Formula B doubles down on its already phenomenal Eighty Master MIAB, now in even better V2 Compact Twin-Channel Preamp Edition

When I reviewed the original 1590BB mid-size edition of Eighty Master a little over one year ago I already proclaimed it to be one of the most instantly satisfying ’Marshall in a Box’ pedals that I have encountered. And this new compact dual-gain / dual-channel version is even more impressive - allowing you to ramp your sound up and down on-the-fly via a second footswitch.

The former had a couple of toggle switches in addition - a 50W / 100W gain structure switch, which is replaced by the Gain 1 & Gain 2 controls of the V2 Compact edition. And a 3-way Compression switch : Some / None / Lots - where I feel that the V2 solely retains the ’Some’ degree of Compression, there are no internal controls for further adjustment - everything is fully surfaced on this pedal.

This is billed as a JCM800 style Preamp, but it’s well capable of hitting Plexi tones too - particularly those Hot-rodded Modded styles. And yes it can do a mean Brown Sound - largely courtesy of the Modeling / Presence dial.

You essentially adjust EQ to taste - it already sounds fabulous with everything at noon. And where for me the optimal gain values are your classic steering wheel positions - of 10 and 2 o’c!

The Eighty Master has a wonderfully authentic and properly snappy and elastic core Marshall Voicing which really triggers total pedal satisfaction. And the added versatility in having the second Gain / Channel - makes this incredibly potent, and particularly so at this size. I have a number of favourite Marshall style pedals, and this one is definitely right up among my favourites, Marco has done a great job on this one. My only tiny irrelevant niggle really is the position of those 2 LED’s which don’t really align with anything - otherwise everything about this pedal is pretty much flawless.

Controls : Volume, Gain 1, Gain 2, Modeling (Presence), Bass, Mids, Treble, CH1/CH2 Footswitch, Bypass Footswitch.

Preferred Settings : Volume @ 1:30 o’c, Gain 1 @ 10 o’c, Gain 2 @ 2 o’c, Modeling @ 1:30 o’c, Bass @ Max, Mids @ 9 o’c, Treble @ 3 o’c.

Many thanks to Formula B’s Marco and Boost Guitar Pedals’ Jim for helping to make this happen. I in effect got mine from the Boost Guitar Pedals Webstore - where they go for £189.99. Also of course available on the Formula B Webstore for those on the continent - for €199.

There is a vast variety of Marshall style pedals out there, in fact I will be doing my 32 current Favourite MIAB types next! You’d have to go a very long way to beat this one though. This Eighty Master V2 is a very rare treat indeed!

Note that as the core circuit / output is the same as for the previous version, meaning the Marco has not felt the need to commission any new demos - so just imagine this V2 as a more compact, more dynamic version of that circuit, and minus the compressions options!

This pedal is the very epitome and sum total of Classic 80’s Rock tones!