Marshall ShredMaster

IT HAS A GAIN,BASS,CONTOUR,TREBLE AND VOLUME KNOBS. IT IS KIND OF EASY TO USE BUT THE MOST PART IS THE CONTOUR KNOB THAT GIVES YOU THE MID RANGE. JUST CHOOSE HOW MUCH TREBLE,BASS AND VOLUMEN YOU WHANT THAN FULL WITH THE CONTOUR KNOB. I PURSHASE THIS AT EBAY SO I DONT HAVE A MANUAL. THERE IS A SITE WHERE IT GIVES YOU SOME SETTINGS AND I THINK IS CALLES MARSHALLARTS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT!! MY UNIT IS 100% ORIGINAL WITH NO UPGRADES!!!!!!!!!!

THE SOUDD IS FABULOUS.I USE IT LIKE THIS: VOX AC30TBX-SONGWORKS REVERB-DANELECTRO DTE 1-SOBBAT PB2(THE BEST NEW ANOLOG PHASER)-SMALL CLONE-BOSS TR2-DOD 440-VINTAGE RAT-DYNA COMP-ORIGINAL MARSHALL BLUESBREAKER PEDAL(F**KIN BADASS OVERDRIVE)-SHREDMASTER(PERSONALLY THE BEST SOUNDING DISTORTION UNIT)-FENDER PT10 TO MY BELOVED ASAT CLASSIC.THIS MONSTER IS NOT NOISY AT ALL!ALWAYS SOUNDS GREAT.I'VE USE DIFERENT DISTORTION PEDALD LIKE BOSS,DOD,VOX,IBANES AND OTHERS AND I MEAN ITS UNCOMPARABLE THIS THING IS AWESOME IF YOU LIKE THE BLUES,ROCK ALTERNATIVE,ROCK,ROCK N ROLL,POP AND OFF COURSE IF YOU HAVE MY EQUIPMENT AND MY STYLE. YOU CAN GET SHARYL CROW,RADIOHEAD,MUSE,SODA STEREO,GUSTAVO CERATI,ZEPPELIN,U2,CRANBERRIES, AND MANY MANY MORE TO MENTION. BEWARE THAT ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR OTHER EQUIPMENT TOO!!!

I THINK I CAN DEPEND ON IT. OVIOUSLY IT DEPENDS HOW WELL YOU TAKE CARE OF IT AND THE INNER PARTS ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE LIKE THE POTS,RESISTORS AND SWITCH. I DONT THINK IT ILL BREAK BECAUSE THE CASE IS STRONG AND LIKE I SAID BEFORE THE INNER PARTS ARE AVAILABLE SO NO WORRIES. ILL GIVE A 9 DEPENDABLE. WONT BREAK EASY...

NEVER DEALT WITH THEM TEK-NICALY BUT FOR INFO ONLY. JUST CALL KORG USA WHICH DEALS WITH VOX,KORG AND MARSHALL AND MAKE SURE YOU TALK TO JOE GILMARTIN, HE IS THE X-PERT AT KORG

I PLAY ROCK ALTERNATIVE,ROCK,BEATLES,AND MY ORIGINALS AND THIS GADGET IS AWESOME THAT IT MAKES ME WANNA CRY. VERY USEFULL.IF STOLEN OR LOST I WOULD REPLACE IT WITH THE SAME KIND! I LIKE THE FEATURE,SOUND AND STYLE...IT DOES HELP ME SHAPE MY MUSIK.IF YOU HAVE THE OPORTUNITY TO BUY IT TRY IT AND SEE ABOUT IT!! YOU'LL LIKE IT!

it's easy, you just have to understand the that the contour knob is a middle knob , just works in reverse when you turn it up it scoops the mids and when you turn it down you get them back.

i have tried so much stuff, and the only thing i dont like about this pedal is the fact that i only own one, and they dont make it any more, it's a bit funny and strange , for me it's the only distortion pedal that i can use, it's natrual and real sounding, you can't fake that, like a classic ts-9 sound , this is classic dark , fat marshall sound it's not very bright sounding, that is why i think strat players would love it , the shred will beef the single coils real nice.

ihave it for 3-4 years , no prob, so far.

dont know.

it's as close to perfect that i got , but i'm still tring new stuff all the time, only to go back to the shred!

I can get a wide range of sounds from this pedal. The magic is in the contour control.

