Guv sounds a bit more present at neutral but much closer to each other on lead tones.. however to my ear the guv sounds more forward and the master a bit more scooped when playing chords
Tried out the four of them yesterday…. Went with the bluesbreaker and the drivemaster. But I spent a lot of tme going back and forth between the drivemaster and the guv’nor. I found the drive master more touch sensitive and better sounding when rolling down the volume knob on the guitar.
I built copies of both of these and if I remember correctly, the only differences were a couple minor changes to capacitor and pot values. As well I think the Drivemaster had symmetrical diode clipping whereas the Guv’nor used asymmetrical. As for the sound difference, they’re pretty close. Because of the pot value differences it’s not like u can set the pedals the same and compare them but if u try u can dial them in to sound pretty much identical
According to Andertons “Based on Marshall's original The Guv'nor pedal, the DriveMaster simplified its circuitry and added a touch more gain at lower frequencies” ~ I think the Guv’nor is more popular because of Gary Moore, but I can’t hear any difference on this shootout.
I received my Drive Master this week here in N.C. I'm now thinking that I may want to trade for the slightly smaller Guv'nor (sound is the same to me).
I played all four pedals back to back at the Birmingham UK Guitar Show and went with the Guv'Nor...why? Identical sound to the Drivemaster, Loop insert, form factor, more iconic, indeed. Time will tell, but either way: Kudos to Marshall for bringing them back in that accurate reincarnation.
Just got both, they sound different to me, Guv more articulate and open, DM sounds as if it has a bit more compression and gain. Could be down to component tolerance differences. Hanging on to both for now.
My guess... could they do without the guv'nor.. hell no.... could they do without the drivemaster?...."but then the series isn't complete"... so, no... both it is then...
Your demo motivated me to buy a vintage DriveMaster. I'll take that one out. Keep my vintage Gov'Nor at home. Separate topic, thanks for that true homage to GMoore.
I'll say that they're as close as makes no difference the same. The more interesting thing is what does this tell us about the guitar pedal market? In fact I think these reissues make a very interesting point. These pedals have flaws. The bypass sucks top end if you've not got a buffered pedal in front. They lack the kind of output level that people seem to want these days for slamming the inputs of their amps... And if they were trying to make a true top-drawer pedal they could have implemented soft switching true bypass switching via a relay, put them in smaller cases... and many other little improvements too I'm sure. Similarly, reissuing the same circuit (although I think the Drive Master might have a higher input impedance) in both its guises tells us something. It's not about the pedal, or the circuit. it's about nostalgia. It's about collecting. It's about fashion. Personally I'd wager the Bluebreaker and Guv'nor are the ones that'll sell. They're the famous ones. The Shred Master and Drive Master I expect to see discounted by October (I had a vintage Shred Master and a Drive Master on eBay several times. Didn't make the £100 reserve for either on many attempts).
Guvnor looks way more cool . Sound is the same to my ears . Does the effects loop in the guvnor has influence in the sound ? I have the bluesbreaker reissue . Great pedal . There is Some tone suck ( high end ) so I Will put a tuner with buffer in front of my chain . But does anyone know if I have to put a buffered pedal in front of the guvnor too if I buy this pedal also ? So , a buffer for each “ poor” bypass pedal ? Or just 1 buffer at the beginning and 1 at the and ?
It was always the same circuit and Marshall never said anything else. The drivemaster was the Guv'nor repackaged when the new series (including Blues Breaker and Shredmaster) came out. No mystery to discover.
They sound very simular, flip a coin same price lol. If you need to have one of them you can't loose IMO. Im sure for a longer period of time the Drive Master will be easier to get and more often in stock.
