Carl Martin PlexiTone-S Guitar Distortion Effect Pedal

I've been a naysayer when it comes to pedal overdrive/distortion units. They usually end up having a nasally tone in a live and loud situation...the one pedal that has stayed on my board is the TS9...but I use it for a lead boost with slight extra gain...mind you over 30 years I have heard and tried most all of them....but this one gets it. I love this pedal...almost sounds like he put a compressor chip in there or something because the chewyness and compression is there. It definitely sounds like a marshall and a good marshall...I'm not going to say it sounds like a plexi...it can't...plexis fully rely on the xtra headroom you get by driving and ducking the power tube overdrive characteristic...it does sound like a hot-rodded marshall though with preamp gain. In the end, it does not need to sound just like a plexi for me because it sounds fantastic. With a strat, les paul and charvel, one could do an entire gig with just this one box and a amp return.

Excited about the size of this baby Plexitone, I ordered it sight unseen. Since I own the original Plexitone with the AC power cord, I wanted to see if I could replace the mammoth-sized original with the new and compact PlexiTone-S. Verdict: Fat chance.The new PlexiTone-S is great as a stand-alone distortion. It has a wide range of overdrive from subtle to in your face. It cannot, however, hold a candle to the original Carl Martin PlexiTone. To me, the original PlexiTone sounds much more organic and actually 'feels' like an amp, unlike the Plexitone-S, no matter what setting. During my A-B testing, I powered the new Plexitone-S with a single 9v plug straight from a T-rex Engineering Chameleon Fuel Tank.Despite Pete Thorn's impressive YouTube demo of the new pedal, I found it to be underwhelming in every aspect but its size, IN COMPARISON to the original PlexiTone. Note how Pete Thorn never compares both the original and new PlexiTone during the presentation of the new pedal. At 1:51 of the new pedal demo, he's "happy to report that all the tone of the original Plexi-Tone is eh... is in this pedal." Not according to my ears.

I compared this Plexi pedal to the BAD$$$ by MXR over about a week. Both are exceptional with the MXR being a bit more transparent and tight (modern). Both have great sustain and harmonics. If my Fender Bassbreaker didn't offer up a slightly better tone naturally I would have kept the MXR but the Plexi is real nice... plexi...

Had 1 sound and that wasn't convincing as a Marshall tone

Pros: Plenty of gain. Small footprint.Cons: Still too scooped in the mids (but better than the original), and a bit woofy in the low end for my taste.If you are running into an amp that is a bit mid range heavy, then this pedal will probably work well for you.

I have tried many distortion pedals in the past and I was looking for a tube sound that had fullness, sweetness and clarity with sustain . I was able to dial in beautiful sounds that are tight and work so well with my Mesa Boogie Lonestar. I highly recommend this pedal.

One of the best pedals on the board. Quaity plexi tone.

Good product, high gain. For me, it sounds better with humbucker pickups.