Marshall GV-2 Guv'nor Plus

Very crunchy, but not in a heavy, overdone way like maybe you'd get from other similar, more full on pedals. I'm actually a Bassist, I bought this pedal after hearing what Timmy C from Rage Against the Machine can do with his. If you do happen to be a bassist reading this, don't worry about the pedal sucking the life out of your tone because it just doesn't. I consider myself quite picky with gear, and I've played EHX's Big Muff, Ibanez's Phat-Hed, and the Boss ODB-3. I prefer this over all of them.

I run mine like so:- Fender Jazz >> Guv'nor Plus >> EHX Q-Tron, Marshall Bass/Valve State 150 (looking to get a EHX Bass Microsynth and a EHX Black Finger compressor soon). If you mix it with the Q-Tron you can get some interesting fuzzy funked up type sounds.

I'd say it was as well built as any Boss pedal, and it's well protected. It's quite heavy as well.

Excellent little pedal at exceptional price.

The beautiful thing bout soundscaping with this little tank is that it has knobs for all important functions to make a blues or rock sound. This makes it easy, and more important FUN to use.

I bought this one from a friend of mine, I don't have a manual for the pedal. But I don't care cause everything speakes for itself, I suppose.

This pedal was said to give a somewhat JCM-800 like sound. Now I am a proud owner of a JCM-800 so I was somewhat sceptic about the Guvnor.
The reason I bought it was for playing at home and sometimes on stage (when its a fast gig with amps already on stage: no point in warming up my beloved jcm!).
At home I use a simple Marhall 50w combo (w/ celestions)and I only use the clean channel. I use a Boss GT-3 for my effects and the Guvnor for overdrive.
When using my JCM-800 I first use the GT-3 and than the Guvnor as a solo booster (w/ a light gain).

I can say that the Guvnor really gives a JCM-800 like overdrive. OK the real thing is bit different, you don't care about that when you're playing at home.
When I mix the gain channel of my JCM-800 with the gain from the Guvnor I recognise a bit of the GNR Use Your Illusion-sound.

It is really sturdy and strong. No friggin plastic shit like the crap from ZOOM, this is one solid mf!
I never had any trouble with it so far, I trust it enough to gig without a backup.

Never dealt with it (it's THAT good).

Right now I play mainly in a rockband, which sounds a bit like Velvet Revolver or Guns n Roses. The Guvnor really allows me to have a almost nostalgic sound like the old days (the GOOD ones) of rockmusic.
I have been playing for over 12 years.

My gear:
Two Les Pauls (goldtop '56 -yep!- & studio), Mex stratocaster, Boss GT-3, Guvnor, Marhshall JCM-800 stack.

I guess I'd buy a new Guvnor if it were stolen, cause its a useful pedal.
I compared it with the Bluesbraker 2 pedal because I was searching for a tuby, bluesy overdrive pedal. I bought the guvnor because it has more knobs!

Very easy to use the double potis work fine.

From softer Blues to Rock or High gain Hardrock, its all possible, you can get some scooped sounds too but this one is a Rocker and no Banger ;-)
Bypass, so its no tone sucker when off,
like all overdrives there is a hummmm starting gain position 3,
but in life situations it dont matter,

Gibson Paula , Us Strat, Jcm 60 practise Amp, MkII 100Watt Tube top from the 70`for live gigs in one or two 4x12 Cabs.
Holy Grail, Digidelay, Odrs, Guvnor, Hyper Lead...is my basic set up, all you need ;-)
The Guvernor will always stand on my board, he never leave me in concerts or sessions and I testet a lot of Overdrives.
I want never leave the house without the Guvnor 2.
Best Hardrock pedal ever.

But first try and then buy.

He want survive me

Never deal ?

I play since 1990, from Hendrix to Marley, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Machine Head and back to Soundgarden , Gary Moore and Miles Davis.

I realy like the tone and sure I would buy the same if i must !

Many Bedals on my board changed in time but not This one.

Works also good with all AC Adapters i Have.

Easy to use. Anyone with half abrain and an ear for tone can work this pedal.
The deep knob is cool. Adds nice bass lowend and low mid sounds to your tone.
It isn't the original Gov'Nor pedal tone. But really is a great sounding pedal.

