The Marshall Guv’nor Plus GV-2 is recognized by many as a great pedal for those guitarists who play mainly rock.
I bought it used on ebay.it a few years ago. In the throes of GAS I was surfing online looking for various pedals (overdrive / distortion, I admit), looking for a new sound, always with a (very) budget-conscious eye. After a while I came across a really tempting ad.
The pedal in question was sold at a very attractive price, and in addition a modification made by a well-known national craftsman was highlighted. This, as stated by the seller, should have eliminated the original mosquito net, improving its sound.
In reality, therefore, I do not know the original pedal, therefore I cannot know how far it differs from the original sound and I have never been able to make an A / B comparison with mine. Therefore, I will limit myself to talking about the pedal that I bought, however premising that the sound paste should not be very different from the original one, but only a little more limpid.
Features
Once the package is opened, inside we have our effect and a nice user manual. The pedal has a particular shape, typical of many Marshall effects today, but in any case with a box that differs from the classic canons, while retaining the typical dimensions of a classic Boss.
The Marshall Guv’nor Plus GV-2 is solid, metal, heavy and inspires a feeling of remarkable solidity. It has the adjustment controls at the top. The potentiometers are in line with the general solidity, excellent. The activation button is true-by-pass. The power supply is the classic 9V battery or from a standard external power supply, with central negative. Comfortable.
Unlike the standard pedals, however, here the leftmost potentiometer is that of the gain, then we have two potentiometers for low and high, which in turn host two other concentric potentiometers that help to further sculpt the lows and mids, then that of the volume. , all right.
Sound
Unlike the classic overdrives / distortions, with only the tone potentiometer, here we even have a 4-band sound adjustment: very low, low, medium and high !!! Awesome!!! In practice, an infinite number of sounds can be created.
The adjustments are really sensitive and you can create real walls of sound, on the one hand, and ultra-sharp sounds on the other, deciding to thicken or dig the media at will. Finding your ideal sound is certain (it’s virtually impossible that you won’t find at least one combination you like). The problem, if anything, is not to go crazy fiddling with the potentiometers, given the variety of sounds that can be brought out by the Marshall Guv’nor Plus GV-2.
That said, what can I play with it? What is it best suited for? In one answer: rock! He has a nice deep texture, but at the same time he is in my opinion too compressed to play blues and perhaps too little pissed off to make us metal. I’m not the only one who would shy away from recommending the Marshall Guv’nor Plus GV-2 specifically for playing these two musical genres (https://suonarechitarra.com/2011/03/25/chitarra-effects-marshall-gv-2-guvnor-plus/).
What I like? It’s strong, I used it specifically for Santana solo parts, because it has frightening bass and a nice thick texture.
What I do not like? Well, it’s too compressed. Using it on rhythmic parts to create those walls of sound that in theory it is able to create in my opinion is not convenient, because it is however too mixed and tends to get lost in the mix. Even for a nice AC / DC crunch I think it’s too hard.
Does it have the typical Marshall sound? Mmm… I wouldn’t say so much.
Conclusions
The Marshall Guv’nor Plus GV-2 is a valid pedal for the price at which it is proposed (especially when used, the value for money is truly remarkable). For less than 60 euros you can find it new, while half of it can also be used: https://www.mercatinomusicale.com/cerca/marshall-gv-2-guv-nor-plus.html or reverb.com.
For this amount you take home a solid, well-built, true-by-pass pedal with a thousand possible adjustments. At home you can potentially play really anything in my opinion, but when the spaces open up and you find yourself in the middle of a band, maybe it is too pushed and compressed to emerge properly.
However, by adjusting it appropriately, remarkable results can still be obtained. In the end, however, I sold it, both to make room on the pedalboard and because I use other effects that are more suitable for me and I didn’t want it to remain closed in the box unnecessarily.
I advise? Yes, mostly used. It is very robust and it is difficult to have any surprises, given the build quality. At that price it’s certainly worth giving it a chance and if you don’t like it, you can always resell it without losing out! ????
Published on musicanza.it on: 26/03/2020.
