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Tonal Attack.

A monster tone-shaping preamp that doubles as a full-featured direct box, Hartke's VXL Bass Attack Preamp/Direct Box offers expanded control over the tone of any bass rig. Featuring the famous Hartke Shape circuit, extensive EQ controls and stunning tube emulation, this pedal provides endless possibilities for attaining a more powerful, full-range bass tone, from the grittiest of metal sounds to the warmest of rock tones and everything in between.

Frank Bello talks about the Hartke VXL Bass Attack pedal:

Limitless Tone Control

The Bass Attack pedal's circuitry features an abundance of controls that can be used to craft virtually any bass tone imaginable. The pedal's powerful 3-band EQ offers complete control over the Bass, Treble and Brite aspects of your tone, while its variable Harmonics control emulates the warmth of a tube preamp. Also, it's Mix knob allows you to tweak how much of the pedal's processed tone is blended with the natural sound of your rig. The Brite, Harmonics and Mix functions can be easily engaged using the On/Off footswitch. The tonal possibilities are limitless, with the ability to enhance the sound of your clean jazz lines just as well as your funky slap style.

Shape Your Sound

The Bass Attack pedal features the world famous Hartke Shape circuit, a preset EQ curve that will enable any bass player to further control their tone and get the sound that's just right for their playing style. If you're playing live, you can use the Shape footswitch to quickly engage the Hartke Shape circuit. With a push of a footswitch and turn of the rotary control, you can set the center frequency of the curve – turn it clockwise for thunderous lows or counter-clockwise for even more pronounced high end. It's great for boosting your sound during a solo or adding more tone during a funky slap bassline.

Go Direct

Beyond its tone shaping capabilities, the Bass Attack pedal functions as a direct box, giving bass players a clean, balanced direct output to send to the PA system. The pedal lets you tap the signal from your bass and pass it from the output to your front-of-house mixer. From there, the signal going into the PA can be tweaked without affecting the original sound simply by leaving the pedal's XLR direct output Pre/Post switch in the Pre (out) position. Alternatively, you can include the harmonic effects in the XLR direct output signal by leaving the switch in the Post (in) position. This eliminates the need for miking your amplifier, which is preferable for the low frequencies produced by the bass.

All The Ins And Outs

Built into a rugged aluminum chassis, the Bass Attack pedal supports two stompbox-style footswitches (Shape and On/Off), each with its own LED status indicator. Its input and output connectors, including a gold-plated balanced XLR direct output with a selectable Pre/Post switch, 1/4" parallel output and 1/4" input, provide maximum flexibility for patching in to amps, mixer and recorders. In addition, the Bass Attack will operate via a 9-volt battery, optional AC adapter or phantom power through the XLR (no battery or adapter is needed when recording direct or running to a mixer).

Whether you’re recording or playing live, Hartke’s VXL Bass Attack Preamp/Direct Box will give you the exact tone you’ve been searching for.