I play all LesPauls from 1970 customs to 2002 Classic reissues. My setup is as follows.
Guitar - Govnor - Plexi Head. It doesn't get any simpler. I sometimes add a EQ pedal or a WAH WAH or a Delay of some kind. But I am not really an effects person.
I use a 50watt and a 100watt plexi. This pedal is not noisy at all. Very efficiant and sounds amazing. Think Gary Moore and THIN LIZZY, to AC/DC, to ZZTOP,....the list goes on and on.
I am not big into modern gain. (though this pedal will get that) I am more of a old school classic rock and 80's Big Hair shredder rock. This pedal delivers. You really have to judge yourself. But the pedal is worth every penny I spent on it. I would buy another one.

Very, Very, Dependable. Road worthy, studio worthy. I have had it since 1999...Have gigged all over the place with it. Never a problem. I do worry about the knobs breaking. So being careful on that is a must. But all in all. Built to be used all the time. A pedal that can be counted on....My opinion. I would gig without a backup. Worry free!

Marshall is always friendly. They have great advice and are willing to help out in any way they can. There sound is quality and forever. There customer support is the same.

Like I said. I play everything from Classic Rock to BigHair 80's shredder stuff. I love the pedal. It deliveres awesomer tone. I have been playing guitar for 12+ years. If it were stolen. I would buy another one. Maybe two. LOL! I own a Mesa Boogie Mark IV Combo with two matching Thiele 1x12 cabinets. 50watt plexi and a 100 watt plexi w/matching Marshall cabinets. Celestions of course. I love the versatility of the Gov'nor pedal. Inspiring and fun to play. All kinds of sounds. I did compare it to a few other pedals...BOSS, Route66, TS-9 and a Tube Screamer. All the pedals were great. But I just preferred the Gov'nor. It looks killer too.
I do wish it had a boost on it. But it is not needed if you can master using your guitars volume knob. Set pedal and volume knob for rhythm...then crank up the guitar for leads.
I used this setup when my band played in Minneapolis at the HardRock Cafe. We played for three record companies and got really great reviews. Give the pedal a try. I Don't know how it works with other amps...But with a Plexi...They were made for each other. Again this is my own opinion.

no more difficult to use than any other distortion pedal, i like the fact that it has four eq parameters. deep control is very useful.

Sounds good with the gain cranked all the way up, excellent for solos. with the gain anywhere below halfway it sounds pretty weak which is why i exchanged it for the BB2 bluesbreaker that sounds amazing in this area. Admittedly my criticism of this pedal may be unique to my setup which is:
Fender Standard American Strat with Humbucker pickups > Dunlop crybaby wah > Marshall BB2 Blusbreaker > Ibanez PH7 Phaser > Boss TR2 Tremolo > DOD FX68 Stereo Chorus > Line 6 Echo Park > Marshall MG50 DFX

Never had any problems with it. I used to use it without a backup.

No experience

I mainly play alternative/psychadelic rock and occasionally blues and classic rock. This pedal is fantastic for searing solo work but where it falls short is when you want to back off the gain for a bluesy/just breaking up type overdrive. for that i'll give it a 7.

Simple enough. Gain, 4 band eq, Volume level.

This is my 3rd marshall pedal in a chain, Have their compressor and chorus pedal also. Use a morley wah volume first> then an old roland sustainer> Marshall compressor>Gov2>chorus stereo out One side to a Morley jd10> to an old sun concert lead w/2x10. the other side to a marshall vst100 using a 1960 4x12 cab w/75w celestions I have rack gear in its loop for echo, flange you name it. I'm used to the marshall sound and this littel brick is just what I needed for the chain to put in front of the chorus. Having 3 channels in the marshall was fine but now I can give both amps the same lead sound without having to step on multiple buttons during leads. I do alot of recording in my studio and have specific needs to taylor my sounds. Think this might be good in my stripped down pedalboard too. I get alot of calls to go jam at parts and such, 3 or four pedals is plenty for this. Like to be able to haul my stuff in in one trip to the car eventually. Less to pack up too. Those multi effect boxes really suck, I hate digital pot controlls. Too destracting when your'e playing. Most of my stuff is so dynamic I gave up with presets long ago. I have the ability to use 9 different overdrives and distortion in my big rig and go to them by instinct as theyre needed. I can use this baby by itself if or in combination.

Its a brick, last you many years.

dont think Ill ever need it.

I play with sustain that vibrates my guitar when its turned up to lead volume to sustain notes harmonically through the guitar body. like an ebow. The frequency responce of this pedal is prefect for this. If I'm doing a recording session I need a sound that will match the FQ responce of say an SM57. This puppy nails it to a T. Playing live alot of times I will adjust my sound so it doesnt clash with another player, This box again does the trick. I owned MXRs and Tube screamers when they first came out. Eventually gave them away because of theyr'e harmonics and touch responce sucked. They all have the same diode clipping someplace in theyre circuit. This pedal is way better and much more touch sensitive/musical. Also when you crank it up it doesn't make you cringe like someone scraping a blackboard. Cant belive how a popular those tube screamer and boss stuff are now. Then again I've played professional most of my life and get to look over and see and hear what others use.

