![Marshall Major](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Marshall_Major.JPG)
The Marshall Major (Model 1967
) was a
bass guitar amplifier made by
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
. It was introduced in 1967 as the "Marshall 200" (in reference to the
power
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
of the amplifier). It had a plexi panel and two inputs in one channel, but in contrast with the 100 watt heads made by Marshall, the first series had split tone controls similar to the
Sound City amps. For the second series, in late 1968, Marshall reverted to ordinary
passive tone controls, and was called "Marshall Major". Some authors claim the first version had active tone controls but this is incorrect, the schematics for all versions are available online.
The amplifier used
KT88 The KT88 is a beam tetrode/kinkless tetrode (hence "KT") vacuum tube for audio amplification.
Features
The KT88 fits a standard eight-pin octal socket and has similar pinout and applications as the 6L6 and EL34. Specifically designed for audio ...
output valves, two ECC83 preamp valves and one ECC82 valve.
[ Approximately 1,200 of these amps were produced from 1967 to 1974; Marshall ceased production when the supply of KT88s ran out.][
The amplifier was used by rock musicians who needed very high volume. A notable user is ]Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...
; his Major had the two input channels cascaded into one, essentially creating the first Marshall with a master volume.[
]
Other versions
The Major was also made as a PA amplifier, Model 1966 (from 1967 to 1971, with eight inputs in four channels; known in 1967 as the PA 200), and as a bass amplifier, Model 1978 (from 1967 to 1974).[ A line of on-ear headphones by Marshall have also been issued with the same name.
]
Notable users
* Jimi Hendrix
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...
[
* ]Tom Bukovac
Tom Bukovac is an American session musician and producer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in nearby Willowick, Ohio. He has been a Nashville-based musician since 1992. He previously owned 2nd Gear, a used music consignment shop in Sou ...
* John Frusciante
John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...
* Josh Klinghoffer
Josh Adam Klinghoffer (born October 3, 1979) is an American musician best known for being the guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers from 2009 to 2019, with whom he recorded two studio albums, '' I'm with You'' (2011) and '' The Getaw ...
* Joe Perry
* Mick Ronson
Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...
[
* Jack L. Stroem
* ]Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...
* Dan Andriano
Daniel Michael Andriano (born June 27, 1977) is an American singer and musician. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist and bassist of the punk rock band Alkaline Trio, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums to date.
Andriano also rec ...
* Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...
* Daniel Rydholm
* Lemmy Kilmister
Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he wa ...
References
Instrument amplifiers
Marshall amplifiers
Valve amplifiers
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