Your favorite distortion pedal, sounds like a marshall tone???

[fusionid]

mention DIY or not (boutiques are fine too). Im looking to add a dist to my rig now, thanks

[petemoore]

  Don't have one.
  Using
  85% of an Omega/Wah/Dynacomp/FF/TB/CMOS 3L.Dog/Minibooster/Echo Park
  To make the amp distort mostly, the CMOS works a great internal distortion engine I like for when I have the amp not distorting [volume below about 9 oclock].
  Mostly about the speaker and amp, great speaker and small-ish amp for venue / room.
  Any distorter will do for fun.
  "Marshall tone"...funny misnomer IME, means certain song [which has to do with mics/compressors/tape/radio/hi-fi-ish type playback systems and lots of etcetera's]...what you get from an amp can be very very far from what I expected and got.
  ..or means an interpretation which has been recorded such as these examples:
  Paranoid: Live I'd use the Omega>Cmos>Minibooster [for lead] and tape delay
  Can't get Enough [Bad Co.]: Fuzz Face > 'Minibooster/delay' for lead
  All Right Now: Fuzz Face, Omega>fuzz face>Echo for Leads
  Amp 'above 9' is a really vague and imprecise way to describe loading a tube amp which is [or should be] pushing the speaker[s ...
  Once you get that far, the tweeking part probably becomes more self explanatory, ie you'll know for sure if harsh highs need tamed etc., how much bass let through makes mud...
  Then when that is almost out of control, you have you marshally tones...
  You can try everything else though first...
  LHXS amp simulators.
  I've have really great results with 'amplike tone' [which could also be called 'clean ish' using Jfet amp emulators] and amp-like distorter box tones using non-distorting much amps and CMOS distorter, BSIAB...etc. etc. etc. there are plenty of them, and they all can sound Marshally if you let them...lol.
  But 'Marshally' doesn't really spell right IME, and the definition is 'ill' no matter how well defined.
  Because it should have something to do with power amp, and kinetic energies involving motor or motors, it is difficult to convincinly have electronics circuits imitate electronics which have motors attached IME, that sound has LOTS to do with the motor[s influencing the amp.

[5thumbs]

mention DIY or not (boutiques are fine too). I'm looking to add a dist to my rig now, thanks

No pedal will nail the Marshall tone exactly, so you should be prepared to get a lot of differing opinions on this one.  That aside, there are couple of pedals I've tried that do a fair approximation of a "Marshall sound".

A BOSS DS-1 modded with the Mondo-MIJ mod does a pretty solid job of approximating an 80s Marshall sound.  (http://www.diystompboxes.com/DIYFiles/up/Build_Your_Own_DS-1_Distortion.pdf, pages 18-21)

Depending upon which generation Marshall you're looking for, the BSIAB2 is designed to emulate EVH's voltage-starved Marshall Plexi sound.  (http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=105&Itemid=26)

Hope that helps and good luck!

[John Lyons]

As usuall:
BSIAB2 (or BSIAB1) Generalguitargadgets.com
Thor (lower gain marshal sound) Boost with omega or any other boost.  Runoffgroove.com
Plexizer search this forum...
Gov'ner Not that close to a marshall but was made by them and is pretty nice. GGG again
The old original rat ciruit with mods...Ladgraff MOD etc etc.
"18" by ROG lower gain marshall (use boost for higher gain)

john

[petemoore]

  Those amps can be brutal and open up interesting doors by forcing changes in play habits.
  And that's a wide variety of amps.
  take the early ones and you have a raw power house which can be dictatorial to playstyling by barking or otherwise responding in unexpected ways if you are expecting..the amp itself without something like a really nice guitar that happens to do some trick totally stock [which I could never get]
.. the 'other definition' of Marshall sound which is recordings which are somehow related to the use of these amps. And a lot of the time this is a Marshall or other amps or combination of amps and a fuzz box or OD or both.
  Using marshall as a guidline to tonality...actualyy I'mm knowing basically what you mean maybe.
  So...something that gets curved clipping knee...that'd be Tube, Jfet, CMOS, and any of the above with some LP filtering to smooth over sharp edges...something with the words 'smooth' or 'soft', perhaps 'speaker sim' or '2 pole LP filter'.
 

[Melanhead]

melanhead "headcase" ... but I might be a bit biased ... 

http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/melanhead/HeadCase.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1

or also the BSIAB ...

[brett]

Hi
check out the tube preamps in the recent "running tubes at 9V/12V" threads.
A 12AU7 running flat out at 12V sounds something like a Marshall 18watter going flat out.
cheers

[drewl]

Since I own several Marshalls and have played and repaired just about every model they've ever made,
to me a tube screamer does the best job of approximating the overall tone of a Marshall when used with other amps.
It adds the right hint of distortion and does the mids thang just right.
YMMV.

