Marshall

Marshall is possibly the most famous vacuum tube amplifier company. Fender actually started earlier and was already well established, but Leo Fender didn't do what Jim Marshall was willing to do: cater to guitar players who wanted to play loud Rock and Roll. Marshall Amplifiers was started by Jim Marshall in 1962. Marshall Amplifiers wasn't Jim Marshall's first endeavor. He previously owned a musical instruments store, concentrating at first on drums, and then expanding to guitars as Marshall saw that they were good sellers. Marshall was inspired to build amplifiers by the musicians who repeatedly came into his West London shop (Pete Townshend, Ritchie Blackmore) and described a kind of sound and loudness that they were looking for. These musicians wanted what the amplifiers available at the time were incapable of making.

Ken Bran, was a technician in Jim Marshall's music store and would fix amplifiers that came in so he was familiar with the technology. It really wasn't until Dudley Craven, an 18-year-old whiz kid joined the staff that Jim and Ken were able to create the amplifier that the musicians were asking for.

Marshall Amplifiers

• JTM 45/100
• JMP
• Superlead
• Superbass
• Major (200 watts)
• JCM 800
• JCM 900
• JCM 2000 DSL
• JCM 2000 TSL