Marshall guvnor MK1
- Thread starter Rob Harpum
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Gareth Jenkins
New Member
Well, now I'm in the realms of guesswork, having only ever seen the insides of one Guv'nor.
I don't believe that putting a socket on a pcb is going to make a huge difference. That sort of thing is going to be extremely subtle. If I had to put my money on the largest sources of difference it would be, in order:
I've put the IC up front because these things have hundreds of "components" inside, and the difference in sound between something costing pennies is a world apart from something costing ten or a hundred times as much. Of course, which sound you think is better is going to be subjective, but I'd be surprised if the cheapest option was favourite.
I think that the later Guv'nors came in a smaller package? I'm guessing that this involved a redesign of the PCB, although this is unlikely to be a big effect.
As for differences in response of controls, I imagine that component tolerances are going to make even two nominally identical boxes slightly different? I checked on General Guitar Gadgets and it claims that the schematic is for an original Guv'nor. So maybe the later ones were more significantly different?
Interested to know what other people think.
Cheers, Gareth.
I don't believe that putting a socket on a pcb is going to make a huge difference. That sort of thing is going to be extremely subtle. If I had to put my money on the largest sources of difference it would be, in order:
- Quality of TL072,
- Quality of capacitors,
- Quality of other components,
- PCB layout/sockets/wiring.
I've put the IC up front because these things have hundreds of "components" inside, and the difference in sound between something costing pennies is a world apart from something costing ten or a hundred times as much. Of course, which sound you think is better is going to be subjective, but I'd be surprised if the cheapest option was favourite.
I think that the later Guv'nors came in a smaller package? I'm guessing that this involved a redesign of the PCB, although this is unlikely to be a big effect.
As for differences in response of controls, I imagine that component tolerances are going to make even two nominally identical boxes slightly different? I checked on General Guitar Gadgets and it claims that the schematic is for an original Guv'nor. So maybe the later ones were more significantly different?
Interested to know what other people think.
Cheers, Gareth.
enfetish
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Thanks Gareth.
To be clear, I was comparing a Mk1 UK Guvnor with a Mk1 Korean Guvnor, not a Mk2.
On looking at the guts of the UK and Korean ones, even to my eyes, the components look cheaper in the latter and, as you say, there is every chance it is a cheap op amp. What I can say with absolute certainty is that the two sound noticeably different with the UK one so much more tranparent and realistic (i.e. the UK sounds like a Marshall stack and the Korean a more generic distortion pedal).
Cheers!
To be clear, I was comparing a Mk1 UK Guvnor with a Mk1 Korean Guvnor, not a Mk2.
On looking at the guts of the UK and Korean ones, even to my eyes, the components look cheaper in the latter and, as you say, there is every chance it is a cheap op amp. What I can say with absolute certainty is that the two sound noticeably different with the UK one so much more tranparent and realistic (i.e. the UK sounds like a Marshall stack and the Korean a more generic distortion pedal).
Cheers!
IIRC, the Guvnor was basically the preamp of an old Marshall Lead 12 in a box. Those gained some fame as standalone preamps/boosts during the eighties.
I've played the originals on occasion, and owned a Mk2 for several years, but eventually sold the Mk2 as other pedals did the same job better (OCD for one). The tone controls on the Mk2 were very nice. Maybe if you took a Mk2 and disabled the extra circuitry (low end boost), made sure to have the same op amps and LED's as the original, then you'd get similar results.
It shouldn't be surprising that the same control settings on the Mk1 and 2 would sound different, Marshall probably used different pot values and tapers in each.
BTW, the Mk2 was built like a brick. Maybe the components aren't the same quality as the Mk1, but the build quality of the Mk2 is as good as anything else out there. Nice heavy duty case as well.
I've played the originals on occasion, and owned a Mk2 for several years, but eventually sold the Mk2 as other pedals did the same job better (OCD for one). The tone controls on the Mk2 were very nice. Maybe if you took a Mk2 and disabled the extra circuitry (low end boost), made sure to have the same op amps and LED's as the original, then you'd get similar results.
It shouldn't be surprising that the same control settings on the Mk1 and 2 would sound different, Marshall probably used different pot values and tapers in each.
BTW, the Mk2 was built like a brick. Maybe the components aren't the same quality as the Mk1, but the build quality of the Mk2 is as good as anything else out there. Nice heavy duty case as well.
Gareth Jenkins
New Member
To be honest, I wouldn't know which version I had back then. It was very second hand even back in the mid '90s when I got hold of it. Could be that I've documented the Korean version!
I suspect that its unlikely that the circuit was changed much during the manufacturing move, and as you say that probably puts all differences down to component quality.
That's also possible between the UK/Korea build. I imagine that parts would be sourced differently and things like tapers are likely to vary considerably?
Cheers, Gareth.
Marshall50w
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know How to identify that a Guv'nor is a Mk1 , and that it is UK made ?
SpiritOfTheAge
New Member
Johnt
Active Member
Yep, I have a Marshall Guv'nor Mk1. It's a permanent feature on my pedal board. You can set it for low level overdrive / crunch through to some great high grain smooth saturation, especially if you use it alongside a compressor. Mine works well with an MXR Dyna Comp.
JohnT
JohnT
HOT TUBES 70
Well-Known Member
+1
these are killer boxes .....
these are killer boxes .....
Got one, great pedal
dixie hustler
New Member
Is $150 for a "mint" shape UK made a good price?
SpiritOfTheAge
New Member
Look what I just found in my attic...
'Made in England'
Ohh thats pretty mint looking, have you tried it out yet? If you don't like it then im sure someone will pay a tidy sum for it on ebay.
Diezeldale
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I pulled mine out of the storage and went for a test drive, Im glad I grabbed these for $75 bucks back in the day, have you seen the EBAY prices these days?
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