar (Clean) XLR balanced output with a bass guitar cabinet simulator4
- Guitar (Dirty) XLR balanced output with a lead guitar cabinet simulator4
- Blended 1/4″ jack output with no cabinet simulator4
Guitar World's 2026 guide lists the outputs as a "Dirty" output, a "Clean" XLR output and a 1/4″ jack output, and describes cabinet simulation as present on the clean channel only2. Orange's own page gives both XLR outputs a cabinet simulator4, so the two sources disagree on whether the dirty output carries cab sim.
The Bass Butler runs on 18V4. Check that your power supply can deliver this before adding it to a pedalboard.
Where it came from
Orange Amplification announced the Bass Butler at NAMM 2020 as a dual-channel preamp pedal for bass12. Ade Emsley of Orange, together with Morgan Nicholls, conceived it; Gearnews quoted Emsley on the pedal's genesis at the announcement5. Emsley is Orange's designer, named again in Guitar World's review of the Orange Distortion as the designer information was passed to6.
Two years later Orange followed it with the Guitar Butler, a six-string version of the Bass Butler announced in January 202278. It is a dual-channel all-analog preamp pedal with independent Clean and Dirty channels, offering what Orange calls everything from sparkling cleans to fully saturated high-gain tones9. Like the bass version, it is built in the UK1 and runs on an 18V supply, which is included with the Guitar Butler9. Its dirty channel carries a gain control, a presence control, a three-band EQ and two master volumes that can be switched between, each with a red or blue LED showing which is selected78.
What reviewers said
Guitar World's updated guide, published 28 July 2026, ranked nine bass preamp pedals and named the Bass Butler the best all-round choice2. The guide highlights the parallel guitar channel's high-gain distortion stage and calls the cabinet simulation on the clean channel "also a nice touch"2.
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Questions
What power supply does the Orange Bass Butler need?
The Bass Butler runs on 18V DC. Orange's product page lists 18V, and Guitar World's 2026 bass preamp guide also specifies 18V DC. Check your power supply can deliver this before adding it to a pedalboard.
Does the Bass Butler have XLR outputs?
Yes, two of them. There is a Bass Guitar (Clean) XLR balanced output with a bass guitar cabinet simulator, and a Guitar (Dirty) XLR balanced output with a lead guitar cabinet simulator. There is also a blended 1/4 inch jack output with no cabinet simulator, plus a ground lift switch.
Does the Bass Butler have a cabinet simulator?
Orange's product page gives each XLR output its own cabinet simulator: bass guitar cab sim on the clean output and lead guitar cab sim on the dirty output. Guitar World's 2026 guide describes cabinet simulation on the clean channel only, so the two sources disagree on the dirty channel.
Can I use an expression pedal with the Bass Butler?
Yes. The pedal has a dedicated Expression 1/4 inch jack socket. Guitar World describes the high-gain distortion stage on the guitar channel as something that can be either always on or blended in via an external expression pedal, so you can ride the amount of dirt with your foot.
Who designed the Orange Bass Butler?
Ade Emsley of Orange, together with Morgan Nicholls, conceived the Bass Butler. Gearnews reported on Emsley's account of the pedal's genesis when Orange announced it at NAMM in January 2020. Emsley also designed the later Guitar Butler.
What is the Orange Guitar Butler?
The Guitar Butler is Orange's six-string version of the Bass Butler, announced in January 2022. It is a dual-channel all-analogue preamp pedal with independent Clean and Dirty channels, built in the UK, and it followed on from the 2020 Bass Butler.
Sources (9)
- Orange enters the dual-channel preamp pedal fray with the Guitar Butler, MusicRadar, 2022-01-12
- Best bass preamp pedals: consistently great tone, anywhere, Guitar World, 2023-05-23
- Orange Bass Butler, Orange Music Electronic Co Ltd
- Orange Bass Butler, Orange Music Electronic Co Ltd
- NAMM 2020: Orange serves up the Bass Butler dual-channel preamp pedal, gearnews.com, 2020-01-06
- Orange Distortion review, Guitar World, 2022-11-17
- The Guitar Butler: A new dual channel guitar preamp-in-a-pedal from Orange, gearnews.com, 2022-01-12
- Orange introduces the Guitar Butler, a fully-featured ‘rig in a box’ preamp pedal, Guitar.com, 2022-01-12
- Orange Guitar Butler, Orange Music Electronic Co Ltd
