Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: RIP - Jim Marshall, Marshall Amplification

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-05-2012, 12:06 PM:

The man who created the Marshall guitar amplifier, an icon of rock music, has died.

Marshall Amps main page obit

quote:

Dr. Jim Marshall OBE, 1923 - 2012

It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved founder and leader for the past 50 years, Jim Marshall. While mourning the Guv’nor though, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life.

Jim’s ascent into the history books as ‘the Father of Loud’ and the man responsible for ‘the Sound of Rock’ is a true rags-to-riches tale. Cruelly robbed of his youth by tubercular bones, Jim rose to become one of the four forefathers responsible for creating the tools that allowed rock guitar as we know and love it today to be born. The ground breaking quartet also includes the late, great trio of Leo Fender, Les Paul and Seth Lover – together with Jim, they truly are the cornerstones of all things rock.

In addition to the creation of the amps chosen by countless guitar heroes and game changing bands, Jim was also an incredibly humble and generous man who, over the past several decades, has quietly donated many millions of pounds to worthy causes.

While the entire Marshall Amplification family mourns Jim’s passing and will miss him tremendously, we all feel richer for having known him and are happy in the knowledge that he is now in a much better place which has just got a whole lot louder!

Rest in Peace & thank you Jim.

Your memory; the music and joy your amps have brought to countless millions for the past five decades; and that world-famous, omnipresent script logo that proudly bears your name will always live on.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-05-2012, 05:01 PM:

I didn't know anything about the man but that logo has got to be the most familiar icons in all of music. RIP.

Posted by Chuck McGregor (Member # 6826) on 04-06-2012, 10:47 AM:

A classic "Marshall Stack" [Eek!]

You will note only there is a microphone on only one of the cabinets. Typically all the other ones in such setups were empty dummies - much to the relief of the stage hands [Cool]

Among rock and roll's sonic icons, the sound of a Marshall guitar amp is unmistakable. Many imitations, but no cigars. [thumbsup]

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-06-2012, 12:52 PM:

One of my favorite pop cultural tid bits involving Marshall amplifiers: this scene from This Is Spinal Tap featuring Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel explaining the custom volume numbers on his tube amp head:

quote:
Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and...

Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?

Nigel Tufnel: Exactly.

Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it's louder? Is it any louder?

Nigel Tufnel: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?

Marty DiBergi: I don't know.

Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?

Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven.

Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.

Marty DiBergi: Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?

Nigel Tufnel: [pause] These go to eleven.

FWIW, the Carvin stack I have in my 2nd bedroom never gets set on 10 much less if an "11" option was available. If the wattage switch on the back is at 100% the loudness level becomes painful if the master volume dial is turned up to about 3. Turn the dial any farther to the right and the stack had better be in a bigger room or on an outdoor stage.

Posted by Chuck McGregor (Member # 6826) on 04-07-2012, 09:29 AM:

Typically, guitar amplifiers used linear taper potentiometers for volume controls because they were significantly less costly than log or "audio" taper controls - this both inherently and from economy of scale in purchasing only one model for all controls. In that market every manufacturing penny counted.

For a linear taper level control (ignoring any load on the control), the level change is very steep at the beginning and gradually gets less and less above about 3. For example, the change from "1" to "3" is about 10 dB or twice as loud, but so is the change from "3" to "10." From "7" to "10" the change is a barely noticeable 3 dB. From "9" to "10" is less than than 1 dB or not a readily discernible change.

For a log or audio taper control, the level changes smoothly throughout the range. Thus, the change in level between any two numbers on the control is the about the same.

So the inside joke for a techno-geek is that if you actually "extended" the control resistance range or simply relabeled the control with one more number, the change in level from "10" to "11" would only be a fraction of a dB. This means that there would effectively be no change in volume level.

quote:
Well, it's one louder, isn't it?

Nope, unless one means dB, in which case that isn't really any louder, so still nope [Razz]

Contrarily for tone controls, the linear taper was just fine with equal resistances and tapers either side of mid-point that being nominally the "flat" position. I can't speak as to whether they were (or are) actually "flat" at that point, given the subjectively tweaked designs used in instrument amplifiers.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 04-07-2012, 11:03 AM:

I still think we should all turn it up to "11" for one day in Jim Marshall's honor. [Big Grin]

Posted by Chuck McGregor (Member # 6826) on 04-07-2012, 02:36 PM:

Once you let the smoke that the manufacturer so carefully installed out of the speaker boxes, the system will do an automatic changeover to silent movie mode... [evil]

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-07-2012, 02:47 PM:

quote: Chuck McGregor
the inside joke for a techno-geek is that if you actually "extended" the control resistance range or simply relabeled the control with one more number, the change in level from "10" to "11" would only be a fraction of a dB. This means that there would effectively be no change in volume level.

I kinda don't think they were considering any of that crap when they were making the famous scene! [Big Grin]

Posted by David Buckley (Member # 2600) on 04-07-2012, 03:17 PM:

Marshall definitely did get the joke about Spinal Tap "up to 11", and took it further: the JCM900 goes up to 20.

Even better, Marshall have just announced the Marshall Fridge, see it here and it features knobs that go up to 11.

RIP Jim, you changed my life, and indeed all of amplified music forever.

In other news, Ferdinand Porsche, designer of 911, died on the same day.

Not a great day.

Posted by Chuck McGregor (Member # 6826) on 04-07-2012, 10:53 PM:

quote:
I kinda don't think they were considering any of that crap when they were making the famous scene!

I've no doubt you're right and didn't mean to imply "they" did. That said these controls were the butt of more than a few jokes among geeky audio types, way back when, who knew this stuff.

From some of the [bs]

I've read about even basic level controls among today's poor excuses as the successors to those guys, this old, basic "crap" would actually be knowledge [Big Grin]