The Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox is a Mooer preamp pedal, currently around $86.32. Close alternatives include the Mooer Micro Preamp 004 Day Tripper and the Lovepedal DOV Death Of Vox Handwired. It pairs well with the Nobels ODR-1 and the Klon KTR.
Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox
Mooer · pedal
The Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox models the Matchless C-30, a hand-wired American take on class-A British chime — bright, harmonically complex, and famously responsive to guitar volume.
What stands out
“Primary use case spans pristine, chiming clean tones through to refined, musical overdrive for players across rock, blues, and pop styles”
— from the community notes
“Gain channel is described as refined , consistent with the real C30's reputation for musical, controlled breakup over raw high gain”
— from the reviews
“the mooer micro preamp 013 matchbox models the matchless c-30”
— from the listing
“Valued for reproducing one of the boutique amp world's most acclaimed clean channels at a fraction of the real Matchless C30's cost”
— from the community notes
“Standout strength is capturing the C30's specific reputation for clean-channel quality, a demanding target given how celebrated the original amp's cleans are”
— from the community notes
- clean
- musical
- chiming
- american
- eq
- breakup
- full
Good for
- Silent Recording
- Silent Stage
- Studio
Price updated Oct 24, 2026
Genres the Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox is commonly used in
- Rock
- Indie
- Jazz
- Classic Rock
- Blues
- Alternative
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Pedals that stack with the Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox
Nobels ODR-1
Nobels
21% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (transparent → mid-forward)
Nobels ODR-1 leans this transparent tone toward mid-forward, which it doesn't make on its own
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Klon KTR
Klon
21% matchclean platform takes the driveA clean, high-headroom stage takes on dirt it can't generate by itself. (transparent → medium gain)
The transparent tone has headroom to spare — Klon KTR leans it toward medium gain to fill it in
Comes earlier in the signal chain
TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler
TC Electronic
18% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Keep TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler after Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox in the signal chain, clear of Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox's own gain stage
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Electro-Harmonix Nano Tone Corset
Electro-Harmonix
15% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.
What Electro-Harmonix Nano Tone Corset brings here leans toward mid-forward — that's worth building a pairing around
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Alexander Pedals Now We Are Ghosts Reverb
Alexander Pedals
9% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Keep Alexander Pedals Now We Are Ghosts Reverb after Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox in the signal chain, clear of Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb
pedal
9% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Boss RV-5 Digital Reverb's spring voice goes after Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox's own transparent character — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Comes later in the signal chain
J. Rockett The Dude V2
J Rockett
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
J. Rockett The Dude V2 is voiced for a clean amp's front end — Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox gives it exactly that
Behringer TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive
Behringer
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
Behringer TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive is voiced for a clean amp's front end — Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox gives it exactly that
Cheaper alternatives
Boutique & premium upgrades
TC Electronic Ampworx Vintage Series DC30
TC Electronic
60% similarityShared character: bright
Tech 21 SansAmp Oxford
Tech 21
59% similarityShared character: bright, high gain settings, clean
Vertex Steel String Supreme SRV (Slight Return Edition)
Vertex
54% similarityShared character: bright, full, overdrive
Friedman IR-J Jake E. Lee Preamp
Friedman
50% similarityShared character: high gain settings, clean
Mad Professor Super Black
Mad Professor
48% similarityShared character: bright, clean, overdrive
Universal Audio Uafx Ruby '63 Top Boost Amplifier
Universal Audio
47% similaritySimilar voicing: airy, glassy
Similar character
Mooer Micro Preamp 004 Day Tripper
Mooer
55% similarityShared character: bright, high gain settings, clean
Lovepedal DOV Death Of Vox Handwired
Lovepedal
50% similarityShared character: bright, overdrive
Catalinbread DreamCoat
Catalinbread
47% similaritySimilar role and voicing
MXR Super Badass Distortion
MXR
43% similarityShared character: bright, high gain settings, full
Colorsound Power Boost
Colorsound
41% similarityShared character: bright, high gain settings, overdrive
See all alternatives to the Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox?+
The closest matches in character are the Mooer Micro Preamp 004 Day Tripper, the Lovepedal DOV Death Of Vox Handwired, the Catalinbread DreamCoat. Budget picks: Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive, TC Electronic MojoMojo Overdrive. Boutique upgrades: TC Electronic Ampworx Vintage Series DC30, Tech 21 SansAmp Oxford, Vertex Steel String Supreme SRV (Slight Return Edition).
What pairs well with the Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Nobels ODR-1, Klon KTR, TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler — Nobels ODR-1 leans this transparent tone toward mid-forward, which it doesn't make on its own.
How much does the Mooer Micro Preamp 013 Matchbox cost?+
Around $86.32 (live listing price, updated Oct 24, 2026).