Marshall ShredMaster

[maajka]

Recently, when I went back to europe for a visit I found a Marshall Shredmaster in my old gigbag. I have no idea how I got it or if it works.
Does anybody have one, is it any good for blues, rock, garage?
I forgot to take it with me but I might have it shipped to the US if it's worth it.

 

[III]

I think it's great for any kinda Rock. Gives my NMV Marshall another channel of boosted JCM800 style distortion. It also sounds pretty British by itself when used with a clean Fender style amp.

If you wanna have some DIY fun... the BYOC Shredder is a clone with True Bypass.

 

[jdel77]

The definitive mid to high gain JCM800 in a box.

 

[theGhost]

the word is that it's good. have it shipped, and if you don't like it you can probably sell it for at least $200. why anyone would wanna pay that when you can get a BYOC shredder built for far less than that i don't know, but apparently people pay the prices...

 

[Cap'nMayhem]

the word is that it's good. have it shipped, and if you don't like it you can probably sell it for at least $200. why anyone would wanna pay that when you can get a BYOC shredder built for far less than that i don't know, but apparently people pay the prices...

Some people lack soldering skills.

 

[theGhost]

Some people lack soldering skills.

as do I. I was referring to why someone would ever pay $250 for a vintage shredmaster (i don't know if they always go for that much but i've seen them go for that) that's in a huge box when they can get a built brand new Shredder for $155 at the most - I got mine all told for $80.

 

[maajka]

Thanks, I'll have it shipped.

 

[maajka]

I just got it today. Actually, I'm not sure if I'm gonna sell it. I thought it's mostly some 80's metal pedal, but I can get a lot of different sounds from it. Overdrive, boost, high gain... One thing I didn't like when I first plugged it in was that when you turn down the gain below half, it kind of backs down the highs. But that actually turned to be a nice thing with my guitar/amp combination. Now with volume up and gain down, I can get some really fat jazz/blues tones from the AC15. Turn the gain up and guitar volume down and the highs are back again. It's a very nice pedal.
By the way I still can't remember when and how I got it. But it looks like it was never gigged.

 

[CE-2 Man]

Its the Jonny Greenwood thing isnt it, thats why people pay too much for it, all these Radiohead geeks spunking their student loans driving the prices up haha
My old bassist gave me a Shredder for free back in college, i used to love it but i was in my Joe Satriani phase (those were the days)
I think its a sign of the versatility of the Shredmaster that it was marketed at Hair Metal and Hi gain rock players but ends up being the holy grail of Alt-Rock noise makers.

From what i remember - its a great pedal - well done on finding it for nothing!

 

[themachineisgod]

I'd purchase it if you were selling it for a decent, fair price. I'm a Radiohead geek with a student loan btw. I'm in Cali btw.

 

[stekks]

It was my first dirt box! I still have it somewhere, but the switch crapped out. I remember it sounding pretty good. With the contour control CCW (?? I think) it got a nice Gary Moore-ish lead tone.

 

[madscientist]

It was my second dirt box ever....I'm really bummed that I sold it because it gave some pretty damn good tone, even at lower gain levels.

 

[enharmonic]

I loved mine...stomped it to death back in the late 90s. would really like to get another one some day.

How hard is the BYOC build? I was a pretty good Electronics student back in high school (my teacher would let me stay after school and "fix" the projects of the electronics 4 kids when I was in electronics 1). It's been a few years, but I bet i could get handy with a soldering iron once again

My board is decidely cork-sniffer-esque, but the shredmaster would more than hold its own.

 

[CE-2 Man]

I'm a Radiohead geek with a student loan btw.

Haha. I was a Radiohead geek in the misty old past but without the student loan. In the end i sold it too a geekier Radiohead geek offering more money than i could afford to turn down.

And I never got why Marshall didnt reissue the Shredder in their new pedal line 10 years ago. I've owned a lot of the RI's and sold them all. The new Guvnor especially stank, terrible pedal. The Shredmaster and the Bluesbreaker from the old line are still great pedals today, shame Marshall have dropped off in the pedal department nowadays.

 

[theGhost]

I loved mine...stomped it to death back in the late 90s. would really like to get another one some day.

How hard is the BYOC build? I was a pretty good Electronics student back in high school (my teacher would let me stay after school and "fix" the projects of the electronics 4 kids when I was in electronics 1). It's been a few years, but I bet i could get handy with a soldering iron once again

My board is decidely cork-sniffer-esque, but the shredmaster would more than hold its own.

If you don't trust your building skills (like me) then don't try to build. Just wait around. I found a guy on here selling his for $80 shipped. He had done A LOT of builds, and he said he was very confident in his ability, so I definitely trusted him more than trying it myself. He also said that the BYOC Shredder doesn't quite have the same highs of the original, so he modded his to original spec. I don't know of any of the difference as I've never played the original, so that could be only a technical difference.

Also, there are actually a few Shredders on fleabay right now, and it looks like they all will go for less than $80. Might wanna take a look that way. Solid pedal which many say is much better than the Crunchbox at what the CB does best, and of course cheaper too.

 

[jdel77]

My 2nd post in this thread...Ive had the Crunchbox and a BYOC Shredder. The Shredder without doubt pulled down the Crunchbox's pants and gave it a firm kick in the arse. Much better EQ control, great woody mids to brutal scooped chunk, and, yet it can be modded for a different clipping section for even more variation on the high gain thing. BYOC Shredder rulz.

 

[symphonyfordeaf]

I love the Shredmaster, use it mostly as a mid boost for my fuzz face to thicken it right up. The 'contour' (mid control) is great, goes from mid boost to scoop. The gain knob doesn't really kick in until 3 o'clock and it's quite hairy when it does. Sucks up batteries like a mofo though.

Use it with a clean Fender Pro Junior at low volumes to get a nice Marshall-esque tone.

 

[Stanley]

Agree - I miss mine, sold it a while back!!

Anybody wanna offload one!?

 

[Apollo]

Haven't tried the BYOC Shredder, but I did compare a Vintage Shredmaster head-to-head with a Crunchbox v2. There may be a bit more flexibility in the mids with the Shredmaster contour knob, but overall, I found the Crunchbox was less muddy, had more gain on tap, and a lot less noisy than the vintage Shredmaster. Kept the Crunchbox on the board and sold the Shredmaster on eBay. Considering the going rate for the Crunchbox is about half that of a vintage Shredmaster, it works just fine for a Bends era Radiohead sound for me.

My 2nd post in this thread...Ive had the Crunchbox and a BYOC Shredder. The Shredder without doubt pulled down the Crunchbox's pants and gave it a firm kick in the arse. Much better EQ control, great woody mids to brutal scooped chunk, and, yet it can be modded for a different clipping section for even more variation on the high gain thing. BYOC Shredder rulz.

 

[phazersonstun]

The Shredder without doubt pulled down the Crunchbox's pants and gave it a firm kick in the arse.

I laughed out loud at this. I had the CB & totally agree.
To the OP, congrats. Great find & yours looks brand new.

I love my shredmaster. It's my favorite all around high gainer.
I use buckers & it will get noisy with the gain past 2 o'clock.

Goosed with an OD before it really brings out the crunch & will get you higher gain w/ much less noise than the Shredmasters gain cranked by itself. I goose mine w/ a Blues Pro.

I have the BYOC Shredder & it kicks butt as well.

If I see another of either pedal for sale, I'm snatching em up.