Want to try your hand at pedal building? Mojotone’s easy-to-assemble pedal kits are based on classic designs – and keep soldering to a minimum
The four kits – based on the Tube Screamer, Rat, Big Muff and Blues Breaker – offer extra versatility over the original designs
North Carolina gear co Mojotone has unveiled a new line of pedal kits, aimed at budding first-time stompbox builders.
The four kits – based on pedalboard staples the Pro Co Rat, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff, Marshall Blues Breaker and Ibanez Tube Screamer – are designed to be as easy to assemble as possible, with pre-populated circuit boards that (hooray!) keep soldering to a minimum.
To sweeten the deal, Mojotone has upped the versatility of the circuits by incorporating three-way clipping toggle switches, which swap between diodes, altering tone and gain characteristics on each design. And as Tube Screamer and Rat enthusiasts will attest, the difference really is in the diodes.
As a number of YouTube commentators have pointed out, some of these diode settings are amusingly badged up as ‘silicone’ (as in sealant) rather than ‘silicon’ (as in diode), but it sounds like that typo will be ironed out over time.
Typos aside, the pedal kits are neatly presented and the enclosures themselves look sharp. At $70, they’re not as cheap as some offerings from certain retail behemoths beginning with ‘A’, but these kits do come from a trusted gear brand and offer that extra tonal tweakability.
Mojotone has considerable experience in the guitar gear kit world – last year, the firm partnered with Fender to offer officially licensed amp kits.
For more information on its new pedal kits, head to Mojotone.
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Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade's experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.
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