Marshall Sold
Marshall Sold
https://www.guitarworld.com/news/marsha ... er-company
Not sure about the wisdom of paying $350 mil for a tube amp co..
Not in this day and age.. Between Archetype Plini and Petrucci I'm seriously considering selling all my tube amps and Axe Fx gear..
But after watching the below youtube, I guess the money these days isn't in the amps..
Not sure about the wisdom of paying $350 mil for a tube amp co..
Not in this day and age.. Between Archetype Plini and Petrucci I'm seriously considering selling all my tube amps and Axe Fx gear..
But after watching the below youtube, I guess the money these days isn't in the amps..
Re: Marshall Sold
Not sure yet what to think of this, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad bit alarmed.....who knows, maybe it'll be a good thing.
While this guy laid out the facts pretty well, I gotta disagree with a few things he said, or at least take issue: he harps on the old "Marshall hasn't innovated in years blah blah blah ...." but, Marshall doesn't really need to. As in, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Marshall certainly innovated enough that basically every amp manufacturer ( with a few obvious exceptions of course ) that's in the rock/hard rock/heavy metal lane, has more or less gone for a "hot rodded Marshall sound"..... I don't care who we're talking about either; Soldano, Bogner,Friedman,Peavey,EVH etc etc ....yes I know a lot of these companies have their own thing, but come on....
And, amps can get more & more high gain ( I can't imagine we need any more gain these days .... ) but at the end of the day, all you really need is a blasting Plexi or a cranked up 800, those'll usually get you wherever you need to go, EQ to taste.
Also, sure I understand that modeling & profiling etc. has come a long way, but what are those amps mimicking? Yes....TUBE TONES. I know Fractal AXE FX & Kempers & Helix's sound killer, but they're not copying each other or making groundbreaking tones on their own, no, they're emulating Marshall's and their ilk.
Just like Strats & Les Pauls will never go out of style, neither will Marshalls.
While this guy laid out the facts pretty well, I gotta disagree with a few things he said, or at least take issue: he harps on the old "Marshall hasn't innovated in years blah blah blah ...." but, Marshall doesn't really need to. As in, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Marshall certainly innovated enough that basically every amp manufacturer ( with a few obvious exceptions of course ) that's in the rock/hard rock/heavy metal lane, has more or less gone for a "hot rodded Marshall sound"..... I don't care who we're talking about either; Soldano, Bogner,Friedman,Peavey,EVH etc etc ....yes I know a lot of these companies have their own thing, but come on....
And, amps can get more & more high gain ( I can't imagine we need any more gain these days .... ) but at the end of the day, all you really need is a blasting Plexi or a cranked up 800, those'll usually get you wherever you need to go, EQ to taste.
Also, sure I understand that modeling & profiling etc. has come a long way, but what are those amps mimicking? Yes....TUBE TONES. I know Fractal AXE FX & Kempers & Helix's sound killer, but they're not copying each other or making groundbreaking tones on their own, no, they're emulating Marshall's and their ilk.
Just like Strats & Les Pauls will never go out of style, neither will Marshalls.
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Dinosaur David B
- Posts: 18626
- Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2004 5:21 pm
Re: Marshall Sold
The way I read the story is that Marshall had been in bed with these folks for a while anyway so they know already each other pretty well -- that's a plus. They're the guys responsible for Marshall headphones, bluetooth speakers, etc.
Look, this is like ANY business acquisition. And it's not like Marshall hasn't been bought and sold before. IF it's purely a financial thing, and the acquiring company is HANDS-OFF, nothing about the amps themselves should change, and customers won't notice any difference. That is the hope.
And given what Marshall went through with Rose-Morris -- the deal Jim Marshall said was the "worst mistake he ever made," one would HOPE that Marshall (even with Jim dead) wouldn't enter into any deal that affects the PRODUCT itself.
That said, even with the best of original intentions, changes will come. They will probably impact the Marshall employees most (new corporate vision, practices, and possibly culture).
The HOPE is that the acquiring company won't start demanding that Marshall cut corners and "do more with less."
Hopefully, they'll let them be a subsidiary that still manages itself and decides their own path. Of course Marshall has made TONS of product mistakes and bad decisions on their own.
Think I've been through this a few times, myself?
Look, this is like ANY business acquisition. And it's not like Marshall hasn't been bought and sold before. IF it's purely a financial thing, and the acquiring company is HANDS-OFF, nothing about the amps themselves should change, and customers won't notice any difference. That is the hope.
And given what Marshall went through with Rose-Morris -- the deal Jim Marshall said was the "worst mistake he ever made," one would HOPE that Marshall (even with Jim dead) wouldn't enter into any deal that affects the PRODUCT itself.
That said, even with the best of original intentions, changes will come. They will probably impact the Marshall employees most (new corporate vision, practices, and possibly culture).
The HOPE is that the acquiring company won't start demanding that Marshall cut corners and "do more with less."
Hopefully, they'll let them be a subsidiary that still manages itself and decides their own path. Of course Marshall has made TONS of product mistakes and bad decisions on their own.
Think I've been through this a few times, myself?
It's not a restring until I'm bleeding.