The Death By Audio Bass War is in good company. DBA’s Fuzz War is one of their finest analogue fuzzes — a savage, heavy fuzz that’s been a staple for over 15 years.
The Bass War takes that lineage and rebuilds it specifically for bass. More low-end retention, a wider tone sweep tuned for bass frequencies, and a Mix control that lets you blend in your clean signal to keep the sub-bass articulate where it matters most.
This isn’t a complex pedal — four controls: Volume, Fuzz, Tone, Mix. What’s exciting is the range on those controls, going well outside what most fuzz pedals can deliver.
The Volume knob reaches +27dB above unity. This is big. The Fuzz runs from +16dB to +64dB — massive gain ranging from grinding and dirty through thick mid distortion to total destruction. The Tone control sweeps a deep notch from 98Hz to 3.3kHz, giving the fuzz many completely different characters across its range.
It’s also worth saying the Bass War isn’t just a bass pedal. Just as the Fuzz War could be used with bass, this works with guitar too — no rules. The voicing is particularly useful for drop-tuned, baritone, and other low-register instruments.
Controls
- Volume: Sets the overall output level from -infinity to +27dB — unity sits at approximately 10 o’clock, so everything past noon is seriously loud.
- Fuzz: Controls the fuzz gain from +16dB to +64dB — grinding and dirty at the low end, overloaded and destructive when turned clockwise.
- Tone: Sweeps a deep notch filter between 98Hz and 3.3kHz, radically reshaping the character of the fuzz at each position.
- Mix: Blends dry and fuzzed signal. This makes the pedal genuinely flexible and usable in a band context — keep the clean low end underneath the fuzz where you need it.
Key Features
- All-analogue fuzz derived from Death By Audio’s Fuzz War
- Four controls — Volume, Fuzz, Tone, Mix
- Volume range: -infinity to +27dB (unity at approximately 10 o’clock)
- Fuzz range: +16dB to +64dB
- Tone: deep notch filter sweep from 98Hz to 3.3kHz
- Mix: blends clean signal with fuzz for sub-bass retention
- 9V DC centre-negative, 33mA — extremely light draw
- 9V battery operation also supported (battery not included)
- Lifetime warranty
- Handmade in Brooklyn, New York, USA
Who Is This For?
The Bass War suits bass players who want extreme fuzz without sacrificing low-end weight. The Mix control solves the old problem of fuzz on bass losing the sub frequencies that are often the foundation of a song or mix. The bass player needs bass as well as fuzz.
It also suits guitarists running baritone or drop tunings who want something designed with low-frequency content in mind. And anyone who loves the DBA approach: four controls, extreme results, no compromise.
To power it, any outlet on the CIOKS DC7 v2 or CIOKS SOL handles the 33mA draw with ease — one of the most pedalboard-friendly power draws we stock.
Watch It In Action
FAQs
It comes from the same stable as the Fuzz War, rebuilt specifically for bass with the tone sweep tweaked for bass.
It sweeps a deep notch filter from 98Hz to 3.3kHz. A notch filter cuts a specific frequency band rather than rolling off highs or lows like a standard EQ. As you sweep it, you’re dramatically shifting which frequencies are prominent.
Yes. Like all thing – experiment!. It is of course for deeper range guitars / drop tuning / baritone etc.
It can outout +27dBs! So can drivre just about anything really hard!
9V DC centre-negative 33mA supply , so very frugal.
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