Best Marshall-in-a-Box Pedals – Brown Tone in Your Palm!

JCM800

The JCM800 has more confusing controls because it sports a Gain and a Sensitivity control. This is a blend between the 800’s classic low and high inputs. Other than that, you have Tone and Volume that work as you’d expect.

The clean setting, (Gain and Sensitivity at around nine o’clock) is pushy with generous midrange but not overly distorted. You no longer have that massive warmth and bottom end, but everything is much tighter and rocking.

If you push the Gain up to three o’clock you get this dirty bluesy tone that’s very usable. Think, clean Gary Moore. I liked it best with Gain and Sensitivity at three o’clock; it became a roaring beast. I was doing my best Motley Crüe in a second.

With Gain and Sensitivity cranked you lose some definition but get a lot of gain, enough to make the Earth tremble.

JCM900

The JCM900 comes with a Contour control that sweeps the midrange to get that fully scooped sound. I loved it with that control around eleven o’clock and the gain at three o’clock. It gave me that Dave Navarro thick distortion with lots of definition and character.

DSL

The trick with the DSL is finding the sweet spot for the Deep knob. It does the same as the Deep knob in the actual amp does, enlarging the low end. Well, in this pedal it can turn a small combo in a bedroom into a roaring stack (sort of), but it can be too much if you’re running it into a 2x12 or even a 4x12.

Other than that, this is clearly a distortion pedal capable of going from rock to metal and everything in between.

JVM

Finally, the JVM is everything you would expect. The real deal is a three-channel amp, and this pedal does it all too. The gain and volume knobs are inverted compared to the rest of the line and you can have some crunchy rock with the gain at nine o’clock and full-on warzone with the gain beyond three o’clock.

Meanwhile, you can get rid of the hiss or go for a full-on staccato thing (think Static X, Mudvayne, and such) by playing with the gate knob. It really is a powerful one and the pedal goes dead silent when you stop playing.

All the pedals in this line are heavy metal bricks finished in righteous gold. They can be used with a 9-volt battery or an AC adapter and feature a light under the switch that engages when the pedal is ON.

I would say that if you’re looking for the true Marshall tone, one of these must fit the bill. That said, they’re big and bulky, so not too pedalboard-friendly.

This pedal looks like a magic trick. If you were to hear it before seeing it, you would never believe that such a thick, fat distorted tone comes from such a tiny unit.

Well, Xotic did it again, folks, they knocked it out of the park with this one too.

To begin with, let me say that the size of this pedal is very convenient and in line with modern guitarists’ needs. Yes, it takes almost zero pedalboard real estate, and it can help you play an entire show.

Size is a double-edged sword because you can’t use it on batteries, and it has some hidden switches that require you to open the pedal to modify them.

But let’s get to the fun part, how does this little thing sound?

It’s made to mimic the big, warm, thick, and organic sound of the 1959 Super Lead. Now, although it’s made after that classic amp, it’s got way more gain at hand than the real thing. Furthermore, I would say that, with the gain halfway up, you are already in JCM800 territory.

Although the gain structure might be different, it never loses the percussiveness, the lush sustain, the reactive quality of your playing, and the tight bottom end.

I tried it alone at first with my Ibanez Studio and its mighty humbuckers and the result was instant AC-DC with the gain set to low and instant Gary Moore with more juice. But the setting I loved the most was going into the Tube Screamer and then hitting the SL with a slightly driven tone. The mids got fuller and the tone rounder.

Those two are a match made in heaven.

I then moved on to single-coil guitars and it sounded gloriously raw and unapologetic with my Telecaster. I went through everything from The Clash to Ritchie Kotzen. Furthermore, the P-90 of my SG Jr. gave this pedal even more midrange to bite with, so the tone became sharp and huge. You can think of something like “Barracuda” by Heart but on steroids (lots of steroids).

The Wampler Plexi Drive Deluxe is one of the most versatile pedals on this list. I know, it says Plexi Drive on its forehead, but believe me, this pedal can do much more than that.

To begin with, this was one of the first models Brian Wampler ever designed for the brand and it hides one amazing secret under the hood; all EQ controls are active.

“What does that mean, bro?” I can almost hear you asking me. Well, it means that it can cut frequencies but also boost frequencies. So, when everything is set to noon, EQ is neutral, but above noon you’re moving that frequency range forward in the mix.

