Different Marshall Guv´nor Sounds - Comparison

To me, the original big box Guv'nor sounded best in all demos. Which is why I own one of the best boutique clones of that one available, the Wilson Effects Sparkling Blue. It's my highest gainer.

 

I thought they all sounded pretty similar, obviously they are dialed in to the same relative settings. The original ones had extra features, like the loop in/out and such, but I think the more recent RI series gets you 90+% of the way there, and is relatively inexpensive.
Al

 

The new one is a very good drive pedal and can be had for a song. I had the older Drivemaster when they came out and was never overly impressed with it and thought it was a little too quiet. The original does sound good here as does the Dano Daddy O.

 

Nice demo. Original has more 'depth', to my ears. Was surprised how good the Daddy O sounded too. Maybe I need to seek out one of those Danos....can't justify the investment for the real deal since it's a tone that doesn't fit 99% of what I play these days.

 

Dang, now I gotta go dig my Daddy-O out of the garage! I forgot just how good that pedal is.

 

Yeah, I thought the Daddy-O more than held its own there—certainly better than the GV-2. I have a Monte Allums modded one that sounds really good but unfortunately also serves as an AM radio.

 

If you ever get another one, you could try the following to increase the output:

• remove R16 (there's no equivalent to it in the Guv)
  
• reduce R5 (from stock 33K) to a lower resistance - try cutting it in half, to 15K (Guv uses 22K)

While we're discussing the Drivemaster vs. the Guv'nor, there's a handful of tweaks that I think make it as righteous as the V1 Guv:

• reduce C8 (from stock 100nF) to 68nF - shifts the bass rolloff freq to the same as the Guv (tightens things up, emphasizes mids)
• reduce C11 (from stock 330pF) to 150pF - passes on more top end at the primary gain stage
• increase C3 (from stock 3.9nF) to 15nF "treble cap" in the tone stack - smooths out and strengthens the top end response
• increase R2 (from stock 1.5K) to 2.2K - is done in tandem with increasing C3 above - further enhances the tone circuit's response

...I do other things to put the spit shine on, but I think the above four changes will be absolutely sufficient for most folks. The way the circuitboard of the Drivemaster is laid out, the changes are easy peasey, IMO. If you're sheepish about doing it yourself, it's worth it to find someone else to do it for you (IMO).

 

I’m afraid that the newer Governor sounded incredibly bad to my ears. By contrast the original sounds wonderful. There is a warmth to the original which I feel is totally absent in the GV2, assuming that’s the pedal you’re discussing.

The lack of output available in the originals is a bit of a dealbreaker for me. The Black Box Snouse has always seemed like an excellent, improved clone - it’s thats not an oxymoron.

 

I had one for a while and found it to be pretty good. It doesn't come off well in the video though.

 

With just a few tweaks to my Drivemaster, I end up with the volume control right around 12:00. You could actually get one of the Guv'nor kit builds and just have someone assemble it with the altered parts values.

 

I had the newer one a few years ago. It did the Metallica/Pantera mid scooped high gain better, thanks to the contour control. But it was way noisy. Way noisy. The JCM800 tones were nowhere near as good as my Wilson clone, which I believe to be dead nuts accurate other than a 2 pos clipping switch.

 

The Snouse Black Box is Blues Breaker based. The Guv'nor is a whole different critter.