Marshall is bought by Swedish company Zound

[CEB]

FYI 

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marksparrow/2023/03/30/zound-industries-acquires-marshall-amplification-to-create-new-group-with-360m-revenues/amp/

 

[Mark Schmieder]

Makers of Adidas (at least, that was mentioned in Mix magazine's announcement tonight -- I haven't ready the Forbes article yet).

[KuruPrionz]

There's no reason they can't build perfectly Marshall sounding Marshalls. 

Jim Marshall passed on some time ago and quite a bit of their stuff is made in China now.

 

If there is a problem, we'll hear about it. Probably the vintage Marshall stuff will continue to increase in value over time. 

Same as it ever was...

[Lokair]

The tube amp companies are selling before what is perceived as the true tube amp end. There will always be market for them smaller by generation but high prices due to parts availability and the rise of modelers and captures. Marshalls built by Marshall are not really anything special. I played a JCM 800 built from a kit that blew my mind away two years ago, last time a true Marshall did that was never(not to say it could not be done, I just never played one my self). Small Tube amp companies will be around for a long while.

 

Just my 2Cents worth 

Lok 

[KuruPrionz]

3 hours ago, Lokair said:

The tube amp companies are selling before what is perceived as the true tube amp end. There will always be market for them smaller by generation but high prices due to parts availability and the rise of modelers and captures. Marshalls built by Marshall are not really anything special. I played a JCM 800 built from a kit that blew my mind away two years ago, last time a true Marshall did that was never(not to say it could not be done, I just never played one my self). Small Tube amp companies will be around for a long while.

 

Just my 2Cents worth 

Lok 

True, I gave up on tube guitar amps a long time ago. Too many tube failures at gigs. 

I can't be the only one. There are some great sounding modern solid state amps that emulate tubes very well indeed. 

I've chosen The Peavey Vypyr VIP series for now, I can get the tones I want and the reliability I need. 

[Larryz]

+1 Kuru, on SS amps that model tubers like my Fender Deluxe Tone Master. Very light weight and gets the sound I want.  My two Fender tubers are sitting out in the garage for the last couple of years now.  I only had one tube breakdown at a gig many decades ago.  The weight of the tubers got to me after a while, but I still love their sound.  I've never been a fan of Marshall SS amps but lots of players like them.  😎

[CEB]

My best Marshall was an Electra-Dyne.  Hand crafted in Petaluma California.  
 

I like tubes. I have great tube amps.  I gig with a modeling rig for two reasons. 1) IEMs - I like to send the guitar through the Keyboard sub mix and have total control with what I send to my monitor mix and not hear two physical sound sources. Also the Front desk loves the control.  2) Real amps sound a little better but is one amp but my modeling rig is decent at a lot of amps. My models of JTM45s, JCM800s, TrainWreck, AC30, old Fenders, Matchless, etc… they are all decent.  
 

If it’s a straight guitar gig I may still go out with my Boogies or Fenders. Or maybe not. 

[KuruPrionz]

26 minutes ago, CEB said:

My best Marshall was an Electra-Dyne.  Hand crafted in Petaluma California.  
 

I like tubes. I have great tube amps.  I gig with a modeling rig for two reasons. 1) IEMs - I like to send the guitar through the Keyboard sub mix and have total control with what I send to my monitor mix and not hear two physical sound sources. Also the Front desk loves the control.  2) Real amps sound a little better but is one amp but my modeling rig is decent at a lot of amps. My models of JTM45s, JCM800s, TrainWreck, AC30, old Fenders, Matchless, etc… they are all decent.  
 

If it’s a straight guitar gig I may still go out with my Boogies or Fenders. Or maybe not. 

At one point or another, I owned 8 or 9 Mesa amps. At the very beginning of a gig, V1 went out on my Mesa Boogie Mk III Simul Class with reverb and EQ.

If I'd brought a screwdriver, some heat resistant gloves and a complete set of tubes I probably could have swapped them all out in 20 minutes or so. 

