Quick Guv'nor Question

[MikeyDude]

I know this pedal has been beaten to death, sorry.

This is shown as a distortion/overdrive pedal. Is it both? How?

Can I effectively run this into the front of a red channel DSL like a TubeScreamer replacement, or will it sound like garbage?
Is this a green channel only type of pedal?

Thanks guys!

 

[Purgasound]

You would have to play around with the amp gain and pedal level to get a good balance. I use it on a dirty amp. A JCM800

 

[Sg-ocaster]

I think they were like the first "amp in a box" type pedals in the late 80's. But like anything you gotta turn the knobs and see what ya get in the situation your using it in. It may be your magic ticket....or not.
I do know there are several modern pedals based on it. I think the JHS angry charlie is on of them and the old danelectro Daddy O(not entirely sure though).

 

[MikeyDude]

I think they were like the first "amp in a box" type pedals in the late 80's. But like anything you gotta turn the knobs and see what ya get in the situation your using it in. It may be your magic ticket....or not.
I do know there are several modern pedals based on it. I think the JHS angry charlie is on of them and the old danelectro Daddy O(not entirely sure though).

Thanks for the response. I realize it all depends on my experimentation and what I'm after. My confusion is that its described as "Marshall-in-a-box" and distortion, so I'm not sure where it fits.

When I think of distortion pedals I think, Fuzz Face, Big Muff, the Rat, etc. In my mind they are not well suited to running into an already over-driven amp. Great into a clean fender, but not too pretty into a dirty Marshall.

Then there are TS9, Boss ODs, OCD, etc... that seem made to drive into high gain stuff without losing the dynamics in the process.

So I'm trying to figure out which camp this thing falls into - the distortion camp where you run it as the primary source of distortion, or the overdrive camp where you use it to slam the front of an already distorted amp. I want to keep all the responsiveness like picking attack and volume roll off...

Hope this makes sense.

 

[jeffb]

Gary Moore ran his into a just starting to break up SLO.

It's always a crapshoot, but I'm guessing level high/gain low would probably be a good goose for an already crunchy amp, but may be over the top for an already high gain setup- the BLUESBREAKER pedal is better for that.

 

[freefrog]

So I'm trying to figure out which camp this thing falls into - the distortion camp where you run it as the primary source of distortion, or the overdrive camp where you use it to slam the front of an already distorted amp.

1st solution IME/IMHO: it's not an overdrive like a TS or SD1. It's a kind of Marshall drive channel in a pedal (hence the BMT tone stack). An overdriveN amp emulation, if you will, rather than an overdriveR.

And to compare it to the other pedals that you mention on the basis of my subjective experience with circuits that I own and use myself...

-it doesn't promote the mids nor blend a part of direct signal to the sound like a TS or SD1 does.
-it has little in common with a Fuzz Face of a Muff, which are more primitive circuits with different voicings (I won't discuss here if they can be labelled as "distortion" effects).
-It's not that far from a RAT and even closer to a Turbo RAT (whose distortion is based on red LEDs like in the Guv) albeit the RAT models are more mid centric, mushier and gainier, with a fuzzy texture when cranked...
-It's not that far either from an OCD - that I don't see as an overdrive, since I use mine as a "primary source of distortion" too.
EDIT - Here are some sounds:




The Guv is also close to a Crunch box, for instance, albeit with less gain and more tonal versatility: the BMT stack of the Guv is really handy IMHO. YMMV.

Now and as suggested by jeffb... Crank up the volume and mids of a Guv'Nor, set the gain low enough, adjust B & T to taste: it should be able to behave like an overdrive. I never do that with mine but it's probably useable in a "red channel"...

 

[TXOldRedRocker]

I have one, and like freefrog, I don't see it as an OD pedal. It's a distortion pedal. But used with a dirty amp, you can use the smoother distortion of the amp, and a little bit of the Guv'nor and the overall sound can be an amp with an OD in front, because of the subtleness. If you crank the Guv'nor's Gain, you definitely get a distortion pedal sound. I use an attenuator with my Marshall amps, so I can tap into amp distortion without blowing the roof off. I've gotten away from OD pedals since. (Wanna buy some?) I now only use fuzz and distortion pedals in front, and a Chase Secret Preamp. And, I don't play anything heavy. I'm after late 60's to 70's Classic Rock tone. But I love that extra bite a distortion pedal or a fuzz turned low can give me blended with the amp's distortion.

