A little bit of 1960’s Marshall brought back in a small combo.
The Marshall 1 watt, all-tube JTM1C combo amp is part of Marshall’s 50 Years of Loud Anniversary Celebration. Each release in the limited edition series pays homage to one of the five decades that Marshall has been in business. The salute to the 1960’s JTM1 models are the first in the series of five head and combo pairings. Like all of the 50th Anniversary, 1 watt, all-tube heads and combos, the JTM1C is built at Marshall’s factory in Bletchley, England, with a huge amount of expertise and pride.
Cabinet Construction
The parts that make up the cabinet for each JTM1C are cut out of solid sheets of birch plywood. Comb joints are cut into the respective edges to ensure strength, a tight fit between sides and maximum resonance. The glue is cured using an RF generator. The edges and corners are rounded before the frame is sanded by hand.
Dressed to Kill
Black vinyl is applied at a covering bench, a painstakingly tricky process that requires skilled hands to cut, tuck and secure the covering smoothly and evenly. Fret cloth is stapled to the speaker baffle of the combo, piping is applied around it and then the block logo is attached – also by hand. Once these steps are completed, the baffle is then fitted to the vinyl covered combo box, the speaker is inserted by hand, and the vinyl covered, back panels are also screwed on. The final touch to the “back story” is the careful, hand application of the “Limited Edition” plaque.
Chassis Completion and Final Testing
The amount of work and wiring done by hand is considerable. This includes wiring of control pots, the indicator lamp and On/Off switch to mention just three things. The insertion of carefully selected and rigorously tested tubes is also done by hand. Once completely assembled, each and every amp is painstakingly tested the good old-fashioned way – by plugging in a guitar!
