Some tie-ins feel a little forced, others crackle with real authenticity. Marshall’s newly announced tie-in with the Jimi Hendrix estate is one of the latter; the virtuoso guitarist, who died in 1970 at the tragically young age of 27, was a committed user of Marshall amplification. Indeed, the company's towering black amps are just as much a part of the Hendrix mythos as his favoured Fender Stratocaster.
The only kink in the cable is why this collaboration has taken so long, and why, now that it is finally here, does it only celebrate such a relatively arbitrary date in the Hendrix/Marshall timeline (the ‘moment Hendrix plugged into a Marshall guitar amplifier in 1966’).
Sixty years on, the electric guitar is still in the midst of a cultural and commercial revival. Marshall is now part of the Chinese HongShan Capital Group yet operates out of HQs in Stockholm and the UK’s Milton Keynes. As well as guitar amps, the modern-era brand also dabbles in Bluetooth speakers and earbuds, soundbars and even party speakers, all effective ways of keeping it at the forefront of the cultural conversation.
The Marshall x Hendrix 60th Anniversary Collection is very much back to basics, however. Aside from a dolled-up edition of the Acton III Bluetooth speaker, the two key items in the collection are an authentic Half-Stack guitar amplifier bundled with a special edition of the iconic circular Fuzz Face pedal favoured by Hendrix. All get new colourways and unique finishes, ‘influenced by Hendrix’s love of velvet, silver jewellery and his fascination with space and science fiction’.
Details of the crushed velvet Acton III
First up, the Acton III. It’s not subtle, covered in a layer of crushed purple velvet, with purple knobs and lights (bringing to mind another great musical loss, perhaps), all in service of the Hendrix era’s heightened fashion sense. The speaker grille is given a splashy lava lamp-style graphic, while the cosmic symbolism extends to an all-seeing eye graphic on the side. When you switch on this limited edition you’ll get system sounds taken from rare Hendrix recordings.
Marshall x Hendrix 1959 HW half-stack 100 watt amplifier and 1960AHW Cab
Now on to the actual gear. Marshall has created a new edition of the 1959 HW half-stack 100 watt amplifier and the 1960AHW Cab, the latter featuring the familiar array of 4x12 Celestion. It’s a timeless but hefty combo, featuring the same splashy graphical treatment as the compact speaker. The amps are handmade at Marshall’s Bletchley factory in the UK.
Marshall x Hendrix 1959 HW half-stack 100 watt amplifier and 1960AHW Cab
It’s paired with a custom version of the Fuzz Face distortion pedal, first introduced in 1966 by Ivor Arbiter and, since 1993, by Jim Dunlop.
Marshall x Hendrix Fuzz Face distortion pedal
Hendrix fans and fuzz aficionados will be familiar with the throaty analogue roar created by simple circuitry, an effect Hendrix could bend and twist like no other before or since. It’s a fitting celebration of this guitar legend. And yes, you can also buy the T-shirt.
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