Masatone Hard Rock Machine II: a 12AX7, three voices and a power check

Original illustration by GuitarGangsters; not a product photograph.

A real ECC83/12AX7 valve sits at the centre of Masatone’s Hard Rock Machine II. The distortion pedal raises its incoming 9V supply internally to 180V for the valve, but the more immediate pedalboard question is whether your power supply can support it.

Three voices, five controls

Drive, Edge, Middle, Bass and Loudness handle gain, tonal balance and output. A Crunch/Hard/Heavy switch changes pre-gain and EQ. Masatone describes Crunch as its lower-gain option, Hard as the middle setting and Heavy as the highest-gain voice, with additional clipping assistance.

Check the outlet before the settings

The current specification calls for 9V DC, centre-negative polarity and a 2.1mm connector. Consumption is approximately 480mA; Masatone recommends an isolated outlet capable of at least 1A. Allow roughly 20 seconds for the valve to warm up. These figures reflect the manufacturer’s 19 October power-specification revision.

The 180V figure describes what happens inside the pedal. It is not an instruction to connect a higher-voltage external supply. Check voltage, polarity and available current together rather than assuming any spare pedalboard outlet will do.

Japanese price and the next batch

Masatone listed 6 November 2026 as its planned general-release date. At the 10 November check, its official store listed ¥44,000 including Japanese tax, showed sold out and said the next batch was planned for early December. That is a production plan, not a guaranteed delivery date.

The store offers international shipping, but the Japanese list price is not a delivered Swedish quote. Shipping, import charges and local availability still need checking before ordering. For a prospective buyer, the useful next steps are to confirm the next batch and identify a suitable power outlet, rather than treating a fresh news story as proof of stock.

For a different approach to valve-based pedalboard gear, read our Friedman IR-X dual-tube preamp guide.