The Yardbirds / Jeff Beck Stage Played 1964 Marshall 4 x 12 (One of the First Marshall Cabinets Made).
This is an opportunity of a lifetime, to purchase one of the earliest Marshall cabinets ever made, that has been owned and played by the band that started the incredible careers of three of the worlds best guitar players - The Yardbirds. Stage played by Jeff Beck on one of his first performances with The Yardbirds on 6th August 1965.
This cabinet can be seen being played by Jeff Beck at the 5th National Jazz & Blues Festival in Richmond 1965, pictured on stage with The Who, and we even believe on the cover of Sonny Boy Williamson and The Yardbirds LP behind Jeff Beck (well known to be a later picture than the audio on the LP itself). It has a rough and tatty painted ‘Yard Birds’ inscription to the back panel, most likely done in haste by a roadie at the festival to distinguish between theirs and the other bands gear. Footage can be seen of this cabinet, most notably from the “Shindig! Goes To London” film. For example, it can be seen extensively on the songs ‘For Your Love’ and ‘Hang on Sloopy’.
It also appeared on stage with The Who. The Who preceded The Yardbirds on the line up, so the roadies had already gotten the amplifiers ready (another reason to identity the cabinets with the rough paint job). You can see footage throughout The Who’s set of this cabinet in the rear.
The cabinet itself is one of only a handful made in this style. It is one of the earliest Marshall cabinets ever made, and was most likely made for The Yardbirds directly as this was handmade / pre-production line. It has the first style basket weave grill cloth (the same as Paul Kossoff’s), a thinner 12” depth, smooth tolex, handles to the top, and metal badge to the front. The speakers inside are Celestion Alnico Silver T652’s, with their original 75hZ Pulsonic H1777 cones. 3x of which are dated 22nd May 1964, and 1x (the bottom left as you look from the rear) 14th November 1963. This one is an early replacement, most likely done when the beer was spilt to stain the front cloth. If you look really closely around the rim where the speaker meets the cabinet, you can see the outline of the original speaker code which seemingly matches the others (22EJ).
The vendor purchased this from the owner since circa 1980. It had been passed through various record labels and studios from the 1960s to 1980, most notably Armageddon Records, Alaska Studios (in Waterloo), SmithSound Studios, before retiring in a home studio in 1990 with the owner. The vendor acquired a signed letter from the owner with the history of the amplifier.
Also comes with a Gotta Have Rock and Roll Certificate of Authenticity.