I rotate various overdrive and distortion pedals in and out of my rig. This is one of my favorites. It puts a big smile on my face every time I put it back in the chain. My Marshall using friends are amazed at the sound that comes out of this little black box. Sounds decent through a solid state amp, but really shines through tube amps. I'm currently using a 1982 Ibanez AR-300 and 1996 Les Paul Studio through a Vox AC-15 (tube) and Fender Deluxe 90 (solid state).

Battery covers are easily lost, so beware. I have two of these and the contour control is a little flakey on one of them. Haven't A/B'd them to check for differences in sound. They are not as sturdy as
Boss pedals but are still much better than any plastics pedals out there.

Never needed any customer support.

If Jonny Greenwood let you play through his rig you still wouldn't sound like him because you don't have his fingers. Get this pedal because of what it can do for you, not because someone else is using it. Excellent for hard rock and heavy metal. Not recommended for blues. For me its a keeper.

Very easy to use. Gain, bass, contour, treble and volume. The contour knob makes wonders. Makes me get that crispy tube sound I have always wanted.

I have just bought my no.2 shredmaster, so now I own 2 of them. However, they don't sound the same. The gain knob on my new one is "dull" compared to my first shredmaster. The gain is too subtle in the first 3/4 of its range, and the last 1/4 is to massive. It's nothing like the first one. I bought it very cheap, so perhaps I'll let it go.... Have anyone else experienced similar problems? If you've got any tips to solve the problem please drop an email. I will only give it 6, whereas i would rate my first shredmaster 10.

I play bluesrock and I bought this one to replace my TS-9 as a subtle overdrive/booster for my first shredmaster. Play on fender start+ USA model through a 40w Traynor tube amp. I am far from sure that the Shredmaster will replace my TS9 reissue.

Can I depend on it? No, I'm not quite sure anylonger. Nothing ever broke on my shredmasters, but it doesn't seem reliable when they don't sound the same. I truly hope that my first shredmaster keeps its tone, cause it's the best damn overdrive pedal I have ever had! (And i have had MANY!) So perhaps if you bought a shredmaster and didn't like it ... - TRY ANOTHER ONE. All things consideret, they are pretty old those shredmasters so perhaps age is to blame for the difference in tone.

never dealt with marshall

It's very easy to use, providing the basic Bass and Treble controls, along with Marshall's own Contour control for middle freqs territory.

My setup: Yamaha Pacifica 604W -> Vox V847 true bypass modded wah -> Marshall Shredmaster -> Marshall Master Volume Lead 100W '76.
It's very warm, a real tube like tone. I can get sounds ranging from middle boosted heaven of hard/heavy of 80s to the Death's sound on "Human" album just by turning Contour to the far right, the mids get scooped and lows and highs emphasized.
In fact, I've played gigs on some crappy amps and this pedal gave me the best I could get from those amps.
For those who like razor sharp transistor sound, this is not a pedal for you.
It's more in the tube distorsion area soundwise, not harsh at all.

It was stolen in 1996. and I immediately got hold of another one, which serves me well to this day. Only thing that broke was the footswitch, I changed it and nothing else went wrong in any way.

Never dealt with them.

I play various forms of rock and metal. My favorite bands include Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Riot, Dream Theater, Rage, Blind Guardian. I play for 14 years, have many gigs behind me and I like to record something on my computer in my spare time. I compared it to:
- Ibanez Smashbox: this one was so harsh and trebly, that it still pierced my ears when I turned treble down to zero. Might be good for some dark amp, though. Also, it sounded more synthetic than Shred.

- Marshall Jackhammer: this alleged successor has nothing in common with Shred in my opinion. It's got more gain, additional middle control, an overdrive mode and ruined sound compared to Shred. Where in the world did that fatness and tubelike warmth go?!

- Boss Metal Zone: I consider this one to be the one of the most overrated stompboxes ever. Obviously the one who created it imagines that the sound of metal is just piercing highs and over the top amounts of gain, cause this is all that this pedal offers. The sound is grainy, awful little sucker.

I think I owe it to this pedal to leave a comment... I've been steered wrong by many a review in Harmony Central, mostly because everyone's version of good tone is different. But this pedal is still my favorite after 13 years! It is so easy to dial a great sound... the gain is smooth at any level, the tone controls work well, great bass if you need it, and the contour control is like a Marshall in a box! I've had it so long and relied on it above all other pedals, I don't recall if what the manual said. It is just the best all around distortion pedal I've ever come across... read on!