Takes about 10 seconds to figure out those knobs, but once you do, it's VERY easy to dial-in.

I use a 2001 American strat with a maple neck. I've only been playing about 5 years, so my first amp was pretty pathetic: Marshall MG15MS(or something) microstack. I'm not even sure if it's 2x8 or 2x10. Anyways, the amp's distortion was worthless to say the least. I got a KORG Ax1500G to experiment with effects and things (knowing full well that effects processors are worthless). And after all the tinkering around I ended up using the $300 korg as nothing more than a compression emulator. I would run Guitar>Guv'nor2>Korg(as a compressor)>Amp. This ended up being my sound for about 4 years. The Marshall was nothing to brag about, but it sounded "good." I got compliments from time to time as I would jam with lots of practiced guitarrists.

However, once I got my first tubed amp (Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, all stock), things changed dramatically. As in many reviews, the HRDx's drive leaves something to be desired. Out of boredom, I ran Guitar>Guv'nor>HRDx, left the amp on the clean channel, volume at 4 (which is LOUD on a un-modified HRDx), and set the Guv'nor to full gain, half volume, and ALL Guv'nor EQ controls at 12 o'clock (except for mid, which was at 10 o'clock). I clicked it on and this pedal tore the paint off the walls. It's no Marshall tubed amp, but it has one sweet, smooth, crunchy tone. And to describe the type of tone, I would say Angus Young--all the way. Also, with simply turning the gain down to half or a little below half, it gives an amazingly warm, subtle blues/rock tone (depending on what pickup toggle I'm using) that makes me want to just sit and solo, pick, or strum for hours. Plus, it's true bypass! When I want to kick it off for my amps astounding clean tone, it's a simple *click* with no $50 modding to worry about. With a nod to the guy below me; this pedal depends ALOT on the amp you're using. Crank that volume knob on the pedal AND on your amp, and you'll get some mean, sweet tones.

Also, when playing something with decent humbucker, one could easily achieve a massive range of classic humbucker tones. Metallica, Sabbath, Page, just to name a few.

I'll give it a 4 for sound quality on a solidstate amp
10 on a tubed amp.

I've had this pedal for 4 years now, bought it new. I've dropped it down a flight of concrete stairs. It's so solid and heavy it feels like depleted uranium or something. However, to quote someone on down the list, I'll add the line, "I can imagine something very horrible happening to those knobs, though."

Not really applicable here.

My first instinct is to rate it a 10 overall, but when plugged into a worthless solidstate/transistor/digital amp, the pedal is equally worthless. So I'll give it a healthy average between the two. If it were stolen, I would immediately replace it. I'm considering getting another one just to keep from having to stop and change the gain/eq/volume on the pedal to play backing/lead guitar. A friend of mine enjoyed it so much, he bought the same pedal/amp combo after hearing mine.

Easy to use. Six knobs in total, each of which has it's clear and obvious function. I like the 'Deep' feature of this pedal, since it adds a kind of 'stack-like' depth to the sound. I acually have it cranked all the way up all the time, since it really improves the sound quality. All in all quite easy to use and very versatile once you know how to tweak it.

I own a Fender Am. Strat and a Dean EVO Special Select. The strat I use only for clean and mild blues sounds, so I use this pedal only in combination with the EVO (which is a Les Paul-like guitar).
I bought this pedal to improve the ghastly distortion sounds of my Marshall MG 50 DFX amp. I regret buying it for that purpose, since it doesn't drastically improve the sound. This pedal seems to be quite picky about its amps, as a matter of fact. I have used it on a number tube amps. It sounded better on my friend's Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, but it sounded terrific on an ENGL Screamer 50 combo. It led me to the conclude this pedal's main function is to diversify the range of distortions on an already good amp.

So, what is it like soundwise? On my Marshall transistor amp, not very impressive. I have to turn the treble all the way up and the bass all the way down to prevent it from becoming horribly muddy. I also have a Boss DS-1 which can produce a much 'sharper', more defined sound. The pedal seems to sound okay at low volumes, but if you push it even a millimeter too far it sounds cheap and transistor-y. You get the picture.

