A short review of the Lusithand Ground & Pound Mk2
Over the years of using bass overdrives, distortions, and fuzz pedals, I’ve heard countless variations, including many with clear RAT roots.
So, what makes this one special?
According to the manufacturer, this pedal is a preamp with a distortion function, and that description is spot on. As a preamp, it sounds extremely solid and convincing.
First of all, the low end.
It is massive — comparable to the Damnation Audio MBD-2 — inflating the bass so much that when you bypass the pedal, the clean tone can suddenly feel almost lifeless. A big part of this comes from the built-in clean compression. Even though it’s rated at 2:1, it feels closer to 4:1 or even higher.
Secondly, as you increase the gain, the overall volume barely changes.
What changes instead is the texture: at higher gain settings, the distortion slightly smears the low end within the distorted signal itself. Still, the master volume is extremely useful, and all four knobs are highly interactive.
The gain range mostly lives between low gain and upper mid-gain, never reaching classic bright Muff territory. That said, the overall character and texture of the Ground & Pound are very different: drier, sharper, and more complex — it both roars and buzzes at the same time.
This pedal has plenty of sweet spots.
It can work as an almost clean but aggressive and punchy preamp, a lo-fi flavored variation of that sound, or a nasty distortion reminiscent of the Tech 21 XB Driver. Due to the lack of a crossover, it’s not as tight or controlled as the XB Driver and feels a bit more raw and smeared — but that’s part of its character.
There is one especially important feature for me.
Most pedals I’ve owned react very differently to pick playing versus fingerstyle, often requiring completely different settings. With the Ground & Pound Mk2, I didn’t touch the knobs at all — and never felt uncomfortable switching techniques. That’s highly unusual for me, and very welcome.
This is an aggressive pedal by nature.
Not “evil for the sake of evil” — it’s simply designed that way. In my mental map, it sits somewhere between the Damnation Grizzly and the Tech 21 XB Driver, making it an excellent example of a mid-gain bass distortion.
At around 170 BPM, playing steady eighth notes, it cuts through the mix confidently without needing extra compression or a noise gate. At higher gain settings, feedback does appear — and I personally enjoy using it as part of my playing.
Subjectively, this pedal feels dark, hostile, and intense — associations of decay, black magic, and impending doom come to mind. These are purely my own impressions; yours may differ. One thing is certain, though: this is definitely not a friendly pedal like the EBS The Drive. It hits hard and immediately.
A difference between modes Ground and Pound is just a scoop of mids/flat mids, as i can feel it.
-10 db switch is good to have, but i still have not found a usage to it.
Two more important points.
On both 4- and 5-string basses, including down-tuned setups, the sound never fell apart. It didn’t choke, lose punch, or collapse — something I’ve experienced with many drives in the past. Texture and punch were preserved at almost any gain setting, up until around 3 o’clock, where the character starts to shift noticeably.
The pedal works equally well with both of my basses, which are very different instruments:
• Sadowsky Metroline Vintage JJ Ash 4, strung with Dunlop Flatwounds
• Warwick Dolphin Custom Ordered, strung with DR Drop Tune strings
To sum it up:
If you play heavier music, this is absolutely a pedal worth having on your board.
I’ve also ordered the Lusithand Rosa, and I plan to buy the Alma Mk3 once it’s back in stock. I’ll probably pick up the F1 as well when it moves from prototype to production. That said, I’ll soon have at least four compressors across two boards — and I’m not done experimenting yet.
I also plan to give another RAT-style pedal a chance: the infamous Big Booty Judy, well-known in certain circles. Honestly, I expect a Mk2 version with a master volume at some point, because without one, it’s predictably very tricky to dial in.
Muffs and RATs are often pedals you end up owning in multiple versions — just like choruses and phasers.
So yes.
The Lusithand Ground & Pound Mk2 is an absolute beast, and it exceeded my expectations.
