
The Marshall 1962 combo has gone down in history as the “Bluesbreaker” because it was used by Eric Clapton with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers on the album known as Beano.
According to legend, this new amplifier was designed at the specific request of Clapton, who wanted a Marshall JTM45 to put in the trunk of his car. However, when Eric bought his first car, a '38 Cadillac Fleetwood and his Bluesbreaker, production of Marshall combos had already been underway for a year.
By the end of 1964, Marshall was having huge success, thanks to the new JTM45 amplifier. So much so that production was moved to a larger factory, at Silverdale Road, and, between late 1964 and early 1965, new models were introduced: the 1962 and 1961. These combos, which were respectively an open cabinet 2x12 and a closed cabinet 4x10, were designed by Jim Marshall to compete with the Vox AC30.
While the chassis of the 4x10 was the same as the JTM45 tremolo, the 1962, presented as bass and lead, had the chassis of the JTM45 bass, but was also equipped with tremolo. Both identical in circuitry to the JTM45 at the time, they were the largest Marshall combos ever built because they were designed to accommodate the big KT66 tubes.
The first version of these combos, called Series 1, had a white grille cloth, a slightly sloped baffle, a gold block logo, silver pointer knobs, 15-watt Celestion G12 T652 alnico speakers and, on the control panel, they were labeled “JTM45” and “MK IV”.
A few months later, in the summer of 1965, in addition to slight changes in size o the new generation of 1962 and 1961, called Series 2, a pinstripe black and white grille cloth stood out with the new Marshall script logo in white, as well as a baffle that was completely straight and not tilted this time.
According to legend, this new amplifier was designed at the specific request of Clapton, who wanted a Marshall JTM45 to put in the trunk of his car. However, when Eric bought his first car, a '38 Cadillac Fleetwood and his Bluesbreaker, production of Marshall combos had already been underway for a year.
By the end of 1964, Marshall was having huge success, thanks to the new JTM45 amplifier. So much so that production was moved to a larger factory, at Silverdale Road, and, between late 1964 and early 1965, new models were introduced: the 1962 and 1961. These combos, which were respectively an open cabinet 2x12 and a closed cabinet 4x10, were designed by Jim Marshall to compete with the Vox AC30.
While the chassis of the 4x10 was the same as the JTM45 tremolo, the 1962, presented as bass and lead, had the chassis of the JTM45 bass, but was also equipped with tremolo. Both identical in circuitry to the JTM45 at the time, they were the largest Marshall combos ever built because they were designed to accommodate the big KT66 tubes.
The first version of these combos, called Series 1, had a white grille cloth, a slightly sloped baffle, a gold block logo, silver pointer knobs, 15-watt Celestion G12 T652 alnico speakers and, on the control panel, they were labeled “JTM45” and “MK IV”.
A few months later, in the summer of 1965, in addition to slight changes in size o the new generation of 1962 and 1961, called Series 2, a pinstripe black and white grille cloth stood out with the new Marshall script logo in white, as well as a baffle that was completely straight and not tilted this time.
It was actually a 1962 Series 2 that was nicknamed Bluesbreaker.
After his stint as guitarist with the Yardbirds, where there wasn’t much room for his creativity, Clapton began playing with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and replaced the red Telecaster and AC30 with a Les Paul sunburst and a JTM45. In the summer of 1965 Clapton temporarily left the band to play all around the world with a group of friends, under the name The Glands. At the end of 1965 they were in Athens, Greece where they were hired at the Igloo Club to play Everly Brothers, Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry classics, since no one knew Clapton, Mayall and the Yardbirds. They were going to back up The Juniors, a local band, for very little pay. When The Juniors’ guitarist was injured in a car accident on October 18, 1965, Clapton offered to fill in for him so as not to lose the gig. With The Juniors, the English guitarist began to play the songs of the Yardbirds and the rumor that the famous Eric Clapton was playing in Greece spread quickly. Thanks to him, the success of The Juniors grew so much that, when Eric decided to return to London, some fans threatened him that they would cut off his hands! Unfortunately Clapton and his mates, who hadn't earned enough money, had to sell or leave some instruments in Greece to buy the return ticket and Clapton left his JTM45.
When he got back to England in November, Eric started playing again with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and, instead of the JTM45, he chose the 1962 combo because it was cheaper and more convenient to transport with Mayall's van. A period full of live performances began for the Bluesbreakers, which led to them being known as one of the most important live bands of the British music scene at the time. Dating back to this period are the famous words “Clapton Is God”, which appeared for the first time on a wall of the subway station in the London Borough of Islington, and later also in other areas of the British capital.
After his stint as guitarist with the Yardbirds, where there wasn’t much room for his creativity, Clapton began playing with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and replaced the red Telecaster and AC30 with a Les Paul sunburst and a JTM45. In the summer of 1965 Clapton temporarily left the band to play all around the world with a group of friends, under the name The Glands. At the end of 1965 they were in Athens, Greece where they were hired at the Igloo Club to play Everly Brothers, Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry classics, since no one knew Clapton, Mayall and the Yardbirds. They were going to back up The Juniors, a local band, for very little pay. When The Juniors’ guitarist was injured in a car accident on October 18, 1965, Clapton offered to fill in for him so as not to lose the gig. With The Juniors, the English guitarist began to play the songs of the Yardbirds and the rumor that the famous Eric Clapton was playing in Greece spread quickly. Thanks to him, the success of The Juniors grew so much that, when Eric decided to return to London, some fans threatened him that they would cut off his hands! Unfortunately Clapton and his mates, who hadn't earned enough money, had to sell or leave some instruments in Greece to buy the return ticket and Clapton left his JTM45.
When he got back to England in November, Eric started playing again with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers and, instead of the JTM45, he chose the 1962 combo because it was cheaper and more convenient to transport with Mayall's van. A period full of live performances began for the Bluesbreakers, which led to them being known as one of the most important live bands of the British music scene at the time. Dating back to this period are the famous words “Clapton Is God”, which appeared for the first time on a wall of the subway station in the London Borough of Islington, and later also in other areas of the British capital.
In 1966, after the creation of the 100 watt Marshall, the Bluesbreaker went through design and functional changes.
With the transition to EL34 tubes and solid state rectification instead of GZ34, the writing on the control panel “JTM45” was replaced by “JMP” (while remaining MK IV) and the classic Marshall knobs took the place of the previous Silverface. The grille cloth changed from pinstripe to salt and pepper and often didn’t have the small vinyl strip that was present at the top of the baffle. Most importantly, the new 20 watt Celestion G12M ceramic speakers, the Greenbacks, replaced the alnico magnet speakers.
However, because of the Marshall stacks, which literally overshadowed all other amps, the Bluesbreakers’ fame slowly waned, until this combo went out of production in 1972.
With the transition to EL34 tubes and solid state rectification instead of GZ34, the writing on the control panel “JTM45” was replaced by “JMP” (while remaining MK IV) and the classic Marshall knobs took the place of the previous Silverface. The grille cloth changed from pinstripe to salt and pepper and often didn’t have the small vinyl strip that was present at the top of the baffle. Most importantly, the new 20 watt Celestion G12M ceramic speakers, the Greenbacks, replaced the alnico magnet speakers.
However, because of the Marshall stacks, which literally overshadowed all other amps, the Bluesbreakers’ fame slowly waned, until this combo went out of production in 1972.
Antonio Calvosa