NAMM 2010: Zakk Wylde launches Marshall JMD:1 amps

Still bleary-eyed from 10 and a half hours in the air, team MusicRadar hit the Sheraton ballroom last night for a sneak preview of what promises to be one of the biggest products of NAMM 2010: the hybrid Marshall JMD:1 amp range.

Featuring a digital preamp that utilises Swedish company Softube's 'Natural Harmonic Technology' and a good old EL34 valve power amp straight outta Bletchly, the JMD:1 comes in four flavours: 100-watt head, 50-watt head, 100-watt 2x12 combo and 50-watt 1x12 combo.

The plethora of preamp voices onboard draws from Marshall's library of classic amp sounds, and the sheer range of sounds on offer was ably demonstrated at the Marshall event by Keith Urban's guitarist Brian Nutter and Allison Robertson from The Donnas, before Zakk Wylde took to the stage and melted our faces with an extended shred improv that, while impressive, did nothing to allieviate our jetlag and motion sickness.

Check out the JMD:1 in action here, courtesy of Guitarist magazine and Marshall's Chris George.

Visit the Marshall website for the official word.

(Click image to enlarge)

Chris Vinnicombe worked with us here on the MusicRadar team from the site's initial launch way back in 2007, and also contributed to Guitarist magazine as Features Editor until 2014, as well as Total Guitar magazine, amongst others. These days he can be found at Gibson Guitars, where he is editor-in-chief.