As an amp builder who loves JTM45's i can say this.... the JTM45 needs just the right speakers ... Marshall's earliest version was a 4x10 with alnico 10's... moving forward from there were the 12" Alnico speakers ... both of which exhibit a nice tight bottom ... when alnico was too expensive and rare Celestion moved to ceramic magnets.... in my personal experience a Gold and Blue Celestion alnico are fantastic.... also, the G12m 25 watt Greenies and the vintage G12H 30 watt Greenies with the 75 hZ lead cones are all stellar options for the JTM45 ... i run mine with KT66 power tubes and the speakers noted above with no mud... all these speakers have tight bass which offsets any woofiness from a vintage made JTM or vintage style clone of the JTM45.... at the end of the day you need the 'frosting' to make an amp shine and exhibit its greatness !!

I guess I have told already that putting a Screamer in front of the DS-1 works superb as well. That's a lesson both about the Marshall sound and the Screamer sound. Thanks, Kris. A great video.

I run mine in front of a crappy Marshall 25W transistor amp with a Joyo American Sound between both of them. That way every pedal in my chain gets the right "clean" platform to shine as they are meant to, even when the Marshall amp is set all clean. I really love my 2010 Box of Rock for low to mid gain. I can really hear a lot of harmonics there that does not show while using my other OD/distortion pedals (Catalinbread´s DLS, 5F5, Formula 55 / Fulltone OCD). It has a lot of low end, but still my favourite.

The BoR is so dynamic, and cleans up so well, you can just leave it on and roll back the guitar volume for your clean sound. In this scenario you can just turn down the bass on your amp to compensate for the BoR’s fat low end. Hit the BoR with an OD for leads/more gain. Another option is the ZVEX Distortron. It has a 3-way subs switch that reduces bass, as well as a high/low gain switch. Great pedal.

I have the Box O' Rock, I use it through a Marshall JCM800 50 watt 2x12 (4104) and a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue, I've had the pedal for at least 10 years and use it just like you said. I always thought of it as an amps preamp section and run my Keeley modded Tube Screamer into it. I keep both amps set pretty much clean and it works great. Other great things about this pedal is you have a great booster in it and that booster can be used independently of the main section of the Box O Rock. What do you think of the boost section?

I had the same problem with the Bogner Ecstasy Blue Mini (another amp in a box...sorta a Plexi), i liked it in studio but live not so much...i put a Tubescreamer in front of it, and now i LOVE it, sounds amazing! Great tip for this kind of pedals Kris!

I find the Friedman Golden Pearl also makes the Box of Rock sound fantastic. Great vid, Kris!

Very interesting, as always! My favourite sounds are created with a Xotic BB Preamp in front of a BluGuitar amp1 (1st Edition). Mainly for the Blues I use the "fendery" Clean channel and the "marshally" overdrive channels of the amp with 2010 CS 58 Reissue Les Paul (Stock Humbucker) and a 1986 ES 335 with Tim Shaw PUs. Love to have a P90 driven Les Paul in the future, too. That´s all I need until the end....maybe ;-) Greetings from Germany!

So yeah just like this I have an AC30 for those sparkling cleans but I dirty it up with Bluesbreaker type overdrives based on the Clapton JTM 45 sound. Again these can get quite muddy so I use the Duellist by King Tone... That has a Bluesbreaker at the back and a TS in the front. I have the Bluesbreaker at about 12 O'clock and the TS gain down and Vol up... its that cream sound all day!

Box of rock ist always on (JCM 800/2204) in front of the Box a Tubescreamer, a modded RAT, Treblebooster & a Wah. Fantastic 🎸 great video 👍

Kris, thanks for another informative review! I dig your videos as they always focus on the practical side of things and help answer questions which are not typically asked. I have the BOR, which similarly to you, I always found lacking somewhat. The tone control is too limited - either too harsh or too muddy. It really needs a 3 band EQ. I tried to give it some "help" through a Boss EQ pedal (as you suggest yourself), an Analogman Beano (treble booster) and a Lovepedal Kalamazoo (Klon style OD), but I never got satisfactory results until I bought a Friedman Smallbox OD. That pedal sounds awesome on its own even with everything at noon and has further tweakability through the 4 band EQ and additional gain stage. You just can't get a bad sound out of it. I still have the BOR on my pedalboard but I only use it for the boost function and (more rarely) for some light hair / jangly tones. Keep up the good work!

