Marshall Amplification

Est. 1962 Website ↗

About

Marshall Amplification is the defining sound of British rock guitar amplification. Founded by Jim Marshall, the company's tube amps and stacks — from the original Plexi to the JCM800 — have powered everything from blues-rock to heavy metal for over sixty years.

History

Jim Marshall opened a drum shop in Hanwell, West London in 1960, which soon began stocking guitars and amps at the request of local players including Pete Townshend and Ritchie Blackmore. Dissatisfied with the amps available in the UK, Marshall and a small team designed their own circuit in 1962, the JTM45, closely modeled on the Fender Bassman but voiced with a brighter, more aggressive character suited to British tastes. Demand for higher volume on stage led to the development of the 4x12 speaker cabinet and, from 1965 onward, the stacked head-and-cabinet configuration that became known as the "Marshall stack." The mid-to-late 1960s "Plexi" amps — named for their plexiglass control panels — were used by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Pete Townshend and remain among the most sought-after vintage amplifiers ever made. The JCM800 series, launched in 1981, distilled that voicing into a simpler, higher-gain circuit that became the definitive tone of 1980s hard rock and metal. Jim Marshall continued to lead the company until his death in 2012. Marshall has since expanded its range with the multi-channel JVM series, the modern classic-voiced Origin and Studio series, and digital Code amps, while Marshall Group's 2023 merger with Zound Industries extended the brand into headphones and portable speakers alongside its continued amplifier manufacturing.