Xotic SL Drive review

Marshall-style stompbox

  • £121
  • €153
  • $155
By Trevor Curwen
( Guitarist )
published
The SL Drive has four internal DIP switches to select various sound characteristics of Marshall-style models

MusicRadar Verdict

A Marshall-like stack housed in a (tiny) box. It's an excellent overdrive - with Marshall flavour in a tiny footprint.

Pros

  • +

    Flexible range of Marshall tones. Internal DIP switches open up more options.

Cons

  • -

    Volume control is tiny!

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There are plenty of 'Marshall in a box'-style pedals around, but the Xotic SL Drive is probably the smallest we've seen.

"If it's that late-60s/early 70s Marshall sound you want, the SL Drive will deliver"

Built in the increasingly popular mini style, with offset input and output sockets to save on pedalboard space. Two large knobs control the tone and drive action, and you also get a small volume knob for the output.

Based on Marshall's Super Lead and Super Bass amps, the SL Drive has four internal DIP switches to select various sound characteristics of both models.

If it's that late-60s/early 70s Marshall sound you want, the SL Drive will deliver, with the manual offering settings for Paul Kossoff and Ritchie Blackmore-style tones.

The Super Lead settings offer abundant top-end crunch, while setting the DIP switches for the Super Bass gives you low-end grunt and a more subdued top end, the whole lot cleaning up nicely with volume.

Trevor Curwen

Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.