Description
Every bass player knows the fight for pedalboard real estate, and the MXR M81 Bass Preamp wins it without asking for compromise. Housed in that familiar Phase 90-sized enclosure, it delivers a genuinely clean preamp stage alongside a studio-grade Direct Out—two tools that punch way above the pedal’s small frame.
Where this one earns its spot on the board is versatility. Got an old passive bass that’s lost some of its bite? The M81 can hand it a new personality. Need to warm up a sterile amp for a session, or push a particular song into its own lane? Dial in your tone and it’s there, ready whenever the set calls for it.
The Direct Out is the real workhorse here. Once you’ve sculpted your sound, send it to the house pre-EQ or post-EQ—your call, depending on whether you want the front-of-house engineer working with your shaped tone or your raw signal. That flexibility matters when you’re moving between rooms with wildly different acoustics, or handing off to sound techs you’ve never met.
- Compact, Phase 90-sized housing that won’t crowd your board
- Clean, studio-quality bass preamp circuit
- Built-in Direct Out selectable pre-EQ or post-EQ
- Adds new tonal character to passive basses or flat amps
For bassists who want reliable, gig-ready tone shaping without hauling a rack unit, the M81 is a straightforward, no-nonsense addition to any setup.
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