Jim Marshall's Passing...

[Biru]

Man, as if the passing of Earl Scruggs and Ferdinand Porsche weren't big enough downers, this week Jim Marshall passed away. Still, if you gotta go, leaving a legacy of large, loud Marshall stacks makes a heck of a monument...

This one goes out to Jim, up there in Heaven- scotch in hand- explaining to God (the deity, not the guitarist) why Marshall doesn't give free amps to ANYBODY... 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I read that earlier.  I'd say Rest In Peace, but since he created his first stack I doubt anyone ever would again!

I remember when I was younger and thought I was an awesome musician I played on Peavey amps because there was no way I could afford a Marshall, and neither could anyone else I knew.  In fact, as Whoey will attest, my Peaveys were the best equipment any of us had!



When the Marshall Mini Stack came out I got one and I loved it because even this teeny thing had a Marshall sound to it.  I snapped a close up pic of just the cabinet portion with the Marshall logo and sent copies (developed then mailed- there were no cell phones then, let alone camera phones!) to some of my friends telling them I had finally gotten a Marshall!  I was a God.... at least until they saw that it was just a teeny little thing! 

I see they have a full stack version available now....



Def

[Biru]

We had a saying around the shop : "If I had to wait for a Peavey to break down, I'd starve!"

If I'm not mistaken, that mini stack is the sound at the intro of The Darkness' "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" (the album version). Then of course the real thing comes on and cleans out your sinuses. Marshall really knows how to merchandise.

[Grant Lamontagne]

That very well could be.  It sounds like it, although it could simply be "board trickery."

I actually used to use the Mini stack as an effects box and run it into my Peaveys.  I had an old Bandit 75 and an Austin 400.





With three 200 watt Scorpions I figured I could take anything on- especially getting the Marshall sound out of them.

Def

[Biru]

The nice thing about the Austin was that it was so lightweight and portable ( ).

[Grant Lamontagne]

Yup, just like a Sherman tank....   

I carried that SOB a lot further than I want to admit, and I wasn't happy about it one bit!

Nothing to do with Marshall, but an amusing musician story nonetheless... Whoey, myself and another friend Randy had decided to start a band, but none of us had any instruments.  Whoey had a bass, but nothing to plug into, but Randy and I had nothing at all.  So, we decided to skip school one day, head downtown and buy some equipment.  None of us had a car either, so that made it more difficult.  We took the bus downtown to cruise the pawn shops and music stores and we ended up buying a guitar and amp for Randy, a guitar with a HUGE case for me (Dean Hollywood Z in a big Gibson Explorer case), my Peavy Bandit 75, and Whoey bought this gigantic head for a bass cabinet.  I think it was Earth or something- I'm sure he'll be along shortly to fill in the blanks. 

Anyway, Whoey and I live near eachother, but Randy lived several blocks away at another bus stop, so on the way home he stayed on while Whoey and I got off.  So, the two of us were trying to carry my Bandit, this giant guitar case and this bass head that weighed probably a good 40-50 pounds, about a mile from the bus stop to our houses!  It was slow going and I think I ended up sitting on the amp and head at the side of the road while Whoey ran home to get his skateboard.  Then we piled everything on the skateboard and pushed it home, which was still a pretty long way as it was uphill!  Not much of a hill mind you, but even a slight grade over about a mile is a pain in the arse!

Def