The tone that set the blues boom of the mid-60s on fire, the Marshall model 1961 combo came into being following a request by Eric Clapton to Jim Marshall for an amp that would fit in the boot of his car. Armed with a 1960 Gibson Les Paul, Eric walked into Decca Studios in March 1966 and the rest is rock history, the amp forever known as the ‘Bluesbreaker’.

Essentially this is a JTM45 built into a cabinet and was available in either a 4x10 or 2x12 configuration. At only 35 watts and built into an open backed cabinet, the amp could be turned up louder to achieve the overdriven sound that it was to become famous for.

For the 35th Anniversary of the amp, 250 were produced in white Tolex, one of which you see before you. This particular example has had two previous owners. Originally supplied by Marshall to the Bryan Adams Band for a tour in 1997 where all the backline needed to be white, it was returned to Marshall to be bought by Dennis Greaves of Nine Below Zero who is its current owner. He used the amp sparingly as he didn’t want to damage the amp too much although it was used on a Jools Holland session.

As you can see from the pictures, the amp is in very good shape. The tolex is damage free as is the grill cloth, piping and badge. The amp comes with its original cover which has certainly done its work protecting this very cool amp. Internally everything seems undisturbed and correct with no signs of any damage to the PCB.

When you’re looking for the tone, why not go to the source. A great sounding combo, very evocative tone. Sometimes all you need is a dimed Marshall and a guitar lead.

There are so many plus points with this amp, from the looks to the tone to its back story. The limited numbers make it a rare beast and if your heart was stolen by a certain Beano album then this is the amp for you.