Marshall

Marshall began as a drum shop. Jim Marshall, a drummer and drum teacher, opened a store in Hanwell, West London in 1960, and local guitarists, among them Pete Townshend and Eric Clapton, began asking for an amplifier with a sound the imported American models did not offer. With repairman Ken Bran and designer Dudley Craven, Marshall developed the JTM45, a design based on the Fender Bassman circuit with changes that are widely credited with creating the "Marshall sound".

Demand quickly outgrew the shop and the company opened its first factory in 1964. A request from Townshend for more volume led to the 8x12 speaker cabinet, which soon became the pair of 4x12 cabinets familiar from rock stages. The "Plexi" Super Lead heads of the late 1960s and the stacks built around them became the visual shorthand for rock volume.

Dates for the earliest amps differ between sources, with 1962 and 1963 both cited for the JTM45. Guitar Radar follows Marshall's amp reissues, signature heads such as the one built for Slash, and its pedals and headphones.