m

info    updated 28/9/2008...please email corrections/info

Mad Professor

http://www.guitaramplifiermagazine.com/pub/2005/premier_issue/mad_professor.html

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Mad+Professor

Maestro

http://ushigomepan.cool.ne.jp/effect/catalogue.html

Maestro

current

Magnatone

search at http://www.vintageguitar.com

http://www.vibroworld.com/magnatone/

http://www.bellflowermusic.com/images/Amps/Magnatone%20Amp2.JPG

http://www.harmonicamasterclass.com/vintage_amps.htm

http://www.scottymoore.net/guitars.html

http://www.myrareguitars.com/robergeamps.html

http://www.myrareguitars.com/vintage_magnatone_ROBERGE.html

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Magnatone

Marble amps

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Marble+Amps

Marshall

In the early 1960s Jim Marshall was a drum/percussion retailer in Hanwell, London. He expanded his line to guitars and amps. Fender amps were popular but expensive and Jim thought he could produce them at a better price.
Jim Marshall copied the 1959 Fender Bassman. The main difference was he used four 12 inch Celestions in a closed back cabinet vs the Bassman’s four 10 inch Jensen speakers with an open. Initially using US amp parts he switched to UK components to save money. The switch from 6L6 to the KT66 valve gave Marshall amps a more aggressive tone. Eventually the KT66 became to expensive causing the jump to EL34 and even more aggression. In 1973 they switched to Printed Circuit Boards. [Source: Wikipedia]

Dating Marshall cabs and amps

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Bistro/3491/dating.html

Barcode version: http://www.blamepro.com/mar/date.htm

http://www.smittymusic.com/Marshall%20Dating.htm

http://users.aol.com/bluemuse/dating.html

Other Marshall amplifier information and examples

http://vintageamps.com/va/marshall/marshall.html

Google Book partial The History of Marshall

http://www.vintageguitar.com/brands/details.asp?ID=176

http://www.blamepro.com/mar/date1.htm

Technical history http://www.lynx.net/~jc/marshallAmps.html

Marshall Schematics

http://www.drtube.com/marshall.htm

http://www.marshallschematics.com/

Marshall Resources

http://www.smittymusic.com/Marshall.htm

Marshall amplifier ads and catalogs

http://www.vintageguitars.org.uk/advertisements/marshall

http://www.vintaxe.com/catalogs_ampgear_marshall.htm

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Marshall

http://www.guitaramplifiermagazine.com/pub/2005/premier_issue/marshall-18-2.htm

Matamp

Established mid 1960s. Amplifiers and speaker cabinets currently produced in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England.

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Matamp

see Orange

Matchless

"Hi, Sometimes dating Matchless can be difficult. Serial numbers on amplifiers do not reflect dates. However, all extension cabinets have serial number date codes. Ex. A020707, B020707... would mean the extension cabinet was made on Feb 7th, 2007. "A" would be the first cab of the day, and "B" would be the second cab of the day.

For the amplifiers themselves, sometimes a date is stamped in white on the side of the transformer, this would indicate the date the transformer was made only. Since transformers are expensive we wouldn't have several hundred lying around for long periods of time waiting to be installed. Usually the amp was built with in a 4 to 6 week window of the date stamped on the chassis.

The only other way of finding a date is by pulling out the chassis and "Sometimes" there is date written inside."

[Source: Phil Jamison, Matchless Amplifiers, 1933 Pontius Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90025, email 9/2/2007]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matchless_Amplifiers

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Matchless

Maxon

"Japanese company Nisshin Onpa started making guitar pedals in the mid 70’s marketed as Maxon in Japan and Ibanez as exports.  Ibanez and Nisshin parted ways in early 2000, Maxon is now available in most countries and have specialized in reissuing the old Maxon line from the late 70’s. The Maxon OD808 is the same pedal as the Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-808." [Source: John Butler Trio Forum ]

http://tix.gozaru.jp/stompbox.html

Maxon Pedal Catalogs

http://brochures.yokochou.com/index.html

http://ushigomepan.cool.ne.jp/effect/catalogue.html

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Effects/brand/Maxon

Meazzi

Amp

http://www.fetishguitars.com/mrt/index.html

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Meazzi

Effects

http://selmer.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/echos/pa.html

http://www.meazzi.com/images/PA306/MeazziUniversal.jpg

http://www.fetishguitars.com/mrt/index.html

Melatronix

http://www.metaltronix.net/metaltronix-history.htm

Memphis

http://www.locobox.com/memphis.html

http://tix.gozaru.jp/stompbox.html
Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Effects/brand/Memphis