I’ll tell you how to use it to your advantage in a minute, but let’s go over the controls first.

As I said, it has a very capable 3-band EQ, a volume, and a gain knob. The additional knob is only for the booster and doesn’t affect the Plexi tone. Bear in mind that both sides of this pedal are independent, and you can use them as two different pedals.

Besides the knobs, this pedal features two toggle switches to turn on the bass and the treble boosts. These add either another dimension of low-end to the resulting sound or natural, musical, singing highs to whatever you play.

I started my test with single coils and everything at noon. I was instantly into Hendrix territory. The percussiveness of Jimi’s sound was right there. Moreover, playing into an open-back combo, the bass boost became really handy making it sound like a 4x12.

Furthermore, I fell in love with the midrange in the EQ. Although it’s not such a pleasant sound on its own, if you crank those mids, you can cut through any mix and make yourself heard even if two more guitarists are doing their thing.

Moving over to humbuckers and giving the pedal some more meat from the gain section (the knob at around three o’clock) I was instantly into hard rock, pop punk, or alternative music territory. Moreover, the grain of the distortion and that organic, pick-sensitive, responsive nature of the pedal scream Marshall in every direction possible.

I moved to humbuckers, and everything got bigger and more menacing. You can do anything from Slayer to Monster Magnet to Motorhead, and even some Turnstile with this setting.

I thought to myself, “This is a rocking beast” and I also thought, “Isn’t it lacking the vibrant organic quality of a Super Lead stack?” Well, just rolling off the volume of the guitar gave me this pseudo-clean, jangly tone that’s great for rhythm, arpeggios, and mildly overdriven sections.

It’s cool to be able to dial mayhem by just turning the volume knob to maximum.

Before moving toward my single-coil-equipped Telecaster, I unplugged it (I don’t really like side-mounted AC adaptor jacks), opened it up, and moved the internal slider to the Super Bass side.

Boy, was it a drastic difference!

All the sounds I thought this pedal was missing were right there. The pushed overdrive, the big bottom with the uncanny attack, and the percussiveness became natural. Moreover, with the gain knob almost cranked, things are raunchy and dirty but not overly distorted.

In this scenario, I used it along with my Big Muff and got those wild Jimi-approved tones with screaming harmonics and a ton of edge. I was stepping on the Wah and playing “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)” before even realizing it!

This is an outstanding two-in-one pedal that covers the entirety of Marshall’s history and can fit the palm of your hand. I just wish the SL/SB toggle would be on the pedal chassis to make changes on the fly. Other than that, a terrific effort by Catalinbread.

On the Lo side, things get crunchy, and it can be a great distortion over a broken amp (or another overdrive pedal) but by itself, it won’t take you into creamy distortion territory.

This is a very reactive pedal that lets the guitar tone shine through. Speaking of which, you can do a lot with your guitar’s volume knob. It cleans up perfectly.

Trying the Lo side with humbuckers changed the equation a lot. The whole thing became alive and a rough distortion with a lot of grain started coming out of the speaker. This pedal is loud and proud with that gritty Marshall tone that’s not smooth or silky but with a huge bite in the midrange.

The Hi mode is distortion territory from moment zero. You can think of something like modded ‘80s Marshalls, big hair, and a wall of gain. Although you can’t scoop the mids, if you crank the pedal, you have sustain for days and a nasty, nasal, grainy distortion that will make more than one fellow guitarist admire your tone.

When in full-on distortion mode, this pedal is a take-no-prisoner unleashed beast, but it can also purr in the Lo mode and will remain true to the instrument throughout.

Finally, one last important thing: It behaves like an amp. Yes, the Level and Drive controls are intertwined. You need to find that sweet spot between them and you’ll be in a very distorted, Marshall paradise.

Well, the moment I plugged this pedal in and set everything at noon (Volume, Gain, and 3-band active EQ) the sound was straight up Van Halen’s rhythm tone. I didn’t have to do anything else, the percussiveness, the beefy bottom end, the grainy distortion, and the musical mid-highs took over my amp.

Moreover, I did push the mids a bit and took the gain up to max with my humbucker-equipped guitar and this thing roared like the king itself! Just for kicks, I played “Gets Me Through” by Ozzy with the drop-D tuning and the seismic waves I made might have woken up the entire building.

