A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

1978

Question: How many Marshall heads do you need?

Answer (EVH): All of them. Plus a fan.

For the record there are 12 Marshall heads in this photo.

Surely only one or two are actually engaged in making music. The rest are there for the endorsement money. It is a big stage and they have to fill it with something pertinent. LOL I have seen the blank 4x12 cabinets stacked up too. Looks cool too.

tonebender wrote: ↑Sat Mar 11, 2023 8:18 am Surely only one or two are actually engaged in making music. The rest are there for the endorsement money. It is a big stage and they have to fill it with something pertinent. LOL I have seen the blank 4x12 cabinets stacked up too. Looks cool too.

Early on in their touring career, Ed actually used multiple Marshalls, because he saw Tony Iommi doing it, and thought "well, that's how it's done." He said he would come off stage numb (not for the usual reasons), and that he noticed Dave wouldn't come near his side of the stage. He then noticed that Ozzy went nowhere near Tony either, and switched it up.

Yeah, it's mostly show/marketing these days, and most of the gear is below or behind the stage. And is Fractal AxeFX units.

And most big names play to a click to time the lights and explosions et al. Rock and roll!

Ed was well known for being interested in getting the tone he wanted but without the insane volume that comes with setting every knobs at 10 on a 100 watt Marshall Plexi top. Hence the trick of facing the amp against the wall, using less efficient Greenback speakers, and the Variac.

Using 12 Marshall heads would have been detrimental to the tone Ed was after, as they would have provided too much power and headroom.

If I recall correctly this photo is from a performance in Holland.

I'm waiting for the photoshop picture of a Lernaean Hydra with all the snake heads replaced by Marshall heads.

(I have only a Ceriatone JTM45.)