Triumph's Rik Emmett Teams With Mojotone for the Rock & Roll Machine Signature Pedal

Rik Emmett spent Triumph's classic years chasing a guitar sound that could be bright and cutting one moment and warm and singing the next. Now he has a pedal built around it. On November 13, 2026, Emmett and North Carolina builder Mojotone announced the Rock & Roll Machine, a signature preamp and tone-shaping pedal designed to deliver his classic Triumph tones through whatever amp you already own.

Mojotone describes it as a combination of gain, EQ and boost in one box, built to cover "perfect punchy rhythm or smooth, singing leads without additional pedals." Emmett is even more direct about it. "I can play a whole night of Triumph music and just use this pedal," he says.

Built on a Late-'70s Plexi

The foundation of the pedal is Emmett's own rig from Triumph's early albums. According to the announcement, the Rock & Roll Machine's British-flavored voice is based on his customized 50-watt Plexi amplifiers from the late 1970s, the source of the bright, cutting tone heard on those records. Mojotone's shorthand is "all the muscle and grit of a cranked 50-watt Plexi amp."

Emmett did not want a straight Plexi clone, though. The design also draws on his favorite studio EQs and recording chains, especially vintage Neve channel strips.

"I want something more evolved than a typical distortion pedal – something that has warmth and depth to the sound without losing articulation," Emmett explains in the release. "The combination of those vintage Plexi amps and vintage Neve EQ channel strips provided me with that mix of cut and warmth, so I asked the designers at Mojotone to start there."

He adds that the result has gain stages that "can go from a clean boost, to crunch, to screaming lead, all with just the guitar's volume knobs."

Controls and Features

Mojotone's product page lists Bass, Treble and Presence controls for shaping the tone, alongside a Fat/Skinny knob. One paragraph of the press release describes the EQ as Treble, Middle and Bass, but its own feature list, Mojotone's product page and the labels on the pedal itself all show Bass, Treble and Presence, so that is what we are reporting.

Here is how the main features break down, based on Mojotone's descriptions:

• Gain and boost: the pedal combines gain and EQ with a dedicated Boost footswitch next to the On/Off switch, so you can push your sound forward for a solo without a second pedal.
• Bass, Treble and Presence: add low-end weight, bring out bite or fine-tune how the guitar sits in a mix.
• Fat/Skinny: tunes the overall body of the sound, adding warmth and thickness in one direction or cut and clarity in the other.
• Oomph switch: offers two variations of low-end response. Engaged, it is meant to evoke the tight, punchy bass of a closed-back 4x12 cabinet.
• Practical details: top-mounted jacks and a power draw of 70mA from a standard 9V negative-center supply. Mojotone says its products are handcrafted in North Carolina.

Who It's For

The obvious audience is classic-rock players, especially anyone who wants Plexi-style crunch and lead tones without hauling a vintage 50-watt head. Because it is a preamp pedal designed to work "with the amplifier of your choice," it may appeal to players with clean pedal-platform amps, small practice rigs or gig setups where a cranked stack is not realistic.

Players who ride their guitar's volume knob should also take note, since Emmett specifically highlights cleaning up and driving the pedal from the guitar. And Triumph fans who want a piece of the "Lay It on the Line" and "Magic Power" era sound now have a signature pedal built for exactly that.

We have not tested the Rock & Roll Machine, so we cannot yet say how close it gets to Emmett's records or how it behaves with different amps. Everything above is based on Mojotone's and Emmett's descriptions.

Pricing and Availability

The pedal is available now, according to the announcement, through Mojotone's online store and the Official Rik Emmett Reverb Shop. Neither the announcement nor Mojotone's product page listed a price when we checked, and we could not confirm one from the Reverb listing, so we are not quoting a figure. You can find the official details on Mojotone's Rock & Roll Machine page and at Rik Emmett's Reverb shop.

A Bright Spot for Triumph Fans

The release arrives at a tough moment for the band. In late October, Triumph canceled the rest of its 2026 reunion tour, citing "sudden and unexpected medical circumstances affecting the band," while adding that "the outlook is positive." The pedal does not change that news, but it does give fans a way to bring a little of Emmett's sound home while they wait.

Signature pedals often promise a famous tone in a box. The Rock & Roll Machine's pitch is a little broader: start with a Plexi, add studio-style EQ, and give players enough control to make it their own. If it delivers on that, it could earn a spot on plenty of classic-rock pedalboards.