Drunk Beaver's 9th Pedal Drop - The Kharkiv CMOStortion is a really cool evolution of the Ibanez Mostortion - based around a unique CMOS chip array

So this is an ’evolved from’ rather than ’based on’ pedal - where the Ibanez Mostortion’s CA3260 Opamp is replaced by a discrete Opamp circuit for the main gain stage. While the discrete opamp uses a similar arrangement to the CA3260’s MOSFET inputs (2N7000) and CMOS output (2N7000 + BS250 pair).

The Kharkiv CMOSstortion also does without an input buffer - unlike the MT10 Mostortion - which means it’s a bit more sensitive to the input signal.

For this limited edition release only 20 pedals are being made, the the price tag is $150 plus tax and shipping costs - of course available from the Drunk Beaver Reverb.Com Store at the same time this article goes live.

The Ibanez MT10 Mostortion has a very unique and distinct - somewhat subtly textured crunch which is what makes it so sought after.

Controls - Bass, Mid, Treble, Level, Drive.

The Kharkiv sports exactly the same controls as the Mostortion - while its greater input sensitivity should make it a little more dynamic in playback.

I’ve long been a fan of the Mostortion circuit - and have a couple of takes on that format already. I’ve always quite wanted the original - but since becoming interested in the circuit a few years ago - the pricing of those originals has just been too stupidly high - and often those pedals are not in nearly good enough condition to justify that elevated price.

Vitalii îs brilliant at sourcing great sounding rare components - as in the case of his Bloom Expandora style pedal and Blues Breaker style Inglorious Bastard - both of which benefit from superb sounding opamps. So I’m really looking forward to hearing his take on an already favourite circuit of mine - I’m expecting great things!

And while some of the parts here are significantly different - the overall take on the circuit - with the same controls etc. is fairly true to the original. This is a rare Pedal Drop pedal that doesn’t have additional controls - it has exactly the same number and type as the original - and there are no internal trimpots to tweak either - so should be incredibly quick and easy to dial in.

The original Ibanez MT10 Mostortion was part of Ibanez’s Maxon-made ’10’ Power Series - which was manufactured from 1986 to 1989. They are currently fetching prices from around $450 to $1000 on Reverb.com - and those are just Good to Excellent condition - no Mint editions seemingly for sale any more!

The Kharkiv CMOStortion #9 Pedal Drop is of course a Drunk Beaver rapid prototyping limited edition project - meaning no time for demos as usual - so I’ve picked out a couple of suitable Mostortion demos as a hint for the territory this pedal sits within.

These pedals are expected to go very quickly - so make sure you’re quick to the Drunk Beaver Reverb.com Store if you wish to secure one.