How Old is My Marshall?

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Marshall JCM900 SL-X Amp "How old is my Marshall?" is a common question asked by owners. While the age of an amp has no bearing on how good or bad it sounds, it can have an impact on the selling or purchase price of a Marshall rig. Using the information in this section, you can attempt to dial in the possible dates of manufacture more closely than by sheer estimation alone.

Does it have a bar code? Yes (read on) | No (next page)
Marshall began using a nine-digit bar code label beginning in 1992. If your amp or speaker enclosure sports a black-ink-on-white-background barcode label on the chassis or back of the cabinet, then you know that the product was manufactured somewhere between 1992 and the present.

How to read the bar code
Ignore the bar code on the first line. Look at the numbers on the second line. The first two digits are the year. The last two denote the month. The five digits in between are the serial number.

I I I I I II I I III I I I II I
975555503

In the example above, the amp was produced in March (975555503) of 1997 (975555503).

Have an older Marshall without a bar code? Click here.