This is an update to my previous post ‘Mapping Marshall’
http://bassmiddletreble.wordpress.com/2008/04/12/mapping-marshall/
Since that post, I have refined my brand more to my liking, with a greater effort in positioning the competitors in relation to each other, the brand attributes and related concepts.
Click on image for a larger view
Above: The Vox AC30
Marshall’s main competitor within Britain was Vox. Vox had been around a few years longer than Marshall and had established itself as one of the best amp makers along with Fender. At the time, notable bands such as The Beatles and The Shadows used Vox. They specialised in combo amps such as the AC30 which has become legendary in its own right.
Marshall on the other hand, was a rising star, attracting bands such as The Who and Cream.
Jim Marshall, happy with the success of his company, decided to place an advert in Melody Maker thanking all the musicians who had used Marshall. Vox owner Tom Jennings saw it as shrewd advertising and was not happy. Jennings phoned up Marshall and alleged that some of the musicians listed in the advert were under contract with Vox.
Marshall were then asked by Vox’s solicitor to, in the future, submit names of any musicians they planned on using in adverts so Vox could approve or disapprove first. In response, Marshall asked the solicitor to sign under a list of musicians who were under Vox contract so they could avoid them (Jim Marshall knew, if the solicitor signed, it meant the list of musicians would genuinely be under Vox contract at the time, and not just Tom Jennings’ allegations). Neither side relented, and no agreements were made.
Tom Jennings was a man with a fiery temper, and the phone calls to Jim Marshall he made during this period included some colourful language. After one phone call, Jim Marshall fed up with Tom Jennings, proclaimed to his employees, “I’m going into battle with Jennings at Vox, and I’m going to put him out of business.” (Maloof, 2004, Pg.51).
This claim didn’t take long, as a few months later Marshall released the ‘Bluesbreaker’ which was direct competition for Vox’s AC30. The ‘Bluesbreaker’ won due to a number of reasons; firstly, it was popularised by Clapton; secondly it was priced 35% below the AC30; and thirdly, popular music was changing.
As the Vox had The Beatles (the biggest band in the world at the time), Marshall had The Who (the new kids). Around 1965, popular music became heavier, faster and more aggressive. Vox were slow to meet this new consumer demand… a demand Marshall specialised in. From this misstep, the Vox brand would go downhill, with Tom Jennings leaving his own company in 1967. The Vox brand would be passed around to different owners through the next two decades, all with disastrous results. Meanwhile Marshall would establish itself as a market leader of Rock amplifiers within the UK and World.
For those interested in Jim Marshall and the company he created, I highly recommend you buy:
Maloof, R. (2004) “Jim Marshall: The Father Of Loud”, San Francisco: Backbeat Books.
Images for this post taken from http://www.samedaymusic.com/
A full stack amplifier is a Marshall design and a signature.
This is the stack amp (or half stack), stacked onto an additional speaker cabinet. Each cabinet houses four 12″ speakers.
The full stack grew out of Pete Townshends request for a single speaker cabinet with eight 12″ speakers. Although this was built, Townshend’s roadies soon complained about the difficulty of transporting such a large unit. Jim Marshall’s solution was to cut it in half!
No other amp screams Rock n Roll more than a Marshall full stack!
Here are some images of the Full Stack.
Images for this post taken from http://www.samedaymusic.com/
A stack amp is the term used to refer the use of an amplifier head and a speaker cabinet (with the head stacked on top of the cab).
Sometimes this unit is referred to as the ‘Half Stack’ to distinguish it from the ‘Full Stack’
Here are some images of the stack amp (or half stack).
Images for this post taken from http://www.samedaymusic.com/
A combo is the term used to describe a unit that contains both the amplfier head and the speaker cabinet together.
Here are some images of combos
Images for this post taken from http://www.samedaymusic.com/
A speaker cabinet is a (usually wooden) cabinet that houses speakers inside it.
Depending on the type, there may be a single speaker, two speakers, four speakers or even eight speakers inside it.
The enclosure of the cabinet also effects the tone. A cabinet with an open back (with no panel on the back of the cabinet) gives a more airier and warmer tone – a Fender style (also referred to as American). While a cabinet with a closed back (with a panel fitted on the back, thus making a box) gives a tighter and punchier tone – a Marshall style (also referred to as British).
A speaker cabinet is often referred to as a ‘cab’ for short. Here are images of some speaker cabinets.
Images for this post taken from http://www.samedaymusic.com/
Although we use the word amplifier (or amp) as an all encompassing word for the units which produce the sound of a guitar, it actually refers to the unit which amplifies the signal.
An amplifier consists of a preamp and a poweramp. A preamp to recieve a low level signal like a guitar signal, and the poweramp to power the preamp signal so it can drive speakers.
When the amplifier is on its own, it is usually referred to as ‘The Head’. Here are images of some amp heads.
Above: ‘John Mayall Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton’ (1966)
Since the release of the JTM-45, Marshall were fast becoming a favourite of the new crop of British Rock musicians. However, Marshall’s next product would define a legendary combination in the guitar world – a Gibson Les Paul into a Marshall.
In 1964 a 19 year old Eric Clapton was a frequent visitor at Jim Marshall’s Uxbridge Road store. The soon to be guitar hero loved the JTM-45, but as a young working musician felt it was too cumbersome. The result of this dilemma, was Marshall first combo amp (a unit housing the amplifier and speaker cabinet together). As the story goes, Clapton asked for a JTM-45 in a portable unit that would fit into the trunk of a car.
Marshall’s brand would sky rocket due to this situation. The young Clapton found fame when he joined John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and recorded the 1966 album ‘John Mayall Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton’. This album not only marked Clapton’s status as one of the best guitar players around, but it was famed for the guitar sound he achieved.
The source of the sound? A Les Paul plugged into the Marshall combo running a full volume.
It’s worth mentioning that a Les Paul had been around for a while already, and it’s pairing with a Marshall did more for it’s credibility as a Rock instrument more than anything else. (It could even be argued that Gibson’s current image of being a premier Rock brand has been because of Marshall.
Just like that, the Les Paul / Marshall combination was established and has been the choice of tools for many famed guitarists since then.
As for Marshall’s combo amplifier, it was nicknamed ‘Bluesbreaker’.
Although Clapton would move on to play Marshall stack amps in his Cream days (due to the size of the audiences, and the fact that Clapton wasn’t a poor young working musician anymore), ‘Bluesbreaker’ will always be a milestone in history.
Below: Marshall ‘Bluesbreaker’
For those interested in Jim Marshall and the company he created, I highly recommend you buy:
Maloof, R. (2004) “Jim Marshall: The Father Of Loud”, San Francisco: Backbeat Books.
