Description
The MC-401 exists to solve a problem most boards eventually run into: too many effects, too much cable, and a signal that arrives at the amp thinner and duller than it left the guitar. Bob Bradshaw designed this circuit at Custom Audio Electronics for exactly that scenario, quietly running it in touring rigs long before it ever carried a retail price tag. MXR now builds it under license, keeping the same straightforward approach that made it a tech’s go-to fix.
- Restores clarity, punch, and top-end sparkle lost to long cable runs or multiple pedals in series
- Corrects mismatched line levels between effects and signal chain sections
- Doubles as a transparent clean boost for solos, pushing volume without altering tone
- Can be placed ahead of other effects to add drive, sensitivity, and dynamic response
- Simple, single-purpose design with no unnecessary controls to fuss over
Where a lot of boosts add color or grit, the MC-401 is built to disappear — it’s there to fix a signal-chain issue, not introduce its own flavor. Drop it wherever your tone starts losing steam, whether that’s after a long buffer-less run, between a crowded pedal chain and the amp, or right in front of a fuzz or overdrive that needs a bit more push to wake up. For players who value what CAE’s rigs sounded like on stage, this is the same tool, now easy to add to any board.
Part of the joint MXR/Custom Audio Electronics series, available through Dunlop Manufacturing.
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