Drunk Beaver Pedals Recreates The Exar Metal Moon AKA The Polish Marshall Shredmaster

The 3rd installment in the XR Series from Drunk Beaver Pedals is a 3-band EQ equipped, high gain drive.

A Copy Of A Copy (But In A Good Way)

Finally, the last review of the XR Series pedals is here! And honestly, I may have inadvertently saved the best for last. The XR Series MM-1, aka the Moon Metal, is Drunk Beaver Pedals take on the Marshall Shredmaster circuit. More accurately, it is their version of the Exar Moon Metal, and an affordable one at that. Coming in at $90 USD, this is a seriously impressive and flexible gain pedal, like the OD-1 and SF-1 I reviewed before it. Like its siblings, this pedal pays homage to Poland’s forgotten history of quality guitar pedal production.

Key features for you to know include the 3-band EQ that sits atop the pedal, giving you a fair bit of tone control for a $90 distortion pedal. Otherwise, you have standard volume and gain (metal) controls on a humble, pedalboard-friendly enclosure.

Demo Time

My Thoughts

While I don’t have a lot of experience with Marshall Shredmaster circuits to compare to, I have been delighted with the Moon Metal. It has an incredibly distinct distortion sound, crispy, saturated, and very tight. The 3-band EQ is actually very powerful, as the knobs have great sweep and respond really well to how tweak and dial them in. While having a 3-band EQ is obviously a major selling point, it’s equally important that the EQ is actually responsive and capable of a wide range of frequencies.

There’s actually a few other big reasons I’m a fan though, and will start with the “quiet crunch” factor. This pedal does a brilliant job of maintaining body and saturated distortion even when you lower the volume. The Moon Metal would actually be perfect for that Blue Album Weezer tone, where the volume’s rolled down but the distortion is still clear and present. Another key feature is how amp-like I think this pedal sounds. It’s hard to explain, but it seemed to mesh really well with the UAFX Dream amp sim I use, creating a very focused, roomy distortion sound. Especially with a bit of reverb present, it just filled the space very well and felt like a big amp in the room.

Now remember, this is only $90, so that’s a lot of upside for not a ton of money. Overall, it’s hard to not view this as an exceptional addition to a crowded distortion market. There’s flexibility, high quality sound, and surplus value. It’s another winner from Drunk Beaver Pedals, and one I think more folks should have on their board.