Marshall JVM, JCM800, JCM900, and DSL Pedal Reviews

If you’d like to own a stable of classic Marshall heads but your budget won’t say “yes,” the legendary UK company may have a solution in the form of their recent line of amp-in-a-box overdrive pedals. They’ve put five of their greatest hits—the Super Lead (reviewed separately in our July issue), the JCM900, JCM800, the DSL, and the JVM—in 5" x 4" x 1 1/2" stomps, with a black-and-gold panel-and-grille-cloth motif. Sonically, they range from “nailed-it” to stunning. And at $159, all four total less than the tab for a 100-watt DSL head and just a bit more than the 20-watt version, to say nothing of the $2,899 it takes to grab a new JCM800. With this snarling, all-analog, true-bypass quintet, all you need is a solid pedal-platform amp and a humbucking or single-coil 6-string, and you’re in business.

Admittedly, my test amps were very solid: a Carr Vincent and the company’s Telstar. But I also have extensive experience with 800s and Super Leads, and I know a good time when I hear it. Whether spanking a PRS SE Silver Sky, a ’68 Les Paul Standard, a custom Zuzu with coil-splitting, or a been-through-Hell Tele with humbuckers, the results are gritty and sparkling, with rich midrange tones and plenty of articulate brightness in these pedals’ simple controls. And while these creations take a standard barrel-pin connector, they also run on 9-volt batteries, which makes them an easy drop-and-go asset for backline gigs.