“The perfect amp-in-a-box pedal”? Tsakalis AudioWorks’ tube-loaded Mothership merges analog warmth with highly configurable cab sims in one tube overdrive/preamp pedal
The best-of-both-worlds unit offers two identical overdrive channels with three gain stages each, and a choice of over 70 free digital cab simulations
(Image credit: Tsakalis Audioworks)
Tsakalis AudioWorks has released an overdrive/preamp pedal called the Mothership which, as its name suggests, offers a dizzying number of tweakable controls.
The Greek hand-crafted pedal firm assures players the Mothership is a compact, lightweight, and user-friendly solution for authentic vintage and modern tube amp tones designed for pedalboards of all sizes.
Indeed, what at first looks like an intimidating pedal simply mirrors the controls of a two-channel amp.
Most notably, the pedal looks to blend the analog warmth of two genuine 12AX7 tubes with a highly configurable cabinet simulator that offers up to 70 free cab sims via Tsakalis' own TAW Editor app.
As for the amp tones, two identical channels feature high-, medium-, and low-gain modes, ranging from sparkling clean to full-bore distortion, and three cab sims.
By offering a variety of gain stages, it looks to provide players with different rhythm and lead tones, as well as dedicated volume boosts for each channel, which are accessible on the fly via the relevant footswitches.
There are two Master Gain and Master Volume controls per channel, and individual four-band EQs. That allows for a handful of different tonal voices accessible via footswitches or MIDI controlling, which the app will help set up.
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As mentioned, players can choose from over 70 free custom cab choices, with the pedal capable of having three loaded into it at any one time. These are selectable via the CAB toggle switch.
There are also separate dedicated outputs for the cabinet simulator and a serial mono effects loop.
The Mothership has several output options. There's a TRS cabinet simulation output with ground lift, which remains active in bypass mode, and an output for connecting to the front of an amp or a power amp.
“The Mothership represents the perfect amp-in-a-box pedal,” says Tsakalis AudioWorks. “However, it also shines as a genuine tube overdrive pedal when connected to the front of your amplifier, or when running it as the tone-defining preamp section of your setup. It can also do both of these things simultaneously.”
(Image credit: Tsakalis Audioworks)
Previous Tsakalis pedals include the MultiCab 4, a cabinet simulator and preamp, and the Room #40, a tiny amp-in-a-box pedal inspired by the Marshall Plexi Super Lead and JCM800.
As such, the Mothership aims to take the successes of learnings of those pedals and put them into a bigger (but still compact) and more versatile solution for players.
It is priced at €549.99 (approx. $595) and is available to order.
The proliferation of pedals that combine tube amp tones with digital cab sims has reached new heights over the past few years. Just last month, Friedman announced the IR-D, which paired genuine tube tones and state-of-the-art digital tech to achieve the same feat.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
