Marshall-in-a-Box pedal for both lower gain/vintage and modern hot-rodded Marshall tones?

EricTheWeary

slate;415948" said:

You want a zvex distortron

Yep. In your OP you are basically describing this pedal, even has a hi lo gain switch IIRC. Certainly in budget used. Designed to be used as an OD or at the end of a chain as a pre amp ( ie it expects to be hit with other pedals).

Dave_Mc

^ Thanks. But then @monquixote says he didn't like the high gain setting. )

^^ (@monquixote) Thanks, I always wondered what the "@" thing was for but felt silly asking ) I just did it because everyone did. )

Yeah the lack of a bass knob is slightly worrying on the super crunch box- I'm guessing in a gig situation it wouldn't matter but for just mucking about at home being able to get a bit more bass is nice. At low volumes at least it seems to make the pedal sound a bit more amp-like rather than just a pedal, too.

I'll check out the AMT, I'm aware of the company but don't know too much about its specific products. I also didn't realise AMT did more "regular" distortion pedals, I thought they were all more involved ones with cabinet modelling etc. EDIT: It sounds pretty good. There's also the M1 which seems to have more controls than the M-drive, but not as much extraneous guff as the M2. And the same price (more or less) as the M-drive.

That's interesting about the distortron as well- I'd be a bit wary about getting something which I know to not be gainy enough out of the box. I know I said I was willing to boost (and I am), but it's one thing using a boost to have an extra tonal option, it's another using it because you have to. I know I have the joyo hot plexi (which is really good, just a total one-trick pony) and it's a lot lower in gain than, say, my tonerider british distortion or joyo crunchbox clone. Even boosted it doesn't really get heavy enough for the higher gain marshally tones (plus I can also boost the Tonerider or Joyo to get even more distortion ).

I think the big problem (which is what I sort of suspected going in) is that I might have to decide whether I'm more willing to compromise on the more vintage marshall tones or the higher gain marshall tones.

EDIT: @ChrisMusic: Sorry, I missed your post earlier, I must have posted as you did. Like @ThePrettyDamned said, I've heard some iffy things about JHS. I think the angry charlie is just a crunchbox anyway (in which case I'd rather have the new improved version MI has brought out) and the charlie brown is a BSIAB (which might not be versatile enough?).

ThePrettyDamned

@dave_mc it's not that they're necessarily bad, but there are so many great builders out there and... Meh, they all offer pretty similar wares for the most part! So I'd rather choose one with a more proven track record. Maybe they've turned a new leaf and all that, though. Lots of happy customers around these days...

I do think the distortron or the box of rock is the winner still.

Dave_Mc

^ Yeah same here.

And yeah I'll keep the Zvex in mind for sure. I'll check a bunch more clips out tomorrow.

matt1973

I recently picked up an old Drivemaster for £40. Does a great job of delivering Marshall-esque tones to my rig.

smudge_lad

I've been through absolutely ton of MIAB pedals. Loved the Wampler super plextortion as it has the 3 way toggle to take it from lower gain up to higher gain. Maybe too many knob for you though. DLS Mk3 is a ridiculously good pedal though!

Voxman

ICBM said:

Marshall Jackhammer.

I'm not remotely joking.

Its only real disadvantage is that the best settings for the overdrive and distortion modes are so different that you can't switch from one to the other on the fly. Or not without memorising the settings and fiddling with the awkward fiddly little knobs.

I have a Marshall Guvn'r2 Plus and about 12 mths ago got the Jackhammer to try as it has more gain. I liked the Overdrive of the JH, but I found its Distortion setting to be darker, muddier and less open than the Guvn'r 2 which IMHO I think is actually the better pedal if you want a more classic Marshall tone like a Plexi through to a JCM800, and thus remains in my pedalboard. The JH1 is much more of a 'modern' higher gain Marshall tone ala JCM2000 etc.  Both are really good pedals that are massively under-rated, built like tanks and are very reasonably priced.  It's just down to taste - but of course, you could get both for less than the price of the MI Audio Super Crunch Box (which sounds an excellent pedal btw).

Here's a comparative video of the Marshall GV2+ & the JH on Youtube:

mike_l

I don't find the Distortron particularly Marshally. I find it better for the David Gilmour type rhythm's and boosted with a Mr.Ed for leads.

I do use it like this on the "high-gain" setting, with the gain around 50%.

guitarcookie1

Zoom Hyper Lead should do the trick & you can pick them up for c£40...

smudge_lad

Forgot all about my GV2. Mine has the C22 mod and it's brilliant! It's actually the reason I sold the DLS (only forgot about it as all my pedals are tucked away under my bed now as I'll only be playing acoustic for the next year)

The added "deep" knob makes a massive difference! Really great, versatile pedal for cheaps!

