by Jon Bonner

Jim Marshall, the founder of Marshall Amplification and designer of one of the world’s most popular line of amplifiers, passed away on Thursday, April 5th in Buckinghamshire, England. He was eighty-eight years old, and what he left behind is recognized throughout the world as being one of the loudest, smoothest line of rock amplifiers, praised by some of the most legendary musicians of our time.

In the ‘60s, Jim Marshall was just a music shop owner in West London, selling drums and guitars, when local English musicians, including Pete Townshend and Richie Blackmore began inquiring to Marshall about building prototype amplifiers that were louder than Fenders. Marshall would answer with the JTM-45: 30-watts, higher-gain ECC83 tubes in the preamp, and a capacitor/resistor filter after the volume control. This made the signal distort earlier on the volume control, making for a higher-gain amp. He also kept the speaker cabinet separate from the amp, and many believe that the extra room in the cabinet boosted both resonance and bass response.

As production costs climbed with the company’s popularity, Jim opted for UK-made Dagnall and Drake transformers, as well as the switch to KT66 power tubes, making for an even more aggressive tone. Eric Clapton, then having just left the Yardbirds, loved the new design, but needed it to fit in the trunk of his car. Marshall went ahead and dropped the newly-modified amp into a new custom cabinet with two 12-inch speakers, and Clapton’s “Bluesbreaker” amp, the Model 1962, was born.

As word spread, The Who was starting to fill venues and was in need of double the 50-wattage of power they were already using. Quick to please, Jim Marshall designed a 100-watt amplifier, by doubling the amount of output tubes, replacing the transformer with a bigger one, and adding another transformer. With this new capacity, Townshend achieved his desired tone, and was hailed the first one to use the great, and now legendary Super Lead Model 1959, or the original “Plexi.”

Jimi Hendrix was perhaps the most famous fan of Marshall amps, and acquired them at a time when the KT66 valves were changed to EL34 power valves, resulting in different distortion characteristics, one that was not as loud as before, but more aggressive. Jim Marshall sold him a few stacks and made sure Jimi would have some in both America, and in London.

The innovations would continue through the 1970s on through the 1990s and beyond, with the JCM-series heads, and their production of quality solid-state amps. The success of their Vintage-Modern series of amps can be attributed to the raunchy, British sound that we’re all used to, with modern usability and additional effects.

Jim Marshall was one of the first engineers to utilize the distinct properties of certain valve tubes to get a distinct, powerful sound that is unmatched and often emulated. He catered to the needs of the music of the time, and the musicians that played the music. It was the first time manufacturer and consumer were communicating on a personal basis, and actually getting something out of it.

Let Jim Marshall be remembered for his designs, and for being such a crucial part of many of rock’s greatest careers. The Father of Loud, rest in peace!

Jon Bonner is an independent writer and musician from New England.

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