I hope that helped.

 

[MikeyDude]

1st solution IME/IMHO: it's not an overdrive like a TS or SD1. It's a kind of Marshall drive channel in a pedal (hence the BMT tone stack). An overdriveN amp emulation, if you will, rather than an overdriveR.

And to compare it to the other pedals that you mention on the basis of my subjective experience with circuits that I own and use myself...

-it doesn't promote the mids nor blend a part of direct signal to the sound like a TS or SD1 does.
-it has little in common with a Fuzz Face of a Muff, which are more primitive circuits with different voicings (I won't discuss here if they can be labelled as "distortion" effects).
-It's not that far from a RAT and even closer to a Turbo RAT (whose distortion is based on red LEDs like in the Guv) albeit the RAT models are more mid centric, mushier and gainier, with a fuzzy texture when cranked...
-It's not that far either from an OCD - that I don't see as an overdrive, since I use mine as a "primary source of distortion" too.

The Guv is also close to a Crunch box, for instance, albeit with less gain and more tonal versatility: the BMT stack of the Guv is really handy IMHO. YMMV.

Now and as suggested by jeffb... Crank up the volume and mids of a Guv'Nor, set the gain low enough, adjust B & T to taste: it should be able to behave like an overdrive. I never do that with mine but it's probably useable in a "red channel"...

Thanks freefrog -

I appreciate your response. I watched the videos and it's the same as mostly all I have seen... It's always a demo of the pedal into a clean amp. I never see any comparisons of them into an already dirty amp using them to boost drive, sustain or gain.

Based on what you said I think we're getting close to the biscuit here. It can be used as an OD (sort of, maybe, in the right situation), but it's not really an OD. Does that sound about right to you?

I have one, and like freefrog, I don't see it as an OD pedal. It's a distortion pedal. But used with a dirty amp, you can use the smoother distortion of the amp, and a little bit of the Guv'nor and the overall sound can be an amp with an OD in front, because of the subtleness. If you crank the Guv'nor's Gain, you definitely get a distortion pedal sound. I use an attenuator with my Marshall amps, so I can tap into amp distortion without blowing the roof off. I've gotten away from OD pedals since. (Wanna buy some?) I now only use fuzz and distortion pedals in front, and a Chase Secret Preamp. And, I don't play anything heavy. I'm after late 60's to 70's Classic Rock tone. But I love that extra bite a distortion pedal or a fuzz turned low can give me blended with the amp's distortion.

I hope that helped.

Thanks Tx... I'm hearing the same basic info as from freefrog. I think I'm of the same vintage as you even though I'm playing more modern hard rock. How does the Guvnor change the tone of your rig if you run it into a distorted amp? Does it keep it's dynamics, and does it get noisy?

My current pedal board is simple - MXR Micro Amp set at 1:00, and a Keeley Plus modded TS9 set at 11:00 gain, 1:00 volume run into a DSL 100h on red 1 with the gain at 6. Then I yo-yo the volume on my guitar and it sounds great. My guitar volume becomes a master gain control.

I'm wanting to add a different flavor to the recipe. The MXR does nothing to the tone - just boosts the gain. The TS9 just does what it does... lol. If I couldn't use it as a 3rd boost my thought was to use the Guvnor into the crunch green with the gain on 10, and use it to overdrive that channel. Green sounds really good with the TS9 but I have to change tone settings. I like the idea of the BMT settings on the Guvnor for that possibility.

 

[freefrog]

Based on what you said I think we're getting close to the biscuit here. It can be used as an OD (sort of, maybe, in the right situation), but it's not really an OD. Does that sound about right to you?

Yes. At least that's what I was trying to say... knowing that I've never played it through a DSL, overdriven or not.