Just got my guv'nor.. haven't even hooked it up yet..or even opened it..have several others to get to as well...lol..I like to have a few hours to dive in proper..🎸✌️🤘
Subtle differences, possibly due to component variances, but overall it’s the same sound. I wonder if they could have just released one pedal with a switch for both sounds… Also, I see absolutely no good reason to get rid of the effects loop. Lots of pedals could use an effects loop IMO. 😂
"How can Marshall get away with this?!" Idk probably the same way y'all get away with charging $250 for $15 worth of parts built into a circuit that your company stole from Cesar Diaz.
Can't comment on the reissues but I own all of the original pedals and I love them all, except for the drive master. It feels kinda stiff when playing and when holding notes it gets quite fizzy and there is no sustain at all. It does not sound like the guv'nor at all. I had - and still have - 2 Drive Master pedals and 3 Guv'nors, so I'm quite sure about my impression. That being said even the Drive Master sounds good when it comes to recording.
I totally agree with you. I had a Drive Master and I found all the faults you wrote about. I just ordered a Guv'nor (reissue), but never again the Drive Master. And I remember that more than 30 years ago, when it came out we missed the original Guv'nor.
*It would have been cool if you had disassembled them and inspected the two circuit boards in detail, comparing the chips and other components...*
Blues breaker and Marshal the Guv'nor are my favorite and most used pedals that I've built.
Guv sounds a bit more present at neutral but much closer to each other on lead tones.. however to my ear the guv sounds more forward and the master a bit more scooped when playing chords
Tried out the four of them yesterday…. Went with the bluesbreaker and the drivemaster. But I spent a lot of tme going back and forth between the drivemaster and the guv’nor. I found the drive master more touch sensitive and better sounding when rolling down the volume knob on the guitar.
I built copies of both of these and if I remember correctly, the only differences were a couple minor changes to capacitor and pot values. As well I think the Drivemaster had symmetrical diode clipping whereas the Guv’nor used asymmetrical. As for the sound difference, they’re pretty close. Because of the pot value differences it’s not like u can set the pedals the same and compare them but if u try u can dial them in to sound pretty much identical
Drive master- slightly more midrange , clearer gain. Guvnor dirtier more low end. Both excellent top end. To my ears anyhow 😅
According to Andertons “Based on Marshall's original The Guv'nor pedal, the DriveMaster simplified its circuitry and added a touch more gain at lower frequencies” ~ I think the Guv’nor is more popular because of Gary Moore, but I can’t hear any difference on this shootout.
It’s not night and day, but most OD pedals aren’t either. It’s the subtle difference that matter in music. Everything can’t be completely different.
The Governor is a bit smoother, more compressed...
Both of those pedals sound awesome!
💯🙌
I received my Drive Master this week here in N.C. I'm now thinking that I may want to trade for the slightly smaller Guv'nor (sound is the same to me).
Plus you get an effects loop with the Guv'nor
I played all four pedals back to back at the Birmingham UK Guitar Show and went with the Guv'Nor...why? Identical sound to the Drivemaster, Loop insert, form factor, more iconic, indeed. Time will tell, but either way: Kudos to Marshall for bringing them back in that accurate reincarnation.
your playing is awesome
Just got both, they sound different to me, Guv more articulate and open, DM sounds as if it has a bit more compression and gain. Could be down to component tolerance differences. Hanging on to both for now.
not sound the same in this video. The Guv is more organic, medium focused and with more sustain than this Drive master.
Drivemaster was my first pedal in 90´s
Yes very very similar 😮. Both sound great
Great lead guitar tone and playing
What amp did you use with pedal?Great playing🙂
Enjoyed your video and love the tributes you made throughout the video!!!
My guess... could they do without the guv'nor.. hell no.... could they do without the drivemaster?...."but then the series isn't complete"... so, no... both it is then...
Could you go over how to use the efx loop on the gov’nor?
You need a Y connector
Does anyone know if there is a place where you can find a diagram on how to dial certain tones? Such as the JCM800 or Plexi?
Your demo motivated me to buy a vintage DriveMaster. I'll take that one out. Keep my vintage Gov'Nor at home. Separate topic, thanks for that true homage to GMoore.
