four knobs are the EQ section (Bass, MidL,
MidH, And Treble), the three controls on the
left of the lower row (ODVol, Depth, Drive)
control the overdrive section, while the three
on the right (CVol, CRatio, Sust) control the
compression. DDyna eliminated a little more
guesswork out by using white, red, and blue
accented knobs for each function.
Wider Perspectives
To get a feel for the many flavors of the
Bass 10, I placed it variously between a ’ 75
Fender Jazz Bass Reissue, Warwick Streamer
4, and ’00 Music Man StingRay, and an
Eden 500 WTX with 410XLT cab, an
Ampeg B- 18, and straight into Cubase with
no plug-ins or preamps.
Jumping in at the top, I started with
adjustments to the 4-band EQ. The level
controls are bandpass filters that offer up
to 18 dB of attenuation in each band with
which to experiment. It doesn’t take long to
dial in a great tone to suit a particular bass/
amp setup, and given a few minutes to tinker, you’ll find a pretty wide range of tone to
suit your taste.
The primary job of this pedal—at least
in name—is compression. And the Bass
10 handles the task very nicely with three
simple controls: Volume, Ratio, and Sustain.
Compression means different things to bass
players and guitar players. And for bass
players, really squashing a bass tone to gain
punch can strip a low end of harmonics,
overtones, and other nuances. The Bass 10
has a very relaxed squeeze, so to speak, so
even when the ratio is cranked the pedal
maintains the tonal integrity of the relationship between bass and amp.
I personally wouldn’t recommend setting
the Ratio knob to 10, but rolling it back to
the mid-level range, the Bass 10 produced
some pleasing results, coaxing both definition and muscle out of various bass/amp
rigs. Under the influence of the Bass 10,
the StingRay became a virtual slap machine
by taking on a more concise popping character. The Warwick, meanwhile, tended to
become smoother and more controlled. As a
lower-output passive instrument, the Fender
seemed to benefit most from the Sust (
sustain) knob, and the P-bass came alive with
the sustain dialed to about 6, becoming more
When the compression controls are moved
up to the halfway point to complement the
overdrive, the signal breaks into a dirty,
punchy sounds that would please any
aspiring Larry Graham.
muscular and bossy without sacrificing any
harmonic character. It seems that with this
pedal, like life, moderation is key.
The Verdict
The DDyna Bass 10 is packed with features
that can help you move and expand your
tone in a ton of different directions. The
pedal could benefit from some additional
features, like a switch so you can use the EQ
independently and an XLR output for using
the unit as a direct box. But if you’re looking for a smooth, even compression pedal
to broaden your bass rig’s tonal palette, this
pedal packs a lot of sonic versatility into a
single box.
Get Dirty
The dirty side of the pedal is, well, just
that. DDyna is best known for its guitar
overdrives, and that experience pays off in
the Bass 10. The red-knobbed OD section
is, like the compression section, made up
of three simple controls—Volume, Depth,
and Drive. Some OD pedals kill bottom
end, but that is certainly not the case here.
The overdrive is warm and big, especially
when running the Fender through the
Ampeg. But you’ll want to keep the Drive
somewhere in the middle unless you’re into
particularly snarling grungy or post-punk
tones.
The Depth control is interesting. It has
two limit levels—a fixed one for high volume levels, and a variable level for using
at lower volumes. And it opens up a lot of
possibilities, whether you are a touch player,
full-bore thumper, or need to move between
those identities in a single performance.
The distortion is affected significantly by
the compression settings. With the Drive
and Depth at 5, and the compression basically off, the distortion takes on a subtle
grit. When the compression controls are
moved up to the halfway point to complement the overdrive, the signal breaks into a
dirty, punchy sound that would please any
aspiring Larry Graham. With more aggressive settings, the signal can get downright
sick, especially with the Drive on full bore.
My distortion of choice on this unit is with
the Depth and Drive and all the compression controls around 7. This seems to deliver the fullest, most practical tone.
Rating:
Buy If...
you’re looking for a simple way to
shape the tone of your bass and
expand performance dynamics.
Skip If...
you prefer your signal chain to con-
sist of nothing more than a cable.
DDyna Music Company
Street $289
ddynamusic.com
or use a mobile device to read
this QR code to hear audio clips
of the pedal at
CLICKHere…
