Jim Marshall

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As far as importance in musical legacy goes, I'd put him up there with Les Paul. He gave a voice and volume to rock and roll. RIP.
 
Although I have never owned a Marshall amp...

!!RIP!! :(
 
Greg_L said:
As far as importance in musical legacy goes, I'd put him up there with Les Paul. He gave a voice and volume to rock and roll.
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Without a shadow of doubt.
It was due to Pete Townshend coming to his shop and moaning about the amps he had gotten there and the need for something louder and stronger that got Jim thinking about accomodating these young West London guitarists like Townshend and Ritchie Blackmore. Hence the Marshall stack.
Without Les Paul and Jim Marshall, this site and this forum would be somewhat different ! And a drummer, to boot.
 
At the risk of causing a flame war, let me preface my remarks by saying that, having owned a Marshall amp at one time, I don't think there are any brands out there that are better. Having said that, I have to say that Jim Marshall, for all of his accomplishments, was not in the same league with Les Paul. Les Paul was a true innovator who invented, among other things: the first solid body electric guitar, multi-track recording, tape delay/echo, and looping [there's a video of him and Mary Ford on YouTube where he mixes in multiple guitar parts--all controlled from switches on his guitar]. Jim Marshall's genius was in taking an existing design and improving it. And had the Beatles used Marshall amps instead of Vox [although they had switched to Fender amps by the time they started recording the White Album]--they would never have been able to complain about not being heard above the screaming at their concerts.
 
YeshuasFan said:
was not in the same league with Les Paul. .
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No one talks about the unistakable sound of a Les Paul through an Orange or Fender amp. Marshall amps are the sound of rock and roll. Marshall amps have been hand picked and used by the best players ever. Sure there'd be no need for amps if guys like Les Paul and Leo Fender had never invented electric guitars. But electric guitars didn't become "electric" until Jim Marshall made his first amps.
 
I think that if you're gonna compare accomplishments then not very many people would come to the level of Les Paul who did a whole lot more than just the Les Paul guitar.

However ....... Marshall amps truly did make the sound of rock and roll and a large majority of amps to this day are based on Marshall amp designs (which were based on the Bassman actually if I remember correctly).
Hell ...... one of the things that made the Ampeg V series amps (of which I have 3) so successful was that with their unusual tone controls you could make them sound like a Marshall for less money.

I don't think it's really fair to try to compare accomplishments ...... Les Paul certainly had more but that in no way lessens the impact that Marshall amps had on the world of music.
And to this day nothing sounds quite like those 60's and early 70's Marshall amps ..... not even current Marshall amps to tell the truth!
Ya'll know how much I play and have played ....... if I could only have one sound ..... one single sound and could never have anything else, I'd go for that Marshall 'BONK* without even thinking about it.
And that's even though I play lots of music that's not rock and roll.
But it's such a distinctive and beautiful sound.
:)
 
I was just about to make a thread about this, Jesus :( poor guy, why can't legends be imortal ?
 
Jim Marshall didn't just improve on the Bassman, he also pioneered the "stack", and you damn near can't go to any rock concert without seeing one, or at least a halfstack.

The "Marshall" script on millions of heads, cabs, and combos all over the world and heard on millions of records past, present, and future prove his legacy.
 
YeshuasFan said:
And had the Beatles used Marshall amps instead of Vox [although they had switched to Fender amps by the time they started recording the White Album]--they would never have been able to complain about not being heard above the screaming at their concerts.
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Not really, there is no way to solve the problem of PA at a baseball stadium by adding backline. Not unless you want to instantly deafen the band.
 
Especially in the 60's. Beatles at Shea had to be the worst concert ever.
 
Whether or not you use one there's certainly no denying that the legend of Marshall is synonymous with the electric guitar.
Just the same as whether or not you like Strats or Les Pauls, the significance of them to the image (not CLA image :D), and advancement of rock can't be denied.
 
*trolls* I like Dual Rectifiers. ;P

In a more serious note, even having never been much of a guitarist, and certainly never having played through a Marshall, I can definitely see that without someone doing what Jim did, there wouldn't be a lot of the music styles we have today.
 
Question: How many (and not to overuse the word) 'classic' rock records were done with an SM57 stuck in front of a Marshall as a Les Paul blazed on?
Answer: More than you or I can count.

The funny thing is, if you ever approached Jim Marshall at a NAMM show, and asked a technical question, he'd tell you flat out that he didn't know squat about electronics, and he was drummer for Christ's sakes. But he knew who to hire that did know their sh*t, and he knew what he wanted for a final product. That's parlaying your strengths and weaknesses into an empire. Kinda like Tom Jennings and Dick Denney. Tom had Derek Underdown design the first Vox amps, but they weren't 'right', so he listens to Dick's amp, hires Dick, and the rest is history.

Apparently Les Paul was technically brilliant when it came to electronics, so in that sense he stands head and shoulders above the rest. Maybe Dave Reeves or Everett Hull/Jess Oliver compare, since Ampeg did stuff that was beyond copying a Bassman, and Hiwatt was the sound of The Who, Pink Floyd, and Jethro Tull for a while.
 
YeshuasFan said:
I have to say that Jim Marshall, for all of his accomplishments, was not in the same league with Les Paul.
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I think this rather misses the point. When you look past the actual artists and bands that helped shape popular music, then look beyond the songwriters, engineers and producers, there are a series of people behind the scenes who were crucial in the development of rock, some of whom are fairly well known, some of whom we've not really heard of. The issue at hand is not how many things they pioneered but the lasting impact of whatever they pioneered. There isn't really a hierarchy or big league of pioneers, Leo fender, Les Paul, Jim Marshall - these and others invented and made better the tools that artists and engineers used and as such, helped shape things in a way that would not have happened without their input.
 
grimtraveller said:
I think this rather misses the point. When you look past the actual artists and bands that helped shape popular music, then look beyond the songwriters, engineers and producers, there are a series of people behind the scenes who were crucial in the development of rock, some of whom are fairly well known, some of whom we've not really heard of. The issue at hand is not how many things they pioneered but the lasting impact of whatever they pioneered. There isn't really a hierarchy or big league of pioneers, Leo fender, Les Paul, Jim Marshall - these and others invented and made better the tools that artists and engineers used and as such, helped shape things in a way that would not have happened without their input.
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This ^^^^^^

It's not a fucking contest. Jim Marshall made the sound of rock and roll as we still know it. I like Elvis and Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent too, but their guitar sounds left a lot to be desired in order for rock and roll to progress. Jim Marshall filled that void, and to this day, his Marshall logo is literally everywhere. Did he do as many different things as Les Paul? No. But his contribution is no less significant. Rock and roll wouldn't sound the same played through Fender Twin combos.
 
Greg_L said:
This ^^^^^^

It's not a fucking contest. Jim Marshall made the sound of rock and roll as we still know it. I like Elvis and Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent too, but their guitar sounds left a lot to be desired in order for rock and roll to progress. Jim Marshall filled that void, and to this day, his Marshall logo is literally everywhere. Did he do as many different things as Les Paul? No. But his contribution is no less significant. Rock and roll wouldn't sound the same played through Fender Twin combos.
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Jimi Hendrix along with many others used Fenders in the studio frequently.

VP
 
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