Marshall Schematics

Sadly, Jim Marshall, the Father of Loud, passed away on april 5th 2012. R.I.P. Dr.Tube humbly salutes the Guv’nor.

Jim Marshall started building amps in 1962. He did this together with Ken Bran and aided by the technical engineer Dudley Craven. Their first amps were very heavily “inspired” on the 1959 Fender Tweed 4×10″ Bassman. Little did they know then that they were at the threshold of a rock ‘n roll revolution…

1962	The very first Marshall amps that saw the light of day were called the JTM45 amps. These amps were more or less a copy of the Fender 1959 Tweed Bassman. These amps were built as heads (or tops) separated from the speaker cabinets. The speaker cabinets were closed 4×12″ Celestion loaded cabinets.
1965	The first combos (models 1961 & 1962) appeared halfway this year. Desperate to build a factory large enough to meet demand, Jim Marshall made a deal with the Rose Morris company. In exchange for the necessary funding (to build this new factory) Rose Morris acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to distribute Marshall amps for the next 15 years. Due to this deal the Marshall amps were very expensive these following 15 years. In this year the Plexi face plates were introduced. The first 100W models were introduced this year.
1966	The JTM45 panels were changed to the JTM50 panels with the switch to the EL34 output tubes. The GZ34 rectifiers were phased out to be replaced by solid state rectifiers.
1967	The hand bent aluminium chassis was replaced by the steel machined chassis, making the amps much more robust and road proof. The Marshall 200s were introduced this year. The JTM panels were replaced by the JMP panels.
1968	The Marshall 200 was redesigned and renamed to the Marshall Major.
1969	The Plexi panels were replaced by gold brushed aluminium panels.
1975	The introduction of the Master Volume amps: JMP 2203 & JMP 2204.
1981	The introduction of the JCM800 amps.
1982	The 20th anniversary of Marshall. The introduction of the JCM800 Split Channel amps: JCM800 2205 & JCM800 2210.
1985	The introduction of the Integrated Bass System (IBS) amps.
1987	The Silver Jubilee 25th Anniversary amps.
1988	The first 1959 and 1987 reissue amps.
1989	The introduction of the Series 9000 19″ rack system amps.
1990	The introduction of the JCM900 amps.
1991	The introduction of the first Valvestate amps.
1992	The 30th Anniversary amps.
1993	The introduction of the JCM900 SL-X amps.
1994	The introduction of the Dynamic Bass System (DBS) amps.
1995	The introduction of the JTM30 & JTM60 amps.
1996	The introduction of the second Valvestate amps.
1997	The 35th Anniversary amps. The introduction of the JCM2000 DSL amps. The introduction of the JCM600 amps.
1998	The introduction of the JCM2000 TSL amps.
2001	The introduction of the Valvestate 2000 AVT amps.
2002	The 40th anniversary of Marshall Amps!
2007	The introduction of the JVM amps.
2012	The 50th anniversary of Marshall Amps! Jim Marshall passes away. RIP.

Viewing this brief history of the Marshall amps, several eras can be distinguished:

The sixties (1962 – 1967) which is “Jurassic” period of Marshall and is the time of the JTMs.
The seventies (1967 – 1981) was the era of the JMPs.
The eighties (1981 – 1989) was the era of the JCM800s and the first anniversary amps.
The nineties (1990 – 1999) was the era of the JCM900s and the reissues.
Year 2000+ is the realm of the JCM2000s and the JVMs and 40+ years of Marshall Amps.

Although this division is not entirely accurate, it does give a good impression of the different eras. The first decade in the history of Marshall is regarded by some as the “Golden Years”.

In the following overview, I try to place the amps in some kind of chronological ordering. Keep in mind that allthough I try to be complete, this is obviously not a complete list, though I hope it will be some day…

1962 – 1966	The JTM45 amps.
1966 – 1967	The JTM50 amps.
1965 – 1967	The JTM100 amps.
1967 – 1974	The Majors.
1965 – 1967	The 18W amps.
1967 – 1974	The 20W amps.
1967 – 1981	The JMP amps.
1973 – 1980	The JMP solid state amps.
1971 – 1978	The Artistes.
1981 –	The 2000 series.
1981 – 1989	The JCM800 amps.
1981 – 1985	The JCM800 Bass amps.
1981 – ….	The JCM solid state amps.
1981 – ….	The Artist amps.
1984 – ….	The Mini Stacks.
1985 – ….	The Integrated Bass System (IBS).
1987 – 1990	The 25th Anniversaries (Silver Jubilee).
1988 – today	The Re-Issues.
1989 – ….	The 9000 Series.
1990 – 1999	The JCM900 amps.
1993 – 1999	The JCM900 SL-X amps.
1992 – ….	The 30th Anniversaries.
1992 – ….	The JMP-1.
1994 – 2000	The Dynamic Bass System (DBS).
1995 – 1998	The JTM30 amps.
1995 – 1997	The JTM60 amps.
1997	The 35th Anniversaries.
1997 – 1999	The JCM600 amps.
1997 – 2012	The JCM2000 DSL amps.
1998 – 2012	The JCM2000 TSL amps.
1998 – ….	The VBA400.
1991 – 1993	The Valvestates Mk1.
1993 – 1999	The Valvestates Mk2.
2001 – ….	The Valvestates 2000 AVT.
2007 – ….	The JVM amps.