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JMD:1 – Time Line and Amp History
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As previously stated the JMD:1 Series incorporates the
tones and characteristics of a variety of Marshall
amplifiers and FX pedals. This section provides a brief
history of all these products.
1. 1959
Initially manufactured from the mid to late 60s, this
legendary amplifier embodies the very essence of the
vintage Marshall sound.
Nicknamed 'The Plexi' due to the gold plexiglas front
panel, the 1959 was born when The Who's guitarist, Pete
Townshend, approached Marshall in the mid '60s and
asked Jim to build him a 'weapon' that would allow him to
play so loud that he wouldn't be able to hear what the
members of the audience were saying, should they have
the sheer audacity to talk whilst he was performing! Jim
and his team obliged, and within weeks of Pete's request
one of rock's most instantly recognisable icons was born -
the 100 Watt Marshall stack.
Although production of the 1959 continued long after the
1960s, the end of the Plexi-era began in '69 when gold
anodised aluminium was introduced for the front panels.
The original 'Plexis' have therefore become extremely
rare and highly prized pieces of rock history.
2. 1974
Despite Marshalls iconic status as the creator of the stack,
Marshall has also produced a number of undeniable icons
in the amplifier combo world. Initially created back in 1966,
the 1974 is a compact all-valve combo. The 1974 was
designed to be an affordable valve amplifier for the
masses and soon gained a healthy reputation. Set in a top
loaded cabinet, this compact 18 Watt combo housed a
single 12" speaker, which meant not only was it
immensely portable but it also had the power and punch.
Utilising EL84 valves, the overall feel and tone of the 1974
is inherently different to an EL34 amp.
Separated into two separate channels, each with two
inputs for low and high sensitivity, the 1974 originally
came in two options, Reverb or Tremolo. The standard
channel for the amplifier had just single tone and volume
controls whilst the other channel had additional controls to
adjust the effect applied. The 2004 re-issue of the 1974
featured only the more popular Tremolo option and, as
with the original unit, these additional controls for this
All manuals and user guides at all-guides.com
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channel adjust both the speed and intensity of the effect
to the guitarists taste. The re-issue, like all of Marshalls
re-issued vintage amplifiers, was a painstaking recreation
of the original unit and even features the same valve
tremolo circuitry.
Featured twice in the JMD:1, the 1974 provides part of
the new sound created for the Crunch Vintage mode
where it couples the tonal qualities of the 1974 with the
EQ of a monster 1959. The 1974 is also used for the
Crunch Full pre-amp mode, where the 1974's sustain and
clarity of individual notes is used, demonstrating why the
1974 is still popular with guitarists to this day in its new
1974X re-issue format.
3. JCM800 2203
The 2203 is quite simply one the most important
amplifiers Marshall has ever created. Evolving from the
previously mentioned 100 Watt Plexi head, it was the first
to house a Master Volume (MV) control. This ground-
breaking feature allowed the pre-amp to distort fully
without having to turn the amp up to ten, providing thick
overdriven tone at a fraction of the volume. First available
in the mid '70s, it wasn't until 1981 that the version of the
2203 we know today was unleashed as part of the mighty
JCM800 series. This straightforward, yet highly versatile,
single channel monster, immediately found favour with
the rapidly growing heavy metal scene that dominated
much of the '80s. The wide ranging tonal palette of the
2203 saw it prove just as popular in the Brit Pop and
Grunge laden '90s and remains the benchmark by which
all modern rock amps are judged. The 2203 has provided
the muscle behind countless rock and metal legends and
has appeared twice as a modified signature model. The
2203 provides the JMD:1 with two pre-amp options.
Crunch Classic delivers a raw edgy tone, one that
optimises the Marshall crunch sound. The Overdrive
Deep pre-amp pairs the 2203 with Marshall Bluesbreaker
pedal topology, creating hot-rodded tones the way they
should be.
4. The Guv'nor Distortion Pedal
Launched in the 1980's, the original Guv'nor (so called as
this is Jim Marshall's nickname) became a classic
footpedal known for high quality distortion tones. Much
loved by pros, semi-pros and amateurs alike, the Guv'nor
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earned itself a special place in the hearts of distortion
smitten guitarists the world over.
