MXR Tom Morello Power 50 Overdrive

The MXR Tom Morello Power 50 Overdrive (model TBM1) is a signature overdrive pedal from MXR that captures the sound and functionality of Tom Morello's amp setup for use with any rig¹. More than 30 years of Morello's raw, hard-hitting sonic voice have come from that amp setup, and the pedal puts its control panel and clipping character on a pedalboard². In Morello's own words, quoted by Guitar World:

Guitar World identifies the amplifier as a Marshall JCM800, and reports that MXR employed MOSFET technology to ape the JCM's preamp stages for an amp-like response³. MXR describes the circuitry the same way: MOSFET technology recreating the preamp stages of Tom's amplifier for amp-like performance¹.

Tom Morello's amp in a pedal

The Power 50 is not a generic overdrive circuit with a famous name on it. It is built around one player's specific rig. MXR says the key component of Tom Morello's sound for more than 30 years has been his amp setup, and the pedal "captures the sound and functionality of that setup for use with any rig"². The control layout mirrors the amp: Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, Volume, and Presence knobs, the same control interface as Tom's amp¹.

The MOSFET design is central to how it gets there. MXR says the circuitry uses MOSFET technology to recreate the preamp stages of Tom's amplifier for amp-like performance¹, and Guitar World's coverage at launch described the same approach, with the MOSFETs emulating the JCM800's preamp stages for an amp-like response³. For a player, that means the pedal is voiced to behave like a preamp being pushed rather than a stompbox adding grit on top of a clean amp.

MXR also positions the pedal within a broader signature setup. The maker says it recreates "those big, gnarly tones" and produces aggressive yet tonally balanced, voice-like wah sweeps when the Cry Baby Tom Morello Wah is placed in its loop¹. Premier Guitar reviewed it as Morello's signature MXR Power 50 Overdrive in September 2023⁵.

The controls

The manual lays out six knobs plus a footswitch, and recommends a simple starting point: set every control to 12 o'clock and adjust from there².

The EQ ranges are worth a closer look for players comparing this against other overdrives. The bass control cuts much further than it boosts (+4 dB up, -21 dB down at 50 Hz), while the middle and treble controls swing symmetrically at ±7 dB². Presence operates separately from the treble control, shaping the high end of the overall output signal at 4 kHz².

On the gain question, Premier Guitar's reviewer found the range narrower than on some other overdrive pedals, but did not count that against it⁵:

The reviewer's reasoning was that the pedal was designed to cop a very specific sound's gain range⁵. That matches the product's premise: it is Morello's amp setup in a box, not a do-everything drive.

Power and connections

Power comes from one 9-volt battery, accessible through a battery door on the bottom plate¹. The manual lists the power supply as DC 9 volts², and the pedal can also run on a 9-volt AC adapter such as the Dunlop ECB003 or ECB003EU, or on an MXR Brick Series power supply¹.

The standout connection feature is the built-in FX loop. MXR says the loop taps into the raw signal-clipping point prior to the Presence control and the custom tone-shaping at the output¹. In practice:

• The Send jack transmits a post-EQ signal to the effects loop².
• The Return jack breaks the effects loop connection and receives the loop's output signal back into the pedal².

This is what makes the pairing with the Cry Baby Tom Morello Wah work: because the loop sits at the clipping point, a wah placed there shapes the signal before the pedal's final tone-shaping, which MXR says yields aggressive yet tonally balanced, voice-like wah sweeps¹. It is a different arrangement from a standard pedalboard loop, where effects sit before or after the drive pedal as separate units.

Maximum output level is 0 dBV².

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

News

Questions