The Hartke VXL Bass Attack Preamp/Direct Box/Equalizer is the ultimate versatile tool for any serious bass guitarist. Simply used as an effects pedal between the guitar and amplifier, the Hartke Attack allows you to dial in your sound to perfection. The world-renowned Hartke Shape Circuit changes the equalizer settings of your bass guitar with the turn of one knob. Turn it counterclockwise to bring out the low end, and clockwise to emphasize the high end. Hit the footswitch to easily turn the function on and off while playing. The footswitch makes this pedal very useful for playing live or recording. You can set it to your solo sound and hit the footswitch when it's your time to shine. If you prefer to fine-tune every setting that makes up your individual tone, you don't have to use the Shape Circuit. Use the three-band equalizer to change the bass, treble, and bright settings one by one. Your tone can be further perfected and manipulated with the harmonics setting, which emulates the warm tones of a tube amp. Because you don't always need a highly processed sound, Hartke has included a mix knob. Use it to blend the output from the pedal with the natural sound of your bass guitar rig. Here again, the footswitch comes in very handy. It allows you to turn the mix, harmonics, and bright functions on and off simultaneously. The device also doubles as a direct box. It has a preamp built in that allows the bass to be sent directly to a mixing console. This effectively eliminates the need for bass guitar amplifiers altogether. You can get great audio by plugging directly into the mixing console. Alternatively, you can play through your amp while also sending a signal to the recording console. This will give you a clean signal and eliminate the need to mic your amp. The Bass Attack has a very sturdy aluminum case. Its two footswitches will stand up to heavy-footed stomping with no problem. Each switch has an LED to let you know when it's engaged. The gold-plated XLR output provides the best possible connection to a mixer. Patch into amps and mixers through the standard ¼-inch input and output jacks. It runs on a single 9-volt battery or an optional power supply, but can also operate on phantom power from the XLR jack. When connected to a mixer or console, it doesn't need a battery or power supply. This one-pedal powerhouse gives you control of a full range of tones, from gut-shaking lows to popping highs. It packs phenomenal tube emulation, an innovative shape function, and a three-band EQ into a few knobs and switches. These features are all in a little box that you can plug directly into a mixer. For gigging or recording, this pedal is an easy way for the serious bassist to stand out.
