Marshall Major
Encyclopedia
The Marshall Major was a guitar amplifier
made by Marshall
. It was introduced in 1967 as the "Marshall 200" (in reference to the wattage of the amplifier). It had a plexi front panel and only three knobs: volume, bass, and treble. In 1968 the name "Marshall Major" began to appear on the back panel, and a presence control was added in front. Eventually by 1969 the 200 watt Major was available in lead, bass, and PA versions.
The Marshall Major used KT88
output tubes, an ECC82 (12AU7) driver, and two ECC83 (12AX7) preamp tubes. Approximately 1200 of these amps were produced from 1967 to 1974. Proper functioning of these amps at full volume depended on the KT88 tube. US users commonly tried substituting 6550 tubes, but they couldn't take the high plate voltage (approximately 600 volts), the exception being the GE 6550a tube which sounds good and handles the higher voltages. When sub-standard output tubes were used in these amps, they sometimes shorted out and sometimes literally melted, taking other components with them. Marshall ceased production when the supply of KT88 tubes ran out.
The Major is considered by many to be one of the finest guitar amplifiers ever made. The amplifier was mainly used by rock musicians who needed lots of volume on stage. A notable user is Richie Blackmore; his Major had the two input channels cascaded into one for additional gain. Uli Jon Roth uses two Majors at right angles to each other on stage. Mick Ronson and others swore by their "Pigs". Majors in original condition have significant collector's value and easily fetch upwards of 1500 dollars at resale. Transformer sets are known to have sold for 500 dollars (the original Partridge transformers are very rare and there are replacements but they're equally as expensive and difficult to find).
Guitar amplifier
A guitar amplifier is an electronic amplifier designed to make the signal of an electric or acoustic guitar louder so that it will produce sound through a loudspeaker...
made by Marshall
Marshall Amplification
Marshall Amplification is a British company, founded by drummer Jim Marshall, that designs and manufactures music amplifiers, brands personal headphones/earphones , and, after acquiring Natal Drums, drums and bongos. Marshall amplifiers, and specifically their guitar amplifiers, are among the most...
. It was introduced in 1967 as the "Marshall 200" (in reference to the wattage of the amplifier). It had a plexi front panel and only three knobs: volume, bass, and treble. In 1968 the name "Marshall Major" began to appear on the back panel, and a presence control was added in front. Eventually by 1969 the 200 watt Major was available in lead, bass, and PA versions.
The Marshall Major used KT88
KT88
The KT88 is a beam tetrode/kinkless tetrode 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 amplification, the KT88 has similar ratings to the American 6550...
output tubes, an ECC82 (12AU7) driver, and two ECC83 (12AX7) preamp tubes. Approximately 1200 of these amps were produced from 1967 to 1974. Proper functioning of these amps at full volume depended on the KT88 tube. US users commonly tried substituting 6550 tubes, but they couldn't take the high plate voltage (approximately 600 volts), the exception being the GE 6550a tube which sounds good and handles the higher voltages. When sub-standard output tubes were used in these amps, they sometimes shorted out and sometimes literally melted, taking other components with them. Marshall ceased production when the supply of KT88 tubes ran out.
The Major is considered by many to be one of the finest guitar amplifiers ever made. The amplifier was mainly used by rock musicians who needed lots of volume on stage. A notable user is Richie Blackmore; his Major had the two input channels cascaded into one for additional gain. Uli Jon Roth uses two Majors at right angles to each other on stage. Mick Ronson and others swore by their "Pigs". Majors in original condition have significant collector's value and easily fetch upwards of 1500 dollars at resale. Transformer sets are known to have sold for 500 dollars (the original Partridge transformers are very rare and there are replacements but they're equally as expensive and difficult to find).
Versions
In addition the 1967 Lead model which is the best known version, the Marshall Major was also made as a PA amplifier, Model 1966 (from 1967 to 1971, with eight inputs in four channels; and as a bass amplifier, Model 1978 (from 1967 to 1974). The main difference between the lead version and the bass version is the cathode bypass capacitor in the first stage. Lead and bass versions can be easily interconverted with a simple (reversible) electronic modification.Notable users
- Ritchie BlackmoreRitchie BlackmoreRichard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
- Joe PerryJoe PerryJoe Perry may refer to:*Joe Perry *Joe Perry **Joe Perry *Joe Perry...
- Mick RonsonMick RonsonMichael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer. He is best known for his work with David Bowie, as one of The Spiders from Mars...
- Stevie Ray VaughanStevie Ray VaughanStephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
- John FruscianteJohn FruscianteJohn Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums...
- Uli Jon Roth