Sunday, Apr. 8th 2012 5:29 PM
Legendary guitar amp inventor, Jim Marshall has died aged 88 following a number of strokes during recent years and a fight with cancer. Marshall, who was awarded an OBE in 2003, which accompanies a number of other prestigious honours that he received for his services to the music industry, was known to many as the “Father of Loud” and has had many tributes paid from artists that include the likes of Slash from Guns ‘n Roses and Paul Weller, among others.
Marshall used to own and operate a moderately successful music store in Hanwell, London back in the swinging sixties, with customers such as Pete Townsend, Ritchie Blackmore and Big Jim Sullivan buying from his store. And it was a request from The Who front man that prompted Marshall to design the classic 100-watt valve guitar amplifier, as rock musicians searched for extra ‘loud!’
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Monday, Feb. 13th 2012 1:23 PM
Vox Amplification has just announced the arrival of two new additions to its acoustic amp range – the AGA30 and the AGA4-AT. These two new acoustic amps from Vox should excite acoustic players, as they are designed to preserve the acoustic tone of guitars and other acoustic instruments as well. Both of these new guitar amps can also be used to connect an MP3 player to, allowing you to play along to your favourite tunes without the need for additional hardware.
The Vox AGA30 is a two channel amp that offers both a standard channel and also a tube pre-amp channel, with both channels featuring bass and treble EQ controls. The Vox AGA30 also features an anti-feedback control that minimises feedback, making the amp a great option as a stage monitor. With 30 watts of power, a full range speaker and a direct/tuner output for connection to bigger PA systems, the new Vox AGA30 acoustic amp is a great new addition to the Vox acoustic amp range.
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Monday, Sep. 5th 2011 10:15 AM
Hollywood actor Richard Gere is to sell his vintage guitar collection on October 11th to raise funds for humanitarian charities. The task of auctioning the collection of guitars has been given to Christie’s auction house in New York, with the 110-strong lot of vintage and custom guitars, along with a selection of amps expected to achieve $1 million or more when they go under the hammer.
Gere, a self-taught pianist and guitarist, originally started his musical enthusiasm as a youngster, studying the trumpet before turning his hand to the guitar and other instruments. Gere has been building his collection of guitars for over the last 20 years but, the movie star didn’t intend to build a collection, saying “I just bought ones that I liked, the ones that sounded good and played well. Some are very special.” But a collection of guitars is exactly what he has assembled and, with reluctance, he is auctioning the lot.
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