Mesa Boogie

Between 1967 and 1970 Randall Smith converted more than 200 Fender Princetons adding a Fender Bassman circuit and replaced the 10 inch speaker with a 12 inch JBL in a shed in Lagunitas, Northern California. Smith then built a two storey garage and the Mark 1 Boogie was built from scratch. Randall Smith took the 1960's Fender designs, and added more gain stages. No major amp had ever had so many preamp gain stages, and all this extra gain produced thick, heavy distortion. [Source: Mesa web site]

http://home.earthlink.net/~ayan/history.htm 

"Unfortunately there is no "system" to our serial numbers. They all basically start with a letter designation for the amp model) (i.e. "RK-000435" for "Road King # 435") and are followed by a 6 digit number. All amp start at zero and continue in sequence until the amp is discontinued." [Source: Marcus Daniel, Mesa/Boogie, Customer Service/Product Specialist, email 7/2/2007]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesa_Boogie

History http://homepage.mac.com/mesaboogie/welcome.html

Mesa Boogie Forums

http://forum.grailtone.com/

http://p223.ezboard.com/bmesaboogieampforum77319

Mesa Boogie catalogs & Manuals

1985 http://brochures.yokochou.com/en_index.html

1999 Mesa Boogie Product Reference Guide (pdf)

2002 Mesa Boogie Product Reference Guide (pdf)

2007 Mesa Boogie Product Reference Guide (pdf)

http://www.21frets.com/catalogs.html

http://www.britishaudioservice.com/manuals.shtml

Prepal Used prices

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Mesa%2FBoogie

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Mesa+Boogie

MI Audio

Australian built guitars amps.

Wikepedia

Mirano

http://tix.gozaru.jp/stompbox.html

MJM Guitar Effects

"The pedals became widely available around 2001,there are markings inside each pedal with a sharpie pen usually stating a serial # and month/year of production. [Source: Michael, MJMGUITARFX, email 23/3/2008]
Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Effects/brand/MJM+Guitar+Effects

"We started in 2002. Each amp would have had a date written on the serial tag either on the outside or inside of the amp." [Source: Victor Mason,Mojave Ampworks LLC. & Plexi Palace, email 19/3/2008]

http://www.guitaramplifiermagazine.com/pub/2005/premier_issue/mojave.html

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Mojave+Ampworks

Montarbo

http://www.fetishguitars.com/mrt/index.html

Montirios

Handmade amps and cabs, Sydney Australia

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Effects/brand/Moollon+Musical+Instruments

Morley

"The history of Morley pedals is on wikipedia.org and there is no way to date our products by serial number." [Source: Chad, Morley, email 19/3/2008]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morley_Pedals

http://www.geocities.com/stompbox2001/?200730

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Effects/brand/Morley

Multivox

http://tix.gozaru.jp/stompbox.html

Music  Man

http://www.pacair.com/mmamps/Misc__Info/Model_Chart/model_chart.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_Man_%28company%29

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/brand/Music+Man

MuTron

Musitronics

http://www.beitec.com/stomp.htm

http://www.geocities.com/stompbox2001/?200730

http://www.vintageguitars.org.uk/effects.php

http://www.myrareguitars.com/joeyeffectsandpedals.html

http://www.thegigrig.com/acatalog/MutronIII.html

Ads http://www.vintageguitars.org.uk/advertisements/Musitronics

Reviews http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Effects/brand/Musitronics%2FMu-Tron

Prepal prices for MuTron

MXR

MXR Innovations was the largest US effects company, started in the early 1970s with Keith Barr as President and co-founder. 
They closed in 1984, unable to remain profitable against Japanese brands (Boss etc). In 1987 the MXR brand was purchased by Jim Dunlop, who started making reissues of the old line of effects and bringing new effects under the MXR brand to the market. [Source: P.A.S. ]

http://www.analogman.com/faq.htm#mxr

watch out for fakes  http://www.analogman.com/fakemxr.htm

http://www.analogman.com/paperw.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MXR

http://www.geocities.com/stompbox2001/?200730

http://www.geocities.com/stompbox2001/dynacomp.htm