MXR TBM1 Tom Morello Power 50 Overdrive Pedal

MXR TBM1 Tom Morello Power 50 Overdrive Pedal Overview

The MXR TBM1 Tom Morello Power 50 overdrive pedal is a powerful “amp in a box” that captures the legendary Rage Against The
Machine and Audioslave guitarists incendiary overdrive tone - all within a compact, pedalboard-friendly stompbox!

Take The Power Back

Tom Morello is renowned amongst guitar players around the world for his iconic riffs, fluid lead lines and incredibly inventive use of effects with RATM and Audioslave. Whilst Morello is known for the breadth of tones and textures that he can conjure up, his guitar rig is surprisingly no-frills. The foundation of Morello’s setup is a cranked Marshall half-stack into Peavey cabinet, which provides the powerful yet dynamic amp-based overdrive at the heart of his signature tone. This winning combination is the core of Morello’s room-rattling sound and he’s stuck with it for over 30 years!

Half Stack In A Box

With the Power 50, MXR have faithfully recreated the preamp stages of Morello’s go-to amp and condensed them into a compact pedal using MOSFET technology. The touch sensitivity and response that you’d expect from a valve amp is present and accounted for. MXR have equipped Power 50 with the same tone-shaping (Bass, Mid, Treble & Presence) and gain controls that you’d find on Tom’s favourite amp, giving you authentic amp-style control. The MXR Tom Morello Power 50 can be used as both a flexible overdrive plugged into the front of your amp of choice or as an amp-in-a-pedal directly into a speaker emulation. However you decide to use the Power 50 overdrive, you can count on it to deliver Tom Morello’s raw and raging tone.

Amp-style FX Loop

A key part of Tom Morello’s signature sound is the way he runs his effects pedals through the FX of his amp, altering their tonal character. This aspect of Morello’s tone can be replicated with the Power 50 overdrive, thanks to an onboard effects loop. The loop places your pedals at the same point in the signal chain as the one in Morello’s amp. The harmonically-rich effects loop is a great way to reinvigorate the tone of your favourite pedals and give them an aggressive edge - whilst bringing you closer to sounding like the man himself.

MXR recommed placing the Cry Baby Tom Morello Wah in the Power 50’s effects loop to achieve that iconic “Bulls On Parade” tone. Pair them up with the Fender Artist Tom Morello Stratocaster to complete the rig!

The effects loop can also be used as a handy Master Volume for your whole 'board. Simply use the Power 50 as an “always-on” tone enhancer and run all your pedals through it Tom Morello-style. This saves having to adjust the individual level settings for each of your stompboxes.

If you’re a fan of Tom Morello’s visceral guitar tone or just want a flexible, amp-like overdrive that sounds like a half-stack in a pedal, the MXR TBM1 Tom Morello Power 50 Overdrive Pedal is well worth your attention.