• From: Farmington, CT
  • Registered: 2010-04-23
  • Posts: 64

Topic: Fender/Marshall

I have kind of a stupid question here. (And before anyone says, "There is so such thing as a stupid question," I'm a high school teacher. Yes there is.)

I realize Fender amps are probably not everyone's top choice around here, but I like my Hot Rod Deluxe. A lot. However, as I listen to Joe more and more, I'm digging that Marshall tone too. I was wondering if anyone knew of a pedal that could come close to (not equate) that Marshall-y sound out of a Fender. I bought the Class 5 and that's not doing it for me. Besides, with the band I play in, I really need those Fender cleans. What's more, most of the bars I play at don't have room for a two amp setup. I also need the HRD's dual inputs so I can run my theremin through it (thanks, Joe). So if anyone knows a pedal that can get me in the ballpark, I'd love to hear about it. I have an OCD already and that seems to be somewhat close. I'm just looking for suggestions. I have no qualms about buying far more effects & gear than I really need. Thanks.

-Jeff

"Another song, another mile." - The Black Crowes

JPrzech's Website

  • Registered: 2008-10-02
  • Posts: 373

Re: Fender/Marshall

I haven't tried one but a lot of people on the Fender Forum said the M-Audio Crunch Box is a good one to use or a Zen Box of rocks - I did try that one and remember I liked it but it had a LOT of gain and I didn't need that since I have a Marshall.

  • From: Scotland
  • Registered: 2009-02-11
  • Posts: 453

Re: Fender/Marshall

The blackstar HT-dual is well worth a look. I have one and it does the marshall thing pretty well. The designers are ex marshall guys.

I have played the box of rock through a hot rod deluxe and was very impressed. Great marshall sound.

You could try stacking something in front of the OCD, a tube screamer type pedal. I have tried the ocd v4 with a fulldrive in front on the vintage setting. This gave me a great rythm tone from the ocd. Step on the fulldrive and it really lifted the mids out.

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  • From: Norway
  • Registered: 2009-06-03
  • Posts: 108

Re: Fender/Marshall

Fuzzblues wrote:

The blackstar HT-dual is well worth a look. I have one and it does the marshall thing pretty well. The designers are ex marshall guys.

I have played the box of rock through a hot rod deluxe and was very impressed. Great marshall sound.

You could try stacking something in front of the OCD, a tube screamer type pedal. I have tried the ocd v4 with a fulldrive in front on the vintage setting. This gave me a great rythm tone from the ocd. Step on the fulldrive and it really lifted the mids out.

+1 on a Tubescreamer in front of OCD. My bassmodded TS-808 and OCD v4 sound great together with quite low drive settings.
Should take you somewhere close to Marshall-land.

  • Registered: 2009-12-01
  • Posts: 36

Re: Fender/Marshall

I really liked my Fender amp with the Radial Plexitube pedal.  In fact I liked it so much, I went out and bought a DSL100 with a 1936 cab.  LOL!  So my Fender/Plexitube set up s now officially the "B" rig.  Great pedal though...

JPrzech wrote:

I have kind of a stupid question here. (And before anyone says, "There is so such thing as a stupid question," I'm a high school teacher. Yes there is.)

I realize Fender amps are probably not everyone's top choice around here, but I like my Hot Rod Deluxe. A lot. However, as I listen to Joe more and more, I'm digging that Marshall tone too. I was wondering if anyone knew of a pedal that could come close to (not equate) that Marshall-y sound out of a Fender. I bought the Class 5 and that's not doing it for me. Besides, with the band I play in, I really need those Fender cleans. What's more, most of the bars I play at don't have room for a two amp setup. I also need the HRD's dual inputs so I can run my theremin through it (thanks, Joe). So if anyone knows a pedal that can get me in the ballpark, I'd love to hear about it. I have an OCD already and that seems to be somewhat close. I'm just looking for suggestions. I have no qualms about buying far more effects & gear than I really need. Thanks.

-Jeff

http://www.facebook.com/cornerstonebluesband?ref=ts
  • Registered: 2007-11-04
  • Posts: 404

Re: Fender/Marshall

Go to proguitarshop.com. Listen to the demo's.

I would check out the ZVEX Box of Rocks for sure.  Also Lovepedal has a plexi pedal and a pro valve which I have heard and it sounds great.  Also check out online the OCEANEFX Rocking Horse. www.oceanefx.com  you will not find a nicer guy on earth than corby.  He's on the forum under the name ocean.  His pedals are all demo'd on his website. They are top notch pedals. I have two and I love them both.

