Mu-Tron TubeTron

The Mu-Tron TubeTron is an op-amp based overdrive effect from Musitronics, the maker behind the reissued Mu-Tron pedal line. Despite the name, there are no tubes inside: it is an op-amp circuit built on Mu-Tron's patented opto-mod technology, which the maker uses to create what it calls a "push-pull" type of parametric tone stack¹. Musitronics positions it as a three-in-one tool, listing it as a "Treble Boost, Overdrive, Gain Pedal" that can serve as a transparent "clean boost" or, with the Drive turned up, as a "tube screamer on steroids"².

The maker says the TubeTron is designed to push the tubes on traditionally clean amps such as Fender blackface types, and that it can also push a Marshall into hyperdrive or beef up the front end of solid-state amplifiers or mixing consoles¹. For pedalboard planning, Musitronics recommends placing it after wah and octave effects and before modulation, delay and reverb¹.

The controls: Drive, Level, Treble and Middle

The TubeTron has four knobs, and Musitronics describes each one's job on the product page¹:

The Middle control is the unusual one. Rather than a standard fixed tone stack, the TubeTron's mid section is what the maker calls a single-knob, parametric mid-control, built with the same opto-mod technology as the rest of the circuit⁴. Because it shapes low and mid-range EQ at the same time, one knob does the work that a multi-band EQ would normally spread across several sliders, which is worth knowing before you compare it against a conventional overdrive with bass and treble cut controls.

With Drive low and Level up, the pedal works as a clean boost, including a treble boost clean drive setting for pushing an amplifier². With Drive up, it moves into overdrive and gain territory. Players looking for a dedicated boost-only pedal may prefer the Mu-Tron Boostron II, which sits in the same maker's range.

Power, size and connections

The TubeTron runs on 9V DC in what Musitronics calls a rugged Mu-Tron enclosure¹. Connections are simple: one 1/4" input jack and one 1/4" output jack¹. It weighs 1 lb¹.

The maker's own pages give two different dimension figures, so both are listed here. The product page states 4.75" x 2.5" x 2.25"¹, while the shop listing's product table gives 5 x 5 x 4 in².

Where it came from and how it fits the range

The TubeTron is designed to push the tubes on traditionally clean amps such as Fender blackface types, and the maker says it can push a Marshall into hyperdrive or beef up the front end of solid-state amplifiers or mixing consoles¹. In a signal chain, the TubeTron sits well after wha and octave effects and before modulation, delay, and reverb¹. It weighs 1 lb¹ and carries a list price of $189.00³.

For a player comparing gain pedals, the TubeTron covers ground that would otherwise take a separate boost pedal and overdrive pedal: the maker's own description puts clean boost, treble boost and higher-gain drive in one box². Whether that suits a board better than two dedicated pedals depends on how much control you want over each job separately.

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