Marshall amps has to be the most F'd up amp company

[yngzaklynch]

Why? Look how much money other amp builders are making by building a better Marshall. The writing has been on the wall for 20 years. Friedman, Suhr, Bogner... Just to name a few are building a better Marshall and making money hand over fist. Between this and the Kempers and AxeFX stuff i have to wonder of the future of the brand isn't in question. Even rockstars that have a Marshall back line aren't always using stock Marshalls if Marshalls at all. Marshall has had a legendary run but if the company continues to fail at building what the public wants from them they completely deserve to fall to mediocrity.

Rant over

 

[Anonymous]

Why? Look how much money other amp builders are making by building a better Marshall. The writing has been on the wall for 20 years. Friedman, Suhr, Bogner... Just to name a few are building a better Marshall and making money hand over fist. Between this and the Kempers and AxeFX stuff i have to wonder of the future of the brand isn't in question. Even rockstars that have a Marshall back line aren't always using stock Marshalls if Marshalls at all. Marshall has had a legendary run but if the company continues to fail at building what the public wants from them they completely deserve to fall to mediocrity.

Rant over

No offense, but Friedman, Suhr, Bogner (insert Marshall style boutique amp builder here) are not making money "hand over fist" when compared to Marshall. They may charge more for an individual amp, but Marshall sells thousands of amps per year. A small fraction of guitar players even know the boutique brands you mention. Marshall wins, period and is making huge cash by selling many, many, many more amps at a smaller margin. They made $37M in revenue last year.

Steve

 

[Aristocat]

Why? Look how much money other amp builders are making by building a better Marshall. The writing has been on the wall for 20 years. Friedman, Suhr, Bogner... Just to name a few are building a better Marshall and making money hand over fist. Between this and the Kempers and AxeFX stuff i have to wonder of the future of the brand isn't in question. Even rockstars that have a Marshall back line aren't always using stock Marshalls if Marshalls at all. Marshall has had a legendary run but if the company continues to fail at building what the public wants from them they completely deserve to fall to mediocrity.

Rant over

They unfortunately have to appeal to the masses. Their target markets are teens looking for a great practice/first time gigging amp (DSL, MG, Mode Four) and the guys who sent their kids off and want what they couldn't afford years ago (Reissue series).

I'd love if they released high gain amps with higher build quality and components. Even Randall has Fortin as their main guy and I'm not the biggest fan of Randall/Fortin but Mike has a solid reputation and incredible sounding amps.

Bogner has there own thing going on too and although Reinhold has some Marshallesque inspiration, I find Bogner's to be smoother and nicer over all tonally and aesthetically than Marshall.

That being said, Marshall hasn't produced a decent product outside of the DSL since 1987 and that was the Jubilee. Granted, I wasn't around that time frame (1968-1988) I've owned and played enough SL/SB, 800, 900, JMP to get a good feel.

 

[Badronald]

Huh, and there I was thinking Marshall was making some great amps these days.

 

[Aristocat]

Huh, and there I was thinking Marshall was making some great amps these days.

Alright, I'll give the JVM some props but it has way too many knobs and once you get in the Orange/Red on OD1/OD2 the gain is too unusable.

 

[Mailman1971]

That new JVM 410 Satriani amp demo I heard sounds just SICK.....
actually made me want to snag one.

 

[jabps]

Why? Look how much money other amp builders are making by building a better Marshall. The writing has been on the wall for 20 years. Friedman, Suhr, Bogner... Just to name a few are building a better Marshall and making money hand over fist. Between this and the Kempers and AxeFX stuff i have to wonder of the future of the brand isn't in question. Even rockstars that have a Marshall back line aren't always using stock Marshalls if Marshalls at all. Marshall has had a legendary run but if the company continues to fail at building what the public wants from them they completely deserve to fall to mediocrity.

Rant over

They unfortunately have to appeal to the masses. Their target markets are teens looking for a great practice/first time gigging amp (DSL, MG, Mode Four) and the guys who sent their kids off and want what they couldn't afford years ago (Reissue series).

I'd love if they released high gain amps with higher build quality and components. Even Randall has Fortin as their main guy and I'm not the biggest fan of Randall/Fortin but Mike has a solid reputation and incredible sounding amps.

Bogner has there own thing going on too and although Reinhold has some Marshallesque inspiration, I find Bogner's to be smoother and nicer over all tonally and aesthetically than Marshall.

That being said, Marshall hasn't produced a decent product outside of the DSL since 1987 and that was the Jubilee. Granted, I wasn't around that time frame (1968-1988) I've owned and played enough SL/SB, 800, 900, JMP to get a good feel.

Well I will have to disagree with this completely. I've owned my JVM for years and it's still my favorite amp. And yes...I've owned a ton of upper echelon to boutique gear over the last many years...including many of the Marshalls that are considered the water mark. It's a fantastic amp...along with a lot of other stuff that they still produce. Just because something doesn't appeal to you
doesn't mean it's bad.