I’ve had the BoR for many years & played it through many different amps and I agree with the majority of your thoughts. Personally, I’ve found it to work best with most British style amps in general. I played it through an AC15 for years & got the best tones through that. Fattened up the low end & created a great OD when needed. Using the Boost side of the pedal (The best part of the pedal imho) as a clean boost can really help create a well rounded tone on any amp. It does take some tweaking between the amp & pedal but once you find it, the pedal really helps creates a unique character all of its own.

Thanks Kris for your channel. Enjoying your playing and insights. Placing a mid-focused pedal in front of the BOR makes sense for the reasons you gave. But just to clarify, I think the Zvex Box of Rock pedal was designed to emulate the sound of a cranked-up JTM45, not necessarily to be run into one. Unless you have some special insights from the manufacturer to that effect. Still, there is value in your advice of a mids push on the wider-EQ BOR. (This would be true for many pedal stacking combos- Eg., found the same thing to be true with the new Benson Germanium Preamp- I'm having a good effect from driving it with a Klon, for example, or slight mid-humped GE-7). Cheers

That's exactly how I use the BOR. I put J Rockett Blue Note in front and it sounds amazing. It's been in pedal board for more than a decade now. Great Job!

you must try out the zvex distortron pedal...it`s a box of rock without the boost, but with a low-cut switch with 3 positions. I have it since 2010 and no other pedal does it for me. stacks with other drive pedals like a dream...for example exotic bb preamp , dod yjm or with any kind of tubescreamer.......very great pedal..

Love your channel Kris. Liked the vid a lot. Not a Marshall guy myself. I do own a Reverb 12. But rarely use it. But nice in the studio for a Marshall sound. This might be sacralidge to some but I happen to really love my Tweed Blues Jr. IV with an emmenence speaker. AND even more heretically I took two OD's out of my peddle chain recently. I bought a used Tdrive by Vertex. If I could afford a Trainwreck amp I would run it and NO pedals. But alas... so I make do with a Keeley Oxblood > Tdrive>Big Muff>Keeley Compressor+>Keeley Caverns. I'm good right there. Keep makin' the vids I'll keep watchin. Take care my friend and be well.

The King of Tone gives me my Marshall sounds. I run it into a Super Reverb Reissue (Wet) and a Dr. Z Maz 18 Mark II (Dry). Sometimes I throw a Beano Boost in front of it.

Great review and analysis. May I suggest placing the (Xotic Super Clean) pedal before the (Box of Rock), I have mine set up like that, and it sounds AMAZING!

Sticking a good treble booster in front works too! Great vid! 👍😁

Looks like you have a lot of fun with your Humbucker/P-90 Hybrid (I forgot the name, shame shame :-D

I bought one, (I think 2006 - s/n 3xx) and never got along with it. However - I still own the pedal! Your point of putting an overdrive in front of it makes totally sense to me. Will try it tomorrow as soon as my dear wife leaves for work... My point is that these MIAB style of pedals should be reviewed and played the proper way. To show the audience (viewers/followers) it has to be played as (in this case) Zachary ment to. Early Clapton/Zep/Free/ZZ Top/AC/DC- kind of vibes. How many self-proclaimed Internet guitar/heroes/gear reviewers have missed that!!? Great review whatsoever... Don't missunderstand me, Kris - You're not one of them... ;-D I've run it through my Marshalls, Fenders, Blackstars with Fenders, Gibson and Gretsch's. Luckely I own a TS808 so I can work on your theories...