I love fenders so I know what you mean.  I bought a vox to get more of a brittish sound. But I will always favor a fender twins clean sound.

  • From: North Andover, MA
  • Registered: 2010-03-23
  • Posts: 35

Re: Fender/Marshall

The OCD does a good job in front of the HRD, so does a Zvex-Box of Rock.  The BOR does a good job of "marshalizing" an amp.  I also second the Tubescreamer into the OCD. 

Something you can also try, or research is using yellowjackets and el-84 in the HRD.  It gives the amp more grind.  It doesn't really make it a quieter amp, but gives it a bit of a marshall vibe.  You would lose some of the fender-vibe.

I played around with a Hot Rod Deluxe for a long time.  It is a pretty good amp and is a good platform for many tones.

-Hillcountry

Amps: Hand Made JTM-45, 18 Watt TMB, AB763 Pro, Route 66 Clone.
Guitars: 2007 R8 Les Paul Iced Tea Burst, Refinished 83 Les Paul Studio, , Homemade 50's S style guitar.
Effects: Micro Vibe, CryBaby, Fulldrive II, OCD, Fat Boost V1
  • Registered: 2008-01-28
  • Posts: 18

Re: Fender/Marshall

You may also want to look into a Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret or a Barber Direct Drive.   I've run both in front of a Fender Deluxe Reverb with great success.     The DLS also takes pedals well, oddly enough.  You can run a TS-style pedal or a fuzz into it just like you would an amp.   Fun stuff from those folks over at Catalinbread.   The Barber has been my go-to pedal for about 7 years now.  It's really easy to cop a smooth-ed Marshall tone from it... almost like you blended a Marshall and a ODS sound.   And for around $80 used, it's hard to beat.

  • From: Farmington, CT
  • Registered: 2010-04-23
  • Posts: 64

Re: Fender/Marshall

Thanks to all of you for the suggestions. Since I already have the OCD (2 actually) and a TS-808, I'll try that first. The Class 5 is going back to Guitar Center this week. I just can't justify keeping it around. It's a great deal at $399, but it's just not what I need right now. The HRD was a birthday present from my wife a while back so I'll always hang on to that. Let's see if the pedal this works.

"Another song, another mile." - The Black Crowes

JPrzech's Website

  • From: Scotland
  • Registered: 2009-02-11
  • Posts: 453

Re: Fender/Marshall

Lets us know how you get on. Good luck!

  • Registered: 2010-03-20
  • Posts: 536

Re: Fender/Marshall

JPrzech wrote:

I have kind of a stupid question here. (And before anyone says, "There is so such thing as a stupid question," I'm a high school teacher. Yes there is.)

I realize Fender amps are probably not everyone's top choice around here, but I like my Hot Rod Deluxe. A lot. However, as I listen to Joe more and more, I'm digging that Marshall tone too. I was wondering if anyone knew of a pedal that could come close to (not equate) that Marshall-y sound out of a Fender. I bought the Class 5 and that's not doing it for me. Besides, with the band I play in, I really need those Fender cleans. What's more, most of the bars I play at don't have room for a two amp setup. I also need the HRD's dual inputs so I can run my theremin through it (thanks, Joe). So if anyone knows a pedal that can get me in the ballpark, I'd love to hear about it. I have an OCD already and that seems to be somewhat close. I'm just looking for suggestions. I have no qualms about buying far more effects & gear than I really need. Thanks.

-Jeff


Kingsley Jester and Pete Cornish G2. G2 is a JCM800 in a box and the Jester is more Plexi, but both are fabulous. Also an original black box SIB Varidrive is great.

"Who wants an orange whip? Orange whip? Orange whip? Three orange whips...."

JB LP Goldtop No. 290- Aged...rather like me.
  • From: Farmington, CT
  • Registered: 2010-04-23
  • Posts: 64

Re: Fender/Marshall

Fuzzblues wrote:

Lets us know how you get on. Good luck!

I will definitely do so.

By the way, I'm open to suggestions on Tubescreamer and OCD settings. Always curious to read how others run their stuff. I have a couple hours home alone this afternoon too, so I'll have plenty of time to make a little noise!

"Another song, another mile." - The Black Crowes

JPrzech's Website

  • From: Scotland
  • Registered: 2009-02-11
  • Posts: 453

Re: Fender/Marshall

JPrzech wrote:
Fuzzblues wrote:

Lets us know how you get on. Good luck!

