Help me choose a Marshall-in-a-box pedal

[vino_buono]

I must say -- Helix has been killing my GAS. It does many things oh so well, and I'm not much into purchasing stuff I would not really use for rehearsal/live. That said, I would like to try a good Marshall-in-a-box pedal in my secondary board, using it as the main "amp" tone and using the HX Stomp for effects. I am looking for a vintage Marshall tone from mid gain to hard rock, no metal. It does not need to have loads of gain (I can and usually do buffer-and-boost the guitar signal), but the sound should be punchy and defined. I have identified a few contenders:

- Revival drive compact
- J.Rockett 45 caliber
- Bogner La Grange

All sound great, the Revival drive has an obscene price. Do you have any experience with them (or others)?

 

[Bob Zaod]

I must say -- Helix has been killing my GAS. It does many things oh so well, and I'm not much into purchasing stuff I would not really use for rehearsal/live. That said, I would like to try a good Marshall-in-a-box pedal in my secondary board, using it as the main "amp" tone and using the HX Stomp for effects. I am looking for a vintage Marshall tone from mid gain to hard rock, no metal. It does not need to have loads of gain (I can and usually do buffer-and-boost the guitar signal), but the sound should be punchy and defined. I have identified a few contenders:

- Revival drive compact
- J.Rockett 45 caliber
- Bogner La Grange

All sound great, the Revival drive has an obscene price. Do you have any experience with them (or others)?

I used the LaGrange for a spell on my analog board and IMO it is a very good low/mid gain MIAB pedal. Now take what I am about to say with a grain of salt because I got over my boutique and/or pricey stuff years ago, but the best MIAB I have ever had was the Radial Tone Bone Classic. Can be a bit noisy at higher settings but it sounds like it fits what you are looking for.

 

[la szum]

I'd toss the Bogner Blue (Mini or Full) into the mix as well.

 

[jellodog]

I have the RevivalDrive Compact.

The price is high for sure. Is it obscene? I'm not sure. The RDC really isn't a normal pedal and is hard to compare to the others. It really IS a MIAB and it is heavy. It might be heavy because it contains small transformers that mimic those in a real power section or it might be the rugged housing, but it is the heaviest pedal I've ever had in my hand.

And the RDC is not a distortion pedal: It is literally adding another channel to your amp.

The RDC sounds phenomenal when put through an FX return. It's great in front on an amp too, but I found it more of a pain to dial in when used as a preamp - that's my main gripe with it: very small movements on the knobs can have large effects and harder to balance with your amp sound if you want to use it in front (that's made harder by the EQ knob that's there to match it to your amp).

Other than that though, it is a great MIAB. The RDC (non Hot Rod) is certainly not a high gain pedal.

At the time I was shopping for MIABs I read some worrying reports of QC issues with the Bogner La Grange and of multiple failures (a couple of years ago). I hope they've addressed those concerns now, but you should look into the current situation and see what people are saying.

 

[vino_buono]

I have the RevivalDrive Compact.

The price is high for sure. Is it obscene? I'm not sure. The RDC really isn't a normal pedal and is hard to compare to the others. It really IS a MIAB and it is heavy. It might be heavy because it contains small transformers that mimic those in a real power section or it might be the rugged housing, but it is the heaviest pedal I've ever had in my hand.

The RDC is not like the others. It is not a distortion pedal: It is literally adding another channel to your amp.

The RDC sounds phenomenal when put through an FX return. It's great in front on an amp too, but I found it more of a pain to dial in when used as a preamp - that's my main gripe with it: very small movements on the knobs can have large effects and harder to balance with your amp sound if you want to use it in front. Other than that though, it is phenomenal. The RDC (non Hot Rod) is certainly not a high gain pedal.

At the time I was shopping for MIABs I read some worrying reports of QC issues with the Bogner La Grange and of multiple failures (a couple of years ago). I hope they've addressed those concerns now, but you should look into the current situation and see what people are saying.

Thanks, that's very useful. Price-wise, I don't mean "obscene" in a bad way It's just that it costs so much more than other MIAB pedals. Do you think it would sound good into a powered guitar-oriented FRFR or, more likely, into an FX loop of the Stomp, then Stomp out to FRFR? I imagine my chain would be: mid boost (for leads only) (e.g. KoT) + RDC in the Stomp loop + volume boost and delay (for leads only).

I'd toss the Bogner Blue (Mini or Full) into the mix as well.

That sounds interesting. Blue and La Grange seem to have a lot of overlap. Do you know if there is any significant tone difference?

 

[la szum]

I prefer the Blue. Have had both a few times on this mad merry-go-round of gear.

