So today we learn of the passing of Jim Marshall. Marshall's amps have been, are, and always will be synonymous with the sound of rock n' roll as we know it. Marshall amps, or rather "that Marshall sound" is the most iconic of popular music since the sixties.
After much debate, and much research, here's how the story of Jim Marshall goes. Marshall was a drummer in England who opened up a music store where he'd sell guitars, amps, and drums. He found that the 1959 Fender Bassman was his preferred amp for guitar among the amps he was selling. The downside to these amps was that they cost a small fortune to purchase, as they had to be shipped from the US. Marshall decided to get into amp building, and built PA systems, and eventually took a crack at a guitar amp. He has said himself that he "...didn't have to re-invent the wheel." and decided to use the Fender 1959 Bassman as a platform for his amp. Now at this time, Fender was striving to make amps sound cleaner for country music, where as Marshall had the idea of making them sound dirtier. After about 6 attempts to get the sound that Marshall was looking for, his developers came up with what would be called the JTM45. When looking at the faceplates of the JTM45 and the 1959 Bassman (even in the re-issues), we can see the overwhelming influence. They have the same controls and switches. Even the number of tubes is the same. The primary difference is in the components and types of tubes.
Now Marshall himself wasn't sitting at a worktable tinkering away like Leo Fender did, but rather gave input. The main difference between the Bassman and the JTM45 was the sound. Marshall also came up with the idea of separating the amp (head) from the actual speaker cabinet, and rather than use Jensen 10" speakers, go with British-made Celestian 12" speakers. This was the first "half-stack" as we know of it today (Fender was separating heads from cabs around this time too, but these were refered to as "piggyback" designs, and utilized 2 12" Jensen speakers). The term "halfstack" was actually put into place later on. Marshall's idea was also to have the tubes extend upward from the chassis, rather than hang downward like Fender amps. This (whether or not intentional) aided in keeping the tubes cooler, thus lengthening their life.
Constantly evolving, at the request of Pete Townsend (one of Marshall's earliest customers), Marshall decided to make a more powerful amp. The JTM45 was rated at about 50 watts. The 1959, or "Plexi" as we call them today, was a 100 watt amp that first had a speaker cab with eight Celestian 12" speakers. As Marshall felt this was ridiculously large, he opted to use 2 separate cabinets with four speakers each. This is where the term "stack" comes from, and thus a stack with only one cab is called a "halfstack". Another idea Marshall had was to have the top cab be "slanted". The common thought was that this was to project the sound upward for better sound flow, but Marshall says he felt it looked better to slant the cab that the head would rest on. Marshall heads that are set on top of a straight cab do not quite look right to most of us (though it's been argued the straight cab has a fuller sound).
Admittedly, these are all vintage amps now. Many builders (including Marshall) try to revamp or emulate this sound. "The Marshall Sound" falls into an umbrella, as there are several Marshall designs that have been made, and some models are preferred by certain players over other. It's a general consensus that the "true" Marshalls were the ones with 6 knobs; 2 dedicated to volume, treble, middle, bass, and presence. The amps that many of us prefer are the JTM45, 1959 (Plexi), 1987, 2203 &2204 (JCM800 models), and the 1962 (also known the "Bluesbreaker", the only combo amp Marshall built that gets any credit). There has been an increase in popularity of the 4100 (JCM900) as well in recent years. Since the turn of the century, Marshall amps have been employing the use of multi-channel technology. It should be noted that the model numbers on Marshall amps (like 1959) ARE NOT the years they were developed. Marshall also built some bass amps, but their availability in the US has been limited, and as such, I have had limited experience with them.
Now I know what you're thinking, as a bass player, what stock do I take in Marshall sound. In actuality, in the earliest days of Wisconsin Beef Commission I was borrowing a Marshall 2204 (JCM800) reissue, which lead me to the sound that I use for the mock-guitar side of the overall sound. I am currently using Orange, which is a very similar sound. Marshall, Orange, and Hiwatt all fall into the same category of "Brittish" sound. Even the Sovtek Mig 60 I use has some Marshall influence in it, like the 12AX7 and EL34 tubes.
Bottom line, Jim Marshall didn't re-invent the wheel, but he made it a lot louder, and for this, we are truly greatful.
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