TC Electronic MojoMojo

The TC Electronic MojoMojo is an analog overdrive pedal from TC Electronic, announced in January 2011 and shipping that March alongside the Dark Matter distortion¹. TC Electronic's launch material pitched it as "a crisp and clear overdrive with a rock-solid bottom end," built by ramping up the internal voltage to more than 3-4 times the amount of typical drive pedals for what the company called a dramatic increase in headroom and dynamics¹. MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen described its job more specifically: to provide "the sound of overdriven valves in a hard-working amp, and not just any amp," with TC's intended flavor being vintage tweed².

It is a compact brown pedal with an easy-access battery hatch and a small footprint¹, and it found a high-profile user in Paul Gilbert, who told Guitar World in 2016 that it is a normal pedal with nothing unusual about it except that it just sounds good³¹⁴.

What it does

The MojoMojo sits in the low-to-medium gain overdrive camp. MusicRadar's reviewer found it "responds sympathetically to playing dynamics and has clarity" that lets chords ring through with individual notes intact, and noted it can deliver valve-like overdrive or a clean(ish) boost to push your amp further². The raised internal voltage is the design idea TC Electronic built the pedal around: more headroom than a typical drive pedal, so the pedal stays articulate as gain increases and cleans up when you roll back your guitar's volume¹.

On the circuit's lineage, Gearnews characterized it bluntly: "What you are essentially getting is a Fulltone OCD with two eq knobs, instead of one."⁷ That is a press comparison rather than a TC Electronic statement, but it places the MojoMojo in the same family as the Fulltone OCD, a MOSFET-based overdrive that itself traces back to the Voodoo Labs Overdrive⁷⁸⁹. Players comparing the two will find the MojoMojo's advantage is the extra tone control: where the OCD gives you one tone knob, the MojoMojo splits that into bass and treble.

The controls

The control set is four knobs and a switch³:

The independent bass and treble knobs are the practical difference from one-knob competitors. Delicious Audio's reviewers found they "really help tune the pedal to the amplifier"³, and MusicRadar's reviewer found the toggle either "keeps your bottom end girth intact or offers a slightly leaner sound"². Delicious Audio called the two-knob EQ "a feature that edges out a lot of the competition for grab-and-go usability"³.

History and the Paul Gilbert Edition

The original MojoMojo shipped in March 2011 as part of a pair of compact drive pedals alongside the Dark Matter distortion, at $177 MSRP¹. By 2023 Premier Guitar listed its street price at $129.99⁵, and Gearnews that same year noted it selling at Thomann for $44.00 / £40.00 / 47.00€¹¹.

Paul Gilbert's association with the pedal is long-standing: MusicRadar's overdrive buying guide noted it "has been used by none other than virtuoso Paul Gilbert"⁴, and Pedal of the Day reported that Gilbert "always uses his original MojoMojo pedal with the same voice setting"¹². In June 2021, TC Electronic announced an official Paul Gilbert version¹³. The Paul Gilbert Edition is largely the same pedal: the same control layout and true bypass¹⁴, but in a new purple enclosure with Gilbert's name on it¹⁴, and with two key circuit changes. First, the Voice switch is replaced by a new "11" switch¹², which Gearnews joked means the pedal "now goes to 11"¹²¹³. Second, it adds stepped-up circuit board voltage that increases both headroom and dynamics significantly¹⁵, plus an extra gain mod switch¹⁶.

At the time of the announcement, Gearnews noted it was not clear whether the original circuit had been tweaked or whether it was just a new paint job¹³; later coverage settled the question, with Guitar World and Pedal of the Day both describing the raised voltage and gain mod as real circuit changes¹⁵¹². TC Electronic's own description of the Edition's sound: "like the perfect chicken tender, combining juicy and crunchy in the most delicious way possible!"¹⁰

What reviewers said

Reviews of the original were largely positive on feel and usability, with one reservation about distinctiveness³²:

• Delicious Audio found that "the dynamic response is quite impressive," saying the response to volume-knob tweaking was "far beyond what I've experienced in this price range"³
• The same reviewers found "transitions from a big clean verse to a singing, thick lead tone are a cinch," and that with the pedal engaged, "I really feel like I gain another channel on both amplifiers"³
• On character, they were more measured: "I can't say that the MojoMojo has any 'mojo' of its own, in that I don't think that you could pick it out of a blind lineup"³
• MusicRadar's reviewer highlighted its dynamic response and clarity, and its usefulness as a boost²

One broader caution comes from Ovnilab's review coverage of TC Electronic as a company, which found "their construction quality is hit-or-miss and their customer support is TERRIBLE"¹⁷. That is a view of the maker's overall record rather than of the MojoMojo specifically, but it is the kind of thing a buyer weighs.

For the Paul Gilbert Edition, Pedal of the Day's 2024 review called it "versatile yet simplistic," saying "this versatile yet simplistic effects unit is easy to dial in and sounds just fantastic"¹².

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