"Arfa Daily"

Sad to learn of the passing of Jim Marshall this week, after him not being
very well for some time now. He was 88 years old.

I know that we are sometimes less than kind on here about some of his
company's products, and certainly with some justification in many cases,
but the fact remains that over the years, his amplification products have
had a significant impact on the music business, and overall, have been up
there with the best.


** As a long time repairer of guitar amplifiers, I can safely state that at
no
time did the Marshall company ever show any sign of any expertise at either
design or manufacture of valve guitar amplifiers. This is still true today.

The original model was cobbled together by a two service techs under the
direction of a drummer ( Jim himself ) - a rough copy of a Fender Bassman -
it was pretty horrible.

Later models incorporated several changes, including the use of EL34s, that
made the design worse and very prone to self destruction.

Marshall's success in the marketplace was DESPITE the actual product, not
because of it. Endorsement from Jimi Hendrix and others was the main
reason for any sales success.

AFAIK, Jim Marshall never took any credit for the designs nor accepted any
blame for their many shortcomings either.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshal...cation#History


.... Phil