The Mattoverse Electronics Drone Tone MkIII is a drone synthesizer pedal: a pitch and rate controllable square wave oscillator in a guitar pedal format. It generates its own tone rather than processing your guitar's, and it can be used stand-alone or with an instrument plugged in, since the instrument input is unaffected and is simply buffered and passed through to the output jack.1
What it does
Mattoverse describes the Drone Tone as "a drone synthesizer for your pedalboard," a square wave oscillator whose pitch and rate you control. The maker's own take on playing it: "It's simple, fun, and I love tuning it to a pitch or key and noodling along. It also does weird things to the clipping on gain based pedals and is fun with delays, loopers, etc."1 That puts it alongside gain and time effects rather than replacing them: run it into overdrive, distortion or fuzz pedals to change how they clip, or into delay and looping pedals. It sits in the wider family of synth pedals and octave and pitch pedals.
The controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pitch | Sets the oscillator's pitch |
| Rate | Sets the oscillator's rate |
| Volume | Master volume control |
| Tone | Tone control for the oscillator |
| Mix | Sets the volume of the square wave oscillator at the output jack |
The first four come from the maker's list of "controls for oscillator Pitch, Rate, Volume, and Tone," and the mix control is described separately as setting the oscillator's volume at the output jack.1
MkIII features and tempo sync
The Drone Tone MKIII is a drone synthesizer pedal, a pitch and rate controllable square wave oscillator in a guitar pedal format.1 Mattoverse describes it as simple and fun: "It's simple, fun, and I love tuning it to a pitch or key and noodling along. It also does weird things to the clipping o"1 It can be used stand-alone or with an instrument input, though the instrument input is unaffected and is simply buffered and passed through to the output jack.1 The pedal lists at $159.00 USD, draws less than 20mA, and uses a 4.77" x 2.6" x 1.39" enclosure.1
Power, bypass and dimensions
The Drone Tone MkIII runs on a DC 9V center-pin-negative power supply only, and the supply is not included. Current draw is less than 20mA. Bypass is true hardwire bypass. The enclosure measures 4.77" x 2.6" x 1.39".1
As of 2026-10-26, the maker's product page lists the Drone Tone MkIII as sold out, and the Black Texture color variant as sold out or unavailable.1
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Questions
Does the Drone Tone MkIII come with a power supply?
No. Mattoverse specifies a DC 9V center-pin-negative power supply only, and the supply is not included with the pedal. Current draw is less than 20mA, so a standard 9V center-negative supply from most pedalboard power supplies will run it, but you will need to provide one yourself.
Is the Drone Tone MkIII true bypass?
Yes. Mattoverse describes the Drone Tone MkIII as having true hardwire bypass. The instrument input is buffered and passed through to the output jack unaffected, so your guitar signal does not have the oscillator applied to it.
Does the Drone Tone affect my guitar signal?
No. The instrument input is unaffected and is simply buffered and passed through to the output jack. The Drone Tone generates its own square wave oscillator signal, and the mix control sets the volume of that oscillator at the output jack. It can also be used stand-alone, without an instrument plugged in.
Can the Drone Tone MkIII sync to an external tempo?
Yes. The MkIII adds a tempo sync input that accepts a 0-5V signal, alongside an onboard tap tempo footswitch. Mattoverse also fitted an internal pitch range control and top mounted jacks on this third version.
Is the Mattoverse Drone Tone MkIII still available?
As of the maker's product page dated 2026-10-26, the Drone Tone MkIII is listed as sold out, and the Black Texture color variant is described as sold out or unavailable. The listed regular price was $159.00 USD.
Sources (2)
- Mattoverse Drone Tone MKIII, Mattoverse Electronics
- Mattoverse Electronics Releases the Drone Tone MkIII, Premier Guitar, 2019-05-10
