What good is a vintage guitar collection without the perfect vintage amplifier? There’s no better in terms of star-studded history and excellent quality than Marshall Amplification. There have been so many stars using Marshall amplifiers that they’ve even named several of their amps after some of them. Plus, there are always the classics, because a vintage guitar really needs a vintage amp to sound just right.
Marshall Amplification was founded in 1962 by drummer Jim Marshall. He set up the company in London, England, originally. Almost immediately, Marshall amplifiers became renowned for their quality. Before you could blink, famous rockers were using Marshall amplifiers at concerts and recording studios across the world. Eric Clapton used one; so did Pete Townshend of the Who, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, Jimmy Page, and perhaps the greatest guitarist of all time, Jimi Hendrix.
In fact, so many famous guitarists used Marshall amplifiers that they began to name new amps after some of these stars. For example, Dave Mustaine got an amp named after him: the 1960DM. Lemmy of Motorhead fame also got one, the 1992Lem. This kind of star power does not come easily. Marshall Amplification could never have gotten this much endorsement and use from the greats if their amps weren’t great to begin with. That’s why getting a vintage Marshall amp can add to a collection like no other.
If strict classics are your thing, you can always go for the first amps that Marshall Amplification released. There was the JTM45, which was the original Marshall amplifier. There was also the JTM50, its immediate successor, which released in 1966.
Marshall amplifiers are part and parcel to the music industry, so vintage Marshall amplifiers must be included in any vintage guitar collection. With star power like that, quality comes with the territory, and you just can’t beat Marshall.
