Marshall Amplification | Success Story of the Prominent Music Brand

Marshall Amplification is a British musical instrument manufacturing company. Headquartered in Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Marshall stepped into the music business in 1960. The brand is famous for its superlative craftsmanship, guitar amplifiers, headphones, earphones, and top-notch speaker cabinets. Jim Marshall, a renowned drummer, founded Marshall as drum-related accessories selling shop in Hanwell, London, England. Presently, Marshall is one of the most prominent brands in the music industry. 

About

Marshall is an important name in the music business. It produces top-quality music speakers and guitar amplifiers along with several musical instruments. Marshall is known as one of the most iconic brands in the music world. Legendary musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Noel Gallagher, Slash, Jon Bon Jovi, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Guns N Roses, AC/DC, Aerosmith, and Graham Coxon have endorsed Marshall. The brand has provided the world with excellent musical equipment for over half a century. 

Founder

On the 29th of July 1923, Jim Charles Marshall was born in Acton, West London, England. His family had many music hall artisans and boxers. At a young age, Marshall was diagnosed with tuberculosis bones. As a result, the joints of his hips and knees became weak. Jim had to spend many years in the hospital. During the Second World War, he did not join military service due to poor health conditions. Later, he became a singer and learned drumming due to the shortage of musicians. Marshall was a bright student and became an electrical engineer. In the daytime, he started building a portable amplification system. Jim was a part of an orchestra at the time. He spent most of his nights playing drums. During wartime, Jim also designed a PA (an electronic music system to increase the volume of the human voice). 

In 1942, Jim Marshall joined a music band. Iconic American drummer Gene Krupa inspired Jims’s drumming style. Later, in 1946, Jim started taking music lessons from Max Abrams. He took weekly classes for two years. Consequently, during the 1950s, Jim began giving drumming lessons to other artists. Simultaneously, he became a part of the music industry. His teaching business flourished during the 50s. Marshall was teaching over sixty students a week while participating in gigs. By the late 1950s, he had saved enough money to establish a business. As a result, Marshall decided to open a small music store in Hanwell, London.

Beginning of Marshall Amplification

Jim opened a small music store in 1960. He used to sell drums, cymbals, and other drum-related accessories. Simultaneously, Jim continued to give music lessons. However, it was in 1962 that he established Marshall Amplification. The store had gained popularity amongst musicians. Some of them were guitarists Ritchie Blackmore, Big Jim Sullivan, and Pete Townshend. They requested Jim to start making guitar amplifiers. At the time, the guitar amplifiers in the market were either expensive or did not have the quality that guitarists wanted. Consequently, Marshall decided to manufacture guitar amplifiers. Jim had to hire Dudley Craven and Ken Bran as assistants to help with the guitar amplifiers. In 1963, Marshall launched its first guitar amplifier, The Marshall JTM45.

Initial Years

The Marshall JTM45 was a successful product. At the time, Marshall used to sell amplifiers on commission-based orders. Gradually, The Marshall JTM45 gained recognition in the music industry. By the end of the 1960s, renowned musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and the English rock band “Free” were using Marshall’s amplifiers. Simultaneously, after Marshall JTM45’s success, the company started a distribution deal with Rose-Morris. It was a renowned musical equipment store in London. Through the agreement, Marshall expanded its manufacturing business. However, it did not turn out to be a good decision. After the collaboration, Marshall’s equipment saw a price increase of 55%. As a result, the company had to incur losses. 

Pathway to Success

After ending the deal with Rose-Morris, Marshall launched the iconic JCM800 series in 1981. The JCM800 series was initially launched during the 1970s. However, Jim decided to relaunch and redesign the line. The line consisted of four guitar amplifier models. It quickly gained recognition among hard rock and heavy metal musicians. During the 1980s and 90s, the brand produced several iconic amplifiers. Some of them were the JCM900 series, Silver Jubilee range, DSL, and JVM series. In 2010, Marshall entered the headphones market. The brand launched a successful line of headphones and gained wider recognition. Presently, the music industry considers Marshall as one of the most iconic brands of all time. 

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