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

robinbowes

fretmeister said:

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.

Aside from wanting an high gain sound, these are the reasons I went for an AMT pedal (I went for the P2).

It's not arrived yet so this is all "in theory", but it looks good on paper.

R.

monquixote

gjonesy said:

(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

@photek is way ahead of me on this front, but I have tried a lot of stuff. 

I don't especially like the Distortron in high gain mode, but there are very few pedals I do like really cranked (Shredmaster and Riot being two examples) so don't take it as it being bad.

It's not a Marshall in a Box specifically, but the MXR Super Badass is massively versatile. 

mr_air

Like joeyowen says check out the Emma Electronics Reezafratzitz. It's not made as a Marshall-in-a-box but it comes close to the Marshall tone and it's very versatile.

Maybe the Ramble F/X Marvel Drive would be interesting as it's pure plexi in a box and seems to do pretty gainy stuff well.

Phil_aka_Pip

Guv'nor. My original's not for sale, either

jeztone2

Goosoniqueworx 7thvn, does an amazing hi gain sound & dynamic lo gain with the lowest noise floor of anything I've seen.

Weehbo JVM?

Sansamp Hot Rod Plexi? 

mike_l

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Guv'nor. My original's not for sale, either

Try the Hardwire CM-2, comes pretty close to the Mk1 Guv. And at half the price....

firepaulmusic

The M Audio Super Crunch box I have for sale would do the job - £77 posted...

Dave_Mc

Wow, this thread took off a lot better than my previous ones ) Thanks for all the replies, everyone, I'll go through them now...

@matt1973 Thanks. I've never tried that one... I'm guessing it's pretty big and bulky like the original guvnor and bluesbreaker, though? That's kind of a deal-breaker unfortunately. Apart from anything else, if I could fit a massive pedal like that in I could probably fit two smaller pedals in, and I could just make do with what I already have. )

@smudge_lad Thanks. Knobs aren't a problem, just it's probably a bit more than I'd like to spend. I know the Wamplers have a good rep. And yeah the DLS has a good rep too.

@photek Thanks. I'll check out the Bearfoot too, but I suspect it's way over budget. )

@fretmeister Yeah I'd be a little wary that the M-drive might not have enough controls. Then again, the SCB only has a tone knob as well (though it does have a few extra controls over and above the AMT M-drive).

@Voxman Thanks. It's ages since I've tried them (and I checked out some clips not that long ago when I was first considering an MIAB to cover lower and higher gain Marshall tones), but I wouldn't be surprised by that. That's a good point about being able to get both for the price of the SCB, but as I said, I pretty much don't have room for both. ) The other concern is that I don't want to buy another mid-priced box, think it's pretty good, but also wonder if I could've maybe done better had I been willing to spend a bit more. Don't get me wrong- I'm normally the person saying that mid-priced (or even cheap) pedals can be great, and I'd be the first to admit that more expensive pedals aren't necessarily better... but it still gives me pause for thought. )

@mike_l Interesting, thanks for that. As I always say, I don't just want glowing reviews, sometimes a negative review tells you more.

@guitarcookie1 Thanks. I'm sure I tried one ages back but I can't remember much about it. I know they kind of have a cult following. What size is it, though? I have a vague recollection that it was pretty bulky, but I could be wrong.

@smudge_lad LOL, thanks.

@ICBM LOL ) Put the bright capacitor on a switch. At very least that'll outfox the TGP brigade who think that any different controls from the original mean it can't be a clone. (e.g. the oddfellow caveman drive where, despite numerous people in the very same thread pointing out that the "boost" footswitch was just the LP/HP mode of the OCD, you had several people saying it couldn't be an OCD clone because "it has a boost!")

And yeah that's the problem- I don't have room for two pedals. And not being much a fan of doing much tweaking, I'd rather be playing.

Apart from that, they'd probably be towards the top of my list. In fact before I made this thread, as I said, I'd been considering them, but the large amount of tweaking necessary kind of put me off.

@Skarloey I thought the BB2 was more of an OD?

And yeah LOL I already have a Marshally-style amp. This is to use with my other amps when I don't feel like unplugging (plus just for a bit of fun).

@JayGee Does it do the Marshall thing? I'd forgotten about Rothwell.

@gjonesy LOL. And thanks. I've tried enough to have a fair idea of what I like, but I haven't tried anywhere near them all. That's the big problem. And any of the more obscure ones (which is basically anything outside Boss, Marshall etc.) I can't try first. Not that I'm even sure trying first is of that much help since I really need to try them with my rig, which I can only do at home anyway...

@joeyowen Looks a bit big unfortunately

@fretmeister Thanks for the warning.

@smudge_lad + @photek Yeah I think that might just be solid state clipping. I've noticed that sustain-fizzling-out thing with a lot of pedals too.

@robinbowes LOL

@monquixote Thanks. Yeah I've heard some good things about the MXR... I listened to some clips (granted, that doesn't tell you much) and wasn't super-impressed, though.

@mr_air Thanks. As I said, the Emma is a bit big I think. The Ramble Effects one looks pretty cool, but I'm a bit wary of something which is described as being a plexi in a box, in case it doesn't get heavy enough for me. It may well do- but it's a bit of a risk.

@Phil_aka_Pip LOL

@jeztone2 Thanks. They all seem a bit big, though.

