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• Manufacturer's Description

Manufacturer's description

The original JCM800 2203, initially launched in March 1981, proved incredibly popular with rock guitarists in the ’80s and beyond, with its distinctive roar and larger than life ‘edge’ it became, and still remains, the standard that all other rock amps are judged on. It was during this time that Kerry King, guitarist with Slayer (considered one of the greatest metal bands in the world) picked up his golden child ‘The Beast’. Knowing that he wanted his guitar tone to be as individual as he is, he added an EQ, but going against tradition he pushed the mids, creating “a frown not a smile”. Alongside this he added a noise gate to keep things quiet and accentuate his staccato playing style. Used in countless shows and records over many years, the combination of ‘The Beast’ and this outboard equipment powered the sound of Kerry King until the day he received the first 2203KK. Kerry has used Marshall amplifiers throughout his hugely successful career, to this day proudly bearing the Marshall logo when he performs with a wall of 30 Marshall cabinets behind him. Marshall felt it only fitting to produce a Signature amplifier for him. With ‘The Beast’ and Kerry’s stage equipment in the safe hands of the

R&D team, they worked closely with Kerry to develop the tone, feel and look of a great Marshall amp that defines the true attitude and power of Kerry’s sound. Kerry’s hands-on approach to the project resulted in numerous visits to the Marshall factory and putting the prototypes vigorously through their paces, road testing each one and using three of them every night of his 2006 and 2007 tours. The 2203KK is a 100 Watt single channel, Master Volume, all-valve UK made head. At its heart is a classic mid-’80s 2203 drawing on the power and dynamics of ‘The Beast’ to take the sound further and placing it at the cutting edge of modern rock tone. Additionally, its power stage features four KT88 valves, adding extra warmth and girth to the sound. With the amplifier, Kerry uses Mode Four MF280B cabinets, taking advantage of their taller size to provide balanced mids and a huge

bottom end. ‘The Beast’ button engages Kerry King’s signature tone. Recreating the sound of his original outboard equipment, it features a studio quality ultra fast noise reducer, riding the signals dynamics but still maintaining the natural sustain and very fast decays for staccato rhythms and short

pauses, the switch lights red when the circuit activates and green when the signal is passed without attenuation. A custom-voiced EQ focusing a gain boost on the mids has been specifically tuned to Kerry’s specification. The gate and assault provide control over the guitar signal allowing you to vary its threshold and intensity, truly capturing the ferocity and force of Kerry’s sound. The 2203KK features artwork inspired by Kerry’s many iconic tattoos. Marshall has developed new techniques to allow designs to be printed directly onto the fret cloth, allowing this distinctive design to leave the

front panel and expand over the amp’s baffle. The tribal tattoo motif trails over the brushed gold panel pointing to ‘The Beast’ switch and the style of the panel’s text is taken directly from one of Kerry’s tattoos. The motif and text are used across the whole design.