The Marshall Super Bass is a Marshall amplifier. Close alternatives include the Vox Valvenergy Mystic Edge and the Friedman IR-J Jake E. Lee Preamp. It pairs well with the Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere MKII The Analog Leslie Simulator and the Catalinbread SFT.
Marshall Super Bass
Marshall · amplifier
The Marshall Super Bass (model 1992) is a 100-watt all-tube plexi-era head that, despite its name, became a celebrated guitar amp. Closely related to the Super Lead with only minor circuit differences, it offers a smoother, fuller, less aggressive voice with warm tone and prominent low-mids rather than ice-pick highs. It is prized as an exceptionally clear and full pedal platform, taking overdrives and fuzzes beautifully, and you can run high presence and treble with less squeal and feedback, which suits metal and drop-tuned guitars. Adam Jones of Tool blends a 1976 Super Bass into his live tone for warmth and body.
- metal
- treble
- presence
- fuzz
- pedal platform
- warmth
- lead
- bass
Good for
- Live
Genres the Marshall Super Bass is commonly used in
- Classic Rock
- Rock
- Metal
- Alternative
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Blues
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Blues Rock
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Pedals that stack with the Marshall Super Bass
Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere MKII The Analog Leslie Simulator
pedal
78% matchThe Rotosphere's tube-driven Leslie swirl adds rotating-speaker motion after the Super Bass' pedal-platform gain.
Catalinbread SFT
Catalinbread
77% matchThe Super Bass' pedal-platform headroom gives the SFT's thick, compressed British drive a clean amp voice to push into.
Greer Mizuki blue
Greer
76% matchInto the Super Bass's pedal-friendly front end, the Mizuki Blue's warm, transparent drive adds grit without stepping on the amp's own overdrive.
MXR Analog Delay
MXR
58% matchSlapback from the Analog Delay stays clear through the Super Bass's clear, present voicing instead of getting lost in mud. — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
BBE OptiComp
Bbe
58% matchRun the OptiComp ahead of the Super Bass's pedal-friendly front end and pick dynamics even out without dulling the natural pickup tone.
EarthQuaker Devices Hoof
EarthQuaker Devices
37% matchThe Hoof's germanium-silicon hybrid drive stacks well on the Super Bass's pedal-friendly front end without losing its own low end.
Ashdown Studio Compressor
Ashdown
35% matchThe Super Bass' pedal-platform headroom gives the Studio Compressor's low-noise squash a clean amp voice to push into.
Caroline Guitar Company Kilobyte
Caroline Guitar Company
34% matchInto the Super Bass's own pedal-platform headroom, the Kilobyte's warm digital delay stays clear instead of smearing. — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Alternatives
Vox Valvenergy Mystic Edge
Vox
72% similarityVox Valvenergy Mystic Edge recreates this amp's tone in pedal form
Friedman IR-J Jake E. Lee Preamp
Friedman
72% similarityFriedman IR-J Jake E. Lee Preamp recreates this amp's tone in pedal form
DOD 250-x
Dod
72% similarityDOD 250-x recreates this amp's tone in pedal form
Benson Amps Germanium Preamp (Boost)
Benson Amps
72% similarityBenson Amps Germanium Preamp (Boost) recreates this amp's tone in pedal form
Hiwatt Park P50B Super Bass Handwired 50W Bass Head
Hiwatt
70% similarity“The Super Bass name evokes the original 1960s-1970s Park and Marshall Super Bass circuits that were popular for bass amplification.”
Sunn 100s
amplifier
60% similarityShared character: two_channels, hard_rock, volume
See all alternatives to the Marshall Super Bass (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Marshall Super Bass?+
The closest matches in character are the Vox Valvenergy Mystic Edge, the Friedman IR-J Jake E. Lee Preamp, the DOD 250-x.
What pairs well with the Marshall Super Bass?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Hughes & Kettner Tube Rotosphere MKII The Analog Leslie Simulator, Catalinbread SFT, Greer Mizuki blue — The Rotosphere's tube-driven Leslie swirl adds rotating-speaker motion after the Super Bass' pedal-platform gain..