The
BLUESBREAKER:
Revisited
Finally, the speakers supplied in the original
combo were G12M “Greenbacks,” rated
at 20 watts each. This speaker utilized an
Alnico magnet, providing sweet, warm tones
and a smooth midrange – an essential ingre- Jim Marshall wanted his new range of
dient for that “British combos to be versatile; as
chime.” At 20 wa{tts, the speaker could But just how close was this new}a result, he designed the Model 1962 with two
12” barely keep up with variant to the original Model loudspeakers and used the the tremendous over- JTM45 bass chassis (Model drive of the amplifier 1962? To the true Marshall 1986) electronics. The when it was at full volume. Marshall, collector, and to the rare few Model 1962 was described in the Marshall catalogue however, equipped who actually owned the as a “Bass/Lead” unit, mak- the Bluesbreaker ing it an extremely versatile reissue with 25-watt genuine article, the differences amplifier that could be
Greenbacks, featur- ing ceramic magnets. were immediately apparent. used by guitarists and bass players alike.
While they lacked
the chime of an Alnico magnet, they could
withstand twice the wattage and had a fine
sound of their own.
reissue Bluesbreaker, it would behoove us
to understand where it all started. In 1964,
while the Beatles made their first appear-
ance on the Ed Sullivan Show, and the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 was enacted, Marshall
Rose-Morris used these numbers arbitrarily,
using the prefix “ 19” for all of Marshall’s
product line.
The Model 1962 Backstory
However, before we dig in and modify our
was busy introducing its very first combo.
Because it was the very first series, it is
historically referred to as the Model 1962
Series I. Interestingly, the 1962’s model
number did not refer to a particular year or
significant event in time. Until the 1980s,
Marshall’s distributor and financial backer
In addition, a second combo with four 10”
speakers – the same configuration used in
the Fender Bassman – was offered to play-
ers. Marshall’s 4x10 version was referred
to as the “Lead” and utilized the JTM45
treble chassis (Model 1987) electronics. This
4x10 configuration, designated the Model
