I plugged in my bass with the power on. It wasn’t turned up particularly high., Now the amp sounds ‘fuzzy’ unless at low volume. It’s a Peavy solid state 200w bass amp. Did I ruin it? 
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That shouldn’t have impacted anything. I’ve plugged a cable into the input jack of an amp that was on many times. I think we’d need to know more.
What kind of bass? Passive or active? What happened when you plugged it in? Was there any sharp or loud sound like from a short in the bass or the power cord? Fuzzy how? As in something electronic or speaker related?
Does the amp have both a gain and master volume control? If so is it just distortion from the gain being set too high? Tell us more so we can understand what you’re hearing and how it’s being produced.
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Sterling Ray34, active EQ, passive PUPS. A little ‘pop’ when I plugged in. Didn’t touch anything else, no pedals, etc. No overdrive, gain is at 3/10. I keep the volume fairly low all the time.
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Try changing the battery in the bass.
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Thanks. That seems to have worked. I feel like a dumbazz now! What got me was it happened so quick, it wasn’t a gradual decline, so I assumed something blew up.
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No worries, my friend. Same thing happened to me. Process of elimination. I spent a couple of hours thinking I had a bad pedal or patch cable. 
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One of my 2 basses is active, and it’s sole reliance on a battery is a real bugbear of mine, but a very small compromise when I think about how much I love thing otherwise 
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There ya’ go. Once we have more info solutions are easier to come by. Glad you found where the issue was coming from. FWIW it’s wise to unplug active basses when not in use since the battery continues to drain if they’re left plugged in. I have one active bass. It’s the only one I always unplug when I put it back in the rack.
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I have five active basses (one is rechargeable) and two passive. None of them sleep with cords plugged in. Never ever.
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With all that said you appear to have got away with it. But bear in mind if the amp is already on and you plug into the amp and then into the bass you can certainly damage your speakers. Do it the other way around and it’s supposed to be ok but I always try to ensure the amp is off when plugging in or out.
I did this. But worse.
I know I’ve told this story elsewhere here, but it bears repeating.
Once upon a time…
As a 10 year veteran pro bassist with great gear and a high self-opinion, I brought my gear in to the shop. It was sounding fuzzy and shitty, and I was worried for an upcoming gig.
The rig was two 90lb 4x10 bass cabinets and a giant rack-mounted amp and effects unit.
I unloaded it into the repair shop.
I described the problem.
He told me to change the batteries.
I did.
Then I loaded everything back up into my car and drove home.
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