Marshall Super Lead Amplifier Formerly Owned by Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix used this 1969 100-watt Marshall Super Lead amplifier head for live performances in 1969 and 1970, including his famous appearances at Woodstock on August 18, 1969 and at the December 31, 1969 Filmore East show with the Band of Gypsys. Photographs and film footage from these shows identify the unit by the “J. H. EXP.” stenciled into it by roadie John Downing (1945-1987). 

To achieve his desired sound, Hendrix plugged his guitar into a lead or “head” amplifier like this one and connected it to three Marshall “stacks” linked by electrical cord. These stacks, which consisted of two speaker cabinets containing four, 12-inch, 25-watt speakers each, produced the loudest sound possible at the time. Because Hendrix also liked to crank his Marshalls to the highest volume setting, he sometimes fried amplifier vacuum tubes and cracked speakers. Hendrix owned eight lead amplifiers and ten stacks to replace his damaged ones while they were under repair by Hollywood’s West Coast Organ and Amp Service. 

Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who gained mainstream prominence in the late 1960s with hits such as “Hey Joe,” “Purple Haze,” “All Along the Watchtower,” and “Fire,” and is now celebrated as one of the most influential electric guitarists of all time.