We had a 45 minute set starting so I just used another guitarist's solid state amp and figured out what was wrong with mine at home the next day. 

It's not the only time I've had a tube failure but I learned to pack a distortion pedal and a DI so I could play no matter what. I still do that but I don't use tube amps.

In my experience, tube amps are reliable but tubes are not. I go to gigs to play, not futz around with problems. 

Others may have had better luck, I wish them all the best. 

I've yet to have a problem with solid state and that's after hundreds of gigs. Peace of mind. 

[CEB]

I had a gig in the mid 80.  They were Peavey artist.  I had to use Peavey amps. I used two Bandit 65s. I didn’t trust them but I always had two. They were stereo out the outputs of a SPX90. That was the Nashville super Strat and digital chorus period. The Bandits were bulletproof. 
 

That said I always used loud high headroom solid state amps for pedal steel. Last Peavey rig was two Nashville 400s. I went to Katana 100s because of weight. 

[KuruPrionz]

31 minutes ago, CEB said:

I had a gig in the mid 80.  They were Peavey artist.  I had to use Peavey amps. I used two Bandit 65s. I didn’t trust them but I always had two. They were stereo out the outputs of a SPX90. That was the Nashville super Strat and digital chorus period. The Bandits were bulletproof. 
 

That said I always used loud high headroom solid state amps for pedal steel. Last Peavey rig was two Nashville 400s. I went to Katana 100s because of weight. 

I played a ton of gigs with a Peavey LA 400. Same amp as the Nashville 400 but with a Peavey 12" Black Widow speaker. LOUD little monster, heavy too. 

Now I use a Peavey Vypyr VIP 1 with a Scorpion 10" I put in it. Plenty for onstage volume and it feels and sounds like tubes if you dial it in. 25 pounds, much better.

[CEB]

The solid state guitar amp of choice during 80s Peavey period was the Special 130 but it had that squirrely parametric EQ. I couldn’t make it sound right. I know how it works now. But at the time my response was F This!  😀

[Caevan O’Shite]

For years and years now- decades, really- if I wanted a "Marshall" amp sound, it usually wouldn't be anything bearing the brand-name Marshall that I'd be trying or buying. Right now, and for years now, a 65 Amps Empire head and a couple of different cabs with Celestion or Celestion-based speakers would be my first-in-line top pick for THAT. I can get a LOT of that "plexi" character by cranking up my Fuchs Lucky 7, albeit with much less low-end unless it's close-miked (then the mic "hears" the missing lows and passes them along to a PA or recording console or whatever). Fargen also comes to mind as a maker of a GREAT "Marshall" sounding and feeling amp.

To me, for a long time, Marshall amps and cabs and stacks were iconic "lifestyle" badges like Harley Davidson and Jack Daniels T-shirts, hats, bandanas, mirrors, lighters, and other swag. Think about all the fake Marshall amp and cab stack stage-props that have been and continue to be put up by allegedly rebellious bands trying to look the part while actually using small tube-amps or even digital-modelers close-miked or DI'd. Similarly, think about how Slash's guitar of choice for recording many or all of GnR's biggest hits was a "replica", and not an actual Gibson Les Paul, even though it had both names inlayed and printed on the headstock...  But I digress...

The last time I test-drove a then brand-new Marshall amp in a store, using two of my own guitars (winners both)- with the strong consideration of buying an amp- I was decidedly underwhelmed; quite disappointed, even. The overdrive and distortion tones were basically good, but a bit average and I'd actually had far better from my old "red-knob" Fender The Twin. The clean tones were quite generic and uninspiring, while they'd been advertised as being a selling-point.

 

11 minutes ago, KuruPrionz said:

Now I use a Peavey Vypyr VIP 1 with a Scorpion 10" I put in it. Plenty for onstage volume and it feels and sounds like tubes if you dial it in. 25 pounds, much better.

Someone on this Forum had a Peavey 1x12 combo, I forget both who and which model, in which they swapped-out the lame stock speaker for a Celestion that I'd recommended to them- maybe a G12 H type? They were ecstatic with the results! They may have been one of the Forum Members that had also tried and loved the EMG SPC I'd convinced them to buy...
   

