Marshall Amplification is a British company which designs and manufactures electric guitar amplifiers. Marshall amplifiers are well known and highly popular among guitarists. The sight and sound of a Marshall stack amp with a Gibson Les Paul or Fender Stratocaster is an iconic image in pop culture. Marshall amps were originally built as direct copies of Fender amplifiers, but soon incorporated certain traits which made them more favorable to guitarists seeking a heavier sound.
Like most professional-level amplifiers, Marshall amplifiers still use valve preamp and poweramp stages instead of solid state devices (transistors), although Marshall also manufactures cheaper solid-state or hybrid devices.
Valve amplifiers (known as "tube amplifiers" in North America) are generally considered to exhibit a "warmer" tone than those of transistor amps, particularly when overdriven; instead of abruptly clipping off the signal at cut-off and saturation levels, the signal is smoothly rounded off. Vacuum tubes also exhibit different harmonic effects than transistors (see tube sound for more about the sonic differences between transistors and vacuum tubes). Though technology continues to change, the most sought after, best sounding, and most expensive amps use technology that is considered quite obsolete. The sound of a Marshall 1959SLP or JCM800 amp is among the most recognized in popular music, and there is a constant demand for both cutting edge and vintage amplifiers. They are now considered some of the most expensive amps on the market.
Modern Series
Marshall's most recent entry in the JCM valve range was the JCM 2000 series of amplifiers, were started in the late 90s to replace the aging JCM 900 amplifiers, as Marshall had seemingly lost ground in the hard rock/metal amp market, particularly against Mesa/Boogie's wildly popular "Rectifier" series. The first two models launched were the DSL ("Dual Super Lead") 50 and 100 amplifier heads ("50" for 50 watts [powered by 2 EL34 power tubes] and "100" for 100 watts [powered by 4 EL34 power tubes]), and included the now modern FX Loop and reverb units. The reason for the success of these amplifiers was the fact that they arguably combined versatility, affordability, and 100% all tube tone into one package. Although many artists thrived on these amplifiers, others complained that Marshall sacrificed quality for versatility. The DSL featured two channels, one clean and one "ultra" (distorted) channel. They later introduced TSL had a middle range channel, the "crunch" channel, which had less pre-amp distortion than the "ultra" channel but was not quite clean either.
Recently, Marshall has released a new flagship line of UK-built amplifiers. After what many considered a "slump" period in which the company released nothing new and simply rehashed old models, Marshall finally came out with a new comprehensive range of amplifiers, the "JVM" series. Guitarist Magazine UK has already claimed that it would be the "hottest" amp line for 2007; they also hailed it as "The Ultimate Marshall." JVM is an acronym for Jim Victoria Marshall, Victoria being his daughter and current managing director of Marshall Amplification. There are four channels on the amplifier. They are Clean, Crunch, OD1, and OD2. Each has its own set of tone, gain, volume and reverb controls. Each channel also has three different gain settings; by pressing the channel selection button repeatedly, the amplifier will change from green to orange to red while increasing the gain of the channel, effectively giving 12 independently-voiced modes, which run from completely clean to ultra saturated modern metal and lead tones. The amp also has almost every modern feature, including multiple EQ options and being MIDI controller-ready and a silent recording mode. The JVM uses four EL34 power valves in a "push-pull" configuration. The preamp utilizes five ECC83 preamp valves and offers a pure valve signal path even the reverb drive and recover circuit is valve driven, a single MOSFET has been used in the resonance circuit.
Vintage Modern series
The Vintage Modern series is a brand new range for 2007. They are all-valve amplifiers aimed at the guitarist who likes control via playing/picking dynamics, and the guitar's own volume and tone controls. These amplifiers have a tone reminiscent of the mid 60s to early 70s vintage blues rock tone, with the ability to switch to a hot rod mode to find the "modded" tones of the harder rock bands of that era. Their wide range of tones is also derived from having two preamp volumes instead of one. Bascially one volume for treble, and one volume for bass/mid that when used together can customise a players tone and sound in a very simple yet precise way.