 

[xzyryabx]

One thing that I've noticed from hanging around different forums is how everybody's "world" shrinks.
PPl that come to this forum for example might over-represent the percentage/popularity of amps like Friedmans, Camerons, etc in the music field just b/c that is what most posters come to RT for.
At sevenstring, I'm pretty sure that if you ask the average member how common ERGs (extended-range guitars) are, you would get a higher number than asking someone from around here.
So basically, yeh, +1 to Steve's comment. most ppl have no idea who the hell Friedman and crew are, let alone can afford one, so I'm guessing Marshalls slice of thepie is pretty much unaffected!

 

[jabps]

Huh, and there I was thinking Marshall was making some great amps these days.

Alright, I'll give the JVM some props but it has way too many knobs and once you get in the Orange/Red on OD1/OD2 the gain is too unusable.

Again...disagree. Amber/Orange on OD1 is about as good as your gonna get...it's pretty much dead on modded Marshall.

 

[EyesOfTheSouth]

I disagree big time. Marshall is the name of rock. Saying these companies are building a "better" Marshall is ridiculous. And I promise you that those other companies are not making money hand over fist.

The JVM is a great amp IMO. I would put OD Orange up against any mod. Their reissue amps are great as well.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Steve you are spot on. I am just frustrated because I feel Marshall has failed to deliver the super hot rodded Plexi I think they should have years ago. Sorry for the venting

 

[Bloodrock]

Ok Steve you are spot on. I am just frustrated because I feel Marshall has failed to deliver the super hot rodded Plexi I think they should have years ago. Sorry for the venting

Isn't that what the YJM 100 is supposed to be? Haven't played one myself.

 

[Mailman1971]

My all time favorite "Stock" marshall was the 2203KK .....
man it had such killer tone.
Had a FJA modded Marshall and it could nail it dead on. Only problem was no effect loop.
Got rid of it in my amp flipping days. Really really was a kick ass amp that was very versatile.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Ok Steve you are spot on. I am just frustrated because I feel Marshall has failed to deliver the super hot rodded Plexi I think they should have years ago. Sorry for the venting

Isn't that what the YJM 100 is supposed to be? Haven't played one myself.

Actually the YJM is a great amp but not the amp I've been hoping for

 

[thiswaythatway]

Marshall will still sell amps because of their name, no matter how terrible their amps are. I've tried to like the JVM and I did own one but there's something about it I don't like. And just about every modded Marshall I've tried from Cameron or Fortin stomped the JVM IMHO.

The good thing is we have choice now. In the 80's we had Marshall, Peavy, and Mesa, that was about it. Kinda funny when say that all their 80's hero's picked Marshall........there was not much else to choose from. Mesa's were expensive and not as numerous or easy to find.

But when it comes to fucked up companies what about Gibson?

 

[Les Zombie]

i think marshall has been making some decent amps lately, the slash afd, yjm100, kk2203, zw2203, are all sig models but i liked all of them and thought they sounded pretty good. theres alot of love for the jvm100 even though i didnt really care for it, and theres people who swear by the dsl. i think right now is a good time for buying marshalls, theres some cool stuff.

i post on the boards alot and theres so much talk about splawns,friedman,cameron,fortin that its easy to forget about a stock marshall. but i know alot of guys who arent into the forums and have know idea of any of the names i mentioned, i doubt marshall is hurting for business and i see them being around for a long time. i totally get what the OP wanting them to do and make, but in the minds of the people at marshall they think they have great products and dont feel they are competeting with anybody.

 

[Mailman1971]

But when it comes to fucked up companies what about Gibson?

 

[yngzaklynch]

All I know is Marshall should have made a bad ass hot rodded Plexi years ago and never did. The continue to make amps that require outboard gear to get the sound I want. So I am frustraded. Don't misunderstand me. Marshall amps have helped make some of the best tones I know of. Anthony Lococo gets killer tones from his Marshalls. My issue is that I know they could easily produce a hot rodded Plexi for the masses but for whatever dumbass marketing reasons haven't. I am a fan of Marshall but a frustrated fan.

 

[yankeebulldog]

I've played a few 800s, owned a 900 2501, a DSL, 2 AFD100s, a JVM Satch, and an SL-5. Overall, I liked the tone of the AFD100 and even the SL-5. To me that's the closest they've come to hot rodded plexi. The JVM Satch has a lot of potential but I had some QC issues with the footswitch. The dealer and distributor were zero help in getting me a replacement. That kind of turned me off to them overall as a company and I moved on. If they keep cheapening their product with offshore production but don't stand behind it, that kind of sucks. I'd much prefer to spend a little more $$ and get something that's dependable and that the dealer or manufacturer will stand behind like Friedman or Suhr.

 

[Mailman1971]

Listen to this clip....
man this was the baddest stock Marshall I have played thru.
It is a monster.