In 1960, Marshall's founder, Jim Marshall, opened his own jazz drum shop in London, and later shifted the brand's direction to guitar amp manufacturing at the suggestion of a customer. At that time, American speakers represented by Fender were popular all over the world, and the nascent Marshall wanted to enter the market at a low price with the relatively low manufacturing cost in the United Kingdom. Their first product, the JTM45, was borrowed from Fender's Bassman series.
Due to the limitations of wattage and parts, Marshall had to design the JTM45 to be 4x12 inches, and at the same time expand the circuit difference in the circuit to compensate for the lack of speaker power; Externally, the JTM45 also transforms the right-angle speakers in the Bassman from the façade to a slightly angled bevel. All of this makes the JTM45 finally have a different look and sound quality than the Bassman, but still have a lot of acclaim in the market and become a classic loudspeaker. In terms of sound performance, the JTM 45 is the first generation of Marshall.HeadRoomLarger, less prone to distortion, and even with a small amount of distortion, it has a looser sound, which is suitable for music styles such as Blues and Light Rock, which do not require a tight tone.
In addition to the JTM45, the 1959 Super Lead and JC800 are also classic "Marshall sounds". 1959 is not a vintage, just a meaningless production model. Released in 1967, this loudspeaker has rich overtones and rich distortion tones, and can be heard on rock albums by classic musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, AC/DC, and Cream. Since 1959 used Plexiglas (acrylic sheet) as the panel, also known as "Plexi", the word "Plexi" appeared in later effects, basically mimicking its tone.
In the 80s, Marshall started a modernization of its product line, introducing a speaker named after Marshall's own license plate, the JCM800. The JCM800 started the modern trend for high-gain tones by hard rock and metal players such as Slash (Gun N' Roses), Zakk (Black Label Society) and Slayer. Its timbre is characterized by solid and full-bodied distortion, aggressive but not ferocious and extreme. It can be said that the JCM800 witnessed the rise and development of hard rock and metal, becoming a classic memory of a generation of guitarists.
The three series mentioned above have long since been discontinued, but they have had a profound and immediate impact on modern electric guitar amps. Marshall's DSL series is the "legitimate" successor to these classic loudspeakers. The DSL series are all made in Vietnam, divided into 1W, 5W, 20W, 40W, 100W five models, except for 100W for the pure amp design, the rest of the versions have Combo and split two options. The DSL series features a versatile dragon speaker with a reverberation effect, Fx Loop design, and comes with original pedals for maximum ease of use. Positioned as a speaker for daily practice and small performances, the DSL1CR has a power adjustment function that reduces the power to 0.1W, while for users who need large-scale performances, it is recommended to choose the 5,000 yuan DSL40C and the 6,000 yuan DSL100.
Overall, as one of the top five best-selling speaker series in 2018, the DSL is not quite a classic sound based on the JCM2000 (the successor to the JCM800), but it is excellent for versatility and the ability to combine practice and performance, and it is indeed the highest gain product in the current valve amp, which is a good choice for modern rock and heavy metal players.
If you're a fan of retro sound, the new 2018 launch of Origin might be easier to catch your ears. As the name suggests, the Reverse Purity is the main idea of the Origin series. Orgini removes the complex controls in favor of an affordable price and a more traditional tone. The series is available in 5W, 20W and 50W, with the 5W model only available in the Combo version, and the rest available in Combo and amp. The entire series is a single-channel design, and the Gain button is used to complete everything from clean to distortion. Twist the Gain wide to get Marshall's classic rich, sweet, overdrive tone. On the Origin series, the traditional design of 4 input holes is omitted, and the Tilt knob is used to achieve the same effect. When the Tilt is pulled low, you get the full-bodied sound of the normal channel of a traditional Marshall, and when it is fully open, it has the same sharp sound as the Bright channel. The traditional classic design circuit is equipped with a modern tone configuration, which maintains the classic tone and has the advantages of modern design simplicity and directness. Of the 5 models in the Origin series, the Origin 20C, priced at less than 4,000 yuan, is best suited for daily practice in terms of power and functionality.
For those on a tight budget, the transistor series MG is a good choice. The small size, easy-to-use knob, and the price of less than 1000 yuan allow novices to experience a more pure Marshall sound. The MG series has two models, MG10 and MG15, the former is priced at 680 yuan, and the latter is priced at 980 yuan because of the increase in preset effects and the number of channels.