May have to try a few of these options on to know what fits best for you.

 

[jellodog]

Do you think it would sound good into a powered guitar-oriented FRFR or, more likely, into an FX loop of the Stomp, then Stomp out to FRFR? I imagine my chain would be: mid boost (for leads only) (e.g. KoT) + RDC in the Stomp loop + volume boost and delay (for leads only).

The RDC would sound great into a powered FRFR with an IR loader.

But through the Stomp FX loop? - I don't know... I don't have enough knowledge on that subject. I've not done it, but it seems like a bit of a waste to put all that analogue goodness through a double AD -> DA conversion in the Stomp FX loop!

I was going to say "at that point, you may as well use the Marshalls in the Stomp - it would probably sound similar", but of course the HX Marshalls are a contentious topic! Placator is good though!

Might be better used in front of the Stomp, less conversions and more "traditional" signal flow.

 

[vino_buono]

I was going to say "at that point, you may as well use the Marshalls in the Stomp - it would probably sound similar", but of course the HX Marshalls are a contentious topic! Placator is good though!

Here we are :-) Indeed, I've never been able to get the exact Plexi tone I wanted from the Helix (may as well be user error, but still...), that's why the MIAB seems interesting. I do use the Placater for higher gain and I like it a lot, it's the mid-gain Plexi I struggle with.

But you are right -- analog goodness should receive as little AD/DA conversions as possible.

 

[-BOOGIEMAN-]

This one is killer, I’m not even kidding…

 

[FuzzyAce]

I've not used many MIAB style pedals, besides a Bogner Red but that's obviously a higher gain thing. I do have a Vox Copperhead and I will say it does a good job with THAT sound, and it's tube-based. Today I ran it through the preamp out setting, and into the Helix using IR cabs and was impressed. I liked it better than the Plexi in Helix. It has a punchier bottom end and more clarity. Ran a BAE Hot fuzz into the Copperhead and it was all there like you'd expect. They're still available for $99, hard to beat.

 

[Whizzinby]

Victory Sheriff tube preamp pedal?

 

[hunter]

Bogner sounds great but too noisy, so much I sold it.
There are a gazillion out there. I like the PlexiRanger. DirtyShirley Ok too, a bit fuller sounding. Strymon Riverside is pretty cool as well, especially as it has midi and a gate and some nice switching options. There are like 1000 more I haven't tried. Enjoy the search and report back what's your fav.

 

[EOengineer]

I'd toss the Bogner Blue (Mini or Full) into the mix as well.

This is my suggestion as well. Musicians friend got me with their stupid deal of the day a couple years ago. I haven’t used the mini but continue to be amazed at how authentically the full size pedal adds a British crunch channel to my SFDR. It sounds and feels like another channel on a tube head. There’s nothing pedal-like about it.

 

[2112]

Revival drive is very, very good. Tsakalis Room 40 gives it a run for it's money and the new VS Audio Platinum is great too (Silver Jubilee style circuit).

 

[Orvillain]

Platinum is great too 9Silver Jubilee style

 

[vino_buono]

Revival drive is very, very good. Tsakalis Room 40 gives it a run for it's money and the new VS Audio Platinum is great too (Silver Jubilee style circuit).

After researching a little more, Revival drive and Tsakalis room 40 seem to be my preferred options. Is there any aspect where the Tsakalis is not quite as good as the Revival drive, in your opinion? The Revival is more expensive but I really haven't heard/read anything other than fully enthusiastic comments about it.

 

[vino_buono]

It might be heavy because it contains small transformers that mimic those in a real power section or it might be the rugged housing, but it is the heaviest pedal I've ever had in my hand.

Upon further reading, if I understand correctly the Revival Drive has a built-in reactive load to capture the interaction between power stage and speakers. Wow!!!

 

[Tritium3H]

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PedalPalFx

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Own a PAL800-V3. It is wonderful.

Then, there is the “OG”. The MIAB pedals from MI Audio such as the Crunch Box and Super Crunch Box. Different versions. You would have to do some searching as they are no longer made. Have both an original Crunch Box and a Super CB v2. Amazing!

There are, of course, a bunch more. However, I would always recommend getting a MIAB pedal that features, as a minimum, a dedicated Mids control…and preferably a Presence control.

 

[Trandy]

I’m surprised nobody mention the Lovepedal COT50.

I’m not sure how it would interact with the Helix…but it sounds great going into my Victoria. :)

 

[Achilles]

And I'm surprised nobody mentioned the PedalPal Fx PAL. I have the 800 and it's the real deal. Johan Segeborn agrees. I bought mine based on this video.