Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Master of MOSFET Thomas Besse of RhPf Electronics delivers his super touch-sensitive, dynamic and vibrant masterpiece Mosphoros Overdrive
What we have here is a superbly responsive MOSFET overdrive with a sort of Fuzz dynamic in some sense and for me a little reminiscent in character to the Shodhana - where the pedal gets progressively brighter as you dial up the Drive and Level.
I find myself constantly adjusting the Treble down as I turn the Drive and Level Up. It ramps up very evenly to a decent amount of gain. And it has a tonne of volume onboard!
The Drive knob is one of those slightly ’scractchy’ Bias types - where it delivers a really vibrant output with plenty of bite. It sounds quite a bit different to RhPf’s other Mosferatwo flagship.
The core profile of the Mosphorous is really quite bright, and it has that crisp top-boosted AC30 style crunchy character to its output.
The Drive Bias knob definitely gives me fuzz-like vibes - while it never really goes full-fuzz - but right up to the edge of that timbre.
The Active 2 Band EQ matches the extended range of the Drive and Level controls - this really does cover a vast range on each of those dials - and they’re all quite interactive too - as when you change one - you find yourself mostly adjusting the full set. You can’t just set a core tonality and then ramp up the gain range from there - as the core brightness can ramp up quite a lot along the taper of those controls.
Like many overdrives this one is about balancing the different controls to achieve your perfect tonality. Where for me the Mosferatwo is still the easiest to dial in. While the Mosphorus has that amazingly responsive and lively edge to it.
Controls - Drive (Bias), Level (Loud!), Active Bass, Active Treble.
My current favourite settings are - Drive @ circa 1:30 to 2 o'c, Level @ Noon, Bass @ 2 o'c, Treble @ 10:30 o'c.
This drive saturates very elegantly and you get a glorious crisp crunchy tonality with a character all of its own. It's somewhat adjacent to the crunchy AC30 sound but very much its own thing.
When you get the dials just right - it can sound really magnificent - and it responds so well to your pick attack.
Apparently this was several years in the making, and it is the circuit Thomas is most proud of. I don't think any pedal range has as many Killer MOSFET Overdrive types as RhPf. And my favourite 3 - this Mosphoros, the Mosferatwo, and the Tri-Harmonic Phalanx all sound very distinct. I feel they each have their own compelling appeal. The Mosphoros also delivers superb harmonics and excellent guitar volume gain cleanup.
It's very hard for me to call it between those 3 as each excels in its own specific area. While there is none more lively or responsive than the Mosphorus. Sounds blistering on humbuckers for sure.
It has a very distinct charcter and that superb dynamic touch sensitivity.
The Mosphoros goes for $179 and equivalent on the RhPF Electronics Webstore - very good value for a wholly unique overdrive! Highly Recommended!
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