Marshall Amplification
Marshall Amplification is a British company that manufactures world class musical instrument amplifiers, speakers and associated products and are currently based in Milton Keynes. Marshall Amplifiers - particularly those associated with guitar and bass instruments - have become an iconic brand within the rock music industry and the brand adorns stages the world over in some of the biggest concert halls and stadiums.
It all began back in the early 1960's when founder Jim Marshall decided he would build an amplifier to rival the imported US Fender Amps of that era which were expensive and therefore generally unavailable to the vast amount of musicians. Jim Marshall had a shop in Hanwell London selling drums, cymbals and drum related products and used the store room at the back as a makeshift workshop to produce valve based amplifiers in the mould of the Fender Bassman Amplifier.
Early adopters of Marshall Amplification were a young Eric Clapton - then guitarist with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, other known musicians that endorsed Marshall amps were Pete Townshend and John Entwistle of The Who and a few years later none other than Jimi Hendrix.
Marshall Differentiators
The main feature that differentiated Marshall amps from the rest of the competition was the distortion sound produced by the original 5881 valves which were later changed to the KT66's as they produced an even heavier and more pleasant sounding form of distortion.
With the birth of rock music came an increasing demand for valve amps that produced aggressive distortion and as bands of that era started to sound heavier so an equal demand came for louder amplifiers. This was yet another Marshall differentiator as in contrast to other manufacturers Marshall produced separate speaker cabinets that could be linked together to produce a larger sound spread and penetration. This was further enhanced by the development of the angled cabinet which helped to throw the sound to the back of the room and further increase sound penetration.
Marshall Today
Today Marshall Amps are perhaps one of the best known names in the Rock'n'Roll industry, they are predominantly but not exclusively used by rock or metal bands and have become an iconic symbol within that particular music genre. Their latest new Haze range marries the traditional Marshall rock sound with some of the newest technology available in the industry. 2009 saw the release of the Marshall Class 5 Combo Amp rated at just 5 watts but with the capability to provide the world famous Marshall saturated distortion sound thanks to the 100% pure valve technology involved in the manufacturing of this product. Marshall still produce amplifiers based on their Vintage sound and technology as this is still very much in demand.
Marshall are known primarily for their Valve amplifiers but also produce an extensive range of solid state amplifiers - predominantly in their MB bass amp range where clean punchy sound is the requirement. Some of the smaller entry level and rehearsal amplifiers also use solid state
technology to utilise a smaller and lighter footprint - particularly
with combo amplifiers. Marshall continue to expand their product
portfolio with new types of amplifier technology - they also feature several signature models that are created in collaboration with famous celebrity guitar players. Marshall signature model amplifiers such as the Kerry King Amp head and the Randy Rhoads Amp & Cab other popular contemporary models are the Marshall 1923H 50 Watt head and the legendary Blues breaker combo.