The Trickfish Overdrive Preamp is a soft-clipping overdrive preamp pedal for bass, made by Trickfish Amplification and released in May 2024 as one of four bass effects pedals the company introduced together12. It is built around a simple idea that matters a lot to bass players: the drive circuit is blended with your clean signal, so you can add grit without losing the low end that a straight overdrive tends to thin out.
Trickfish describes the pedal as delivering "a pleasing soft clipping overdrive, with a dry blend knob to mix in as little or as much" drive as you want3. The company says the design goal was an overdrive that "was warm, smooth, creamy, and retained not only fullness in the low end, but the entire dyna"mic range of the instrument3. Soft clipping, as opposed to the hard clipping used in many distortion pedals, rounds off the waveform's peaks more gradually, which is why the maker leans on words like warm and smooth.
Where it came from
The pedal has a practical origin story. According to Bass Gear Mag's review, Ryan of Trickfish created the Overdrive Preamp largely from his firsthand experience gigging with a blended bass-and-distorted-guitar-amp setup1. That experience, of running a clean bass signal alongside a driven one, is exactly what the pedal's Blend control puts into a box.
The Overdrive Preamp arrived as part of Trickfish's first line of bass effects pedals, announced in March 2024 and released that May: the Signal Filter, the VCA Compressor, the External Preamp, and the Overdrive Preamp12. Bass Gear Mag reviewed all four together, describing them as "well-suited in uniformly sized, sturdy steel enclosures"1.
The controls, switch and jacks
The front panel keeps things straightforward. The signal path runs from a 1/4" phone jack input to a GAIN control that adjusts the amount of overdrive, then a BLEND control that sweeps between wet/dry levels, then through an onboard three-band EQ with shelving bass and treble controls, then to a 1/4" phone jack output3.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| IN | 1/4" phone jack input3 |
| GAIN | Adjustes the amount of overdrive3 |
| BLEND | Sweeps between wet/dry levels3 |
| BASS | Boost/cut 13dB centered @ ~80Hz3 |
| OUT | 1/4" phone jack output3 |
| ON | Footswitch toggles effect on/bypass3 |
| DC IN | 9V DC power input, center pin negative3 |
After the gain and blend stages, the pedal carries an onboard three-band EQ with shelving bass and treble controls, which Trickfish calls a highly adjustable overdrive with smart tonal shaping3. The bass band offers 13dB of boost or cut centered around 80Hz3. The ON footswitch is a latching switch for engage and bypass1.
The Blend knob is the control that defines the pedal for bass. It sweeps between the wet (overdriven) and dry (clean) levels3, so the clean signal stays in the mix at any drive setting. That is the same blended approach other bass preamp and overdrive pedals use, and it is what lets you push the gain hard while the fundamental of each note still comes through.
What the reviewer said
Bass Gear Mag's Sean Fairchild reviewed the pedal in May 2024 and was specific about what sets it apart. On the EQ, he wrote1:
"The addition of a full 3-way boost/cut equalizer makes this stompbox orders of magnitude more useful and usable, in my"pinion, than other OD units1
He also characterized the pedal's character as soft-clipping, in his words "your soft-clipping chaos"1, and noted the $229 USD price at the time of review1, which matches the maker's current list price3.
Power, size and build
The pedal runs on 9V DC with a center pin negative supply, drawing only 7.2 mA3. That is a very light draw, so it will not strain a pedalboard power supply. Power comes in through the DC IN jack rather than a battery.
The chassis is steel3, and the pedal measures 2.29 inches high at the top, 1.96 inches at the bottom, by 2.72 wide by 5.08 long, including knobs, and weighs 0.98 lbs (0.45 kg)3. Input impedance is 1M Ohm and output impedance is 100k Ohm3, a high input value that suits passive bass pickups.
The pedal uses a center pin negative 9V DC supply. Check your power supply's polarity before plugging in, since a center positive supply can damage the circuit.
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Questions
What does the Blend knob do on the Trickfish Overdrive Preamp?
The Blend knob sweeps between the wet (overdriven) and dry (clean) signal levels. Because the clean bass signal stays in the mix, you can add as little or as much overdrive as you want while keeping the low end full, which is the main reason bass players use a blended drive instead of a straight overdrive.
What power does the Trickfish Overdrive Preamp need?
It runs on 9V DC from a center pin negative power supply, through a dedicated DC input jack. The maker lists its power consumption at 7.2 mA, so it draws very little current and is easy on a pedalboard power supply.
How much current does the Trickfish Overdrive Preamp draw?
Trickfish lists the power consumption at 7.2 mA. That is a small draw compared with many overdrive pedals, so it will not strain most isolated or daisy-chain power supplies.
Is the Trickfish Overdrive Preamp made of steel?
Yes. Trickfish specifies a steel chassis, and Bass Gear Mag's reviewer described the Trickfish pedal line as coming in uniformly sized, sturdy steel enclosures. The pedal weighs 0.98 lbs (0.45 kg).
What is the input impedance of the Trickfish Overdrive Preamp?
The input impedance is 1M Ohm, with an output impedance of 100k Ohm. A 1M Ohm input is a high value that preserves the full signal from passive bass pickups.
Who designed the Trickfish Overdrive Preamp?
Ryan of Trickfish designed it, drawing on his firsthand experience gigging with a blended setup of bass and distorted guitar amps. The pedal grew out of wanting an overdrive that kept the low end and the instrument's dynamics intact.
Sources (3)
- Trickfish Amplification Pedals: Signal Filter, and more..., Bass Gear Mag, 2024-05-30
- New Gear: Trickfish Introduces New Line of Pedals, Bass Musician Magazine, 2024-03-25
- Overdrive Preamp, Trickfish Amplification
