Marshall Guv'nor

A simple pedal can't be difficult to use, can it? This one deserves a 10 because the EQ is very well voiced and makes it very easy to find the sound you're searching. It features DC in, and a loop jack, for use as a master switch for a whole pedal chain, very nice...

I'm using a Fender Stratocaster and a Marshall 100 Watt head with a 2x12 celestion equipped cabinet. It's not noisy at all.
The sound quality is really amazing, you can get any sound out of it, except heavy metal (who cares). For blues, rock and hard rock, I think this is the best pedal there is. It's really very versatile, from bluesy crunch to hard rock distortion. It also adds a lot of sustain to your sound.

Made in the 80's and still rocking. Steel case, solid state, DC jack. It's bullet-proof.

It's long discontinued, don't think you'll get any support, but the circuitboard is very simple, I think anyone can fix it if broken.

Best pedal I've heard. I would definitely buy it again, I'm thinking of buying another one just in case, but in my (small) country it's not that simple to find one of these old boxes.

I use this one mostly together with synthesizers (always connected to my clavia nord lead and korg ms2000).. but also with a nice fender. Connected it directly to my ADAT.. so i use virtual wires to connect it differently for every tune i make.

I really love this box! Think i'm gonna go get the GV2 too. + maybe the jackhammer to get some more dist. The synthesizers i connect it to sounds really agressive before i plug them in, but it doesn't sound like they really mean it. With the gv i hear that they REALLY mean it. I guess that's the difference between bad DSP-distortion and real analog distortion.
The only "negative" things is that there isn't any memory on it.. but for that price + it's real analog + i guess it's not made for this kind of studio work.. so i didn't expect it.
Another thing is that i think it acts more like a cruel overdrive, and not so much like a real distbox. It really can dist.. but anyway. I guess that's what diff it from the marshall jackhammer.

The sound of this thing is now a part of the main characteristics in my music.

It's very reliable.. i'm almost sure i can jump on it a couple of times without it even noticing it.

I bought it used, so I don't have a manual. Setting it up is easy though.

I use it with an Epi Les Paul Classic Birdseye loaded with Seymour Duncans. The Guv'nor is placed before my H&K Tubeman which I use to get some tubesounds out of my Dynacord DC120 solid state combo. I bought it because I was looking for the "Still got the blues" Gary Moore sound and I found what I was looking for! But the Guv can do a lot more. There's Metallica in there and I heard some Santana also! For SRV I prefer my Tubescreamer or Tubeman but most of the time I use the Guv. I really really love this sound.

You'll need a sledgehammer to break it but gigging without a backup? Never..!!

Never dealt with em.

I've been looking for this sound for years. I read about the Guv'nor on the Gary Moore website and decided to try it. I found the original 80's model on the internet and bought it immediately. If this one breaks down I'll buy it again. Maybe I'll buy one just in case...

*** This i just an update from my last review - a few reviews down.
Recently my pedal went a bit odd. If i plug into my amp using the 'output' socket on the pedal i get a fuzzy-buzzy and very quiet signal - not the cool distortion i was used to. if i plug through the loop socket it works fine BUT if i turn the pedal off it cuts the signal (thats what its supposed to do after all) so at the moment, on stage the pedal is useless to me. I hope i can get it fixed - because the newer versions dont stand up to the sound of this one. I'll Keep you posted.

I own the old version with 5 knobs, which i bought new 1 months ago (NOS).
Very esay to use, everything is written on it. 5 knobs, 1 effect loop, ac adaptator ... comes with a manual (but do you really need one ?).
Here's my setup: Fender American Tele std. -> Boss dd3 -> ProCo Turbo Rat -> Guv'Nor -> Phase 90 -> Fender HRD.

Woooooooow very nice sound !!!
This thing totally change the sound of my Fender ! Really amazing.
I can handle all the Marshall sounds: crunch, soft od. or high gain distortion. I mainly use it for crunch/mid dist. (thinks Lift To Experience sound ... Josh uses one).
Works well with my others pedals except the Phase 90: the Phase boots the volume which is very annoying.

Seems very reliable ...

?

I mainly play rock/alternatif/experimantal music and it delivers the sound i was looking for. Now i have all the kinds of sound i need: clean with the Fender, crunch with the Guv and wall of fuzz with the Rat.
I have THE Marshall sound for a very cheap price (yeah i know, i can't beat a true Marshall, but for the price the sound is really amazing, believe me).
If it were stolen humm ... if i had the money i would buy a true Marshall (JTM45 2X12 combo) but if i had not YES i would try to find another one !!
Nothing wrong to say about it !!

Well it is a stomp box. Plug it in adjust the knobs till you get the sound you like.

The sound is the best I've ever heard come from a distortion pedal! The thing that amazes me the most is how it will make anything you play through sound simular to a marshall. Now a days amp modeling is whats hot and that is what this pedal does. It really models the MarsaLL sound and it has been around since the 80's. I know thats when I got mine!

Again as I mentioned before I bought mine in the 80's and it has taken a beating. it still works great!

