The reissue of Marshall’s black-box distortion line isn’t something that you would have bet on a few years ago, but it’s very welcome. These lesser-known stompboxes are legendary in certain circles, and having them more widely available is great.
First came the Guv’nor, introduced in 1988. This was produced for four years as Marshall’s first ‘amp in a box’ distortion. Taking what they knew about high-gain amps, from gain-staging to EQ, Marshall were able to create one of the first pedals that legitimately deserved the name. The core distortion tone of the Guv’nor is excellent, but it’s the EQ section that pushes it into preamp territory. Indeed, elements of the design would go on to inspire later Marshall solid-state amps. The Guv’nor was reissued in a pill-shaped silver version many years later. This however failed to capture the imagination of players like the original.
After the Guv’nor, Marshall decided to expand the range with three further models.