Until now, I've only used it to obtain Marshall flavors from other amps set clean (VOX AC15 and Mesa TA15 mainly). If time permits, I'll try it as an OD pushing a Marshall or Marshall style drive channel and I'll report my findings.

 

[MikeyDude]

Yes. At least that's what I was trying to say... knowing that I've never played it through a DSL, overdriven or not.

Until now, I've only used it to obtain Marshall flavors from other amps set clean (VOX AC15 and Mesa TA15 mainly). If time permits, I'll try it as an OD pushing a Marshall or Marshall style drive channel and I'll report my findings.

That would be great.

Think Michael Schenker, Joel Hoekstra, and Doug Aldridge as examples of where I'm at.

 

[solarburn]

I'm wanting to add a different flavor to the recipe. The MXR does nothing to the tone - just boosts the gain. The TS9 just does what it does... lol. If I couldn't use it as a 3rd boost my thought was to use the Guvnor into the crunch green with the gain on 10, and use it to overdrive that channel. Green sounds really good with the TS9 but I have to change tone settings. I like the idea of the BMT settings on the Guvnor for that possibility.

Took my Guv'nor RI and ran it against my Bad Monkey going in front of my DSL40C loaded with a Celestion Gold. Set it on green crunch with amp gain maxed. Volume at noon 40 watts.

Used both Charvels one with a JB in bridge and the other with a Full Shred. These 2 guitars definitely sound different. The FS is smoother than the JB.

The Bad Monkey sounded much better. The Guv RI was useable and had its own sound(thin/JB-better with FS). The BM sounded more natural with both guitars and a lot better with the JB.

I find the Guv a bit finicky into my Origin 50H too. It sounds great in front of my Monotone 15 watt combo with amp gain set to break up. Mild crunch.

I wouldn't use the Guv RI on my Green crunch channel. Maybe on the green clean? I didn't try it there though.

 

[MikeyDude]

Took my Guv'nor RI and ran it against my Bad Monkey going in front of my DSL40C loaded with a Celestion Gold. Set it on green crunch with amp gain maxed.

Used both Charvels one with a JB in bridge and the other with a Full Shred. These 2 guitars definitely sound different. The FS is smoother than the JB.

The Bad Monkey sounded much better. The Guv RI was useable and had its own sound(thin/JB-better with FS). The BM sounded more natural with both guitars and a lot better with the JB.

I find the Guv a bit finicky into my Origin 50H too. It sounds great in front of my Monotone 15 watt combo with amp gain set to break up. Mild crunch.

I wouldn't use the Guv RI on my Green crunch channel. Maybe on the green clean? I didn't try it there though.

Cool - Thank you for that report. Have you tried it on red 1?

 

[solarburn]

Cool - Thank you for that report. Have you tried it on red 1?

No because it's JCM 800. It was so redundant going into my SC I just laughed. The red DSL I think wouldn't bond well? I'm heading out to dinner. I get a chance later I can try it just to see.

 

[MikeyDude]

No because it's JCM 800. It was so redundant going into my SC I just laughed. The red DSL I think wouldn't bond well? I'm heading out to dinner. I get a chance later I can try it just to see.

LOL... ok.

I'm not looking for it's distortion - I'd like to know what it does with lower gain but higher volume. Like a boost.

If you don't want to mess with it it's cool - I understand.

 

[solarburn]

LOL... ok.

I'm not looking for it's distortion - I'd like to know what it does with lower gain but higher volume. Like a boost.

If you don't want to mess with it it's cool - I understand.

That's how I use it. Not for distortion. With non Marshall voiced amps it sounds great readily. Turns into a Marshall.lol

Ok I ran it on L1 and it squeezes the tone more than I'd like. And sounds a bit transistory. I really couldn't find any sweet spots while adjusting gain or input on the pedal.

On the DSL combo version I prefer L2 with amp gain at about 10am and volume at noon. Straight in. No pedal.

So if you have a 100 watter going into a 412 or 212 it's gonna sound better. Bigger iron and more speakers just sound better to me. The combos 112 cab doesn't do much for me. I'm finicky too.

It's just not exciting me over what I normally use or play with my DSL combo. The squeezing kinda dulls it a bit. Flattens it out more than I like. The amp sounds more open when pedal is disengaged.

