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The initial sales talk for this serious distortion pedal “Guv’nor” bearing the Marshall brand
was that you could get the distortion sound of the Marshall amps with this small stomp box.
Depending on which guitar amps you combine, you can actually get the Marshall amps
distortion. There are two different versions of the Guv’nor: the Britain-made ones from
1988 and the Korean-made ones from 1998. The program on this G series is modeled after
the original version from 1988. The Guv’nor’s characteristic feature is the frequency point
you can tweak using the “TREBLE” control. Even if you lower this parameter value, the
sound will get fat instead of getting dullish. As you raise the value, the sound will get
sweeter and clearer.
Marshall Guv'nor
The “HOT BOX” was released as a pedal preamp bearing the MATCHLESS brand. It uses
two 12AX7A tubes for the truthful reproduction of the sound of the “MATCHLESS” guitar
amplifiers. It has the compressed sound and the quick response, which are distinctive
characteristics of tube amps. Its sound is fat and cuts through very well, too. Even if you
crank up the gain to get a distorted sound, you will retain the nuances of the original guitar
sound. Although it is categorized as preamp, the ideal way to get the best possible sound is
to connect it, like usual stomp boxes, to the input of your guitar amp. Its design is also
attractive: the case is polished like a mirror and the “MATCHLESS” logo lights up when you
turn it on. This “Hot Box” is literally a magic box: you can get the signature sound of the
“MATCHLESS” amps regardless of the guitar amplifier you connect it to.
MATCHLESS HOT BOX
This distortion program is developed especially for the G series. We deliberately made use
of the characteristics of digital devices and even emphasized the edge of the digital sound to
get the distortion to the maximum. The “TM-01” (Tri Metal) was the pedal that had the
deepest distortion sound among the stomp boxes from ZOOM but was discontinued. It had
as much as three diode-clipping stages and had very high gain. The “Extreme Distortion” is
programmed to get the gain even higher. It raises the signal level to the maximum at the
input stage and gets the wild distortion sound at the clipping stage. In fact, you won’t
change the distortion rate even if you lower the volume on your guitar! Its distortion is that
deep. Contrary to the usual distortion effects whose sound gets thinner as you raise the
gain, this “Extreme Distortion” won’t lose the fatness and tightness of the sound.
Extreme Distortion
The “MT-2” (“METAL ZONE”) has the strongest distortion. Its unique distortion sound has
very fat mid to low range and it has a parametric EQ in addition to the Hi and Low EQs,
which is the key to the scooped metal sound. This stomp box is reputed for its flexibility in
sound because you can not only get that scooped metal sound by cutting the mid range and
boosting the high and low range but also the overdrive sound by reducing the gain and
boosting the mid range. This is one of the best-selling stomp boxes among many of the
popular line-ups of BOSS products. Once connected, the Strat or the Les Paul will have the
“MT-2” sound regardless of the types of guitar pickups. It was first introduced in 1991 and
is still in the BOSS’s catalog; a truly a long-seller!
BOSS MT-2
This orange-colored pedal can be called the standard of distortion sound. Among the many
distortion pedals from Boss, it is a real long-seller, along with the SD-1. In Japan, sales of
the pedal ceased at one point (although production for the U.S. market continued), but as of
2005, the product is available again. This is the only Boss pedal to be reintroduced to the
market in this fashion. The sound is trebly and very "distortion-like", but it can very well
hold its own in a band. Favored by Joe Satriani and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.
BOSS DS-1
The “OD-1” released by BOSS in 1977 was originally developed for the simulation of the
natural overdrive sound of tube amplifiers, but this stomp box turned out to be popular as
the booster unit to connect to the input of the real tube amplifier to get tighter and more
punchy sound with the increased gain. The “OD-1” employs the asymmetrical “clipper”
section in its circuit design that uses three diodes to create the overdrive sound that is mild
and rich in nuances. The pedal had been in production from 1977 to 1985, but now it is
unexpectedly difficult to even find a used one. And if you could locate one, it would be
astonishingly expensive. There have been many stomp boxes known as overdrive units. The
most famous one is probably the “Tube Screamer” but we chose this very original overdrive
pedal “OD-1”. If you are lucky enough to use the real “OD-1”, we invite you to try blind
test to turn off all of the effect module except the “OD-1” on the Zoom G series and
compare the sound of the modeling and that of the real one. We think that you will not
hear any difference.