[Ben N]

Non-DIY: I had tried a DS-1, Guvnor and Sansamp GT-2 for that sound (which to me means a non-MV Marshall at about 7), which I admittedly don't rely on that much. Settled on a Barber Direct Drive with the Tone knob pulled ("Harmonics" setting) and set somewhere between min and 10 o'clock, and no other pedals except mebbe a boost. Volume levels don't often allow, but the more I can get the amp involved (currently mostly a Traynor YSR-1 into a closed 2x12), and reduce the gain and crank the level on the pedal, the better it sounds. I guess that kind of fits with both drewl's and Pete's responses. Never got close with a Rat, DIY or store-bought.

I should say, though, I've never played a real Marshall, at least not a good one.

[brett]

In my Marshalls I don't hear any of the big mid boost that the DS-1 and TS have. 
I suppose it will depend a lot on what clean amp you're starting with.  If it has a big mid scoop, then it might need a mid boost. 
The older Marshalls like JTMs and 18watters have dark and punchy low end, as well as those cutting, ringing highs.

[MartyMart]

In my Marshalls I don't hear any of the big mid boost that the DS-1 and TS have. 
I suppose it will depend a lot on what clean amp you're starting with.  If it has a big mid scoop, then it might need a mid boost. 
The older Marshalls like JTMs and 18watters have dark and punchy low end, as well as those cutting, ringing highs.

I agree, Marshall's seem quite "flat" in the mids to me - until you boost them or stick a TS in front !
They are more about the lows & highs .... in general.

MM.

[chillhuman]

Since I own several Marshalls and have played and repaired just about every model they've ever made,
to me a tube screamer does the best job of approximating the overall tone of a Marshall when used with other amps.
It adds the right hint of distortion and does the mids thang just right.
YMMV.

The best guitar tone I've ever heard was TS->TS->Ross Comp - Trey Anastasio

<end hijack>

[Chawk]

Marshall Shredmaster.  A little hissy but you can hit those sweet Marshall mids.

[DougH]

Best pedal for Marshall tone?

That's easy- Garage Fuzz with a 220uf input coupling cap.













(Haha, just kidding... )

[Melanhead]

In my Marshalls I don't hear any of the big mid boost that the DS-1 and TS have. 
I suppose it will depend a lot on what clean amp you're starting with.  If it has a big mid scoop, then it might need a mid boost. 
The older Marshalls like JTMs and 18watters have dark and punchy low end, as well as those cutting, ringing highs.

I agree, Marshall's seem quite "flat" in the mids to me - until you boost them or stick a TS in front !
They are more about the lows & highs .... in general.

MM.

or you mod 'em like I did ... mine has tons of mids! ... I went through a phase where I sucked the mids outa everything ( bedroom guitarist syndrome ) and then when nothing cut through on stage I went the total oposite way ... I guess now I'm in the middle! 

[Ben N]

Marshall Shredmaster.  A little hissy but you can hit those sweet Marshall mids.

I once had one of those, hoping to get amp-ish distortion out of it, but I found that it had way too much IMD for anything but hard grind. I think the Guv'nor is better, although still not great.

[WGTP]

I guess I sort of have a Mosfet Fetish - Mosfetish.  Currently I have a modified Obsidian/SHO type circuit with a BMP tone control.  The input cap is small (1n - 2n) which reduces the bass thru the distortion, and then the BMP tone control at 33% restores the bass.  (This increases the ratio of distortion and sustain for the highs versus the lows and gives it a more ampish tone IMHO).  You can vary the mid-range from flat to deeply scooped by experimenting with the Duncan Tone Stack Simulator.  Also note other greatly distorted minds like Blackstone, ZVEX and Seymour Duncan are using Mosfets.   

[bipedal]

Sounds like an interesting circuit hybrid WGTB -- I'd love to check it out.  Willing to share a schematic or layout?  (Or is it already in the gallery?)

[WGTP]

http://www.diystompboxes.com/analogalchemy/sch/obsidian.html

This is Joe Davidson's OBSIDIAN.  The mod's I'm using are:

1) Lower the input cap to 1n or 2n
2) Alter the tone stack to reduce the mid's the desired amount by adding a 10K resistor prior to the stack and:
    A) Change both resistors to 22K or for more scoop, 15K and 33K or even more, 8.2K and 47K.  Infinite possiblities
    B) Change the capacitors to 10n and 47n.
    C) Change the 100K pot to 50K (that is the best sized trim pot I had for the breadboard.
    D) If it is too bright, try adding a cap in parallel with the 3.9K resistor in the last stage.  Start with 4.7n and adjust to taste.

Remeber Mosfets are sensitive to Static Electricity and will blow easily.

To me the Mosfets have an "air ripping" sound that is more like loud tube amp distortion than most.  Let it Rip.   

[ppatchmods]

This a very broad spectrum and it is neat to see that we are all created unique in our beliefs of overdrive/distortion 

I have used a lot of different drives for my sound over the years: 808's, rt66, boss(all of them...modded and otherwise), but the pedal that has lasted is my vintage rat(lm308).  It goes from crunchy to growly.  I love it and it sounds great with delays and tube amps...IMO