Tech21 MOP TOP PEDAL-First Impressions (D.I.)

[RobB]

Guitars used:

Crews KTR ST 70s Strat, rosewood fb. 
2015 Tokai Reborn Old LP. Direct via pedal’s XLR out to mixer/monitors.

While I didn’t give it as thorough a wringing-out as the JHS guy, I tried many settings, clean/OD/dist. 

The XLR out is voiced as a Celestion Blue 12. I’ve always like T21’s speaker sims, and this one delivers. Nice and round, not harsh. Sounds pretty convincing through headphones or my powered Yamaha monitors.

I didn’t pay much mind to the supplied sample settings in the manual. It was more fun to make up my own patches anyways. The key to getting the sounds you want with this unit are the character controls. To the left, Fabs. To the right, Brian May/Rory Gallagher. Hit upfront with a JangleBox compressor, all the 60s sounds poured out. 

The treble booster control in conjunction with the high/mid-shift buttons adds gain and sizzle. Near-metal tones can be coaxed out of the MT. I’ll eventually try it thru my Marshal ministacks and JCM 800.

I have some days off this week so I’ll try the pedal out with my Vickyverb combo whilst my neighbors are at work. If it passes muster, I may get a WGS BLACK AND BLUE as a replacement speaker.

 

Edited November 10, 2025 by RobB