Bass limiter pedals have become an absolute staple in the music industry for recording and for musical performance. Controlling a bass guitar for recording or for live performance can often be a challenging task.
As most devices can be widely uncontrolled through a line in and with the simple pickups on the instrument, a limiter/enhancer pedal can give an artist added balance further instrument with fine-tuning controls for managing peak volume on the bass.
We checked out some of the best bass limiter/enhancer pedals on the market today. Here are some top products that you may want to consider purchasing if you are in the market for one of these bass guitar pedals.
Table of Contents
Best Bass Limiter/Enhancer Pedals On The Market
Boss LMB-3 Limiter Enhancer
What’s good: This is an excellent budget-friendly choice and it is very easy to use.
Not so good: The enhance feature on this pedal could definitely use some work, the digital hiss is hard to ignore.
The Boss LMB-3 is an excellent introductory pedal that’s really known for its compression features. It doesn’t have any type of adjustable attack and release but it does deliver a simple use with very minimal setup. If you’re just looking for a simple limiter, this delivers excellent quality of sound and it’s quite well-rounded.
There are only four controls onboard this pedal and you can set the ratio to infinity and one and one and one. Threshold sets up the sensitivity and then you can adjust the enhancement on the pedal to get a much clearer high end out of the instrument.
Adding too much of the enhance can often throw the sound off a bit and you will really start to hear the digital effects on this pedal. If you are looking for just a nice balanced sound and you aren’t trying to enhance the high end, it really delivers at its price point. Boss is a great name in this market and this is a pedal that is built for dependable use.
Behringer BLE 400 Bass Limiter/Enhancer
What’s good: One of the least expensive bass limiters on the market. Has an extremely compact design.
Not so good: Must be used with a 9 V almost any adapter will cause hum to the sound.
Behringer designed this bass pedal to add a bit more pop into the mix of any song. The overall goal of the controls here is to deliver a smoothening out of low-end volume peaks. The pedal really does fix inconsistencies and it delivers a rich improvement with tone.
The Behringer tone compensation circuit in this version really helps with dialling in the high end and delivers a sound that doesn’t feel completely brittle. It got very intuitive controls and is a dedicated series of knobs for ratio, threshold, enhance and level.
You get plenty of options for shaping the sound that you’d like out of your device and there’s just enough compression control to make this a very versatile pedal purchase.
Electro-Harmonix Platform Stereo Compressor/Limiter Pedal
What’s good: Powerful for studio or stage use with plenty of options for tone shaping.
Not so good: Can be overwhelming for beginners
Electro-Harmonix has been known for delivering highly versatile pedals for years. This is a device that’s no different including a full limiter, compressor and enhancer all-in-one pedal. Volume swell, tape reverse and overdrive are all available on this pedal as well.
The bypass pushbuttons include a drive and full stop option. You can enjoy a greater versatility with a completely hard stop or soft addition to a song. The dynamics of this title introduces can really deliver a full complement of expression to any song. It did powerful battle with many built-in options for studio work but it’s durable and portable enough to take on stage.
Although this isn’t just a Limiter/Enhancer, it deserves mention on our list for the quality of sound that it produces. The same hiss and buzz that you might get in smaller or less expensive digital effects pedals is a non-factor here. You can simply get a smooth and sculpted sound that’s all your own.
Conclusion
If you have decided that it’s time to pick up your very own bass limiter/enhancer pedal, we’ve presented three options that would make a great choice for your rig.
As far as an all-around choice for ease of use, sound and custom tone options, the Boss LMB-3 Limiter Enhancer remains a top choice amongst musicians worldwide. It is one of the clear winners in controlling the low end of bass tones and delivering smooth results especially when you aren’t trying to sculpt your tone on the high-end.
While the Boss LMB-3 may not have all of the features that an Electro-Harmonix Pedal delivers, it’s going to work quickly right out-of-the-box and there’s a very shallow learning curve to use it with enhancing your sound. This pedal truly is the best for delivering a smoother sound without peaks on the low end and without a need for much tinkering to get a quality tone.
What does a bass limiter pedal do?
A bass limiter/enhancer pedal eliminate some of the harsher peaks in the volume that can occur naturally when playing the bass guitar. This can lead to a much more controlled and smooth sound.
It also gives the artist the option to take on more dynamic slapping and strumming techniques without the chance for an explosive jump in volume.
Why should I pick up a bass limiter pedal?
The big reason to pick up a bass limiter pedal is simply a have more freedom of choice with your playing. Adding one of these pedals to your rig can make sure that you can achieve a better balance with bandmates and more versatility.
It gives you the option to strum in different patterns and even experiment with a combination of other pedals without the chance that you could ruin your audio equipment with a surge in peak volume.
What can you expect to spend on a bass limiter pedal?
Most of the top bass limiter/enhancer pedals on the market command a budget between $80 all the way up to $350. If you’re looking for a reliable piece of hardware you can often expect to pay around $100 US for a quality bass limiter pedal.