Marshall Guv'nor

It's a distortion stompbox. Easy to use.

What the heck are all these people talking about? Fuzzy? Bland? Thin? Are you folks playing through the same pedal???

Mine was bought circa 1995-1996.

This is one of THE rock pedals of all time for me.

My set-up with the Guv is: SG into Guv'nor into clean Laney. The Guv'nor is set as follows: Bass @ 3 o'clock, Mids @ 9-10 o'clock, Treble @ 7-8 o'clock and Gain at about 8-9 o'clock.

CLASSIC 70s Marshall and humbucker bark! AC/DC, Montrose, Thin Lizzy, 70s era Alice Cooper, Zeppelin, Purple,... The list goes on. They're all in here.

I will agree that it doesn't seem to like single coil guitars. So if you plug your Strat/Tele in here, my guess is you won't like it.

It's all metal. It's lasted me 10 years. Sounds like new. Knobs don't crackle or nothing. Killer. This will still be kicking ass in my future grandson's rig when I'll have gone the way of the dodo.

I'll give it a 9/10 because it DOES prefer humbuckers, but hey... I got a FullDrive 2 for my Strat.

With the gain at about 8 o'clock I've even used this as a clean boost. Works fine, although there are probably better options for this purpose.

Gain halfway up till all the way up is rock territory. Even some old-school heavy metal (Maiden, Priest) is possible.

To me this is THE classic rock pedal to use with LP/SG type guitars.

Angus would be proud. Let there be rock! Let there be Guv'nor!

Super easy to use. And while we are at it: this pedal needs to be used in front of a TUBEAMP ! ;-)

Features are a 3 band eq, level and gain pots. The bypass is a bypass - not sure if "real" true, but opposite to a SD-1 it doesn`t color the sound when not in use. Also there`s one (stereo) jack which can be used as a loop (lets say when you just need your delay pedal when soloing thru the Guv'nor). Nice feature - tried it, but since my delays are in the loop I don`t use it.
Also a 9V DC jack of course . . .

Excellent - of course at higher gain settings there`s hiss - but which pedal doesn`t add hiss when it adds gain?

What I like the most about it is its mid character and that its possible to add a lot (but not too much) bottom end when soloing.

I`m using it mostly with a 1970 SuperBass for solos (thru a Marshall 1960A or a Diezel 2x12") or with my Diezel Einstein Proto Head. Axes are a 1976 LPC or a Schecter C1 BJ.

I set it with the Sb like this:
level - full
bass - noon
mids - 75%
treble - 30%
gain - noon

This way with a Lester Gary plays thru your Marshall ;-)

Compared to the (tube-amp "driver") 'standard' Boss SD-1 it does the same 80s attack thing, just a bit better, because
- no coloration when in bypass mode
- better eq-control possible
- more bottom end when "on" - if thats what you are looking for
- more reliable due to its built-style

Built like a tank. This pedal is full metal - so what could ever happen to it?

No idea

I`m playing hard rock a la Moore, Sykes, Lizzy and so on. Since 25+ years now thru Marshalls and Diezels with Les Pauls (or LP-ish guitars).
If it would brake or whatever it would be definitely replaced. My all time favourite when it comes to OD-pedals.

I am using this original Guvnor MK1 pedal with a Peavey Duel 2x12 6L6 valve amp straight into the clean channel. Couldnt be simpler to operate.

I was so excited about this pedal. I was expecting the ultimate Marshall in a box since guys like Gary Moore used it. Well in reality I found this is just a booster pedal. The distortion is bland and transistory with not that much gain available. Little character in the pedal. I guess the blandness lets a crunched up tube amp do its business with minimum colouration?

I wanted a beefy Marshall tone from the clean channel of my amp and this is not the pedal for it.

The Zoom Hyperlead knocks it for six in super high gain Marshall department. And the Marshall DriveMaster Mk1 has so much character like a real Plexi for blues and character rock tones (like early Van Halen), a touch more gain too.

