Impressions
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Marshall JMP Mk 2
This amp has a decidedly big personality that would be expected given it’s pedigree. The preamp in the JMP Mk2 ranges from a pleasant break-up to almost a sludgey thump. The L4G pedal added a very lively and focussed definition, even mildly neutralizing the sludgey low end at higher gain settings. On cleaner settings I was able to accent the natural “tubey” compression of the amp, bringing out ringing chord definition with a snappy percussion that was one of the shining moments of the experiment. With the Marshall gain at 6 o’clock and the pedal boosted with gain at about 4 o’clock and tone at high noon, I was getting crushing power chords and huge sounding leads. With the gain cranked on the JMP Mk2 and the Boost kicked in on the L4G pedal and the tone set at about 3 o’clock, I was in Black Sabbath territory.
Amp Sims
Current tone shaping trends in the high gain community (prog, djent, extreme metal, et al), have overdrive pedals as an almost mandatory element of signal processing to tighten and boost percussive and dynamic elements of high gain amps. The same is holding true in the virtual world, so I placed the L4G pedal in front of LePou’s Le456 and TSE’s X50 sent though a mix of impulses. The impact was immediate, musical, and WAY TOO EASY! On high gain settings, just a very simple and slight overdrive setting of about 10 o’clock with the tone at about 1 o’clock produced clarity and tightness that almost makes me miss hauling stack of physical gear around. The boost was usable for adding crisp top end for leads. Boost was ultimately unnecessary for rhythm tone shaping unless going into “Doom” or experimental territory. Mostly out of curiosity, I used the overdrive in front of a clean signal on the Le456 which has a decent neutral clean tone. The results were a slight boost in mids that gave an almost vintage combo sound. The Boost gave me some great early punk and garage sounds and also some great Deep Purple-ish tones. For the high gain shaping using amp sims, I found the L4G pedal to be WAY more effective than an overdrive pedal sim or VST with tone possibilities that were formidable! I have to say, it was also much more fun to physically turn the knobs.
Pedal Alone Through Impulse
I wasn’t sure if this was a practical test of the pedal’s merit until I started reading through some forums online. People were having a good deal of success using pedals as preamps and routing straight into a DAW channel with an impulse loader. This seemed to make a good deal of sense so I placed the L4G pedal in tandem with a selection of impulses. The results were largely variable on the quality and EQ range of the impulse but I found the pedal itself to have an effective and usable tone that could be shaped, by itself, into something acceptable for a mix requiring moderate to heavy gain. I double tracked a rhythm section using the tone knob to track a darker / bass heavy track on the left and a brighter track on the right. This resulted in a decent sounding tonal range for a healthy sounding stereo spread. I’m certain that this application is not the intention of the pedal’s design, but it made a solid showing and was very easy to manipulate into something usable.
Critique
Improvements that I would like to see are in the tone knob frequency response and accessibility to the battery. The frequency knob doesn’t really come alive until after about 2 o’clock, resulting in a slight emphasis in the lower mid register that you may have to compensate for with the amp or plugin EQ. While the build quality is of a high integrity and strength, it takes some time to get inside the casing to replace the battery. I would also like to see a dedicated cavity to place the battery inside so that it doesn’t have floating room inside the chassis.
Conclusion
It’s difficult to label the L4G pedal a “boutique” pedal. If I had to grace it with a classification, it would be a top notch working man’s pedal. It has a strong ability to transparently enhance and boost the natural characteristics of your amp while also adding an modest to rich sounding overdrive. The result is an organic, warm, and natural sounding break-up. Used in higher gain settings, the L4G stays out of the way and subtly adds compression, focus, and articulation to the personality of the amplifier or amp sim that you’re working with. I see this pedal becoming a sonic asset to those with big sounding combo amps looking to enhance the warm grit in their tone, or someone looking to apply focus and presence to a high gain amplifier. Don’t be afraid to use this pedal in the virtual world. It’s every bit as effective inside a DAW in front of an amp sim and very satisfying to grab and tweak!
Tm Carter