Printable View
So I was messing around with some Van Halen today. I only have one pedal, a Mojo Hand Mule which is a great pedal. Very tweedy overdrive, reacts well to picking technique, and when the drive is jacked all the way it has a really cool Black Keys or White Stripes fuzz kinda thing going on. But Van Halen isn't its forte. I realize I may be asking too much of a 5F1 tweed champ but is there a pedal, like a Rat or something, that can turn it into a Marshall-in-a-box?
I don't know exactly how it will work with the 5F1, but if you can find a Marshall Shredmaster, that works well for 80's Marshall sounds.
I built www.buildyourownclone.com's "Shredder" clone of the Shredmaster (currently out of stock, unfortunately) and can highly recommend it.
http://buildyourownclone.com/shredder.html
Even though it is called the Shredmaster or "Shredder" it can go from hard distortion down to some nice subtle stuff.
The Contour control really gives it some versatility in tone.
That's something I might be interested in. I'm 100% satisfied with the sounds of the amp when I'm playing anything from the 60's or 70's Marshalls (it ain't a plexi but still sounds good nonetheless), but 80's stuff could sound a bit better.
They're out of stock of that pedal. Any other recommendations for an 80's Marshall-in-a-Box pedal?
There's the venerable BSIAB pedal. I'm sure someone makes a kit, you'll hafta search tho. It's a very popular DIY pedal. I bet GGG has it. HTH
GGG has it and I was wondering if that site was reputable at all. I saw a pedal on there that was based on the shredmaster too. Those kits intrigue me, and the price is right. I had no problem paying boutique pedal prices for my Mojo Hand Mule because it's essentially my OD channel unless my wife is out doing something (then I normally crank my amp). It sounds great and I use it all the time. However I just can't bring myself to pay boutique pedal prices for something that is more a novelty than anything. I don't play much 100w-superlead-in-a-box stuff but it would be nice to have when I have the itch. I might have to pick one up!
I like GGG a lot. The kits are nice and very fairly priced!
GGG is legit, they've been around a long time. Also check out MadBean pedals, I've built several pedals from them. Good people and good products.
I know Don can attest to this, but a good RAT is a beautiful thing into a tweed! I have one I built, and it can do the "80s" thing if you want it to. I mainly use mine as a semi dirty boost. Running it at 12 volts helps too. I've found that by lowering the cap value in the negative feedback loop adds some "magic". I believe 30pf is the stock value. I use a 15-20pf instead. It makes the pedal "looser" & more "organic", for lack of better terms. DO NOT go this low if you plan to play with the gain maxed out tho!!! It'll be too squirrelly and squeally... Unless that's what you're going for. I myself run the gain at around 10-11 o'clock. People don't believe me when they ask me what I'm using. "I've never heard a RAT sound like that!" Is usually the response I get.
Best of luck! HTH
I've not purchased anything from GGG, but have used them as a resource for a number of years. The BSIAB2 looks like a fun build and definately designed for the 80's EV sound based on the Youtube samples, especially with the contour knob modification. I might get one myself :-)
I saw the Marshall Guv'nor on GGG, but not the Shredmaster - at least as a kit. The Guv'nor is similar, but not quite the same as the Shredmaster.
I enjoy a good Rat. Keep the gain set low. I'll have to try that cap swap.
That's one of my tweaks, "I like it, a lot..."
Hmm. I wonder which one would be more versatile. The BSIAB2 with contour control or their Rat clone, possibly with mods? I want to get the 80's metal thing but if I can get something with a few other tricks up its sleeve, all the better.
IDK, never played a BSIAB. Another pedal to consider is a Box of Rock, I think Madbean calls them a "Krankosauras" or something. My buddy plays a real one into a SF Bandmaster, sounds pretty good, and you get a SHO that's independent.
I played my "stock" Rat clone through my "stock" 5F1 clone last night and enjoyed a variety of Marshall-esque tones. Manipulating the pedal's drive and filter controls can get '70s & '80s type tones. It didn't sound exactly like a Marshall but it was good enough for rock 'n roll!
The Box of Rock is a fun pedal! I'm not a huge fan of the DLS. It seems like it tries too hard- it has too much "thump".
Take what I say with a grain of salt- I am really not a fan of overdrive pedals!
That's what I'm looking for Don. I know I won't get the full effect of a JCM800 with a full stack but if it's good enough for Rock n roll, that's good enough for me!
Both the Rat and the BSIAB2 pedal sounded pretty good. I'll get one of them, though I don't know if I'll do the cap swap if I get the Rat. I already have a loosey pedal in my Mule.
I think you're right about not changing the feedback loop cap value. But, you could always put that on a mini switch. Another thing to consider is the Reutz mod, that too can be put on a switch. Just some things to consider.
Best of luck amigo! Let us know what you go with.
I likethe Ruetz mod a lot. It makes the pedal into more of a Marshall flavored overdrive pedal though it makes it quite a bit darker.
FYI, I just checked www.buildyourownclone.com, the Shredder is back in stock. :dude
My wife gave me the Rodent kit from GGG for my birthday!
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5500/1...6d2c727a_c.jpg
Hope to have the board soldered and at least the color coat on the housing this weekend. I got an LM308 chip off of ebay last week but it's coming from Hong Kong. Hopefully it'll arrive next week. If not I'll just swap out chips when it arrives.
I'll see how it sounds stock before I do any mods.
That looks nice! If you want I'll send you a couple 80s era 308s.
Thanks Chuck! PM going your way!
I somehow don't get PM's on here?!? So I sent you an email at the addy you have listed in your profile but it came back...
So here's my addy ccpacheco26 at gmail dot com