Marshall reissues Guv'nor, BluesBreaker, DriveMaster and ShredMaster pedals

August 1, 2023 · 2 sources

Marshall has reissued the Guv'nor, Blues Breaker, Drivemaster and Shredmaster pedals, Gearnews reported on February 24, 2023, describing them as looking like the originals from the late '80s and early '90s¹. Guitar.com's review, published August 18, 2023, said the four are "UK-made reissues"².

The originals were Marshall's first serious attempt at effects pedals, clad in black-painted mild steel and launched in 1988, according to Guitar.com². The review said they were modeled on the company's amps, "from the low-gain crunch of the BluesBreaker to the metal-ready JCM roar of the ShredMaster"². Gearnews described the Guv'nor as a medium-gain drive with a distinctive Marshall voicing and a built-in effect loop via an insert-style cable input, and placed the Blues Breaker as low gain, the Drivemaster as mid gain and the Shredmaster as heavier gain¹.

The two accounts differ on the original line's history. Guitar.com said the pedals were not a huge success at the time and were discontinued in 1992². Gearnews said the Guv'nor was originally built in the UK, that production later moved to Korea before it was phased out, and that the Blues Breaker, Drivemaster and Shredmaster arrived later in the '90s¹.

Guitar.com reported that the reissues keep to the original design rather than modernizing components:

Gearnews said reports from owners who had taken the new units apart suggested they look like good clones of the original circuits¹. Guitar.com attributed the pedals' later reputation to associations with Gary Moore and, much later, John Mayer².