Amazon Basics Compressor Guitar Pedal, Fully Analog Circuit, Silver

great crunchy overdrive sound. The knobs let you dial in a fair bit of "tone" and "volume," which color the sound.The lowest setting gives a really naturally overdriven sound. Lots of mid-tone clarity - zero muddiness. when cranked to the max, the gain results in a smoother distorted tone. So, there's lots of range here in this pedal.I keep the gain on a pretty low setting and use it as a "light" distortion pedal for crunchy rhythm stuff. Alone, at lower settings, t's probably not enough distortion to make the guitar "sing" on a lead part. But I pair it with a distortion pedal that can be activated for beefy power chord stuff and lead lines.I find that, when paired with a nice distortion, it can add back some of the definition lost when using distortion alone. The gain re-introduces some of that mid-tone texture lost in a smoothly overdriven guitar sound. So, when paired with a distortion pedal, even without changing a single knob, you can get 3 different tones and a pretty wide range of tone/distortion levels that'll satisfy most users.On this pedal specifically, it's well built. The green color is a pretty good match to the Ibanez Tube Screamer (which this is based off of). The switch is nice and soft (no hard click). The knobs seem well built. They are plenty big and the action on turning the knobs feels smooth (not overly loose or tight).

I'm here reviewing this because of Josh Scott of JHS pedals. In a recent (Mar 2022) JHS video on YT about classic Marshall pedals (search for 'Marshall's Greatest Pedals'), he held up the AmazonBasics Distortion in a segment about clone pedals of the v1 Marshall Guv'nor pedal--he then made a lame joke about Jeff Bezos and quickly put the pedal away.It's an interesting suggestion--that this pedal may be a clone of an original Marshall Guv'nor--although he didn't exactly come right out and say it.I know the early Marshall pedals have a solid reputation. Much of the interest in OG Marshall pedals came from the fact that John Mayer had a v1 Marshall Bluesbreaker on his pedal board in the Continuum era. That set off a feverish market for Bluesbreakers that continues to this day.The Bluesbreaker wasn't the only Marshall pedal made notable by a famous player--Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood used a v1 Marshall Shredmaster on his pedal board in the mid to late 90s, and Gary Moore used a v1 Guv'nor through a Marshall full stack as far back as 1990.Anyone who really knows about the v1 Marshall Guv'nor knows that it's recognized as the first 'Marshall in a box' pedal--a pedal trying to emulate the sound of classic Marshall amplifiers--and it forever changed the course of the guitar pedal industry.The sad thing is, Marshall discontinued that original pedal line many years ago, and since then, the company has made no efforts to reintroduce the original circuits to the market. The v2 Guv'nor pedal has been around much longer than its predecessor, although most observers view the v2 Guv'nor as lesser to the original.That's why this particular pedal is very interesting--what if it's a clone of an original Marshall Guv'nor circuit? If it's faithful to the original, the AmazonBasics Distortion would be a very cool pedal indeed.At this price, there was no reason for me to put off the purchase--it's an absolute no-brainer. Ethically it's justifiable, as well--it's not ripping off any company's trademarks, and Marshall doesn't even produce the circuit anymore.The real proof is in the pudding--how does this pedal sound? My expectations were very low. I was more than ready for the possibility that this cheap pedal was going to suck really hard.But the fact is, the pedal is honestly quite good. It does do a range of Marshall-style sounds, from JTM to something of a JMP and even a variation of a JCM. The voicing of the pedal is very well chosen--it's a really good crunch sound that will do a lot of kinds of hard rock and classic rock. The EQ is also well done--it's not too middy, and it has enough bass and plenty of treble on tap.I'm really enjoying this pedal. In fact, I'm having trouble finding something the pedal doesn't do at least pretty well. Even at maximum gain, it's a reasonably tolerable and even usable sound.For me it's money well spent. Even with all the 'Marshall in a box' pedals I own, the AmazonBasics Distortion has earned a rightful place in my collection. I am amazed.The only thing left is to learn more about the original Marshall Guv'nor pedal and find out just how close this pedal really is to that legendary sound. Whether it's spot on to a v1 Guv'nor isn't even necessary--this is a good Marshall style pedal, and I'm happy I got it. Thanks to Josh Scott for his offhanded recommendation.

I had a bit of hesitation buying this mini compressor but for the little bit of $ it cost vs a boss or comparable unit it was worth a gamble. Happy to report this little unit does pretty much what any compressor does to your guitar tone. I use it with a drive pedal to add more punch and clarity to solos. You can dial in a perfect setting by just experimenting with the mix of level, attack, and sustain controls. The tiny footprint on my crowded pedalboard is also a big plus! Is it as good as a Keeley? Would I use it for recording? No. Does it do the job for rehearsals or a club gig? Absolutely!

As Advertised

Being that this pedal is not a top name brand it does the job just fine. It’s a simple basic compressor pedal. Sounds fine for what it is and what it costs. Seems pretty durable although my pedal has something loose rattling around inside of it. Hence the 3 star rating. Everything on the pedal functions properly but there’s something inside the pedal that came undone and rattles if you were to give it a shake. I don’t wanna risk opening it up and trying to find it myself because knowing my luck I’ll probably break or mess up the pedal. But like I said everything from the switch to knobs function properly as it should. We’ll see how it lasts after a few months of band practice.

This is my favorite compressor. Ive got two of them.

Zero stars. Lit up, but did not work. Spend more & get a name brand, not some junk w no quality control standards. Looks great & heavy duty case, but, with all correct connections made, would not function.