Marshall releases 5 of its best loved amps in Overdrive / Distortion Pedal Format - 1959 SLP, DSL / JCM2000, JM800, JCM900, and JVM

It was a no-brainer for Marshall to release pedal versions of its best loved amps :

• 1965 : JMP 1959 Super Lead Plexi 100W
• 1981 : JMP 2203 / JCM800
• 1990 : JCM900 4100
• 1997 : JCM2000 Dual Super Lead
• 2006/7 : JVM410H

The above reference lists the original amps in chronological order, while it made more sense for my visual to have the two ’Super Lead’ monikered ones together -  so that the JCM800 and JCM900 could appear side-by-side also.

Philip McKnight would rightly label these as 90’s style pedals, and considering these are SMT circuits most likely - then this is very much an aesthetic choice. In many ways Marshall seems to be targeting the success of the TC Electronic AmpWorx line of pedals - where at least in the UK - those lines are both direct competitors at the same price level - £119. The TC Electronic ones are rather more expansive with 6 facia controls, and frequently one on the top edge too - vs just the 4 of the Marshall ones.

They do sound pretty decent, while all those original amps as far as I recall had 3-Band EQ’s - so I’m not sure why Marshall has elected to streamline that part of the experience!

There are some excellent Marshall style pedals from a number of brands - where my top dog is still the Sinvertek MGAT-1 Golden Era - which covers all these varieties in a compact format pedal - with primo components and an extensive control topology. There’s also the 2 PedalPalFX ones, Formula B Eighty Master V2, Pettyjohn Gold and the Room #40 Tsakalis one - just to name a few of the greats.

My 32 Shades of Marshall Article covers off about 2/3rds of the Marshall pedals I own - and most of those are quite a bit more fordable than these new Marshall pedals - but then again they’re mostly Boutique - with some going for us much as $350 - which is far removed from the £119 and equivalent of these particular Marshall pedals.

I don’t really need any of these, they’re slightly over-sized for my preferences, but if I was to get one of these it would be the JVM variety - for which there aren’t specifically a lot of pedal alternatives in existence.

I would rather that Marshall had revived and refined its Guv’nor GV-2 Plus and JH-1 Jackhammer Pedals from circa 2005 - those can be tricky to dial in - but where patience can deliver some fine results - they’re kind of a cult Marmite product at the moment - with almost as many who hate them as love them - but that is mostly due to the fiddly nature of the controls!

So we have a pretty decent budged line of pedals here - where I would rather have seen more expansive pedals - more in line with the stuff the PedalPalFX does. Marshall should really commission PedalPalFX to make proper high quality takes on those amps!