I started playing in the late 80s, and of course everything was about Marshall amplification. In fact, it seems like everything from 60s through early 90s rock, Marshall was the dominant and influential tone maker.
In the 90s I was into shred/fusion/jazz and really only listened peripherally to Nu Metal (Creed, Nickleback, etc). All those pop metal bands were using Mesa Rectos.
My own personal perspective until a couple days ago was that Marshall was *always* the dominant player in rock/metal, but I'm digging into those 90s/00s bands a little more, as they were the last rock bands before modern pop and black music (rap, R&B) took over the airwaves. All those bands were playing Mesas before rock died.
Over the past 20 years, Mesa seems to have had more of a foothold in the metal scene, which is perhaps the last bastion of new guitar music. Its entirely possible that Marshall hasn't been the dominant brand of stage amplification since the 80s. New guitarists coming up, are probably more likely to believe that a standard guitar amp has a diamond treadplate and not golden plexi faceplate.
How far has Marshall fallen in guitar music? I know the DSL and JVM series are somewhat popular, but was Marshall replaced by Mesa as the dominant brand in the minds of guitarists? Its completely possible that you have to be 50+ years old to carry the belief that its always been about Marshall. IOW, I wouldn't be entirely surprised to learn that Marshall wasn't the number 1, or even number two/three manufacturer.
In the 90s I was into shred/fusion/jazz and really only listened peripherally to Nu Metal (Creed, Nickleback, etc). All those pop metal bands were using Mesa Rectos.
My own personal perspective until a couple days ago was that Marshall was *always* the dominant player in rock/metal, but I'm digging into those 90s/00s bands a little more, as they were the last rock bands before modern pop and black music (rap, R&B) took over the airwaves. All those bands were playing Mesas before rock died.
Over the past 20 years, Mesa seems to have had more of a foothold in the metal scene, which is perhaps the last bastion of new guitar music. Its entirely possible that Marshall hasn't been the dominant brand of stage amplification since the 80s. New guitarists coming up, are probably more likely to believe that a standard guitar amp has a diamond treadplate and not golden plexi faceplate.
How far has Marshall fallen in guitar music? I know the DSL and JVM series are somewhat popular, but was Marshall replaced by Mesa as the dominant brand in the minds of guitarists? Its completely possible that you have to be 50+ years old to carry the belief that its always been about Marshall. IOW, I wouldn't be entirely surprised to learn that Marshall wasn't the number 1, or even number two/three manufacturer.
