The Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive is an Ashdown distortion pedal. Close alternatives include the DSM & Humboldt Electronics Sub-Atomic X-Over Cmos Bass Preamp and the Carl Martin Bass Drive. It pairs well with the Phil Jones Bass Compact 8 Cabinet and the Phil Jones Bass Compact Plus BG-450.
Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive
Ashdown · pedal
The Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive is a bass drive pedal designed with Megadeth bassist James LoMenzo, debuted at NAMM 2023 as an evolution of the Ashdown HyperDrive. It features sweepable highpass and lowpass filters for targeting specific frequency bands, a drive blend knob to mix clean and driven signals, adjustable input gain, and a VU meter for visual input monitoring. The circuit delivers a wide gain range from warm deep harmonic overdrive to bright cutting distortion, with full-spectrum frequency shaping rather than the HyperDrive mid-only approach. Suited for heavy rock and metal bass playing, it preserves low-end fundamental clarity while adding harmonic aggression on top. Used by James LoMenzo live with Megadeth as his primary bass drive.
What stands out
“Suited for heavy rock and metal bass playing, it preserves low-end fundamental clarity while adding harmonic aggression on top”
— from the listing
“It pairs well after a clean bass preamp feeding a power amp, or via DI to a PA”
— from the community notes
“The circuit delivers a wide gain range from warm deep harmonic overdrive to bright cutting distortion, with full-spectrum frequency shaping”
— from the listing
“The sweepable filters make it adaptable from studio tracking to loud stage use”
— from the community notes
“Positioned as a full-spectrum evolution of the HyperDrive, the Mega Drive gives bassists detailed frequency control over which parts of the signal get saturated”
— from the community notes
- low end
- bass
- frequency
- filter
- full
- drive
- harmonic
- distortion
Genres the Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive is commonly used in
- Rock
- Metal
- Hard Rock
- Alternative
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Electronic
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Punk
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Amps that pair well with the Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive
Phil Jones Bass Compact 8 Cabinet
Phil Jones
20% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (thin → full)
Phil Jones Bass Compact 8 Cabinet's full voice suits Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive's own full character
Comes later in the signal chain
Phil Jones Bass Compact Plus BG-450
Phil Jones
20% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (thin → full)
Phil Jones Bass Compact Plus BG-450 leans toward high headroom, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes later in the signal chain
Orange Little Bass Thing
Orange
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Run Orange Little Bass Thing after it and the bright edge settles into something more warm
Blackstar Series One 200
Blackstar
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Where this leans bright, Blackstar Series One 200 answers back warm
Gibson GA-50
Gibson
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Where this leans bright, Gibson GA-50 answers back warm
Hiwatt Park P18LH 'Little 45' Handwired18W
Hiwatt
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Run Hiwatt Park P18LH 'Little 45' Handwired18W after it and the bright edge settles into something more warm
Orange BT1000H Terror Bass 1000-Watt Bass Amp
Orange
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Orange BT1000H Terror Bass 1000-Watt Bass Amp leans warm right where the bright tone needs it
Orange Terror Bass
Orange
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Orange Terror Bass leans warm right where the bright tone needs it
Pedals that stack with the Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive
Wampler Nirvana Chorus
Wampler
25% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Put Wampler Nirvana Chorus after Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive in the signal chain, clear of Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive's own gain stage
Comes later in the signal chain
Amptweaker Big Rock Pro
Amptweaker
23% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)
The Mega Drive's filtered bass distortion stacks with Big Rock Pro's own fat, modern boost for a heavier low end.
Catalinbread SFT
Catalinbread
22% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → warm)
Catalinbread SFT's warm balances out the bright tone
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Ashdown Velvet Compressor
Ashdown
21% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)
Ashdown Velvet Compressor leans toward compressed, and that's a real, usable character to pair with
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler
pedal
17% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Keep Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler after Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive in the signal chain, clear of Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
Suhr Dark Discovery Analog Delay
Suhr
16% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Suhr Dark Discovery Analog Delay's dark voice goes after Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive's own full character — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
SolidGoldFX Commodore Breaker Overdrive
Solidgoldfx
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
SolidGoldFX Commodore Breaker Overdrive leans smooth right where the bright tone needs it
Dunlop Blue Hippo Optical Tremolo
Dunlop
tonal matchComes later in the signal chain
Run Dunlop Blue Hippo Optical Tremolo after it and the bright edge settles into something more warm
Alternatives
DSM & Humboldt Electronics Sub-Atomic X-Over Cmos Bass Preamp
Dsm Humboldt Electronics
62% similarityShared character: definition, punch, mix
Carl Martin Bass Drive
Carl Martin
60% similarityShared character: clean signal, grit, punch
Electro-Harmonix Nano Operation Overlord
Electro-Harmonix
59% similarityShared character: response, definition, hard rock
Ashdown Triple Shot
Ashdown
59% similarityShared character: definition, signal, mix
EarthQuaker Devices Scrolls V1
EarthQuaker Devices
57% similarityShared character: definition, grit, natural
Tech 21 DP-3X Dug Pinnick Signature Bass Distortion
Tech 21
57% similarityShared character: hard rock, mix, bass
Ashdown James LoMenzo KegaDrive Bass Distortion
Ashdown
56% similarityShared character: high end, grit, metal
Ashdown Pro FX Retro Drive
Ashdown
55% similarityShared character: hard rock, grit, middle
Dunlop MXR M85 Bass Distortion
Dunlop
55% similarityShared character: grit, metal, mix
Behringer BDI21
Behringer
55% similarityShared character: mix, bass, full
Ashdown Pro-FX Pro Drive
Ashdown
54% similarityShared character: bright, subtle, warm
Boss BB-1X
Boss
54% similarityShared character: bass, high end, natural
See all alternatives to the Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive?+
The closest matches in character are the DSM & Humboldt Electronics Sub-Atomic X-Over Cmos Bass Preamp, the Carl Martin Bass Drive, the Electro-Harmonix Nano Operation Overlord.
What pairs well with the Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Phil Jones Bass Compact 8 Cabinet, Phil Jones Bass Compact Plus BG-450, Orange Little Bass Thing — Phil Jones Bass Compact 8 Cabinet's full voice suits Ashdown James LoMenzo Mega Drive's own full character.