I will definitely do so.

By the way, I'm open to suggestions on Tubescreamer and OCD settings. Always curious to read how others run their stuff. I have a couple hours home alone this afternoon too, so I'll have plenty of time to make a little noise!


So far I have found that by keeping all knobs at 12 o'clock on the OCD in the HP setting does a good job through my class 5 feeding a 12" speaker cab. I then have my fulldrive set as follows, volume and tone at 12 o'clock and overdrive at 3 o'clock. This gives a great marshall rythm tone and step on the fulldrive for leads. Gives a little morsustain and lifts the mids slightly.

Did you have chance to have a play around.

  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: Fender/Marshall

I'm going to say it depends what guitar you're putting through it.

HRD's like what you have are SUPER bright amps. Joe's Marshally sound is sort of opposite of that. So if you're playing strats that's going to make it even brighter. If you're using humbuckers, that will get you closer.

Your question about pedals. For ANY amp (in my opinion) to get a Marshall sound, you'll need one pedal... the Marshall Guv'nor pedal. It has a 3 band EQ in it, plus gain etc.. so you can darken up your HRD on the front end. From what I heard, Marshall took them off the market, because it was too close to the Marshall sound in a pedal. Who knows if that was just rumor, but the thing does do it IMO.

This is what one looks like, and they go for a couple hundred bucks used on eBay. Hard to find.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Marshall-Guvnor-Gui … 27b1a2a8b1

Good news, if you're good with a soldering iron you can make a clone for probably around $60 from general guitar gadgets.
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/com … Itemid,45/

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool
  • From: Scotland
  • Registered: 2009-02-11
  • Posts: 453

Re: Fender/Marshall

NPB_EST.1979 wrote:

I'm going to say it depends what guitar you're putting through it.

HRD's like what you have are SUPER bright amps. Joe's Marshally sound is sort of opposite of that. So if you're playing strats that's going to make it even brighter. If you're using humbuckers, that will get you closer.

Your question about pedals. For ANY amp (in my opinion) to get a Marshall sound, you'll need one pedal... the Marshall Guv'nor pedal. It has a 3 band EQ in it, plus gain etc.. so you can darken up your HRD on the front end. From what I heard, Marshall took them off the market, because it was too close to the Marshall sound in a pedal. Who knows if that was just rumor, but the thing does do it IMO.

This is what one looks like, and they go for a couple hundred bucks used on eBay. Hard to find.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Marshall-Guvnor-Gui … 27b1a2a8b1

Good news, if you're good with a soldering iron you can make a clone for probably around $60 from general guitar gadgets.
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/com … Itemid,45/

Any time I have played a hot rod deluxe I have never found them too bright. I would stick with the hot rod and see if you can find some pedals to try through it. The guvnor would be a good one to try if you can find an original.

  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: Fender/Marshall

Fuzzblues wrote:

Any time I have played a hot rod deluxe I have never found them too bright. I would stick with the hot rod and see if you can find some pedals to try through it. The guvnor would be a good one to try if you can find an original.

Perhaps I should have pre-tensed my comment with "in comparison to Marshall amps" HRD amps are very bright.  lol

I've played the Guvnor pedal through a Sovtek MIG 50 (which to me has a great HRD-like ballsy clean headroom tone) and got it to sound every bit as good as a JCM800.

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool
  • Registered: 2009-05-15
  • Posts: 24

Re: Fender/Marshall

jgalvan8804 wrote:

I would check out the ZVEX Box of Rocks for sure.  .

Yeah I was gonna mention this, haven't had a chance to try one myself but I'm a big fan of Z-Vexs other pedals, so I'd imagine its great  smile

  • From: Farmington, CT
  • Registered: 2010-04-23
  • Posts: 64

Re: Fender/Marshall

So I've had some time to mess around and I got close with the OCD. It's still not quite right, I could tell because I was ABing the 2 amps, but it's close enough for right now. I usually mic my amp at gigs (helps keep the stage volume down) so if I was to pair the amps, I'd need to buy another mic and add some time pre-gig to get the mix right. The Class 5 sounds absolutely killer through the 1x12 cab I bought (that I'm keeping), but not so much without it. I'll never be satisfied. One of bandmates once told me it's easy to get your tone 90% where you want it. It's that last 10% that takes forever. I just changed the speaker in my HRD to a Vintage 30 tonight. It was too late to really let 'er loose, but we'll see how that goes.

"Another song, another mile." - The Black Crowes

JPrzech's Website