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mooseherman
Published on 01/26/10 at 12:08
This is a distortion/overdrive pedal made by Marshall. It's not rackable, nor can it be edited through a computer program. It's pure analog distortion that connects via the 1/4' instrument cable.
UTILIZATION
The pedal, like most distortion pedals, is pretty simple to use. It has Volume, Gain, and three way EQ knobs on it, and the main switch activates/bypasses the effect. Messing around with the tones to adjust to your rig is quite easy, its nothing a seasoned player hasn't seen before, and it's also nothing a newcomer couldn't figure out pretty easily. I have never opened a manual for this pedal, as I had no need, really.
SOUND QUALITY
I used this pedal with a Fender Twin Amp and a Fender Strat with single-coil pickups. I have a remarkably bright-sounding guitar, so I don't know if it's the pedal or the guitar, but for some reason this pedal didn't do it for me. After playing through a real Marshall amp, which this pedal is supposed to recreate, I was hoping to get a good approximation of the Marshall sound, as well as the benefits of playing through the twin. What I got, however, was a sort of thin-sounding replication, not entirely accurate. I feel as though I couldn't get the same gut-level response from the pedal is I could with a real Marshall stack or even a smaller combo. In fact, I feel as though I got a far more powerful response from turning up the preamp volume on the Twin and bypassing the pedal entirely. At least it felt more physical and heavy than the pedal. There's a possibility that a different guitar, even a different Strat, would have better results, but I'm not convinced. Even an Ibanez Tube screamer has far greater effect for me than this pedal did.
OVERALL OPINION
I like the simplicity of the use, as well as the look of the pedal, but at the end of the day, sound is all that matters. This pedal just didn't deliver for me. Needless to say I didn't hang onto it for very long. Some people might be looking for a little less drive than I was, and could maybe enjoy it, however it wasn't for me. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody did enjoy it, but would never recommend it personally.
UTILIZATION
The pedal, like most distortion pedals, is pretty simple to use. It has Volume, Gain, and three way EQ knobs on it, and the main switch activates/bypasses the effect. Messing around with the tones to adjust to your rig is quite easy, its nothing a seasoned player hasn't seen before, and it's also nothing a newcomer couldn't figure out pretty easily. I have never opened a manual for this pedal, as I had no need, really.
SOUND QUALITY
I used this pedal with a Fender Twin Amp and a Fender Strat with single-coil pickups. I have a remarkably bright-sounding guitar, so I don't know if it's the pedal or the guitar, but for some reason this pedal didn't do it for me. After playing through a real Marshall amp, which this pedal is supposed to recreate, I was hoping to get a good approximation of the Marshall sound, as well as the benefits of playing through the twin. What I got, however, was a sort of thin-sounding replication, not entirely accurate. I feel as though I couldn't get the same gut-level response from the pedal is I could with a real Marshall stack or even a smaller combo. In fact, I feel as though I got a far more powerful response from turning up the preamp volume on the Twin and bypassing the pedal entirely. At least it felt more physical and heavy than the pedal. There's a possibility that a different guitar, even a different Strat, would have better results, but I'm not convinced. Even an Ibanez Tube screamer has far greater effect for me than this pedal did.
OVERALL OPINION
I like the simplicity of the use, as well as the look of the pedal, but at the end of the day, sound is all that matters. This pedal just didn't deliver for me. Needless to say I didn't hang onto it for very long. Some people might be looking for a little less drive than I was, and could maybe enjoy it, however it wasn't for me. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody did enjoy it, but would never recommend it personally.