I play primarily blues fusion and archtop jazz... I use this pedal with a 335 dot RI, a 73 LP Custom, a 93 strat plus with Kinmans, a 52 RI tele and a custom strat (HSS) recently rebuilt by Mike Lull of Seattle. I have played this set up through either a Hot Rod Deville (Webers and JJ tubes) or a Peavey Classic 50 4x10 (JJ tubes). My amps aren't fantastic, but they have good, clean tone with decent head room, which is what this pedal has been a godsend for. Playing at rehearsal and small club volumes, I can't crank either amp up ( nor would I want to... neither has a great overdrive tone) so I have always needed a pedal to create a smooth overdrive at lower volumes. I have tried everything from Barber Burn Units to Fulltone Full Drives, to Maxon to Analog Man TS-9s to Zoom pedals, multi-effects boards (zoom, DG-Stomp, Digitech, Boss GT-6, etc. Nothing has come closer to giving me the reliably smooth overdriven tones that I hear in my head, and that I admire coming from guys like Holdsworth, Henderson, Ford, Landau, and the like. I don't think this pedal was aimed at my market, but set at 1/2 gain with the contour at 2 o'clock and the bass and treble full up and I can get closer to those tones (with a good set of tubes) than with any other pedal I've tried at low to medium volume. It really isn't as severe as some of the shred pedals out there, but has more body and gain than most TS-9 clones, as well as much better bottom end. Not completely silent, but not noisy, either. Has enough compression that any extra compression from another pedal WILL make it noisy and lose some of the dynamics of pick attack and harmonics. I have really tried to like some of the boutique pedals that cost 2 to 3 times as much, but they have not made me happy... to the contrary, they make me wonder what people are using them for, since they don't reproduce the sounds of most of the artists I admire. This mystery has led to my theory that there must be range of pedals that only sound good when they are going through a more powerful head with the power tubes cranking at higher volumes... in other words, in the great tone equation, there are probably some pedals that only shine under certain conditions, i.e. tubes that are already cranking and part of the mix. This one works great at ANY volume! Too bad they quit making it.

Never a problem in 13 years... sounds as good with batteries as it does with a wall wart. Good on Battery life, too! Have never had to rely on a backup, I simply take it for granted.

No need, so no experience. Makes me wonder how aware they are, since they discontinued it, though.

I play jazz and blues rock fusion ala Henderson, Holdsworth, Ford, Gambale, Landau, and eric Johnson, as well as archtop jazz ala Montgomery, Jim Hall, Peter Bernstein, Paul Bollenbock, etc. I love this thing for fusion and blues. Doesn't quite do the Scofield thing (Rat II?) and doesn't really take the place of a TS-9 (I'm using an Analogman Silver Mod... really great for Landau / Henderson types of blues tones). However, for classic rock tones, heavier blues tones (Cream, Gary Moore, Johnson) and fusion tones as described above, it is more versatile and toneful than anything else I have ever tried. Granted I haven't tried EVERYTHING out there, but I have certainly sampled the mainstream fare from Boss and cohorts, and a handful of boutique pedals, so my opinion is based on a fair amount of experience. I have played professionally off and on for nearly 30 years, but usually part-time, mostly in small jazz groups and cover bands. I wish I'd had this pedal way back when, when the only amps that sounded good were marshall half stacks that were still too loud for most club gigs (middle 70's). I would have to replace it if I lost it, and probably should buy another, but it has never failed me, and unless stolen, will probably stay with me until digital technology catches up to good tone. Again, big mistake on Marshall's part, to discontinue this one. Makes it all that much more special, but collector's items make me nervous. I'd rather be in love with something that was easy to replace! If you find one, pick it up, then try these settings and you will fall in love with it: gain - 1 to 3 o'clock; bass - full; contour - 2 to 4 o'clock'; treble, 2 o'clock to full; volume to taste, usually has to be at 12 o'clock or greater to match your clean volume. Good luck finding one!

5 pots...not so easy to get sound you want but it's worth of trying...

what a SWEEEEEET sound...my god....I thought that my RAT is the only one for me but now I have two favourite distortion pedals...

my setup: customized jagmaster->marshall ed1 compressor->shredmaster->RAT2->superfuzz

this is completely opposide distortion to RAT2...RAT is hard distorted while shred is sweeeet, tubelike distortion...I love'm both..

I play alternative rock, any kind...shred is greath for any kind of distorted guitar music , except for fuzz guitar sounds and nu-metal.
It's great for full chords.

I read below somebody gave an example of shred sound in radiohead songs...I listened to these songs closely before getting shredmaster...It is really good sample of shread sound...radiohead "the bands" and "just", and I would even say "Creep"

this pedal is best for at the drive-in sound or old garage rock sound such as rebel of David Bowie (garage rock..:) lol) ..

hard metall case...marshall metall switch...wery reliable

?

