About Fender® Musical Instruments Corporation

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) is the world's foremost manufacturer of guitars, amplifiers and related equipment since 1946, and its name has become synonymous with all things rock 'n' roll. Iconic Fender® instruments such as the Telecaster®, Stratocaster®, Precision Bass® and Jazz Bass® guitars are known worldwide as the instruments that started the rock revolution, and they continue to be highly prized by today's guitarists and collectors. Fender®, Squier®,

The Marshall Legacy

The classic Marshall Stack is one of the defining images behind loud rock music. A full stack consists of one head containing the actual amplifier, on top of two stacked 4x12s, which are loudspeaker cabinets each containing four 12 inch loudspeakers arranged in a square layout. The top cabinet has the top two loudspeakers angled slightly upwards, giving the Marshall stack a distinctive appearance. When a single cabinet is used, the complete unit is called a half stack.

In the early-mid 1960s, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle of The Who were directly responsible for the creation and widespread use of stacked Marshall cabinets. Pete later remarked that John started using Marshall Stacks in order to hear himself over Keith Moon's drums and Townshend himself also had to use them just to be heard over John. In fact, the very first 100 watt Marshall Amps were created specifically for Entwistle and Townshend when they were looking to replace some equipment that had been stolen from them. They approached Jim Marshall asking if it would be possible for him to make their new rigs more powerful than those they had lost, to which they were told that the cabinets would have to double in size. They agreed and six rigs of this prototype were manufactured, of which two each were given to Townshend and Entwistle and one each to Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott of The Small Faces. These new "double" cabinets (each containing 8 speakers) proved too heavy and awkward to be transported practically, so The Who returned to Marshall asking if they could be cut in half and stacked, and although the double cabinets were left intact, the existing single cabinet models (each containing 4 speakers) were modified for stacking, which has become the norm for years to follow.

Entwistle and Townshend both continued expanding and experimenting with their rigs, until (at a time when most bands still used 50 to 100W amps with single cabinets) they were both using twin Stacks, with each Stack powered by new experimental prototype 200W amps, each connected to the guitar via a Y-splitter. This, in turn, also had a strong influence on the band's contemporaries at the time, with Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience both following suit. However, due to the cost of transport, The Who could not afford to take their full rigs with them for their earliest overseas tours, thus Cream and Hendrix were the first to be seen to use this setup on a wide scale, particularly in America. Ironically, although The Who pioneered and directly contributed to the development of the "classic" Marshall sound and setup with their equipment being built/tweaked to their personal specifications, they would only use Marshalls for a couple of years before moving on to using Sound City equipment. Cream, and particularly Hendrix, would be widely (and incorrectly) credited with the invention of Marshall Stacks.

The search for volume was taken on its next logical step with the advent of "daisy chaining" two or more amplifiers together. As most amplifier channels have two inputs, the guitar signal being present on both sockets, the cunning musician hooked the spare input of one channel to an input on another amp. By 1969 Hendrix was daisy chaining four Stacks, incorporating both Marshall and Sound City amplifiers, as recommended to him by Townshend.

This competition for greater volume and greater extremes was taken even further in the early 1970s by the band Blue Öyster Cult, which used an entire wall of full-stack Marshall Amplifiers as their backdrop. Artists such as Slayer and Yngwie Malmsteen also use walls of Marshalls. Both Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman of Slayer can be seen playing in front of a total of 24 cabinets, and Yngwie has used as many as 31. However, it is usually the case that far less are actually powered, as using this many could cause serious problems with the overall sound mix of a live show. In most cases these are "dummy cabs," which are onstage for visual impact, not actually played through. For ease of transportation and lifting, most of these actually do not even contain any speakers. The same goes for some of the amp heads in a scenario like this, as they are just the wooden frame with, in fact, no heavy inner workings.

Such is the ubiquity of the sight of a wall of Marshalls at a rock concert; many artists who do not even use them have the dummy stacks on stage. Rick Parfitt of Status Quo, for example has a wall of Marshalls, but actually uses a combination of Vox AC30 in Marshall cabinets and JCM900's.

Marshall also produces "combo" amplifiers, which combine speaker and amp in one case; and several variations of the classic stack design including a Marshall micro stack and a mini stack, the latter of which is a transistor practice amp about 10 inches high which runs on batteries.

LINE 6 — Modeling Pioneers

Most non-musicians are likely unaware that the past fifty years of guitar amplifier technology has had a more significant impact on the history of rock music than the electric guitar itself. Each individual amp and effect design was created to distort and color the guitar signal in a different way, contributing significantly to why the guitar sounds of the Beatles were so different from Jimi Hendrix or Pink Floyd. Both the subtle and overt differences between the many types (and even specific serial numbers) of amps and effects, became cherished tonal signatures that were sought after for the particular sonic mood that they might inspire.