And I say that as a very spoiled bass player.
Over the years of using bass overdrives, distortions, and fuzz pedals, I’ve heard countless variations, including many with clear RAT roots.
So, what makes this one special?
According to the manufacturer, this pedal is a preamp with a distortion function, and that description is spot on. As a preamp, it sounds extremely solid and convincing.
First of all, the low end.
It is massive — comparable to the Damnation Audio MBD-2 — inflating the bass so much that when you bypass the pedal, the clean tone can suddenly feel almost lifeless. A big part of this comes from the built-in clean compression. Even though it’s rated at 2:1, it feels closer to 4:1 or even higher.
Secondly, as you increase the gain, the overall volume barely changes.
What changes instead is the texture: at higher gain settings, the distortion slightly smears the low end within the distorted signal itself. Still, the master volume is extremely useful, and all four knobs are highly interactive.
The gain range mostly lives between low gain and upper mid-gain, never reaching classic bright Muff territory. That said, the overall character and texture of the Ground & Pound are very different: drier, sharper, and more complex — it both roars and buzzes at the same time.
This pedal has plenty of sweet spots.
It can work as an almost clean but aggressive and punchy preamp, a lo-fi flavored variation of that sound, or a nasty distortion reminiscent of the Tech 21 XB Driver. Due to the lack of a crossover, it’s not as tight or controlled as the XB Driver and feels a bit more raw and smeared — but that’s part of its character.
There is one especially important feature for me.
Most pedals I’ve owned react very differently to pick playing versus fingerstyle, often requiring completely different settings. With the Ground & Pound Mk2, I didn’t touch the knobs at all — and never felt uncomfortable switching techniques. That’s highly unusual for me, and very welcome.
This is an aggressive pedal by nature.
Not “evil for the sake of evil” — it’s simply designed that way. In my mental map, it sits somewhere between the Damnation Grizzly and the Tech 21 XB Driver, making it an excellent example of a mid-gain bass distortion.
At around 170 BPM, playing steady eighth notes, it cuts through the mix confidently without needing extra compression or a noise gate. At higher gain settings, feedback does appear — and I personally enjoy using it as part of my playing.
Subjectively, this pedal feels dark, hostile, and intense — associations of decay, black magic, and impending doom come to mind. These are purely my own impressions; yours may differ. One thing is certain, though: this is definitely not a friendly pedal like the EBS The Drive. It hits hard and immediately.
A difference between modes Ground and Pound is just a scoop of mids/flat mids, as i can feel it.
-10 db switch is good to have, but i still have not found a usage to it.
Two more important points.
On both 4- and 5-string basses, including down-tuned setups, the sound never fell apart. It didn’t choke, lose punch, or collapse — something I’ve experienced with many drives in the past. Texture and punch were preserved at almost any gain setting, up until around 3 o’clock, where the character starts to shift noticeably.
The pedal works equally well with both of my basses, which are very different instruments:
• Sadowsky Metroline Vintage JJ Ash 4, strung with Dunlop Flatwounds
• Warwick Dolphin Custom Ordered, strung with DR Drop Tune strings
To sum it up:
If you play heavier music, this is absolutely a pedal worth having on your board.
I’ve also ordered the Lusithand Rosa, and I plan to buy the Alma Mk3 once it’s back in stock. I’ll probably pick up the F1 as well when it moves from prototype to production. That said, I’ll soon have at least four compressors across two boards — and I’m not done experimenting yet.
I also plan to give another RAT-style pedal a chance: the infamous Big Booty Judy, well-known in certain circles. Honestly, I expect a Mk2 version with a master volume at some point, because without one, it’s predictably very tricky to dial in.
Muffs and RATs are often pedals you end up owning in multiple versions — just like choruses and phasers.
So yes.
The Lusithand Ground & Pound Mk2 is an absolute beast, and it exceeded my expectations.
And I say that as a very spoiled bass player.
.
