MOOER Micro PreAMP 008 Cali-MK 3

The MOOER Micro PreAMP 008 Cali-MK 3 is a compact preamp pedal in MOOER's Micro Preamp series. RockBoard's PedalPedia describes it as "based on a Californian modern day classic" amplifier, and positions it as "a session players dream"¹. It is an analog design, which distinguishes it from much of the rest of the Micro Preamp range, where MOOER's product pages describe the pedals as digital recreations of tube amplifier preamp sections¹².

The pedal carries two channels, and RockBoard's PedalPedia says each has "an incredibly variable EQ stack," allowing it to "achieve tones for just about every style of music"¹. RockBoard's product page also files it under booster and equalizer categories alongside preamp¹.

What it does to your sound

MOOER's own description of the two channels gives a picture of the range on offer:

For a player, that means one pedal covers both a usable clean platform and a full high-gain voice, with the drive channel's range extending well into metal territory. The EQ stack on each channel is the control surface for shaping those tones, and MOOER's emphasis on how variable it is suggests it is doing more than a simple three-band setup¹.

Power and practical requirements

The Cali-MK 3 runs on 9V DC with a center negative plug and draws 300mA¹.

The same 9V DC center negative requirement appears across the Micro Preamp range, including the 017 Cali MK IV, which also draws 300mA².

How it differs from the Cali MK IV

The Mooer Micro Preamp 017 Cali MK IV is the closest relative in the range, and the difference between the two comes down to circuit type. The Cali-MK 3 is analog², while RockBoard's PedalPedia describes the Cali MK IV as part of a line of "sonically accurate digital recreations of the preamp sections of popular tube amplifiers"².

The Cali MK IV arrived in 2018, when MOOER expanded the Micro Preamp range with three new mini-pedals: the 016 Phoenix, the 017 Cali Mk IV and the 018 Custom 100³⁴. Gearnews reported at the time that the Cali-MkIV "is intended to map two channels, clean and gain, from one of the most popular modern" amplifiers³, and Guitar World noted that the 016, 017 and 018 "feature dual channels with independent gain, volume and EQ"⁴. So both Cali pedals are dual-channel designs with independent controls per channel; the MK 3 achieves it with an analog circuit, the MK IV digitally.

What reviewers made of it

In a MusicRadar video review of the Mooer Micro Preamp range, the Cali Mark III came out as a favorite. Discussing the range, reviewer Simon Arblaster said⁵:

The same review flagged the Cali Mark III as the most versatile of the bunch⁵, which lines up with MOOER's own claim that its EQ stack can cover tones for just about every style of music¹.

The video covers the Micro Preamp range as a whole rather than the Cali-MK 3 alone, and gives a sense of how the pedals sound in practice against one another⁵.

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Where it sits in the Micro Preamp range

The Micro Preamp series is a line of mini-format preamp pedals, each modeled on a different amplifier. MOOER's product pages describe the range as offering dual channels, integrated speaker cabinet simulation and dual operating modes². Alongside the Cali-MK 3, the range includes models such as the MOOER Micro PreAMP 010 Two Stones, the MOOER Micro PreAmp 013 Match Box, the MOOER Micro PreAMP 007 Regal Tone and the MOOER Micro PreAMP 001 Gas Station, plus the later digital trio of the 016 Phoenix, 017 Cali MK IV and 018 Custom 100⁶⁷⁸.

Within that lineup, the Cali-MK 3's analog circuit is its distinguishing trait. Players comparing preamp pedals today can also look at MOOER's later dual-channel designs, such as the Mooer Preamp Model X2, a digital pedal with editable presets and impulse response support.

Videos

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Questions