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Marshall Bluesbreaker – The Overdrive everyone wants and needs!
Introduction
If you look on any blues guitarist’s pedal board, you will most likely see the Marshall Bluesbreaker! This has become a super iconic pedal for many, many reasons! However, is the pedal actually any good? Are all the things that you hear about this pedal true? I thought I would check one out and give it a go!
Worth noting that this is the original pedal and not the reissue (that is to come). I will review the reissue at some point, but I wanted to start with the original pedal and get a feel for that, then compare it with the newer one to see how different they are.
As always, I will start with an overview of the pedal as well as a bit of history, as the Marshall Bluesbreaker is an interesting pedal. Then I will go into some sounds and finally my thoughts on the pedal! So what is the Marshall Bluesbreaker?
Marshall Bluesbreaker
The Marshall Bluesbreaker is an iconic pedal that has been used by many guitarists for its low gain and overdrive sound. It was launched in 1992, and its aim was to recreate the warm and dynamic tones and overdrive sounds of the classic JTM45 from 1962. The pedal is now well known and popular for its touch sensitivity and sparkle. In 2023, Marshall brought back the pedal with an exact recreation of the original. It was part of a line-up which featured four pedals, all aimed at recreating famous and iconic Marshall amps.
The Marshall Bluesbreaker uses an OP-Amp overdrive circuit that aims to provide an open and transparent overdrive sound. Allowing you to overdrive your sound without affecting the tone or feel of your sound. This helps the pedal to recreate the sound of the amp it was aiming to.
More on the Marshall Bluesbreaker
The look of the Marshall Bluesbreaker is housed in a custom enclosure. A solid black housing with blue and white text. A very distinct-looking pedal. Won’t be mistaken for anything else. Looking at the pedal, you have a very large area for the foot switch. Which keeps your foot away from any controls.
So what controls does the Marshall Bluesbreaker have? Let me go through them quickly.
- Gain: Controls the amount of distortion and saturation in the sound.
- Tone: Shapes the overall tone, allowing you to boost or cut frequencies.
- Volume: Adjusts the overall output level.
Old top of the Marshall Bluesbreaker, you will find all the inputs and outputs as well as the 9v power input. On the back of the pedal is a compartment where you can put a 9v battery to run the pedal. You cannot buy the original Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal anymore from shops. You will have to go second hand. However, you can buy the reissue for around £150. Marshall says it is an exact copy of the original.
The Sounds
For the sound sample, you will hear the Marshall Bluesbreaker straight into the front of my valve amp. You will hear the amp set both to a clean tone and a crunch tone. Hopefully, this will show you the wide array of sounds this pedal is able to put out.
For the demo songs, I just did the same as above. Plugged the Bluesbreaker into the front of my amp and had at it. The reverb is a real spring reverb from my amp, and any delay is added in post-production. I tried to replicate two different sounds. A used clean and a heavier overdriven sound. However, both sounds came out fairly clean! I mean, it is a low overdrive pedal, and it does that just perfectly.
What are my thoughts?
The Design
My lord, this is a big boy! The Marshall Bluesbreaker is a very big pedal! Not only in size but it also feels dense and has a fair amount of weight to it! Which is strange because when you look at it, it doesn’t actually have that much on it! One foot switch and three controls. In a strange way, I like it! Its oversized form factor is rather humorous and just makes me love it more! Of course, with this one being one of the originals, it has some wear and battle scars. However, on the whole, I think it has held up well to many years of playing!
Although I would never use it, I do love the battery compartment on the back of the pedal! So handy to pop a battery in there if needed! Along with that, I think the footplate is a very clever design. Thanks to the size of the pedal, you have a big area to press the button! Keeping your controls not only safe from moving but safe from getting broken off!
"I did notice a fair volume difference when turning the pedal on"
The Sounds
Whatever people say about the Marshall Bluesbreaker being a fantastic low overdrive is true! It is amazing! So a crisp and kind of “fresh” overdrive sound. I wouldn’t say it is fully transparent but it does keep your tone fairly neutral! It is nowhere near as tone-heavy as a Klon or Tube Screamer!
I don’t know if it was this pedal specifically or all Bluesbreakers (please let me know) but I did notice a fair volume difference when turning the pedal on. You had to crank the volume a fair amount to even match the volume. What this does mean is that the “boost” use of this pedal is limited! It doesn’t (or maybe just mine) doesn’t have as much volume as other overdrive pedals.
More on the Sounds
The note clarity you can get from this pedal is outstanding! It’s almost like you have a clean sound with the overdrive just sitting below it. At low to medium gain sounds you get the saturation and clipping you are after but still have the string attack and presence there. Very nice to play with!
I was interested to see how the Marshall Bluesbreaker sounds through a small, digital practice amp! I grabbed my Boss Katana Mini (Review Here) and plugged it in. Guess what? Still sounded amazing! It really gave the Boss Katana Mini (Review Here) a lovely push clean sound! Which can be tricky to get from the built-in presets.
The Drawbacks
It’s massive! This is a big pedal! Both in size, weight, and depth! As I said, it does make me chuckle, but fitting it on your board could be a challenge! Everything about this pedal is chunky and large! Height, width, and even depth! Overall, it is a large pedal. Is it comical and funny? Yes! However, it is a pain when trying to mount it on a pedalboard.
I always bring up labels and reading the pedal’s controls. I think this is the worst one ever! The knobs are tiny compared to the enclosure, plus the labels are away from the controls, and they are in small white text. Extremely hard to read while standing over it.
I don’t know if they have fixed this in the reissue, but all the sounds seem to be in the last quarter of the pot! The volume and gain have to be almost full to affect the sound! This will, of course, depend on what guitar and pickups you are running. However, while I was playing the pedal, I found my volume and gain would be around 9 o’clock most of the time.
"Allowing you to get some very nice sounds, and stacking it with other pedals opens up so many sounds."
Final Thoughts
Overall, I really loved this pedal; it is a fantastic low overdrive pedal! Perfect for running into a super clean amp. However, if I were to get a Bluesbreaker, I would opt for the reissue! Looking at the wider picture, I think I prefer my JSA Nightingale (Review Here). The extra presence control that Simon added is really nice to add in some sparkle. They are roughly the same price as the reissues as well. The Marshall Bluesbreaker circuit is very enjoyable and easy to play, allowing you to get some very nice sounds, and stacking it with other pedals opens up so many sounds.
If you do want to buy a reissue, then you can grab one using my affiliate links below! I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. It is a great way to help support the website and YouTube channel.
Conclusion
That is the Marshall Bluesbreaker! A super cool and amazing low overdrive sound! I don’t think I have played anything like this pedal. Like I said above, it is a very cool sound, and at low drive, you get almost a split sound. I will definitely be checking out other Bluesbreaker-type pedals and circuits to see what else is out there! Judging by my JSA Nightingale, people have adapted and improved this circuit, and I am keen to see what they have done!
If there are any other pedals you want me to check out, then please let me know! I am open to checking most things out. They don’t even have to be vintage pedals. I have been checking out a lot of affordable and budget-friendly pedals, like the Berhringer Klon (Review Here). I do have a lot of reviews ready to go, so make sure to keep an eye on them for when they drop.
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Marshall Bluesbreaker Links:
- Marshall Bluesbreaker Reissue (Andertons Affiliate)
- Marshall Bluesbreaker Reissue (Thomann Affiliate)
- Andertons Affiliate Link
- Thomann Affiliate Link
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