BOSS OD-1
“FUZZ FACE” was originally released from the Dallas-Arbiter company in 1966 encased in a
uniquely designed housing that literally looked like a face. It is also famous as legendary
guitarist Jimi Hendrix’s favorite gear. He combined this “FUZZ FACE” with his Marshall
amps because it was hard to get distorted sound from them at that time, and created avant-
garde tones. The heavy and fat low end and the fuzz sound with long sustain are the
characteristics of this effective device. The earliest model used two PNP germanium
transistors and was very different in sound from the later models using silicon transistors.
The theory of creating distorted sound is simple. Have you tried to connect the guitar to a
microphone input on your radio cassette recorder to emulate that sound? You cannot go
too wrong if you think that the circuitry of this device is similar to that. The program on this
G series is modeled after this earliest version most satisfactorily.
Dallas-Arbiter FUZZ FACE
Forty years ago, my fellow guitar player used to crank up his amp trying to distort his guitar
sound and make other guys of the band virtually deaf at the end of the rehearsal. When it
was difficult to get the distorted sound out of the amplifiers like in those days, some guys
made cuts in the cone loudspeakers to make the sound distorted, which was the origin of
the sound of fuzz effects. The fuzz pedals were developed to reproduce that distortion-like
sound. In other words, the trick of fuzz effect is to simulate the dirty distortion and that
“broken” feel. This “Digital Fuzz” has the very effect described above. Its drastic
distortion, relentless cut-offs and noises in the decay are the characteristics that one could
simply describe as “broken”. Its fat and tight sound can be seriously recommended for the
fuzz maniacs to try. This is literally the Digital Dirty Fuzz that is only possible in the digital
domain (are you brave enough to make cuts in your loudspeakers?).
Digital Fuzz
The Bluesbreaker or Bassman are wonderful combo amps, but nowadays, their gain can
seem a little low. Sometimes you just want to combine the transparency and dynamics of
these combo amps with a more intense level of distortion and sustain. The Z Combo (great
name!) is the answer to your prayers. You get a midrange sound like adding up a Marshall
and a Fender and dividing them by two, plus distortion that equals notching up the volume
from 10 to 15 (or from 12 to 17 on the Bassman). While not intended for jazz or heavy
metal, the sound is great for a wide range of other blues and rock styles.
Z Combo
Opinion may be divided, but it can be argued that the most powerful and fat guitar sound
ever was created by Stevie Ray Vaughan. He did this by putting extremely heavy-gauge
strings that would fit an acoustic guitar on his old and battered Stratocaster. Add to this the
full-up Fender amp and a small Ibanez pedal, and you are approaching magic territory. Just
like this effect type does. Connect a Stratocaster and bend the third string near the 14th fret.
Feel that smile appear on your face. If you want to express your feelings, give this one a go.
Fender Combo + TS9
This is modeled on the early Tube Screamer introduced by Ibanez in 1979 for the non-US
market. In Japan, it was sold under the Maxon name as the OD808. As the moniker implies,
when using the pedal on its own, it produces natural distortion such as when driving a tube
amp hard. But it often was used simply as a booster, with gain at 0 and volume at 10, to
drive a full-up amp even further. Normally, this would not change the amplifier's sound, but
a slight peak in the midrange results in a softer tone.
This pedal is also famous for being used by blues guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan who
tragically perished in a helicopter crash.
Ibanez TS808
This pedal is well known for two things: its capability of producing pure distortion without
impairing the original sound, and its high price. Being four-and-a-half years in the making,
the Centaur distinguishes itself from other famous pedals such as the Ibanez TS808 or the
Boss OD-1. It is also often used as a booster, but whereas these vintage pedals add their
characteristics to the amp sound, the Centaur creates a tone as if it were driven by the amp.
KLON CENTAUR
This is one of the most widely used pedals. It has only three knobs (Distortion, Filter,
Volume), but each knob has a wide adjustment range, allowing various types of sound. With
distortion fully turned up, the fat, up-front sound is close to a Fuzz pedal. At the twelve
o'clock position, the crunch sound brings out those fine picking nuances, allowing the player
to tweak the sound by varying the playing style. As opposed to a regular tone control, the
filter knob cuts the treble when turned clockwise. This is the secret behind the typical "RAT"
sound. In the Zoom G series, this effect is simulated by the TONE parameter, but operation
is reversed (treble is cut when turned counterclockwise).
