The basis for my entire sound

I first got this pedal back around 2007, and I have been in love with it ever since. It works great on its own, providing anything from a subtle boost to a strong overdrive distortion. Now, it's not a metal pedal on its own, but it plays very well with other pedals, adding some extra depth to other distortion or fuzz effects, especially since it has EQ knobs to help dial in the exact sound you're looking for. It's almost always on whenever I'm playing bass, and I use it to help give some extra oomf to my guitar when the situation calls for it.

Now, because of its recent surge in popularity thanks to a certain pedal Youtube channel, it is noticeably pricier than it was when I picked mine up for $20 used. Still, I think it is worth the price, as the build quality is solid, and the sounds you can get from it are awesome. I highly, highly recommend this pedal.

Cult Classic

During a certain period of time in the mid-aughts, the Bad Monkey reigned as the de facto "affordable tube screamer." For that reason, it became my first ever pedal purchase.

Having used many tube screamers since, I'd say it's a solid clone. Separated bass and treble EQ give it some sculpting potential that's a bit different from the norm, and the mixer out actually has some sort of "cab sim" applied that lets you use this pedal as an "amp-in-a-box" DI if you want to go into an interface. I wouldn't say it sounds like any amp in particular, it's mostly just meant to be an improvement over plugging straight in (which it is). I used to use it for recording demos in college for fun, going from guitar into Monkey into cheapo M-Audio interface.

I've still got the Monkey in a drawer somewhere. I joke that eventually it'll explode in price when someone famous is revealed to have been using it.

EDIT: It happened. The JHS guy apparently made a video about how the Bad Monkey sounds as good as every other overdrive, and now people are paying like $300 for them. We've all lost our minds :)

a really nice nd affordable alternative to a TS9

Digitech's bad money is literally a tubescreamer variant with treble and bass controls. I acquired one of these for like $20 when I was fiddling with TS9 alternatives many years ago. I quite liked it through a fender amp although the tone controls never worked the way I imagined they would... but I spent much more on pedals by xotic in this style and had a similar experience. In the end I really like the SD1 and MXR Custom Badass... I prefer the clipping and voicing and I definitely find the 100hz knob on the MXR to be the most useful additional tone control ever on a soft-clip overdrive. If I wanted extra knobs on a symmetrical clipping TS type pedal I would get a green rhino mk2. But for the price you may have a love affair with the bad monkey. Its a really fine pedal.

A very cool budget pedal that is now sought after by the pros.

SO I had one of these back in 2007/08 I sold it on as I was not using it.

Then one night a year or two ago, I saw one of my fellow muso friends performing with it and just had to get a replacement.

Very bluesy sound, this unit responds well to adjustments of the guitar volume pot.

Fantastic TS type pedal

The Bad Monkey was SO good that Ibanez had to step in and tell Digitech to back the F off... its a fantastic cheap alternative to a TS pedal and I prefer it to any TS's ive tried (TS808, TS9, Mooer Green Mile, TS Mini) with the exception being the Boss Blues Driver. This is most likely because i never liked the nasally tone i found you get with a TS. I found the likes of the TS mini and the Mooer to be far too dark for my taste. The fact that you can use this straight into a PA means i have 3, one on my board, one in my bag on the off chance my amp decides it doesnt like living anymore and the 3rd boxed up at home as a backup. Get them while they are cheap.. or dont so i can keep buying them as i see them!

A fine pedal so long as you don't pay silly money!

The now discontinued Digitech Bad Monkey earned its reputation as a worthy budget pedal that could hold its own beside well established and significantly more expensive 'classic' overdrives. If you can find one cheap on Ebay I'd highly recommend it as a first overdrive pedal (and hang on to it; 'upgraders' often regret letting it go). The tonal flexibility provided by its low and and high frequency controls gives it an edge in versatility over some of its more renowned stablemates. The gain pot is responsive throughout its range and overall this is a smooth, low to mid gain overdrive. An often overlooked additional feature is its mixer output; a passable cabinet simulator which justifies keeping it in one's gig bag as a 'backup amp'. Mixer output is how I connect directly to my living room stereo when I can't be arsed to fetch in an amp from the 'play room'. I use it with Fender Mustang Pawn Shop Special which delivers a diverse tonal spectrum due to its splittable Enforcer Humbuckers. The Bad Monkey handles everything this throws at it with aplomb. Now, don't go splurging silly money for this 'legendary' pedal. I score it 4.5 stars but for >£50 there are exceptional 5 star alternatives ( Hey, Soul Food. I'm looking at you! ) but if a Monkey can be found for around it's original retail price this makes a solid foundation from which to develop your tonal palate. It benchmarks well against a TS9 or Maxon 808. Tonally it's as different from those pedals as they are from each other but in a positive way, neither 'better' or 'worse' which is why some pro's find it a worthy alternative.

Amazing bass OD

As I understand it, the Bad Monkey is just a Tubescreamer clone, but I've never heard anything this good in terms of OD. The key to using it with bass is turning both EQ knobs to max, using extremely high drive from your pre-amp or using a boost pedal, turning the gain as you'd like, and then turn down the level to unity so as to not get the full on distorted sound it'll give if you push it too hard. The cab sim sounds phenomenal. This is my only always-on OD/dist/fuzz pedal!

Odd pedal.

One day it just stopped working - but it turned out it was the battery connector that had gone bad. After removing the battery connector it suddenly worked again.

Don't understand why they're suddenly desirable after the JHS video. It's an OK pedal now it works, but hardly worth the silly prices people are now looking to sell them for. I use mine as a trebly boost and little else TBH. Overdrive on its own is pretty lame and needs to be used turned down to about middle, stacked with other overdrives.

Not just another ts9 clone.

The bad monkey was my first od pedal, and remarkably, it's still on my board. Very natural and amplike, it nicely compliments many styles. It has much more versatility in tone shaping then a tube screamer, and much better value. Many claim this $30 box is better then many $300 boutique pedals. However, this isn't just another cheap tube screamer clone. It has a much different vibe. Once you hear it, you'll understand. For the price, it's amazing. A great site for the bad monkey is http://www.guitarforworship.com/?p=729

Very Good

It has a good tone, but the best feature for me is that it pairs well with any other Overdrive to further heat up the amplifier. Also, the bass and treble trim knobs are ideal for seeking out subtle sound flavors. In addition, it can be used alone to boost the signal, something that is usually very useful for solos.

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