@mike_l Already have one ) It doesn't sound that Marshally to me, though, but maybe that's user error on my part...

@firepaulmusic LOL, thanks for the offer. I have a voucher for Andertons though so I'd be getting a new one for not much more.

Phew, I think that's everyone. )

xSkarloey

Hi Dave.

Yeah the BB2 is I spose more of an OD (in comparison with the others in Marshall's range) but it comfortably covers territory like AC/DC.

Mine's long gone but I used mine back in the days when I had an old Marshall transistor amp. Set to crunch on that and mix in the BB and it fills the sound out beautifully.

JayGee

Dave_Mc said:

@JayGee Does it do the Marshall thing? I'd forgotten about Rothwell.

http://youtu.be/ntepQvucDfY

With a Mesa 5:25 and a PRS Mira it's pretty much Angus in a box and covers a pretty impressive range either side of that gain-wise with a remarkable amount of tonal flexibility for a simple 3 knob box. The other guitarist in my band has a JMP and he was amazed by my Hellbender :-)

guitarcookie1

The Zoom is a bit wider than a Boss pedal but not as tall. Not thought of it as a big pedal..

Voxman

I know this is off topic but when you post how do you link poster names like @voxman, @fretmeister etc into a post to show who you are responding to?

Dave_Mc

@Skarloey Thanks. I'd say AC/DC is probably about where I want the pedal to start off, not end up )

@JayGee Thanks, I'll check the video.

@guitarcookie1 That's probably true but I'm cutting it pretty fine already. I'm not even sure I could squeeze a Boss pedal into the space I have. )

@Voxman I just copy and paste the name and manually stick "@" in front. It's a bit annoying, though, there's probably a far easier way to do it. )

ChrisMusic

Hey Dave_Mc & @Voxman, you can just type the @name in and the forum software should recognise the @ and try to notify "name".  Occasionally it doesn't register properly, but if you hover over the name you will soon see if it is an active link to an active member or just a piece of normal text.  Make sure there is no space between @ and the "name".

You don't need to notify people in their own threads, as they automatically get notified of new contributions anyway.  I have noticed that I often don't get notifications from @ , so the software does occasionally have an off day.

The reason I normally copy and paste (using command+alt+shift+v to keep formatting), is because there are some odd user names, and it saves making typos, and wrong name will still look like a valid link, but go nowhere.

HTH.

therose789

I use a catlinbread DLS mk1 for those kind of tones, sounds great. I don't know how different the mk3 sounds but i wouldn't imagine its too far from the mk1 

Voxman

@Dave_Mc and @ChrisMusic thanks for clarifying that.  

Just plugged in my Marshall JH1 again as I hadn't heard it for a while and thought it sounded great (and its a good pedal)...but when I put it side by side with my Guvn'r2 I remembered why I kept the latter in my pedalboard. The JH1 has a bit more (but different sounding) gain and possibly a touch more bottom end, and in OD mode you can dial it right down for a nicer 'breakup' than the Guvn'r gives at very low gain settings (but then I have a Tubescreamer clone in my pedalboard for overdrive anyway).  But when I crank up the Guvn'r 2 it's a much more open classic Marshall tone and feel, as previously mentioned - the JH1 sounds a bit kind of 'nasal' by comparison - but oddly you only realise it when A/B'ing both side by side & then it kind of hits you in the face if you know what I mean.  

I tried to see if I could get the GV2 tones from the JH1 by dialling in lower gain both in OD and distortion mode, but' they are very different sounding distortions and it's not just that the distortions are 'a bit more' in the JH1.   

If I want a more 'Hot' modded Marshall tone I can kick in my TS clone with the GV2 which sounds really good and is more pleasing than when I use the TS with the JH1.  And rather than do the C22 mod, because I have a Boss GE-7 EQ in my pedalboard, I can kick in the EQ to raise up the top end if I need it anyway. 

mike_l

@Dave_Mc ; Coda have a used Jackhammer for £25 if that's of interest....

 

(I already have 2....)

Voxman

Skarloey said:

Hi Dave.

Yeah the BB2 is I spose more of an OD (in comparison with the others in Marshall's range) but it comfortably covers territory like AC/DC.

Mine's long gone but I used mine back in the days when I had an old Marshall transistor amp. Set to crunch on that and mix in the BB and it fills the sound out beautifully.

I have a BB2 and again its back in its box. It's fairly dark sounding and my Behringer T0800 (TS clone) is a much nicer and more transparent overdrive. The Boost is useful but it does colour the tone.  I have a BBE Boosta Grand that is way better for clean boost.  

But another excellent pedal that's like a JTM45/JCM800 in a Box is the ZVex Box of Rock.  It's pretty expensive, but sounds absolutely superb and so much like a big Marshall valve amp its uncanny.  Plus it has a built in boost that makes it sound massive.  I think its the best 'Marshall' crunch pedal I've ever heard with gorgeous harmonic overtones and I would love to have one myself.  Check out the vid to hear what I mean (and listen to the comparison with a real Marshall - can you hear any real difference?) 

ThePrettyDamned

mike_l;417636" said:

@Dave_Mc  Coda have a used Jackhammer for £25 if that's of interest....

 

(I already have 2....)

That's a stupid bargain.

If I don't win the pedals I'm bidding on today, I'll have that. Thanks for the heads up

mike_l

Go for it, they is excellent little pedals. (Mine cost £25 each)