ICBM

Voxman said:

I have a Marshall Guvn'r2 Plus and about 12 mths ago got the Jackhammer to try as it has more gain. I liked the Overdrive of the JH, but I found its Distortion setting to be darker, muddier and less open than the Guvn'r 2 which IMHO I think is actually the better pedal if you want a more classic Marshall tone like a Plexi through to a JCM800, and thus remains in my pedalboard. The JH1 is much more of a 'modern' higher gain Marshall tone ala JCM2000 etc.

That's the big problem with the JH-1 - you need completely different settings for the distortion side to make it sound 'similar' to the overdrive side, so you have to re-set it every time you swap. And the knobs are fiddly and a pain in the backside. So then you think you need two of them, which pretty much defeats the point of having both in the same box… in which case you might as well get one and a Guv'nor, which does the 'classic' sound better.

I've always wanted to build a GV-2 circuit in a generic enclosure with six separate knobs and market it as the next boutique "Marshall-in-a-box" pedal and see what happens . It still sounds better to me than almost any of the expensive ones. The C22 mod is useful, but mostly into a darker amp - into an amp which has a tendency to bring out fizz (like most BF/SF Fenders) it's better to leave it in, I think.

xSkarloey

The BB II is a pretty good pedal. It hasn't got those stacked controls either. 

What it has got is two modes (straight pedal distortion and a boost function). 

I took a punt on a Joyo Deluxe Crunch when I was on the same quest as you. It wasn't bad, but guess what? 

In the end I just bought a Marshall amp. 

JayGee

Rothwell Hellbender anyone?

gjonesy

(because I'm selling them) I'll suggest BSIAB2 and Toadworks John Bull (cheap too)  ;-)

Though I'm currently using a DLS on superbass mode and CM plexitone (big one) on my other board

I tend to take the advice of @monquixote and @photek as they seem to have tried most (if not all) pedals of this type

joeyowen

I've used an Emma Reezafratzitz for nearly 8 years now and love it!

Second hand prices are nice and cheap too, does the BIOB perfectly as far as I'm concerned

fretmeister

guitarcookie1 said:

Zoom Hyper Lead should do the trick & you can pick them up for c£40...

Doesn't sound like a Marshall though! I have 2 of them.

Brilliant pedal and massively under-rated, but it's not a Marshall in a box.

Couple of years ago they were going for £75 ish. Gawd knows why they've dropped so much.

EDIT - just had a peak on ebay and recently a Zoom Power Drive went for under £20. It's one of the best Klon clones ever. £20!!!!!

World's gone mad, etc etc.

photek

If you can get over the shape try the Zvex Distortron. They can be had for around £60 and can be dialed for both high and low gain quite easily. It can get a bit flubby in the higher gain settings of the high gain modes though. It works going in to anything as well, loved clean 6L6 amps as much as it does pushed EL84's.

Also bear in mind that if you don't like them you can sell them really quickly without making a loss!

If you can push the budget a bit have a look at the Bearfoot Dyna Red 3K. It has the most natural low gain sound I have found, a chunky mid gain and a searing high gain all in one box. After trying everything this is where I have ended up.

fretmeister

monquixote said:

AMT do an M-Drive which is cheaper and closer to what you need if you are going into an amp.

http://amtelectronics.com/products/overdrive-distortion-pedals/amt-electronics-m-drive-jfet-distortion-pedal/

They are about £20 cheaper. They are basically a cut down M2.

The M-Drive has limited EQ settings and can't be used as a direct box or straight to soundcard doohickey.

The M2 has a proper pedal out (Drive Out) that bypasses all the speaker emulation and clean channel stuff and has a proper 3 band EQ. And the other connection options.

For me the £20 extra is worth it for the proper EQ alone, nevermind the extra connectivity options.

I have a "2" series on my board all the time - if my amp goes down then I can go direct to the PA if I have to.

smudge_lad

ICBM;416284" said:

I've always wanted to build a GV-2 circuit in a generic enclosure with six separate knobs and market it as the next boutique "Marshall-in-a-box" pedal and see what happens

I've always thought about asking someone to build one like this. The gain on my one does that weird fizzle out thing when i let notes ring, rather than decaying/fading out smoothly, and I thought that perhaps a clone with some better comps would resolve the issue.

photek

smudge_lad said:

ICBM;416284" said:

I've always wanted to build a GV-2 circuit in a generic enclosure with six separate knobs and market it as the next boutique "Marshall-in-a-box" pedal and see what happens

I've always thought about asking someone to build one like this. The gain on my one does that weird fizzle out thing when i let notes ring, rather than decaying/fading out smoothly, and I thought that perhaps a clone with some better comps would resolve the issue.

I have noticed this with several MIAB pedals, perhaps it is a side effect of the curcuit. Some people don't seem to hear it but once I notice things like that I can't stop hearing them haha.