Unless people are using this as a characterless booster I cant understand all the hype?

I got this unit used,no manual-but its an overdrive ... gain,bass,mids,treble and level.

sound quality is very good, early marshall jmp1-jcm800 tones came out fairly easy. nice clean up when rolling back vol. on guitar. I was a little dissappointed at first that it never got real hot, but thats not its purpose,and I have other things to get that. This unit is,however absolutely great for turning your fender tube amp into a marshall! My rig? 57 r.i. strat or epi sheraton w/ gibson PAFs> mr crybaby vol/wha>boss line selector>guvnor>dano daddy-o>mxr phase 90 (r28 mod)>dan-echo. #2 from line sel. goes either straight into vib/rev chann. of either 66 BF pro reverb,or A plush p1000s or to rp100 1st. #3 goes to tu-12 tuner. this rig really gets it for me.zep,VH,Black crows,JIMI,p-funk,cream,j.brown!

as they say like a brick

havent dealt w/ them

I play mostly bluesy rock, classic rock(early) funk,classic R&B,but really improvisational.NOT trying to sound like the record so much, but definite vintage tones,techniques. dont be looking for a modern sound (hi gain) w/ this. in those days,people w/ marshalls still used fuzzes,amp boosters,and distortion boxes in combination to get there sound. (R.Rhodes- dist+,Jimi- Fuzzface)This will give you either the stock marshall tone,or on lower sett. drive ur tube amp.Three band tone is crucial!! the switch kinda feels fragile,but all in all,I really dig the transparency,doesnt destroy guits. tone like a big muff,more natural than any boss unit,more gain than ts-9.ive been playing since 1978 and my first rig was BF champ,univox superfuzz,ross comp.(Iwish ikept them)

Couldn't be simpler really. Play with the levels on each dial until you get a sound you like.

I use a '72 thinline telecaster and a Les Paul Custom with a Marshall Valvestate 265 and the pedal sounds fantastic. I needed a distortion pedal which isn't too 'metally' for playing classic rock and this really fits the bill. If you want a good metal pedal try a Boss Metal Zone MT-2. I use a 9 volt battery so I haven't come across any hum others have experienced with an adaptor.

Haven't had it long - only a month but haven't had any problems and certainly seems sturdy enough. I've used it for gigging with no problems

Never had to deal with them so wouldn't know

I'm not an expert on guitar effects by any means. I just wanted a decent sounding distortion pedal suitable for classic rock and some blues. For this its ideal and for the price it seemed a lot cheaper than than its competitors - i.e Boss. It has genuine bypass capablilty and doesn't seem to weaken the guitar signal noticeably. I was really pleasantly surprised when I tried it for the first time. If you're wanting a pedal to play thrash, speed metal this probably isn't the one for you but for standard distortion/overdrive effects its excellent.

The two-in-one knobs for bass/depth and mid/treble are really annoying on stage. You'll be best off to find a good setting and never ever change it.

I play a Fender '52 reissued tele through a Fender '69 reissued Deluxe reverb (1st preamp Mullard nos, 2nd preamp Jan Phillips nos.)

This pedal has it's niche, but not for the price. It's more of a fuzz sound than a real marshall crunch, and is really really hard to get a good sound out of the pedal. It's a neverending knob adjustment. At low volume (< 30% on pedal volume setting), this thing is a a static fuzz box and sounds like poo. At higher volumes, it more usuable. Definitely my least favorite pedal on the board.

I used to own a marshall valvestate 60W amp. That distortion sounded like marshall.

It's as reliable as any marshall product.

If I started gigging again, I'd rather use a 2nd Ibanez TS-9 (modded to sound different than my currently modded TS-9). If the pedal was stolen, I'd try something else.

Really easy to get different sounds out of it. Superbly voiced EQ. The loop feature is also nice for a stomp box.

AMAZING. I used to play with a valvestate, after the years i refined my taste and now play with a Fender SF Princeton '69.

