“My tribute to the MOSFET-driven magic of a 1990s classic – the MT10 Mostortion”: Wampler Pedals’ Mofetta is a “supercharged” version of the classic Ibanez overdrive/disortion
Brian Wampler's latest drive pedal will save you time and money searching for an over-priced MT10 on the vintage market, and it has expanded features for more amp-like gain
Wampler Pedals has unveiled the Mofetta, an overdrive/distortion pedal inspired by the out-of-production Ibanez MT10 Mostortion, loaded with MOSFETS and “supercharged” to offer players a wider range of amp-like gain.
If the MT10 Mostortion is not high on your list of vintage guitar effects pedals that might be because it was only around for a relatively short period in the ‘90s. It was not a particularly high-end pedal, either.
And, as is often the way with stompboxes, its usefulness to guitar players only really became apparent after the fact. Once it was discontinued it became sought-after, and some of the prices people are paying for this thing online… Good lord, upwards of 400 bucks. What is it about Ibanez and little green stompboxes?
Over the years, other pedal builders have made versions, such as the Danelectro Roebuck, released in 2020. Wampler’s Mofetta is not a straight-up clone. Some elements are the same. Brian Wampler has given this the 3-band EQ, just like the original, but he has taken the design and ran with it.
“Think of the Mofetta as a supercharged Mostortion, reborn and amplified,” he says. “I made sure that it delivered the classic, amp-like overdrive, massive headroom, and versatile 3-band EQ that made the original so famous. But I also wanted more and added a Texture switch that introduces actual MOSFETs into the pedal’s overdrive section for a bolder, more articulate tone.”
Just as it deals in amp-like gain and response, the Mofetta has an amp-like control setup. There are Level and Gain controls, adjusting output volume and the level of gain in the circuit respectively.
The Bass, Middle and Treble controls, meanwhile, can wholly change the character of the drive, allowing players to dial in a full-range drive, a transparent drive, or jack up the mids and treble for a focused boost to push your guitar amp. Also, it’s been designed to stack well with other drives.
Get the MusicRadar Newsletter
Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here.
Wampler says there are some misconceptions about the original Mostortion units. They didn’t use the MOSFETS for the overdrive; that was the job of the clipping diodes.
“This left me thinking, ‘What if I built one that could actually use MOSFETs for the clipping, using multiple gain staging like a tube amp?’ That’s what the Mofetta’s Texture feature is all about,” says Wampler. “It takes the pedal from smooth overdrive to fiery distortion with the flick of the Texture switch.”
The Mofetta is not a high-gain drive pedal but Wampler says his approach gives it a wider range of gain. Its cascaded MOSFET gain stages make the drive harder, louder, and tighter.
Priced £/$199, the Mofetta is available now. See Wampler Pedals for more details.
Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars and guitar culture since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitar World. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.
“A complete all-in-one solution for the gigging musician requiring a powerful, compact ampless rig”: Amp modeller and profiler market heats up as IK Multimedia celebrates one year of TONEX with huge (and free) effects upgrade
“We embarked on a mission to craft the ultimate pedalboards that meet Greg's every need”: Jam Pedals teams up with Greg Koch for Koch Ness Monster signature multi-effects units