It wasn't until I used this pedal on an ENGL Screamer 50 till I realised the Guv'nor was actually one damn good thing! I unfortunately didn't have much time to experiment with it, but it sounded better than the Screamer's already good distortion tones (or 'different' - some people would prefer that more gritty type of drive). I got some fantastic AC/DC-like sounds, as well as a nice bluesrock 'growl'. I love that characteristic Marshall crunch, and it definitely met my expectations.
Since trying it with the ENGL I haven't used it much, except on a friend's Hot Rod Deluxe. It sounds okay with that - nothing special, but not bad either. At least better than standard Hot Rod drive!

Definitely looks well-built. No problem yet, but I'm generally careful with my gear, and treat even my tank-like Boss pedals with more care than is neccesary. Haven't really had it long enough or put it through enough abuse to really determine its reliability.

Haven't needed to deal with them.

My playing styles, like most here, are rock and blues. I'm actually more of an acoustic guitarist - I've been playing the electric for less than a year. I am very picky about my sounds, and it's taken me ages to find some acceptable gear. Until I can afford a decent tube amp, the Guv'nor is just collecting dust. I even considered trading it for a Boss DS-1, but eventually bought the DS-1 additionally, hoping the Guv'nor would be good for a future investment. I'm still glad I made that decision. As I mentioned: it doesn't improve the sound of a bad amp, BUT if used on a good amp, this things sings!

I Liked the pedal because it was very easy to use. Firstly, the pedal is small enough not to get in the way, yet the control switch on the pedal is easy to step onto, and it is designed to that you do not accidentally step onto the control knobs at the top.
Also, the pedal is extremely robust, and will take a lot of wear and tear from everyday use.
It is easy to get a good sound out of the pedal, but the control knobs can, at first, be a bit confusing, with the 'Deep' and 'mid' tone controls being located 'within' the 'bass' and 'treble' tone controls. However, it does not take long to work out how to get a wide variation of sounds.

The sound quality on the GV-2 pedal is quite exceptionnal. It also does not take a top-of-the-range amp or guitar to maximise the effects on the pedal. I am simply using a Kustom 30 watt amp, and an epiphone SG. Even with this simple set-up, the pedal sounds brilliant, and i especially like the 'deep' setting on the pedal, which, when mixed with high 'gain' and low 'mid', can give a deep grunge sound to rival that of Nirvana.

I have, so far, found the pedal quite reliable, with no major faults, and it is easy to set-up and use in conjunction with other pedals. If i have one critism in this area, the battery life seems to be quite low, with a single 9 volt battery giving you approximately 6 hours hours of battery life. If you accidentally leave it on, you can get through battery's very quickly. It is advisable to buy a 9 volt power adapter at the same time, as it does not come with one included.

I chose this pedal mainly because i wanted to get a good grunge and metal sound. I definitely got this, and the pedal was even better than i had expected. Marshall claim that it is 'like adding another amp to your rig', which i would say is almost completely true. I bought this pedal for #40, and, to me, that seems like a very good price for a pedal that acts like another amp!
THe main features that i like about the pedal are the solid design and structure along with the great sound that i managed to achieve. I have used this in a few small scale gigs and it never fails to impress.

Easy to use. Just experiment a bit to find your sound.

This is where I am impressed. I have used quite a few
overdrive/distortion pedals over the years and never found one I was as satisfied with. I usually use tube amps and need pedals for lower volume distortion, since I prefer power tube distortion over preamp distortion. While this doesn't have genuine tube distortion characteristics, it can make a tube amp sound pretty darn good. I normally use a compression unit with it to give it a bit of a dampening effect. I take this along with me as ' back up ' distortion when driving my tubes would be too loud. The distortion is very Marshall like even through my Fender/Peavey combo amps. There is a good range of tonal qualities. I haven't experimented with the heavier sounds much, I play mainly blues and classic rock, but I feel you could get a fairly good bottom end out if it, with the right amp setup.

It seems to be very solidly built, haven't had any problems.

I have never had any customer service issues with Marshall, don't know how they respond.

I play mainly blues/classic rock. While this unit is geared more for rock in my opinion, it can be adapted for the blues. There may be better blues units available though, but this works for me especially as a backup. As with all analog pedals that I have had, it lacks the spongey feeling of tube distortion. It also has more gain available that you would normally use in blues unless you are into the Gary Moore style of blues. I would buy another if something happened to this one unless I found something else better. I wish it had locking controls like the tone lock system on some of the Ibanez pedals, I adjust my equipment precisely and notice any variation. Unlocked control knobs can be accidently changed. I have been playing almost 40yrs now, have heard quite a number of overdrive/distortion pedals. This one is good.