Overall it rocks!! the best damn distortion pedal in the world as far as I'm concerned

This is da old, old ooooooold 5 knob version which is a little flat black box a bit like a rat but betrtrer... ish.
It sounds good it has a nice tone with a lot of treble bite.
it goes GAIN, BASS, MID, HIGH, LEVEL. I think.
very solid constructionabilitationality... ish.

I use an epiphone SG copy and a westone thunder 1A which both give out a good range of tones so I tend to use the guv'nor for lots and lots (and a few more) sounds.

It aint noisy unless you mean the high gain sounds that it puts out,
cos they are noisy!

If you turn the bass up too much the treble and high mids get drowned a bit so keep it at 12 o clock.

If you want to use it, before a high distortion effect like a fuzz, as a boost I would use it like this:

0-5 10 10 0 10
GAIN BASS MID HIGH LEVEL

as a thrashy crunch power chord type of thingy:

10 6-10 0-4 6-10 ?
GAIN BASS MID HIGH LEVEL

It sounds raw and rough but it aint for any smooth kind of sweet distortion, the sound has a jagged edge.

I dont know of many (or any!) artists who use this pedal and i like to create my own kind of sounds so its up to you to decide who it sounds like...

its solid like a small black brick. (is that a term for something else? if it is i didn't mean it!)

n/a... ish.

I play funky punky rock shit.
I am 14 and ive been playing since 8 so i am a slight hendriaxic maniac when it comes to fuzz + wah.

I love the fact that it is solid and stompable.
It helps me man. It helps me.

Hey i gotta finish writing this track im doind called spazquotch or something so bye i'll leave you with the number 8... ish.

This is the original model, 5 knobs, very easy to get a very good sound. Simple as that.
I never give tens for anything though, so it can have a nice round 9.

Great distortion sounds to be had, from mild to brutal, this bad boy's got it all.
I use this with a BOSS CE-3 Chorus a Colorsound Wah-Fuzz-Swell, Rocktek Phaser, and play an Epi Les Paul Standard, and I've got to say the only noise I ever seem to get is from the BOSS, a common trait,or so I understand.
Lots of good rock tones to be had, Crowes, Zep, blah blah blah.
It's truly golden.
Only distortion pedal I've ever had, and it's the only one that I will ever have, breakages permitting!
Another tasty 9 for the Guv.

Built like an air raid shelter, you'll only break this if your feet are size 16 and made of lead lined granite.
Used it many a time without back up, but I will try and find another just in case the gremlins start to mess with the one I have now.
Not the prettiest of pedals (compared to it's newer, flimsier, aesthetically pleasing counterpart), but then most things that are ugly are good.
Just look at Ozzy.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....9?

Never dealt with 'em.

I play rock, taking influences from Skynyrd and Free through to Gomez, the Crowes and Supergrass. A broad mix of styles calls for an accomodating selection of FX, of which, the Marshall Guv'nor is the daddy.
Been playing 10 years, only distortion I've ever had, will definitely get another whilst I still can, even if I do have to search high and low. If this this was nicked or decided to stop working and I couldn't get hold of another, I'd be gutted, it's truly sweet.
Basically, I got this pedal for nish all, without even knowing what it sounded like, and I'm very, very pleased that I did.
Marvellous stuff.
9........
Naaaaaaaaaaaah, have a ten, you've earned it.

Easy, see other reviews.

This is my second "Mk 1" Guvnors (Black finish, steel-cased), having recently discovered a small store with some NOS Guvnors, Drivemasters and Bluesbreakers in stock!!!!. Since I bought the original in 1993, my tastes have matured and I find them a little "fizzy" when compared to my fave Twin Reverb drive sound. It relies on LED's to provide the clipping to a TLO72 chip, so now I have two, I may change these for germanium diodes to see if the harshness disappears. Overall, a good sound, but noisy like all such pedals at high volume.

I have a number of Marshall units, not one has let me down (including old amps!!)

Excellent, they recently sent me (free of charge) a couple of replacement footswitches for two of the other pedals that are quite loose.

Very good, but times move on and some of my other things have better sounds (Digitech RP2000, Zoom GM200, Benringer V-Amp, plus my beloved Fender, Marshall, Roland and Vox Amps)- it's still a classic and I'm tempted to get the others I have seen, as these are fetching very high prices secondhand in London Music shops.
I also have a Guvnor 2, Bluesbreeaker 2, Supevibe Chorus and they are all excellent (in fact, the GV2 sounds smoother that the original).

I do not own one of these pedals. However, at a gig last night through some crazy circumstances I ended up playing through another guy's rig - JCM900 (not a fantastic amp) and a pedal board including the Guv'nor. I was using a custom built guitar with 2 Dimarzio VV blues singles and a Dimarzio Tonezone 'bucker in the bridge postition. What amazed me about this pedal was the incredible articulation I was able to get with it. The gain was set at a moderate level, not screaming but at the same time it gave a fairly good distorted tone. I found that quick picking and in particular quick palm muted stuff was extremely clean, tight and focused and gave a beautiful sound, I dunno if punchy is the right word, but let me just say it was a delight to play and an unexpected surprise on a night when a lot of stuff was going wrong! So ah, yeah, that's that really. Check one out