The History of Marshall

Book excerpt: Marshall amps have defined the sound of rock for a generation, boasting such notable users as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore and Jimmy Page. This book explores the British company responsible for that sweet overdrive sound - the company that originated the amp "stack" - tracing the impressive lineage of its valve ("tube" to us Yanks!) guitar amps. Doyle is the acknowledged authority on the subject, and here he combines detailed chronologies of the various model and serial numbers, straightforward explanations of their features and construction, and aesthetic evaluations of the results. The book is dotted with the names of rock luminaries and peppered with photos - well over 100 black-and-white ones, plus a 32-page color section and a 32-page full-color appendix that reproduces all of the Marshall catalogues of the sixties.