 

[MikeyDude]

That's how I use it. Not for distortion. With non Marshall voiced amps it sounds great readily. Turns into a Marshall.lol

Ok I ran it on L1 and it squeezes the tone more than I'd like. And sounds a bit transistory. I really couldn't find any sweet spots while adjusting gain or input on the pedal.

On the DSL combo version I prefer L2 with amp gain at about 10am and volume at noon. Straight in. No pedal.

So if you have a 100 watter going into a 412 or 212 it's gonna sound better. Bigger iron and more speakers just sound better to me. The combos 112 cab doesn't do much for me. I'm finicky too.

It's just not exciting me over what I normally use or play with my DSL combo. The squeezing kinda dulls it a bit. Flattens it out more than I like. The amp sounds more open when pedal is disengaged.

I appreciate the time you took. Thank you - This is what I was thinking it would do. Every video I've watched has them going into a clean or slightly crunchy amp. I was afraid it would fall into that category of not playing well with a high gain rig.

Cool review. Thanks for going there for us.

 

[TXOldRedRocker]

Thanks Tx... I'm hearing the same basic info as from freefrog. I think I'm of the same vintage as you even though I'm playing more modern hard rock. How does the Guvnor change the tone of your rig if you run it into a distorted amp? Does it keep it's dynamics, and does it get noisy?


I'm wanting to add a different flavor to the recipe. The MXR does nothing to the tone - just boosts the gain. The TS9 just does what it does... lol. If I couldn't use it as a 3rd boost my thought was to use the Guvnor into the crunch green with the gain on 10, and use it to overdrive that channel. Green sounds really good with the TS9 but I have to change tone settings. I like the idea of the BMT settings on the Guvnor for that possibility.

It's not noisy.

I have several MXR Distortion pedals, but the only one I use is the Super Badass, because is has BMT controls. As you said, the MXR doesn't color tone. The Guv'nor does a bit. If you have the BMT controls all at 10, no cut, with the pedal on, there's a little less low end than with it off. But, that works for me. I roll off low end anyway, whether it be with dirt pedal controls, with an EQ in the loop, or with the amp controls. So I had the Bass control turned down a bit anyway on the Guv'nor.

It doesn't affect attack at all for me.

I also have multiple pedals of the same type, like 3 distortion pedals, for instance, all dialed in differently, for different tones. Simply stomp and go. No knob turning.

I tried the above using a midi capable distortion pedal with lots of configuration and preset capability, and midi controller. One pedal for lots of tones. Just stomp the controller to switch the preset, but I just didn't think it sounded as good as the real pedals. So back to redundant pedals, and not sad about it.

 

[jason e bates]

I know this pedal has been beaten to death, sorry.

This is shown as a distortion/overdrive pedal. Is it both? How?

Can I effectively run this into the front of a red channel DSL like a TubeScreamer replacement, or will it sound like garbage?
Is this a green channel only type of pedal?

Thanks guys!

I have the newer type, the silver grey one with dual concentric knobs. It is nothing like a tube screamer. It adds a lot of bass and thickness as well as gain. I bought it specifically to beef up my SV20h which can be shrill and thin without it. I hope that helps.

 

[PelliX]

Is this a green channel only type of pedal?

You're implying the other type exists (when talking distortion, OD, fuzz pedals)?

When I think of distortion pedals I think, Fuzz Face, Big Muff, the Rat, etc. In my mind they are not well suited to running into an already over-driven amp.

The RAT is perhaps one exception to that list. Try it. *Even* perhaps on the Red channel of your DSL, though - yikes!

Great into a clean fender, but not too pretty into a dirty Marshall.

I love my RAT through a JCM800. OK, not the highest gain out there, but hardly a clean amp on the high input.

 

[gkelm]

I think there’s a lot of flexibility and options for getting the job done, as long as there’s a tone control. Lower the gain, boost the level, and back off the low end (usually). Same principle as the old treble booster used by guys like Blackmore…TS9 is really a similar principle. Lots of drive pedals can get similar results, but some my work better to you ears and for your amp.