AKARSH SHEKHAR
How
Changed
Rock and Roll
Marshall is one of the most famous and revered names
in the world of speakers and amplifiers. The story of
rock n roll music of the last 60 years can’t be written
without Marshall speakers and amplifiers.
During the nascent stages of rock n roll, it was hard for
musicians to find the tools for the sound they yearned for. The
high power amplifiers that are ubiquitous in today’s world,
weren’t available in the 1950s. Ironically, one of the most
remarkable features of rock music, distortion was considered
a bad thing. An amplifier was expected to reproduce the
sound without changes in anything except volume.
Jim Marshall, a music store owner, sold drums and expanded
to include guitars. Marshall’s customers were musicians
who lamented that they couldn’t find amplifiers suitable for
their live shows. They just weren’t loud enough. In the US,
Leo Fender launched some high powered amplifiers but were
off limits for UK musicians due to post World War import-
export restrictions. Driven to provide good amplification
for UK musicians, Jim Marshall and some of his friends
who were well versed with electronics, and some of his most
high profile clients created the first ever Marshall amplifier.
Initial prototypes had a heavy ‘Tweed’ Fender Bassman
amplifier influence. However, the internal components were
customised in order to source all the parts from the UK.
The invention of the Marshall amplifier also coincided
with the ‘British Invasion’ of the US music scene where
bands from the UK dominated the US charts, embarking on
massive tours across the US. Bands brought their Marshall
amplifiers on the tour, to replicate their studio sound in
front of a live audience. Bands like The Who, Led Zeppelin
and Deep Purple used Marshall amplifiers and were so
influential to the birth and development of the sound which
is now known as ‘Classic Rock’. The equipment used was
what every budding musician yearned for. As those bands
became more successful, so did Marshall amplifiers.
The now famous ‘Wall of Marshalls’ stage look was actually
a result of the limitations that 60s and 70s live sound
reinforcement had. Stadium shows in the mid-60s for The
Beatles used Public Address system for their vocals and their
regular amplifiers for other instruments. Even though the PA
systems grew, guitarists and bass players had to solely rely on
their amplifiers to achieve their sound. Filling a large arena/
stadium with sound required really powerful amplification. To
handle all that amplification, a lot of speakers were required.
A combination of one amplifier head and two cabinets with
four twelve inch speakers was known as a ‘Marshall Stack’.
Big rock bands of the 60s and 70s used two to three stacks on
stage. The third one was usually a back up stack which was
only used if one of the other two stacks stopped working.
The ‘Wall of Marshalls’ on stage might just be a series
of empty wooden cabinets with only a few of them
actually being speakers. Today, we place microphones
in front of the Marshall speakers and transmit the
signal to a PA system with thousands of Watts of power
compared to amplifiers generating 100 Watts previously.
Performers rely on ‘foldback’ speakers and in-ear
monitors, a wall of Marshall speakers is a show.
Some credit Marshall’s success to just being at the right
place at the right time, though it's unfair to label all of
Marshall’s success to that. Ask guitarists with a decent
Marshall amplifier from the 60s to 70s and they will tell you
that these incredible amps contain the essence of the rock
and metal sound. Marshall amps, famous for their distorted
roar are also excellent at re-producing clean tones with ease.
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
31