Boss OD-3 vs Marshall Bluesbreaker Pedal

The original Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal is one of the first amp in a box type pedals, I’m comparing it with the Boss OD-3.

Boss OD-3
USA: https://amzn.to/3kUnEPC
UK: https://amzn.to/3w5Usb3

Wampler Pantheon
USA: https://amzn.to/3Izyeo7
UK: https://amzn.to/3BWMhBK

JHS Morning Glory
USA: https://amzn.to/3srkPZA
UK: https://amzn.to/3HrgPfZ

Mooer Blues Crab
USA: https://amzn.to/3pny6AH
UK: https://amzn.to/35h5emK

Analog Man King Of Tone
http://www.analogman.com/kingtone.htm

The Bluesbreaker gain control works in a fairly unique way. First of all almost all the drive sounds are in a very narrow range of the control right at the top of the gain control, the other thing is that as you increase the drive control it also increases mids and some treble.

The Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal can get a lot cleaner than the OD-3 and I found it worked well as a fat clean boost that boosts the overall volume while rolling off any harsh high end. I had to turn the tone control all the way up because the gain control is set quite low which gives it quite a naturally dark sound.

On a low gain setting the OD-3 has the more open high end and more extended bass frequencies while the Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal rolls off any harsh high end a bit more and has a tighter bass response.

With a mid gain setting the OD-3 still had a more extended bass and high end response while the Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal seems to have a bit more focus in the low mids. A nice way to think about it might be to see the OD-3 as more of a large amp sound with a big speaker cabinet that really fills the frequency range a bit more. While the Bluesbreaker is more of a smaller combo amp type sound that doesn’t fill up as much space in the mix.

For the highest gain on the Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal the mid focus that it has really becomes apparent compared to the more open sound of the OD-3. I’m not as keen on the Bluesbreaker for chords on this setting but for lead playing that more mid focused sound works very well and would likely stand out in a mix really nicely. It would probably work very well in an already driven amp to.

I think both these pedals give a very good, natural valve amp type overdrive but there are two main differences between them. The OD-3 sounds generally bigger and more open with a big low end and plenty of airy high-end frequencies yet still has plenty of mids for a vintage tone. If you want a big full sound at a gig or you want to fill the mix a bit more when recording I’d choose the OD-3. The Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal has that slightly more narrow frequency range so it can sound more focused and it won’t fill up a mix quite as much. The second difference is the amount of gain available, the blues breaker can get cleaner than the OD-3 but the OD-3 can get a little bit dirtier than the Bluesbreaker so just be aware of that difference in gain range.

Timecodes:
00:00 - Intro
00:33 - Clean Boost
02:02 - Low Gain
03:33 - Mid Gain
05:42 - High Gain
07:28 - Final Thoughts