In the mid-1990's, Line 6 set out to meet the needs of today's guitarist by harnessing technology to turn a wide range of great tone into a reality for every guitarist. Line 6 amassed a noteworthy collection of sought-after vintage amps and effects, and started meticulously measuring and analyzing every tonal aspect of the amps, effects and their associated circuitry. Since an electric guitar produces an electrical signal, each element of the circuitry that alters the tone of the guitar is in fact processing that signal. By creating software models in DSP (Digital Signal Processing) of how the guitar signal is processed by these circuits, Line 6 had the ability to connect up and control these virtual circuits in any way.

After years of research and playing, Line 6 launched a patented technology in 1996, with the world's first digital modeling guitar amplifier, the AxSys 212. This product provided users with models of dozens of classic guitar amplifiers, as well as a complete arsenal of stomp boxes and effects. The AxSys quickly took off and led to the further development of Line 6's technology into a comprehensive line of guitar amps within all price ranges. Only a year later, Line 6 launched the next guitarist tone revolution: POD. This kidney bean-shaped desktop device went beyond just the modeling of many classic amplifiers, it was created to solve another critical problem that had plagued guitar players: recording great guitar tone.


With traditional amplifiers, the first problem is the requirement of a great sounding and acoustically isolated sound room, since most guitar amplifiers have to be turned up to a near ear-splitting level in order to get the right tone. Next, great microphones need to be selected and placed in optimal locations. For all but those with large recording budgets, this has been a continual struggle. And even with a large budget, it can be quite time consuming since to arrive at the desired result this process may need to be repeated with several different amplifiers.

With POD, Line 6 eliminated the need for complicated recording setups with its proprietary technique for simulating the complex interaction of microphones, speaker cabinets and room acoustics. POD has won numerous awards, and has landed on countless platinum records. Its intuitive design and incredible tone quickly changed the way guitarists create and record music, becoming the standard for both direct recording and live performance.

In 2000, Line 6 continued its expansion with a line of effects pedals for guitarists. The DM4 Distortion Modeler, FM4 Filter Modeler, MM4 Modulation Modeler, and DL4 Delay Modeler give musicians boundless possibilities previously unheard of within the "stompbox" domain. Today, the ToneCore series of effects pedals stands alongside DL4, DM4, MM4, and FM4 as another Line 6 milestone. With trailblazing features like tap tempo chorus and tremolo, ToneCore's multi-functionality, compact design, and big tones have helped push Line 6 to the forefront of creative pedal innovations.

2000 also saw the release of Bass POD, providing all of the technological advances of POD to bass players; POD Pro, a rackmount version of POD for live and professional studio applications; and Flextone II, a complete line of digital amplifiers.


True to its commitment of putting the latest technology into the hands of musicians, many new Line 6 products are supported by Line 6 Edit - a fully integrated editor/librarian software package. In addition, the CustomTone feature offers users the ability to back-up and store favorite custom patches, send them via email, and transfer them between supported Line 6 products. By creating a complete product line of internet-enabled digital audio products, Line 6 has given musicians the tools to consistently reproduce on stage the sounds created in a studio environment, share sounds with other users, and access Line 6's vast tone library at CustomTone.com.

When first released in 2001, the flagship Vetta amplifier grabbed the attention of the MI world with its innovative, two-amps-at-once feature, stereo capability, and built-in studio-quality effects never before seen on high-end guitar amplification. Now in its sixth year of production and updated with the latest amplifier and effects technology, the revised Vetta II continues to be an artist favorite and a sought after amp for consumers.

Line 6 is always looking to find innovative applications for their modeling technology. This was the driving ambition behind the Variax series: utilize the same techniques developed for faithfully recreating classic amplifiers and do the same thing with timeless guitars. Packaged into one quality instrument, Variax contains groundbreaking reproductions of over two dozen, collectable and distinctive guitars.


Following the success of Variax, Line 6 continued down the path of developing the world's first complete family of modeling guitars and introduced the Variax Acoustic 700. A thinline-style single cutaway, the Acoustic 700 gives guitarists spot on recreations of over a dozen timeless acoustic instruments to choose from. Creative features such as virtual capoing and instant alternate tuning - all storable - only add to the many advantages of this groundbreaking guitar.

After painstakingly compiling a collection of several of the bass world's most popular and coveted pieces, studying the complexities of their sound, and finally, modeling them, Variax Bass was released to great critical acclaim. It's perfect weight and balance, along with a huge palette of vintage and modern bass models - including upright, made Variax Bass an instant hit with many high-profile artists and working players.

And in 2007, Line 6 partnered with Reinhold Bogner to develop Spider Valve™ amplifiers - fusing the versatility of modeling with the performance and feel of a world-class tube amplifier.


Line 6's passion for excellence and commitment to the development of new technologies has attracted the industry's best engineers and designers, a formidable roster of artist endorsers, and an active, informed user base - a combination that leaves Line 6 well-equipped to take on the enviable challenges of continued growth.