OVERDRIVE- MOSKY AUDIO Brown... Wampler Pinnacle? ...a killer hiding in plain sight!!!

 MOSKY AUDIO BROWN 

$50.00 USD

This MIAB pedal is a clone of the Wampler Pinnacle. Back in 2017 Mosky released a line of hand wired clones. That became a second department of all new pedals to be hand made called DemonFX who started with only a Tube Screamer but now does the Friedman BEOD and a few others.

All but the 'Brown' has survived the test of time from the original selection.

The schematic is indeed been copied from the Pinnacle. Some parts have had their values changed. That does affect minor things. Do note the changes are not 'dumb downs'. One example gives you more gain at the expense of having better sound in the pedals lowest setting. If you need the lower setting in the Wampler has then this is the wrong pedal to buy. WTF ...you buy this pedal for it's high gain, lol. The only notable difference is the 'Brown' uses different transistors. They will sound different. Worse? better? Neither, just different. The difference I have heard on 'any' MIAB is the resonant point in the mid range. Some pedals it is more in the upper mids giving it more cut, other times in the lower mids making the sound fatter. 

I have MIAB pedals that do each. I prefer lower because the early Plexi amps are all low. lol. 

Two things are for certain after 4 years of sales. Either it sounds so damn close that no one cares or it just damn well sounds great regardless of not a flawlessly perfect duplication so guys just keep buying them.

The layout gives you volume, tone and gain. Contour changes the resonant point in the mids. A switch gives you a vintage or modern voicing.

CONCLUSION

Having checked out a dozen vids of the Wampler and assuming one can dial up those tones on the 'Brown' then it appears you can get a very good vintage MIAB. The Modern setting can create heavy aggressive Metal tones. These have a biting attack and screaming overtones that are totally fizz and hash free. I heard good sustain but not a really long sustain. Pedals that can do that are virtually always have a Fuzz component to the design and always throw out a fair share of hash and fizz. 

In conclusion, the 'Brown' appears well made and a quarter of the  price. 

WTF ...I ordered one!

HANDS ON

I ordered one and it arrived. I was very surprised with the overall build.

It was easily equal to anything I bought for over a couple of hundred. I thought the casing would be just a simple unpainted enclosure but what you get is a very  pro brushed metal finish. Knobs and jacks are tops. It looks very much like a pricy MIJ gourmet pedal.

I guess it is thanks to Wampler but tuning in the pedal for an EVH tone was easy. Just move the knobs and listen for their sweet spot with your eyes closed and 'BINGO! you have it. This pedal is at it's best for a solo, shred type duties. It is full with ample sustain and even with my amp turned down I was getting a nice sag and it's accompanying swelling on the notes. With the modern setting and the boost I was still getting very good tone. Most pedals, even good ones when pushed that hard turn into a formless cheap Fuzz sound.

I had my bases covered to get great sounds on all my tunes. If I had a weakness it was having one good pedal that was the champion of doing a solo on a tune like this does. This pedal will be my go to for that. Lots of tone and just as much flash.

Overall ...damn impressive build and sound. 

All Mosky pedals give you good value for money. If you spend $50 you get your moneys worth. But in this case you really do get a $200 pedal for your 50 bucks!!!