The Oxford Drive is a high gain distortion pedal from The King of Gear, built as an evolved take on the Marshall ShredMaster circuit. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson describes it as delivering "very much High Gain Marshall style tones", and lists it as a High Gain Distortion pedal with a ShredMaster-derived design1. For players chasing saturated rhythm sounds and cutting lead tones in the Marshall vein, it sits in the same territory as the Marshall ShredMaster itself and Marshall's own Shredmaster Vintage Reissue.
Where the circuit comes from
The ShredMaster lineage matters here. Marshall's original pedal is "famous for its ability to produce high gain distortion sounds", as GuitarPlayer put it when covering the reissue line2, and MusicRadar's demo of the reissues describes the ShredMaster as "a distortion, based on the JCM 900"3. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley called it "a more high-gain sibling to the Drivemaster, with a little more heat on tap", a hard-working distortion pedal for high-gain scenarios4. Marshall's own product page for the reissue promises "swathes of high gain distortion, perfect for saturated rhythm sounds"5. The Oxford Drive takes that same circuit as its starting point: Karlsson describes it as "An evolved take on the Marshall ShredMaster as far as I understand"1.
So it is not a straight clone. The control set follows the ShredMaster, but the Oxford Drive adds an LED clipping switch, giving the player a clipping option the original layout did not carry1.
The controls
The Oxford Drive carries six controls, listed by Guitar Pedal X as "Bass, Contour, Treble, Gain, Volume, Led Clipping : Off/On"1:
| Control | What it is |
|---|---|
| Gain | Gain knob |
| Contour | Contour knob |
| Bass | Bass knob |
| Treble | Treble knob |
| Volume | Volume knob |
| LED Clipping | Off/On switch |
The Bass, Contour and Treble knobs give the pre-gain and post-gain shaping the ShredMaster layout is known for, while Gain and Volume set the drive level and output. The LED clipping switch is the departure from the original: it can be switched off or on1.
What reviewers said
Guitar Pedal X's verdict, from Stefan Karlsson's 30 January 2024 review: "A great sounding distortion pedal - while it obviously has a lot of competition out there - I'm still tempted though!"1. That framing is worth noting for a player comparing options: the ShredMaster circuit space is crowded, with Marshall's own reissue on the market alongside a range of independent takes, and Karlsson acknowledges that competition directly while still rating the Oxford Drive's sound.
Videos
Joe Edelmann
Mike Hermans
collector//emitter
Questions
What circuit is the King of Gear Oxford Drive based on?
Guitar Pedal X describes the Oxford Drive as an evolved take on the Marshall ShredMaster, the high gain distortion pedal Marshall built around the JCM 900 amplifier circuit. The Oxford Drive keeps the ShredMaster's control layout of Bass, Contour, Treble, Gain and Volume, and adds an LED clipping switch that can be turned off or on.
What does the LED clipping switch do on the Oxford Drive?
The Oxford Drive carries a Led Clipping switch with Off and On positions, listed among its controls by Guitar Pedal X. It sits alongside the Bass, Contour, Treble, Gain and Volume knobs, giving the player a clipping option the original ShredMaster layout did not have.
How much does the King of Gear Oxford Drive cost?
Guitar Pedal X listed the Oxford Drive High Gain Distortion at $200 USD as of 30 January 2024.
When was the Oxford Drive released?
Guitar Pedal X dates the Oxford Drive to around a year after The King of Gear's Mini Glitch, which puts its introduction at around 2019.
Is the Oxford Drive a Marshall ShredMaster clone?
Guitar Pedal X calls it an evolved take on the Marshall ShredMaster rather than a straight copy. It follows the ShredMaster's control set but adds an LED clipping switch, so it is best described as a development of the ShredMaster circuit rather than an exact clone.
Sources (5)
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-01-30
- “We Copied Them Exactly”: Marshall's Steve Smith Introduces the New Guv'nor, Bluesbreaker, Drivemaster and Shredmaster Reissues, GuitarPlayer, 2023-02-24
- Which is the ultimate Marshall reissue overdrive and distortion pedal to buy?, MusicRadar (www.musicradar.com), 2023-02-27
- The Guv'Nor, Drivemaster, Bluesbreaker and Shredmaster return as Marshall officially reissues its famous vintage stompbox range, MusicRadar, 2023-02-24
- The Shredmaster pedal is perfect for high-gain distortion, www.marshall.com