[KuruPrionz]

4 minutes ago, Caevan O’Shite said:

For years and years now- decades, really- if I wanted a "Marshall" amp sound, it usually wouldn't be anything bearing the brand-name Marshall that I'd be trying or buying. Right now, and for years now, a 65 Amps Empire head and a couple of different cabs with Celestion or Celestion-based speakers would be my first-in-line top pick for THAT. I can get a LOT of that "plexi" character by cranking up my Fuchs Lucky 7, albeit with much less low-end unless it's close-miked (then the mic "hears" the missing lows and passes them along to a PA or recording console or whatever). Fargen also comes to mind as a maker of a GREAT "Marshall" sounding and feeling amp.

To me, for a long time, Marshall amps and cabs and stacks were iconic "lifestyle" badges like Harley Davidson and Jack Daniels T-shirts, hats, bandanas, mirrors, lighters, and other swag. Think about all the fake Marshall amp and cab stack stage-props that have been and continue to be put up by allegedly rebellious bands trying to look the part while actually using small tube-amps or even digital-modelers close-miked or DI'd. Similarly, think about how Slash's guitar of choice for recording many or all of GnR's biggest hits was a "replica", and not an actual Gibson Les Paul, even though it had both names inlayed and printed on the headstock...  But I digress...

The last time I test-drove a then brand-new Marshall amp in a store, using two of my own guitars (winners both)- with the strong consideration of buying an amp- I was decidedly underwhelmed; quite disappointed, even. The overdrive and distortion tones were basically good, but a bit average and I'd actually had far better from my old "red-knob" Fender The Twin. The clean tones were quite generic and uninspiring, while they'd been advertised as being a selling-point.

 

Someone on this Forum had a Peavey 1x12 combo, I forget both who and which model, in which they swapped-out the lame stock speaker for a Celestion that I'd recommended to them- maybe a G12 H type? They were ecstatic with the results! They may have been one of the Forum Members that had also tried and loved the EMG SPC I'd convinced them to buy...
   

I've never owned a Marshall, I've played through a few. There was a band in Fresno that used to bring full Marshall stacks but they only had one speaker in one cabinet hooked up because it was too loud. Long ago and far away, I had a Mesa head and a Vox cabinet (vintage British cab) with 2 EVM 12L and 2 JBL D120 12"s in it. CRAZY loud!!! I've had great results using the Scorpion speakers, to my ear they sound better than Celestions, don't wilt and die and it's easy to swap cones if you ever need to (so far I haven't). As far as I'm concerned, the 10" Scorpion is the best 10" guitar speaker I've used, most 10"s are feeble and the EV is just too much magnet for the cone. 

[CEB]

My goto for a JCM800 vibe is a VHT thing I have.  It’s a one trick pony but does it pretty well.   I never use it.  If anyone called on me it wasn’t for something calling for a JCM800. 😀

[KuruPrionz]

1 hour ago, CEB said:

My goto for a JCM800 vibe is a VHT thing I have.  It’s a one trick pony but does it pretty well.   I never use it.  If anyone called on me it wasn’t for something calling for a JCM800. 😀

I've used quite a few different amps and I always sound like me. 

And I have to wonder what somebody means when they mention the "Marshall sound". Do they mean Ritchie Blackmore, who had Jim Marshall custom build 200 watt stacks for him? Do they mean Jimi Hendrix? There's 2 Strat guys playing Marshalls. What about Duane Allman and Dickie Betts? Both used Marshalls and both put JBLs in the cabs, probably because they got tired of blowing up Celestions. There are lots of guitarists who play Marshalls and don't sound like other guitarists using the same amp. 

[Caevan O’Shite]

3 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

Long ago and far away, I had a Mesa head and a Vox cabinet (vintage British cab) with 2 EVM 12L and 2 JBL D120 12"s in it. CRAZY loud!!!