I love my BoR but considered stacking something into it to tame the bass a little. My thoughts are a Timmy rather than a TS to get the bass cut without mid hump. They’re designed to push Marshall amps anyway right? Do you think this is a better option or stump for the TS808 instead?

Amo tus videos bro, no se como no tenes mas visitas, tus videos tienen el balance perfecto entre charla y guitar playing. La mayoria de otros videos de guitarra son pura charla o shredding sin sentido.

Kris ciao,thank for the video.I saw that you are using the torpedo, do you recommend it for home use on a 20 watt amp?you advise the box of rock on a fender amp type like the new Bassbreaker15? Thank you very much,grazie mille.Mauro

I dunno ... who actually does want a Marshall sound when you can buy a VH4? (;-) but i do admit: i stack pedals too but i tend to use a Ranger type pedal or a GE-7 to clean up the mud AND horror ... i used a TubeScreamer in front of an MT-2 .... works!

I use a ‘59 Bassman clone, and this circuit rules in that amp. But, I’m sure you know why.

My go to Marshall in a box is Weehbo JCM drive. It has 2 channels - JTM and JCM(800). It's got 18 volt switch where it is extremely dynamic. Being on my board for 8 years now and it's a home feeling on any stage and combo

Thanks Kris, for another informative video, with some nice playing as usual! I must admit I have been a bit confused by amp in a box pedals. I usually just end up preferring playing straight into the amp, maybe with an overdrive. Still want those Marshall JTM/Plexi/JCM 800 sounds though, without buying all the amps and trying to find a way to get them to work at apartment levels…. Thanks again, hope you are doing well.

Dude! Great vid! I landed here PRECISELY because I was about to throw my BoR out of the house for good. I decided to do some research on it and found your channel. Thanks for rescuing my pedal!

These tips works with loads of "amp in a box" pedals. For example Catalibread Dirty little secret is luckluster for many for this reason. Personaly for "cranked" Marshal soudn, so far Xotic BB Preamp + EQD Bows (treble booster) work wonders. Mainly if you ride your volume/tone pot a lot. Ive been using it into my DSL15 clean channel (as the dirty channel is over the top dirty), but works also into Fender Champion (the old one) or Peavy Classic 50. On forums, I countered so many missunderstanding of this, like: "oh, its Marshall voiced pedal, why do you stick it into Marshall amp? Just plug straight into your amp and play you dumbo" ... And many worse ... Great video as alwasy Kris.

Would the Pedalpalfx series be a better fit with fender amps? Thanks. Take care.

I'm interested to try this pedal. I have Marshall Origin and it is amazing pedal platform amp. I want to find perfect plexi style pedal. At the moment I'm using Tone city Golden Plexi, but I'm not quite sure how good it simulates the real plexi. The sound is good though.

So I’m looking at padding the input of my amp to get a ultra clean tone from my high output guitar, I like a bright clean amp and minimal speaker breakup. I’m finding my favorite tones with the volume slightly rolled off and amp on the loud side. I’m currently dropping the level with an EQ -12db (no shaping just a level cut) just before the amp’s input. Should I just make a pedal with a 500k volume pot and turn it down a bit or add a second input Jack what a -20dB on the amp itself?? Amp in question is a fender champion 100. Padding the loop quiets the amp but padding the input cleans it up. I’m not looking for quiet I’m looking for clean!!! Have a great week Oh REVV G3 for Metaaaaaaaaal, Joyo Sweet baby for gritty Slightly broken crunch.

Bogner ecstasy red pedal is what i ended up with , try one for yourself and see what happens , Peace.

Had a Box of Rock and came to the same conclusion using a Maxon OD808 in front of it. But later I traded it for Mad Professor Little Green Wonder and kept the Maxon. The Mad Professor was just more useful and less murky. The Box wasnt a bad pedal at all, but I couldnt afford both at the time.

I'm a little confused. At one point you say the JTM 45 has "way less bass-end" than some of your other amps and but later say that the hand-wired, reissue amp you played was "muddy" I assume due to an excessive amount of "bass-end"? And hence the need to tighten things up with a mid-ranged focused overdrive.

