The Trickfish Overdrive Preamp is a soft-clipping overdrive preamp pedal aimed at bass players, made by Trickfish Amplification. It comes from Trickfish's line of stompbox pedals for bass, which also includes the VCA Compressor, External Preamp (EPA) and Signal Filter1. Trickfish describes it as delivering "a pleasing soft clipping overdrive, with a dry blend knob to mix in as little or as much" clean signal as you like, followed by an onboard 3-band EQ with shelving bass and treble controls2. A latching footswitch handles engage and bypass2.
The design goal, in the maker's words, was an overdrive "that was warm, smooth, creamy, and retained not only fullness in the low end, but the entire dynamic range" of the instrument2. That combination of drive, blend and EQ places it somewhere between a plain overdrive pedal and a full preamp pedal: it colors your sound, but it also gives you tone shaping you can use as the foundation of a bass pedalboard.
What it does to your sound
Soft clipping is the gentler cousin of hard clipping: instead of chopping the waveform off abruptly, it rounds the peaks, which tends to read as warmth rather than aggression. Bass Gear Mag's reviewer, Sean Fairchild, characterized the pedal's character as "your soft-clipping chaos" in an otherwise warm, smooth package3.
The dry blend knob is the feature that matters most to bassists. Overdrive circuits can thin out the low end as gain increases, and blending the untouched clean signal back in is the standard fix: you get the grind on the mids and highs while the fundamentals of the low strings stay solid. Trickfish built the pedal around exactly that idea, pairing the blend with an EQ section so you can push the drive and then rebalance the tone afterward2.
The controls
The pedal keeps its control set compact: two knobs for the drive itself, a three-band EQ, and a single footswitch2.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| GAIN | Adjusts the amount of overdrive2 |
| Blend | Mixes the dry clean signal with the overdriven signal2 |
| BASS | Boost/cut 13 dB, shelving, centered around 80 Hz2 |
| MID | Boost/cut 15 dB, centered around 1.5 kHz2 |
| TREBLE | Shelving treble control, part of the 3-band EQ2 |
| OUTPUT | Adjusts the overall output level2 |
| ON | Footswitch toggles effect on/bypass2 |
The EQ frequencies are chosen for bass rather than guitar. The BASS shelf at about 80 Hz sits on the fundamentals of the low E and B strings, and the MID control at about 1.5 kHz covers the range where a bass either cuts through a mix or gets lost in the guitars. With 13 dB of boost or cut on the bass shelf and 15 dB on the mid, the EQ has enough range to be a tone-shaping tool in its own right, not just a trim. Bass Gear Mag's reviewer thought so too, calling the equalizer the pedal's distinguishing feature3.
The ON footswitch is a latching switch for engage/bypass3, so the pedal stays in whatever state you leave it in rather than momentary switching.
Power and connections
The rear panel is simple: a 1/4-inch input jack, an output, and a DC input2.
- IN: 1/4-inch phone jack input2
- DC IN: 9V DC power input, center pin negative2
- Power requirements: 9V DC, center pin negative2
- Power consumption: 7.2 mA2
At 7.2 mA the draw is low enough that the pedal will run comfortably alongside several others on a typical isolated or daisy-chain supply, and the center-negative 9V DC requirement matches the standard barrel connector used by most modern pedals. The 1M Ohm input impedance is high enough that passive bass pickups will not lose top end loading into it, and the 100k Ohm output impedance is a standard level for feeding an amp or another pedal2.
Physically, the pedal sits in a steel chassis measuring 2.29 inches high at the top and 1.96 inches at the bottom, by 2.72 wide by 5.08 long, knobs included, and weighs 0.98 lbs (0.45 kg)2. Bass Gear Mag noted the whole Trickfish line comes in uniformly sized, sturdy steel enclosures3.
Where it came from
The Overdrive Preamp was created by Ryan of Trickfish, and it grew out of his firsthand experience gigging with a blended bass-and-distorted-guitar-amp setup3. That background shaped the pedal's core layout: a soft-clipping overdrive with a dry blend knob, so a player can keep their clean low end underneath the driven sound2.
The Overdrive Preamp itself has a backstory rooted in gigging. Bass Gear Mag reported that Ryan of Trickfish created it largely from his firsthand experience gigging a setup that blended a bass amp with a distorted guitar amp, chasing a sound that kept the low end full while adding grind on top3. That blended-amps concept is essentially what the pedal's dry blend knob recreates in a single box.
What reviewers said
Bass Gear Mag's Sean Fairchild reviewed the pedal in May 2024 and was positive about it, particularly on the EQ3:
"The addition of a full 3-way boost/cut equalizer makes this stompbox orders of magnitude more useful and usable, in my opinion3."
He saw the EQ as what sets the Overdrive Preamp apart from other overdrive units, which typically offer drive, level and maybe a single tone knob3. The review listed the price at $229 USD, matching Trickfish's own listing3.
A reviewer found that the pedal's EQ is what sets it apart from other overdrive units, writing that "the addition of a full 3-way boost/cut equalizer makes this stompbox orders of magnitude more useful and usable"3. That points to the 3-band EQ, with its shelving bass and treble controls, as the feature to weigh when comparing the Overdrive Preamp against simpler overdrives.
How it compares
Against other overdrive preamps on the market, the Trickfish sits at a mid price point. The JHS Overdrive Preamp, a guitar-focused take on the classic DOD Overdrive Preamp 250 circuit, lists at $179.00 USD45, fifty dollars less, but it does not carry the Trickfish's three-band EQ or dry blend. The Walrus Audio Voyager Preamp/Overdrive is another preamp-plus-drive design in a similar format. For bass players specifically, the combination of a blend knob, an 80 Hz bass shelf and a 1.5 kHz mid control is the Trickfish's practical pitch: it is built around the frequencies a bass actually occupies.
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Questions
What frequency does the bass control on the Trickfish Overdrive Preamp cover?
The BASS knob is a shelving control centered around 80 Hz, offering up to 13 dB of boost or cut. That puts it right in the fundamental range of a bass guitar's low strings, so it shapes the body of the note rather than the attack or upper harmonics.
Does the Trickfish Overdrive Preamp have a blend control?
Yes. Trickfish describes a dry blend knob that lets you mix in as little or as much of your clean signal as you want. Blending clean low end with the overdriven signal is a common way to keep a bass sounding full and articulate at higher gain settings.
Is the Trickfish Overdrive Preamp center negative?
Yes. The pedal takes 9V DC power with a center pin negative, which is the standard polarity for most modern pedalboard power supplies. Its power consumption is listed at 7.2 mA, so it is a light draw on a shared supply.
How much does the Trickfish Overdrive Preamp cost?
Trickfish lists the Overdrive Preamp at $229.00 USD on its product page, as of October 2026. Bass Gear Mag's review from May 2024 listed the same $229 USD price for the US market.
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 tone of passive bass pickups, keeping the top end from loading down before the pedal's circuit.
Sources (5)
- New Gear: Trickfish Introduces New Line of Pedals, Bass Musician Magazine, 2024-03-25
- Overdrive Preamp, Trickfish Amplification
- Trickfish Amplification Pedals: Signal Filter, and more..., Bass Gear Mag, 2024-05-30
- OVERDRIVE PREAMP, JHS Pedals
- DOD Overdrive Preamp 250-X review, Guitar World, 2025-12-16