PROCO RAT
MXR, a company founded in the seventies by two high school students, is famous for stomp
boxes such as the Dynacomp and Phase 90. In the early days, their products were actually
built and painted in a garage and set out to dry in the garden. As the story goes, sometimes
small insects would get stuck on the surface, and the lot would be shipped out as is. The
pedals soon gained worldwide fame in the seventies, but eventually lost their market share
to "Made in Japan" products from Boss and others that provided high performance at lower
cost. MXR disappeared from the scene, but in the late eighties, Jim Dunlop bought the rights
and is now producing a number of re-issue models.
This pedal much beloved by Randy Rhoads who made the "distortion" moniker and sound
famous the world over. The hard-edged tone stays detailed also when playing fast solos or
riffs with the lower strings muted. The world of heavy metal and hard rock wouldn't be the
same without it.
MXR Distortion+
There are several versions of this pedal. The Zoom G series simulation is based on the so-
called "Ram's Head" from the early seventies, characterized by very long sustain and rich
distortion tapestry. Major names from the 70's associated with this sound are Carlos
Santana and Robert Fripp of King Crimson. From the late eighties into the nineties, the
grunge movement took over, with Nirvana's Cobain and J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. using the
pedal to do their thing. Compared to an ordinary fuzz pedal, the BIG MUFF offers rich
midrange and detailed distortion that maintain presence also when playing chords. The
result is a wholly unique sound somewhere between distortion and fuzz.
Electro-Harmonix BIG MUFF
Ever since the dawn of rock, Marshall has been recognized as the best brand of amp for this
genre. With the JCM800 series that appeared in the eighties, Marshall again pulled ahead of
the pack. Among the various models of the series, the most successful must be the 100-watt
2203 featuring a master volume control. With its crisp and solid sound, it makes the guitar
stand out gloriously in a band even over the vocals, something that hard rock guitarists
really appreciate. However, for dashing leads with heavy riffs or right-hand playing, gain
with this amp alone was still not enough. Driving the Marshall JCM800 with an overdrive
pedal was the answer. This effect type recreates the sound of those glitzy hairspray bands
from the eighties, using the Boss SD-1 as overdrive pedal.
Marshall Stack + SD-1
At the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, a guitar was smashed and burnt on stage, helped
along by Zippo lighter fluid. Just before this poor Stratocaster gave up the ghost, its
psychedelic colors disintegrating, it had been played with furious intensity and produced a
sound unlike anything heard before. And that is also what this effect type, combining a
Marshall SuperLead 100 with the FUZZ FACE from Dallas-Arbiter, attempts to do. It
produces a wildly deformed sound that is not destined for delicate chords but for audacious
dramatic leads with heavy sustain. Such as those of the legendary Jimi Hendrix.
Marshall Stack + FUZZ FACE
Which amplifier has the strongest distortion in the world? Is it the Rectifier, the Herbert, the
TriAmp? No, it is the Z Stack that you find right here. The distortion is so strong that simply
touching the fingerboard with your left hand (or right hand if you're left-handed) will
produce sound. (This makes right-hand playing a snap.) But amazingly, a 9th chord will
remain clearly identifiable as such, because the sound does not lose its core. The biggest
problem of this amplifier is that it does not exist--except in the Zoom G series, that is. Give it
a try if you are after really heavy sound.
Z Stack
When playing an electric guitar, distortion is of course one of the essential style elements,
but different guitarists will have different preferences. What this effect type does is
exemplify the preferences of the Zoom G series developers. The smooth overdrive sound
should lend itself to many playing styles, allowing finely nuanced changes. Warmth is better
than with any stomp box, and loud volume will not cause the sound to become unpleasant.
Just the right amount of sustain ensures that attack dynamics remain vibrant. Tracking your
fingerwork with uncanny accuracy, the effect reproduces even the final tinge of the pick
when it leaves the string. We believe that many guitarists will find here what they were
looking for.
Z OD
This is a clean sound that makes the drive module virtually disappear. The bass is tight, and
a very slight treble emphasis creates vigor. Why choose this effect type, then? Try it when
creating patches for arpeggios and cutting. You should get smoother and more rounded
sound. If you want to produce clean guitar sound via a line input, excessive bass may make
it sound as if the pick got caught between the strings. This effect type should solve such
problems.
Z Clean