I'm sure! I SAID, I'M SURE!! 😄  Especially with those speakers!
 

 

3 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

As far as I'm concerned, the 10" Scorpion is the best 10" guitar speaker I've used, most 10"s are feeble and the EV is just too much magnet for the cone. 

Overall, I tend to prefer 12" speakers, though whatever they had in those Fender Vibro King 3x10 combos sure seemed to work well for that amp.

 

  

1 hour ago, KuruPrionz said:

What about Duane Allman and Dickie Betts? Both used Marshalls and both put JBLs in the cabs, probably because they got tired of blowing up Celestions.

They also converted them to open-back cabs, as well.


 

  

1 hour ago, KuruPrionz said:

I've used quite a few different amps and I always sound like me.

Indeed. Though I'm sure that you find preferences that you like about some amps, and things that you don't like so much, as well.
 

1 hour ago, KuruPrionz said:

I have to wonder what somebody means when they mention the "Marshall sound". Do they mean Ritchie Blackmore, who had Jim Marshall custom build 200 watt stacks for him? Do they mean Jimi Hendrix? There's 2 Strat guys playing Marshalls. What about Duane Allman and Dickie Betts?

Indeed. There are a LOT of differing examples of "that Marshall sound", as varied as the number of players using them. I think that a lot of it is the pronounced midrange strength- certainly a lot more than that of blackpanel and silverface Fenders, 'mid-scooped' by comparison- and the tone and complexity of four Celestions in a closed-back cab.

[Winston Psmith]

FWIW, this is just another example of the rights to a Brand Name being sold; it has little or nothing to do with the Amps, themselves.

 

Leo Fender sold the rights to his name back in the early 1960's, but people are still buying "Fender" Guitars & Amps, because it's the name that sells them. Orville Gibson died nearly 20 years before Rickenbacker brought out the first Electric Guitar, but look at almost any live Music event, and you'll likely see more Gibson Electric models than Gibson Acoustics.

 

MXR, DanElectro, Supro, and more recently Digitech, are just some of the product lines, and brand names, that had gone extinct and been revived, or came up for sale. IIRC, someone tried to bring the SilverTone name back at one point? Somehow, I remember it in connection with Paul Stanley of KISS, but I'm not inclined to do a web search on it right now; you get the point.

[Caevan O’Shite]

4 hours ago, Winston Psmith said:

FWIW, this is just another example of the rights to a Brand Name being sold; it has little or nothing to do with the Amps, themselves.

Indeed. On the one hand, the Marshall brand (in every sense of the word) that many of us tend to wax nostalgic over ceased to be quite the same a good thirty, forty years or even a half a friggin' century ago, depending on who you ask. Think about that, let that sink in...

You can never step into the same river twice.

I'll add that any two people never step into quite the same river, even together, simultaneously. Let alone after the passage of time.

We- well, many of us, and definitely I myself- tend to want some things to just remain, persevere and abide the same as we've known and even loved them to be, throughout our lives and perceivably, imaginably beyond, 'forever'. 'Tis folly, at best, and utterly impossible.


Now go strike a big ringing power-chord and revel in it, savor and take reassuring comfort in it. I will.

[surfergirl]

I like Vox, I have a Pathfinder and a VT40+. The VT40+ is now my goto amp, along with my Boss Street Cube 2, I use primarily the AC15 setting. I have Joyo AceTone that I used with my Fender Supersonic. I know that the Vox today is owned by Krog, not bad people be owned by, and made mostly in China. If I were to buy another tube amp, I'm not, it would be an AC15 with the Alnico Blue speaker. I would buy the cheaper model, for $400 less and replace the speaker for $320. I don't know why people don't notice that. I would probably go to the used market and save a few hundred more.

[Caevan O’Shite]

1 hour ago, surfergirl said:

If I were to buy another tube amp, I'm not, it would be an AC15 with the Alnico Blue speaker. I would buy the cheaper model, for $400 less and replace the speaker for $320. I don't know why people don't notice that. I would probably go to the used market and save a few hundred more.

Indeed!