I'll say that they're as close as makes no difference the same.
The more interesting thing is what does this tell us about the guitar pedal market? In fact I think these reissues make a very interesting point.
These pedals have flaws. The bypass sucks top end if you've not got a buffered pedal in front. They lack the kind of output level that people seem to want these days for slamming the inputs of their amps... And if they were trying to make a true top-drawer pedal they could have implemented soft switching true bypass switching via a relay, put them in smaller cases... and many other little improvements too I'm sure.
Similarly, reissuing the same circuit (although I think the Drive Master might have a higher input impedance) in both its guises tells us something. It's not about the pedal, or the circuit. it's about nostalgia. It's about collecting. It's about fashion.
Personally I'd wager the Bluebreaker and Guv'nor are the ones that'll sell. They're the famous ones. The Shred Master and Drive Master I expect to see discounted by October (I had a vintage Shred Master and a Drive Master on eBay several times. Didn't make the £100 reserve for either on many attempts).
Nice playing!
Thx for this one !! It’s exactly what i wanted to know !!!
Is the Guvnor a remake Thank you
Love Gary🙂my favorite guitarist.Pure soul and fire.
Guvnor looks way more cool . Sound is the same to my ears . Does the effects loop in the guvnor has influence in the sound ? I have the bluesbreaker reissue . Great pedal . There is Some tone suck ( high end ) so I Will put a tuner with buffer in front of my chain . But does anyone know if I have to put a buffered pedal in front of the guvnor too if I buy this pedal also ? So , a buffer for each “ poor” bypass pedal ? Or just 1 buffer at the beginning and 1 at the and ?
I’m gonna get a drivemaster, knew someone who had a vintage one. They’re Great!
It was always the same circuit and Marshall never said anything else. The drivemaster was the Guv'nor repackaged when the new series (including Blues Breaker and Shredmaster) came out. No mystery to discover.
The drivemaster sounds more as if its name is written in red letters, as the guvnor sounds like having blue eq-knobs....
They sounds very similar if not identical. Loving guvnor look to be honest
They sound very simular, flip a coin same price lol. If you need to have one of them you can't loose IMO. Im sure for a longer period of time the Drive Master will be easier to get and more often in stock.
Awesome video have a good weekend
Slow down there Shreddy McShredderton :) Pedals both sound great, I prefer the smaller Guv'nor, just cuz board space.
Just got my guv'nor.. haven't even hooked it up yet..or even opened it..have several others to get to as well...lol..I like to have a few hours to dive in proper..🎸✌️🤘
That’s a good problem to have mate, enjoy aha Ⓜ️🎸
In all your videos featuring these pedals they sound really fizzy compared to some other demos. Not sure why.
Thank you :)
Subtle differences, possibly due to component variances, but overall it’s the same sound. I wonder if they could have just released one pedal with a switch for both sounds… Also, I see absolutely no good reason to get rid of the effects loop. Lots of pedals could use an effects loop IMO. 😂
"How can Marshall get away with this?!" Idk probably the same way y'all get away with charging $250 for $15 worth of parts built into a circuit that your company stole from Cesar Diaz.
Same pedal but one has an effects loop... but you'll pay the same price for both. Choose wisely.
I love the channel but would it kill you to put on a shoe?
The gov’nor seems a better source
Can't comment on the reissues but I own all of the original pedals and I love them all, except for the drive master. It feels kinda stiff when playing and when holding notes it gets quite fizzy and there is no sustain at all. It does not sound like the guv'nor at all. I had - and still have - 2 Drive Master pedals and 3 Guv'nors, so I'm quite sure about my impression.
That being said even the Drive Master sounds good when it comes to recording.
I totally agree with you. I had a Drive Master and I found all the faults you wrote about. I just ordered a Guv'nor (reissue), but never again the Drive Master. And I remember that more than 30 years ago, when it came out we missed the original Guv'nor.
Guvnor looks cooler though
Not much difference….