The pedal really excels with tube amps. Changing midrange settings, and playing with gain and level controls you really get versatile sound-wise.

I can get sounds from SRV, to GNR. Best pedal ever. Gain is also more than enough, when you turn the volume up and the tubes start overdriving you won't really need more than 75% gain.

It's a rock.

N/A

Best OD/Dist pedal ever, it does frome TS-like overdrive up to full distortion. It's more limited with ss amps, but it really adds tone-value to any rig!!! 100% recommended.

This is a simple mono in / mono out overdrive/distortion pedal with the standard knobs.

There is really nothing else that needs to be said in regards to "ease of use".

First and foremost let us get a few things straight here before we dive into the Marshall Guv'nor's review. Let us all keep in mind that this is a public forum review site and as such it attracts all sorts of players.

What may sounds "totally awesome" to a fourteen year old with a cheap Strat copy through a $50 Peavey amp will not likely generate the same degree of enthusiasm with a seasoned player with a better understanding of good tone.

Having cleared this up let us move right along to the Guv'nor pedal. This little devil is a fantastic overdrive/distortion pedal given the fact that it not only delivers a wide degree of distortion, from very mild overdrive (ala the Boss SD-1) all the way to a heavy "shred tone" that saw the light on countless 80's hard rock albums.

Better yet the pedals tonal variations are what really make it shine. After you have dialed in the right amount of distortion you are further able to tailor your tone with the standard bass, mid and treble knobs not to mention that superb "deep" knob that not only adds bass but also tighten the low end as well.

This can take you from a bright and vintage like Marshall growl to a high gain JCM 900 tone with that tight and refined bottom end.

A heavy and very well built (think Boss like build quality and weight) that has stood up to countless gigs without any failure.

Marshall is superb if you find the right rep. If you are not pleased with what you are handed, you are advised to seek someone else within the Marshall camp.

Overall a fantastic pedal that leaves many other basic overdrive pedals in the dust due to its great distortion flexibility not to mention tone tweaking as well.

As played through various vintage Fender and Marshall amps it performs like a charm. Though it really shines with my USA Strat it is just at home with my various humbucker equipped Jackson Firebird.

I cannot stress enough just how flexible this little pedal is!

If you can dial up a good tone on an amp, you should have no trouble. The knobs are set up like a amp: gain, bass, middle, treble, level. The pedal is set up just like a marshall. But I give it an 8 only because it takes a bit more figiting than with most pedals.

I am useing this with a Mesa-Boogie studio 22. I use it as a di for recording, and, with the gain all the way down as a acoustic preamp/di. Sometimes I will put it in frount of the amp, but, my favorate trick is to use it through the buffered effects loop of the boogie. You can get metal sounds out of it, but in my humble opinion, this isn't the best box for that. You can, however get great Hendrix, SRV, and Cream era Clapton sounds out of it no probelm. Its about as noisy as any other pedal. I like it.

Its old, proably twelve years old, no probelms so far.

Never dealt with them.

I have a couple of "favorates," this being one of them. If lost, I definatly would look on E-bay intill I found anouther.

Straight-up. 5 k-nobs. Amp goodness.

Holy smokes! Had one in the early 90's. I sold it. What was I smokin'? Now i gots a good job and nabbed a pair of these guys off eBay. Seriously... it's that good. Puts some mids back in your diet.

Well... my first one didn't break... then I sold it. I now gots one on my pedalboard for leads and one I drag to practice when I don't want to bring that stupid pedalboard. Who breaks pedals anyway? What are you doin'? Seriously... I'm guessing mine are from the early '90s... that's proof enough for me. Well, I don't throw my stuff either...

Nope. I mean I don't know... yeah that's my final answer.

The Guv! Who loves you? The Guv does. This is a good pedal! It don't sound like your amp (grammar) but it gives you what you need when what you need is not just your amp sound + distortion. It doesn't judge you either. Can you say that about your friends?