I found my holy grail pedal...I'm so happy with it..
I think it will become my number one distortion over RAT...
I tried many distortion pedals bu this is the ONE..with shred and RAT I think I'm done searching for distortion sound, now I'll switch to some other pedal effects..:)

If stolen?I would cry like baby and find another one or die trying...
(or make a home-made one)

Maaaan!!!I used a lot of dist pedals, but my guitarrist ha this one "shredmaster" in the attick, colecting dust, i said "why dont you try it?" you sound sucks, he did tried it.It looked like a regular marshal distortion...But I brought the pedal home, and GOD DAMNIT!!after a few arrangements, i got that "paradise lost - Icon" sound like.Powerfull, my favourite!

It gives away the treble and bass you need.You can put any kind of distortion with power.Very good..Must buy it .ehehe

I have a "black cloud" when it comes to gigs, i spend years solving shits between ppl, and searching 4 the right ones, and I see no gigs..Just problems.But it must be a great pedal outdoors

Good for metal.

i find this pedal relativly easy to use as its only a distortion........but not only a distortion its a shredmaster........in my opinion the best distortion pedal around

ive used a few different distortions such as boss ds-1,bluesbreaker(old and new models),jackhammer,roktek and a few others by mxr and boss but none of them have come close to the sound the shredmaster gives.in my rig i use two guitars and a few effects,the guitars are a fender tele-caster with a slightly distorted humbucker and a cut off switch for fun,my other is a homemade beast i did myself.pedals i use are (in order)shredmaster,boss heavy metal,some strange tremolo,supervide,morley wah and a rack mount digital delay/echo chamber.out of those the shred is my pride and joy(mainly as it took forever to find one).there are five controls...gain,bass,contour,treble and volume giving it a wide range of distorion.if u want a distortion find urself a shrdmaster

ive been gigging with my band for a while and ive used it since the day i got it.its the only pedal i rely on at gigs coz it never fucks up.i dont take a backup to a gig coz to be honest i dont think that far in advance........but i have a boss heavy meyal on my board aswell.....thats alright but there is better an i dont use it often

ive never spoken to those people...............but if i did id tell them they made a bloody good distortion...............so why did they stop making them????????

if you havnt guessd my overall ratin is 10/10 for the shredmaster.i wanted one since i started playin and when i finally saw one for #20 i snapped it up(wot a price).i fink most people would agree on how good the shred is and the fact its the only pedal i have that hasnt fucked up that says alot dont u think?

Pretty easy to use I guess... the tone controls are effective, and gain/volume are the usual. One gripe with the pedal is that the contour control is really sensitive... it changes the gain structure from classic to modern styles in small momements, so it can be tricky to get the exact right sound. One switch. Input, Output, DC supply. Simple. Battery access is also really easy, but I use DC from an adaptor. Manual is basic.

Epiphone G-400 (w/ Seymour Duncan Alnico V2 Pros) --> Dunlop Crybaby --> Shredmaster --> BOSS BF-3 Flanger --> Digitech Digidelay --> Marshall MG80 Amp

This pedal isn't very noisy, but there are feedback issues associated with it, particularly when the treble is high, i.e. when the wah is being used.

This being a distortion pedal, there's only really one 'effect' but the variance within this is quite high. Using the contour control actually gives better results when scooping the mids, which suprised me as this type of tone usually puts me off. This pedal is definitely better than the Jackhammer - the newer silver version of the pedal. Unfortunately, that's its replacement so it doesn't look like I'll find another one of these pedals in a hurry - it took me months to track down this particular unit. I guess it sounds closest to the JCM900 range.

Radiohead / Metallica / Modern / 90's metal sounds are coped with well. Doesn't do overdrive all that well, but for a high gain distortion pedal, it's one of the best. Prefer it over my current amp's lead channel, so it gets a 10.

Solid metal. I'll have to gig without a backup, as this is the only one I've ever seen, and they're in reasonable demand.

Dependable though, I've never had problems with Marshall products before. Switch is suspect, but replaceable (phew)

If it was too go horribly wrong, I'd be worried as the pedal is no longer in production. My model was a "new old stock" type... it had been in a display cabinet for a very long time.

N/A

Very good distortion pedal for rock. High gain sounds. I've played for 8 years. If it was stolen / lost I think I'd spend a long time trying to find another, I'd probably be damn annoyed too. For the price I paid (#60) I think I got an excellent deal.