Cool video, I use a Teisco boost (in EP3 mode) into a Nobels ODR-1 (with the bass cut engage) into a Laney L5-Studio or a Catalinbread DLS into the clean channel.

With the od 1 I think that’s the best tone I’ve heard in a loooong time!

I bought a Dsl 100. Stack new right before covid19 shut everything down. It's just setting in corner covered up for a couple years now..if you want to run a reverb pedal would you go through the effects loop or though the front? Thanks for the groovy videos. 2thumbs up

golden brownie...but i sandwich it with a kloncopy(as od) and a joyo(h-b) american... into mooer radar(poweramp sim) into two baby bombs into a laney 2x12 split... and some other stuff for space and wobble :)

I guess this episode can apply to any pedal. Sometimes I need to turn the knobs thousand times to get it right. I have made my own rules - not to judge any pedals unless turning the knobs for at least a day.

A little confusion. do I add the Od pedal toward the input or output of BOR? Just got my pedal and excited.

02:16 - 02:36: that's a pretty good twangy overdrive sound there. Is that mixed with an overdrive in front there, or just straight into the JTM? Sounds good straight into the amp if so.

Because it Looks so Cool. WE do listen with our eyes. Just ask FuzzFace.

So we need a "pedal" to make another "pedal" usable, that's like wearing 2 pairs of shoes at once.

You absolutely nailed it!! 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

love my wampler pantheon, boosted by a TS9...

This will be an unpopular opinion, but to my ears, 99% of the pedal's problems went away when you played single coils into it. Admittedly, I'm biased because I've never been much of a fan of Les Paul+Marshall sounds unless they are really low -gain, but I honestly would have been happy with any of the tones you were getting with the Strat and Tele.

Hi, I have asked on another channel but didn't get a response : What is the light brown box thing sitting on top of the amp behind you? I guess I'm getting old or something!!

Ah Kris!!! Thank you so much for this video!! I have been looking to sell my JTM amp for some time now, but fortunately, I still have it. I absolutely love to try the Box of Rock with it now!! Thanks again 🤘😁🤘

Great as always, bro!

Interesting Kris, I was thinking of springing for one of these; not sure now. Rethink maybe.

Thx i got wampler tumnus deluxe in front of BoR.

Marshall mosfet 100 as pedal platform

Handy video! Thanks.

Hmm.....I was considering this as a possibility for a Marshall voiced pedal. But I have a 59 Bassman RI so I’m having second thoughts now. I suppose I will look elsewhere. Thanks for the info.

The overdrive section on mine doesn't work but the boost section does. The pedal doesn't turn on at all. The led stays off. Can anyone help me figure it out?

Try using a wha with that set up

this was crazy usefull

Sequence - SD1/ Box of Rock/ King of Tone ? Hmmmm🧐🎶

You wanted to know my favourite plexi style pedal? The original Carl Martin Plexi Drive is hands down my favourite. All others are a joke once you plug into a Carl Martin!

Sounds very 80’s to me? ✌️🤪🎸🎶🎵🎶🎵🎶

I’ll watch this later but I always wanted a box of rock

The chinese lucky cat needs some devil sign action \m/

Finallly!

Did you, uh, try turning down the bass level on your amp? 😂

One of the best pedals on the market. You didn’t do it any favors with your title and dialog.

👍😎

Not true. From the manual, 4th line: "You may use the Box of Rock™ effectively with many differ-ent amplifiers". And then: "The best way to complete this pedal is to run it through a tube amplifier on a warm clean setting" . He dont say you need a JTM45 to go with it . That would be pointless . Also, a plexi isn't "muddy" Has more midrange than any design . PICK UPS and SPEAKERS can be"muddy", but the plexi is not . You put that tube screamer in front and now you have a tube screamer sound . "Genius" . So basically you are saying that between 1966 (launch of JTM) and 1980 (Tube screamer), everybody was sounding "muddy" . I'm done here .