5. JMP-1
Released in 1992, the JMP-1 was Marshall's first venture
into MIDI controlled guitar pre-amps and the worlds first
super hybrid pre-amp. Its no coincidence that the
principles held by the JMP-1 have been carried forward to
the JMD:1, just as the name suggests. This was a
revolutionary rack unit, utilising the best of both analogue
and digital MIDI technology. The JMP-1's success lay in
its incredible tone, with the digital control capabilities
adding a new degree of flexibility and versatility. Guitarists
could now store and recall their favourite pre-amp tones
using the JMP-1's built-in 100 patches. Greatly respected
and highly prized by those who own them, the JMP-1
remains one of the most revered rack pre-amps ever.
6. JCM2000 DSL100
In its day the Dual Super Lead contained the largest
amount of gain a Marshall amp had ever offered. The
DSL's 2 channel dual mode design meant that guitarists
could chose either a clean or crunch tone from the
Classic Gain channel, whilst also picking between the
2 lead sounds provided by the Ultra Gain Channel. This
tonal versatility was aided further by the channel
spanning Deep and Tone Shift features, providing added
punch and depth or extra cut and bite respectively. This
enabled the DSL to deliver a huge range of all-valve tone,
from 'Nashville Clean' to modern 'scooped' metal. With all
this pure valve versatility, its easy to see why the DSL is
still held in high regard by many of the world's top players.
7. Bluesbreaker II FX Pedal
The Bluesbreaker II takes the philosophy of the original
Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal one step further, featuring
not one but two modes, Blues and Boost. This effectively
makes it two pedals in one. The Bluesbreaker II's Boost
mode was designed with the vintage valve amp or 'tone
purist' type of guitar player in mind. Ideal if you want to
drive the front-end harder, pushing the amp further into
natural overdrive and without altering the original tone.
8. Mode Four (MF350)
Featuring a true 'two-amps-in-one' design, the Mode Four
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was created to offer the best of both classic and modern
Marshall tone. Amp 1 and Amp 2 housed separate
ECC83 driven pre-amp circuitry, with the shared 350 Watt
power stage reconfiguring when switching between
amplifiers. Both Amp 1 and Amp 2 featured two modes
each, adding up to four (hence the name) in total – Clean,
Crunch, OD1 and OD2. The enormous head room of the
Mode Four gave it superior bottom-end clout and also
retained the tonal definition at high stage volumes,
making it ideal for metal and thrash styles.
9. JVM Series
Launched in November 2006, the flagship JVM Series
caused the guitar world to sit up and take note. Featuring
4 all-valve channels with 3 modes each, the JVM4
range offers guitarists a possible 12 unique tones,
sophisticated channel switching technology and MIDI
capabilities, confirming Marshall's place at the forefront of
valve-driven guitar amplification. The 2 channel and
aptly-named JVM2 range followed in January 2008,
delivering a more streamlined and focused version of the
multi-award winning JVM Series.
So revered has the JVM become, that its multi-mode
topology has created three of the JMD:1's 16 pre-amp
options. The JMD:1's Clean Modern pre-amp setting
demonstrates the sparkling tonal clarity of the JVM's
Clean channel in its initial gain stage, whereas Overdrive
Modern cranks things up with a powerful contemporary
crunch, derived from the JVM4's red 'moded' Crunch
channel. Finally, the Lead Modern pre-amp utilises the
JVM4's OD1 channel design to unleash an aggressive,
full-bodied lead tone.
10. Haze40
The most recent amplifier to be included in these pre-amp
selections, the Haze range, was launched in March 2009
and features both a 15 Watt mini-stack and 40 Watt 1x12''
combo. Containing 2 channels, all-valve signal path and
studio quality effects, the Haze40 was designed with the
blues/jazz player firmly in mind. The amp responds just
how you would expect, with picking dynamics and guitar
controls playing a big role in achieving your tone. The
amps design allows the effects circuitry to be totally
bypassed, preserving that treasured all-valve signal path.
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