Electro-Harmonix BASS9 Bass Machinechat_bubble_outlineFrom real comments

Musicians without a dedicated bassist find the BASS9 transformative. Commenters describe firing or losing a bass player and turning to this pedal as a real solution, calling it a 'dream pedal' for solo or one-man-band performance. The Split Bass mode gets specific praise for three-piece bands with keys and synth, and for Royal Blood-style guitar-as-bass setups, where users want to know if it can replicate similar low-end filtering effects live.

The forced octave-down behavior is the pedal's most repeated frustration. Several players want bass tones without automatically dropping the pitch an octave, since they'd rather turn an electric guitar into something like an upright bass at pitch. Others ask for a way to limit which notes get 'bassified,' similar to Boss's OC-5, so chords or higher notes remain untouched while only low strings trigger the bass sound, particularly for downtuned or alternate-tuned instruments.

Demo methodology draws pointed criticism from experienced viewers. Multiple commenters note the dry signal knob was left at noon throughout demos, meaning viewers never heard the pedal's isolated bass tone, and suggest watching an isolated-output demo instead. Others argue that using a guitar amp and guitarist technique undersells a bass-simulation pedal, recommending a proper bass amp and technique for a fairer, more authentic representation of its actual sound.