KARMA MTN-10 (MOSTORTION Clone)

The MTN-10 is an overdrive/distortion pedal from Karma Guitar Amplifiers, hand-built in the USA and designed by Nashville producer and engineer Greg Droman. It is a boutique recreation of the early-1990s Ibanez MT10 Mostortion, a MOSFET-based distortion that became a cult favorite after a short production run. Droman first heard the original while recording session guitarist Rob McNelley in Nashville, and built the MTN-10 as a more affordable and sturdier alternative. Like the original, it uses a CA3260 IC chip, with better parts, a plated-through PCB and a powder-coated enclosure. It aims for a transparent, amp-like overdrive with natural compression and good touch sensitivity, and it cleans up when you turn down your guitar’s volume. It has plenty of gain to push the front end of an amp, from a light boost up to full distortion. It has true bypass and runs on 9V DC only (no battery), with the jack on the side of the pedal. **Controls** Drive: Sets the amount of gain, from a clean boost up to high-gain distortion. Volume: Sets the output level. Bass, Mid and Treble: An interactive three-band EQ that is the main way to shape the tone. It lets you adjust the voicing for different guitars, pickups and amps, and it makes the pedal quite flexible. I tried to capture a variety of different settings and I recommend watching Pete Thorn's video to get an impression what it's all about with this pedal (see below).