Also, just for fun, I scooped all the mids out and could play some ‘80s hair metal and some early Metallica. The gritty nastiness is right there and as you push the pedal, your amp will also do its thing to round up the tone, especially with humbuckers.

Single coils did something very curious with this pedal. They maintained that fat bottom but gave it a kind of edge that sat perfectly in the midrange with positions 2 and 4 (combined pickups). I was playing my favorite Stevie Ray and Jimi right away by dialing down some of the guitar’s volume.

Finally, this pedal loves to breathe fire. That means it loves to do the high-gain thing and wants to be pushed to the limit. It can be the perfect option for a player who wants to have that thick Marshall distortion. In other words, it’s kind of a one-trick pony but what it does, it does it great.

The proof is that I just hooked it to my Seymour Duncan pedalboard amp (the PowerStage 170, of course) and went into a 2x12. That alone was enough to put me through a gig with a ferocious drummer and a bass player. I could solve everything with just my pedalboard and whatever cab I happen to find at the venue.

But let’s rewind a bit and let me tell you how to get great sounds with this pedal.

You can consider this pedal to be a 3-in-1 amp situation because it covers all the meaningful eras of the Plexi. The Bass model reminded me of a pushed JTM45, that clean, dark, punchy, roaring sound only the early stars of rock and roll could make.

Next came, after the addition of a bright cap, the Super Lead came along. It’s an amp that gave players like Jimi Hendrix the juice needed to turn the guitar world upside down. This model portrays the same high-midrange honk with plenty of fat bottom and the rough, mildly distorted tone only pushed EL34s can deliver.

Finally, the Brown model is that souped-up Marshall that Eddie played in the early Van Halen records. The sound is thick, and menacing, with lots of presence and enough bottom-end to chug your way through life.

Besides these three modes, the pedal offers Volume I and Volume II knobs (just like you’d find in the real deal, an overall volume (called Output), and a 3-band EQ. The key here is that you can access extra controls, Room, Presence, and Boost by setting the central toggle switch in the ALT mode.

The Presence and Room knobs do wonders to give the sound a more rounded high-end and soften up some of that roughness, especially in Brown mode.

I started out with the Bass model. Everything was set at noon, and I chose the GB25 option, which is powered by the same technology behind the expensive and sought-after OX Stomp (also by UA). This is a 4x12 with Celestion Greenback 25s, captured with a ribbon and a dynamic mic close to the grill.

The result was instantly amazing. I was in Marshall heaven from moment zero. Something like René Zellweger saying “You had me at hello” kind of thing. I added some more room and the whole thing grew even bigger. I did have to add a distortion pedal (well, an overdrive, and a distortion TBH).

But that was all before I discovered this pedal has two modes. The “Live” mode and the “Preset” mode. Therefore, I just saved a heavy, brown-sounding, super powerful, and bass-driven sound and recalled it every time I needed it. Yes, I had a two-amp setup with a single pedal and a power amp on my pedalboard.

Speaking of the Brown model, this thing screams! Using my super Strat with a DiMarzio Humbucker in the bridge and a Floyd Rose (Hey, I’m an ‘80s kid!) I was able to get that thick, creamy distortion oozing high midrange and chugging like a beast.

That alone had me playing for like an hour and a half. I even dusted off some chops and played “My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mamma” by Frank Zappa but in that G3 version. It was ferocious.

But when things got properly savage when I plugged in a P-90 guitar and went for the Super Lead model. That was instant rock and roll. I dialed in some of the boost and cranked the thing, and my lead tone was soaring.

I got three amazing sounds right there and I didn’t even have to touch the amazing app the pedal requires to access many extras like a noise gate, different wiring options, and extra cabinets, speakers, and microphones.

I just loved the fact you can treat it as a pedal but can also deliver so much more. I mean, this thing doubles as an audio interface so you can rock that Marshall tone into the DAW directly.

So, the only thing I missed playing through the Lion ’68 was the feel of the Plexi. It’s not as responsive, percussive, or immediate as the way the amp feels to the hands.

On the other hand, sound-wise is as close as it gets.

So, if it fits your budget, UA knocked it out of the park yet again with this one.