Walrus Audio Badwater Bass Preamp & D.I. Pedal

The Badwater is Walrus Audio’s first bass-specific pedal — a product several years in the making! This all-in-one bass preamp and D.I. provides the modern bassist with all of the tone-shaping tools they need to achieve the perfect tone. Featuring optical compression, overdrive, and a highly-tweakable 4-band EQ section — the Walrus Audio Badwater is a compact solution designed to enhance your bass rig’s capabilities, letting you dial in everything from warm cleans to gritty chords and punchy drive, or attain bright and crisp slap sounds!

Built-In Optical Compressor

First in the Badwater’s signal path is an internal optical compressor that’s always on, but very adjustable. Use the dedicated ‘Sustain’ knob to increase the compression; smoothing out your transients and boosting note sustain. Keep it low for a more natural, unaffected sound.

Drive Circuit — Add Some Grit!

Take your bass tone to the edge with the Badwater’s built-in drive function — allowing you to go from subtle breakup to thick, musical distortion! Use the ‘Voice’ toggle switch to select one of three options that determine how much low and high-frequency content is allowed into the drive section, and then twist the ‘Blend’ knob to balance your clean sound with the fully distorted signal in parallel — an essential feature for achieving clear, modern tones! The ‘Drive’ control also boasts a separate ‘Level’ knob to boost or cut the overdrive signal.

Tailor You Tone

The extensive EQ options on the Walrus Audio Badwater enable precise tone-sculpting possibilities for practically any genre. Dial in your core tone with boost/cut low, mid, and high frequencies, then zero in on the sweet-spot by sweeping between 500 Hz to 2.4k Hz with the ‘Low Mid Frequency’ knob (LMF) or 3.5k Hz to 7.5k Hz via the ‘High Mid Frequency’ control (HMF).

XLR Output

Badwater features both 1/4-inch and XLR output options, so that you’re always ready with a usable bass rig. Use the XLR to connect directly to a front-of-house PA system, or employ the 1/4-inch out to run into an amplifier. Both outputs can be run simultaneously for direct and live amp stage monitoring too!

Key Features

• All-in-one bass pre-amp and D.I.
• Versatile and powerful tone-sculpting tool for bassists of all styles.
• Features optical compression, overdrive and a 4-band EQ section.
• Optical compression for smooth, added sustain.
• Blend-able drive control with 3 different voicing options.
• Engage drive-option via dedicated footswitch.
• 4-band EQ: Low, Low-Mid, High-Mid and High.
• +/-12 dB boost/cut for Low and High.
• +/-10dB boost/cut for Low-Mid and High-Mid.
• LMF = 500 Hz to 2.4 kHz.
• HMF = 3.5 kHz to 7.5 kHz.
• XLR D.I. output to connect straight to front of house.
• Jack output to run straight to an amp.
• Run both outs simultaneously for direct PA and amp stage monitoring.
• GND Lift: Isolates GND pin on XLR to reduce hum.
• Dual Footswitch Design: Bypass and Drive.
• Power Requirements: 9V DC, centre negative, 300mA minimum.
• Art inspired by the Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park.
• Made in the USA.