Marshall Versus Vox

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.