The models in the range are the 2466 100W head, the 2266 50W head and the 2266C 2x12” combo. All three models are all-valve with a choice of two ‘Dynamic ranges’ that are selectable via a footswitch. The low range equates to a stock vintage Marshall in terms of gain and tone, the high channel adds one extra gain stage to accommodate classic hard rock tones of the seventies. The units also have a ‘Mid Boost’ function that fattens the tone even more. The 2466 uses a quad of KT66 power valves while the 2266 uses a pair, these are reminiscent of the earliest Marshall amplifiers. The power supply and output stage has been taken directly from plexi amplifiers of the 1966 to 1968 era. The KT66 yields a much fatter and smoother tone than the EL34 and are inherently less aggressive in the treble region, the sound is instantly recognisable as early classic Marshall tone.
Vintage series
Marshall periodically will discontinue a model of amplifier, and reissue it later. Currently, the majority of Marshall's valve amp lineup are reissues. In 2001 Marshall reissued many of its amplifiers of yesteryears. The most popular and well known of these is the Model 1959-SLP, which is designed to be a reissue of the late 60s era "Plexi" amplifier, but which are in reality reissues of the post-1973 Super Lead models in that they use printed circuit boards internally for ease of production. The original design utilized hand wired circuits on turret boards, which is now available for a premium in the "hand wired" series. The actual difference in sound between the circuit paths is debatable, with some insisting PCB design is inferior and others (including Randall Smith of Mesa/Boogie) saying that the difference is negligible. Other reissues are similarly PCB designed, even where the originals were hand wired, with the except where explicitly noted (i.e. the "hand wired" range currently offered). Other models in the Vintage series include the 1987x (the 50W version of the 100w 1959SLP, used by some, including Yngwie Malmsteen for its lower headroom and "early" distortion curve), the 100 watt valve driven JCM800 2203 (used extensively by Zakk Wylde, Slash of Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver, used his signature model 2555 SL, as well as the Silver Jubilee 2555 variant of the series, and both Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King of Slayer), the JCM900 4100, the JTM45 2245, and the 1962 combo, also known as the "Bluesbreaker" for its famous use by Eric Clapton with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.
Marshall has also recently introduced a handful of hand-wired reissues, using old-fashioned manufacturing techniques whereby the circuit is hand mounted on "turret boards." These have small metal stakes to which the components and leads are soldered, as compared to PCB, wherein the components are print-mounted by computer to the board, leads placed through the board, and soldered in place. The amps are "true" reissues of the 100 Watt 1959 "Plexi" a 20-Watt 2061x, and a 1974x 18-Watt model, which is a combo amp. The cabinet marketed as the match to the head version, as well as the combo, use special Celestion re-issued 55 Hz version of the popular "greenback" speaker, which Celestion has made available under its "Heritage" series.
Solid State Amplifiers
While renowned for their valve guitar amps, Marshall produces and sells a large amount of solid state and bass equipment. Marshall's Valvestate amplifiers were at the time seen as evolutionary, as they contained a hybrid of valve and solid state technology, to provide a modicum of "true" valve tone, along with transistor reliability and ease of maintenance. Currently named the "AVT series", there are a number of different models, all of which are cheaper than their all-valve counterparts. It is Marshall's current line of "hybrid" amplifier, featuring a 12AX7 preamp tube employed in the preamp (to "warm up" the signal) as well as solid state components, with a solid-state power amp. The single valve featured in the valvestate amps can last from two to three years with standard use. These are considered and marketed as intermediate-level equipment to bridge the gap between the higher valve range and lower range MG series. Some feel they offer a quality and sound close to Marshall's higher end equipment. These amps are well known in the metal music community for their quick response time (known as "tightness").
The MG series is the currently produced fully solid state amplifiers, and are marketed towards beginners, players seeking a practice amp and those on a budget. The MG series is designed to cater for beginner to intermediate players, also gaining popularity as a convenient solution for smaller gigs. Though still marketed as offering the signature Marshall sound, it is not of the same quality of sound as Marshall's tube-powered models; largely due to its digital circuitry. To compensate for the limitation of a digital bitrate, amplifiers in the MG series have a switchable "Frequency Dependent-Dampening" system, which emulates the way in which a valve amplifier interacts with the speaker(s). The series also offers a wealth of in-built functionality (including a handful of effects), which renders the MG series a notable competitor with other amps on the market; as well as producers of standalone guitar effects processors. Regardless of its majority appeal to lesser-fortuned musicians, former Rob Zombie guitarist Riggs was famous for using the MG series both live and in studio as he favored the Marshallesque sound combined with the reliability and quick response times associated with solid state amps, while Wayne Static of Static X is known for using the a 100 watt MG Head.
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