Can someone tell me how much a distortion pedal would cost???

From $20 up to over $500. Lots of choices, lots of differences.

 

FWIW the really crummy ones are typically not made in Japan. Japanese pedals tend to be well-made. Anyway though, have a look on pedal webstores like Pedalgeek.com for an idea of the typical price ranges. I figure good pedals start around $100 and go up from there, but there are certainly some exceptions.

 

I would recommend the sansamp bass driver di. It has great tube simulation distortion, but also comes in handy as a direct box. They go for about $120 on eBay.

 

Peoples' ideas of what "good distortion" is can vary wildly. You should probably go to a guitar store and try a bunch out to get a better idea of what you want.

I've been through four fuzzes and two overdrives in the last six months, and so far only one has checked enough boxes to stay on my board.

 

I have been through a lot, i can tell you to stay away from the Boss Bass Overdrive. It just makes a bunch of noise. Its absolutely terrible no matter how you set the gain.

I second the Sansamp, i stupidly sold mine.
My favorite would have to be a Fulltone bassdrive.

 

How much do you want to spend?

 

maybe more importantly, what kind of music do you primarily play?

 

I've heard good things about the Fulltone Bassdrive (Mosfet preferred over non-mosfet), the EHX Muff Fuzz, and a variety of others as well. Some even like the Boss MT-2 or MZ-2. It's all about preference really...and a distortion that will keep your low-end, because without that you might as well be a gui****!

 

There are also dozens of ODs/Dist./Fuzz sound samples in Talkbass Wiki. And remember to check out Polish Love too.

 

I'd surely have suggested the Polish Love except that he's no longer taking orders, at least for the time being. I don't know if it's permanent or if he's just playing catchup with the orders he currently has in.

 

Are you wanting to stay strictly distortion, or would you be open to an overdrive or fuzz pedal?

 

Is the Fender Starcaster Distortion EQ Pedal work for bass? and is it any good?

Starcaster Distortion EQ

 

On the cheap I'd recommend the Ibanez PD7 (Phat Hed). It can be had on MF for around $40-$45, and cheaper than that on ebay. It does the trick for distortion for me, and keeps tons of low end.

 

$40 can get you an "okay" boss one, although some pros do use those pedals you can get for $40. id say an average distortion is around $100. i only use what i consider to be "the best" pedals, and my two channel distortion/overdrive pedal was only $115..

 

I like this pedal too, and it's less than 50 bucks.