Hello Gearheads and welcome back! Today I’ve got the pleasure to share with you a very cool small builder based out of Minnesota, MOOD SYSTEMS. A one man shop led by Danish Mahmood, producing some very cool tonal devices. As a gear nut or someone who’s been interested in custom designs, it might not take much to see that there is a massive influence of Pete Cornish’s work with the design aesthetic and type of effects available from Danish. While there are companies that seek to release more attainable versions of Pete’s revered line, it appears that Danish and MOOD are more interested in taking the look, vibe and historical “tone-stamps” into his available line of effects. MOOD SYSTEMS also have a healthy rehousing and circuit modification side, which are of course inspired by the brilliant Cornish designed systems we’ve seen with the likes of David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Lou Reed, Paul McCartney etc… There is a firm design aesthetic that absolutely evokes those works but at the same time you can see that it’s Danish’s own personal interpretation and created from his inspiration. I mean, who wouldn’t want to celebrate those historical elements with interesting new designs?
The MOOD Boost is very musical sounding, and a simple boost pedal. It’s not a clean boost and it’s not a quiet boost! It’s meant to hit your amplifier and add harmonics and midrange gain in a very pleasing manner…. and it does indeed do so. It’s important to note that even at zero on the volume or boost control there is still a sizeable gain increase. This is by design as the pedal has a sweet spot for light boost or edge of breakup at that spot. As you increase the knob, the harmonics reach their full potential and you receive more sustain and richness as well as gain from your amplifier or gain devices down the line. I found the MOOD Boost to work equally well hitting the front end of an amplifier as well as drive pedals places after it. There’s a tactile harmonic quality that’s addictive and it responds very well to your guitar’s volume knob, rolling it down for cleaner tones and so forth. This is not a difficult pedal my fellow Gearheads… but as with anything I like to showcase here for you all… it’s a musical one.
As with all MOOD SYSTEMS pedals, a high quality buffer circuit is included in the MOOD Boost. A single buffer at the input delivers the line driving clean signal boost your pedalboard longs to have. Some of Danish’s designs include double buffering and I believe you can request to have the buffer removed if you prefer to do so. If anyone reading this knows me or my experience, I am EXTREMELY picky about buffers in general and how implementing pedals with buffered bypassed signals effect my overall tone, touch and feel. Not all buffers are created equally and I really should do a separate piece on my favorites and why I prefer them. All that to say, MOOD offers a very musical and non offensive buffer - much like the inspiration of Pete Cornish’s tried and true buffers.
“This boost is designed to give a juicy, slightly fuzzy character to an already overdriven amp ( or an amp set at the edge-of-breakup ). The Mood Boost isn’t a clean boost or a treble boost – it’s more of a “full spectrum” boost with special emphasis on the low-mid frequencies of your guitar tone. There’s a certain chunk this pedal creates when paired with the right amp! The Mood Boost LOVES to mingle with Marshall, Hiwatt and Fender
style amps.
The circuit involves a voltage doubler which essentially takes a 9- 12vDC input and converts it to a stable 9vDC power line. This 9v power line is then doubled in voltage, which is then fed to the actual boost circuit. Due to the boost circuit’s properties, the overall “doubled” voltage lands around 16.5vDC. This gives the perfect amount of headroom to your guitar signal and also allows the transistor to BREATHE.”
In the video demo below I used the MOOD Boost on all the stringed instruments including an original Suzuki Omnichord OM-27. The MOOD Boost added the right amount of harmonics to every element and it was helpful in adding that special magic on top of the signal. No other gain devices were used in this demo, so any of the heavier or more saturated tones you’ll hear are derived from hitting the amplifier more-so with the boost.
I really enjoyed checking out the MOOD Boost and am looking forward to featuring some more designs in the future. I’d love to check out Danish’s take on the classic RAM’s head Big Muff that David Gilmour used to great heights next. Personally owning a Cornish P-1 it will be a fun experiment on many levels.
Lastly, I must say there is something so inviting to eye, especially in this age of A.I. induced overconsumption of color and design, to see such utility driven designs. Simple, Brutalist and structured designs that are bespoke of an era of yesterday and at the same time, maybe an era that never existed until now. The inspired becomes inspirational and new art come from that…. and at the end of the day, that’s why we’re here. To be inspired by little metal boxes that help us forge realism out of thin air. Ah… isn’t music making the best?
If you’re inspired as well and would like to learn more about Danish Mahmood and MOOD SYSTEM, please take a look at these links below!
https://moodsystemsllc.com/product/the-mood-boost/
https://www.instagram.com/moodsystemsllc/
Until next time Gearheads, please take a moment to Like, Subscribe & Share this Feature and I’ll see you all very soon!