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December, 2010 – Marshall is proud to present the AFD100 Slash Signature amplifier: a dual mode, all-valve 100 watt head that captures the tone and spirit of one of rock’s most celebrated and sought after sounds – Slash’s guitar tone on Guns ‘N’ Roses legendary, “Appetite for Destruction” (AFD). Released in 1987, this highly influential has sold in excess of 18 million copies worldwide and is the best selling debut album of all time.
Using the original AFD master recordings, Slash and Marshall painstakingly worked together to replicate his AFD sound. “This is an idea I’ve had for quite some time,” the guitarist reveals. “So many fans have been trying to duplicate that sound. I thought, ‘who better than to really perfect it other than Marshall?’ We spent a lot of time together developing this amp. We stripped a couple of guitar tracks off the original AFD masters and basically got in there with a fine tooth comb so we could suss out exactly what made that sound the way that it was.”
After countless hours and several prototypes, the AFD100 was born with two distinct, footswitchable modes labeled #34 and AFD – both offering 100% pure Slash sounds. The first is based on the modified JCM800 2203 he’s used since the late ‘80s and had “34” stenciled on the side, hence the “#34” name. The second is, of course, pure, unadulterated AFD. “We used ‘Night Train’ as one of the man reference tracks and the amp sounds just like it.” Slash concludes. “I think we’ve been totally successful!”
The amp boasts a mixture of both traditional and modern Marshall aesthetics – a unique blend of Plexi, JCM800 and Silver Jubilee cosmetics. In addition to its dual, footswitchable modes, the AFD100 also has the following features:
- Two inputs – high and low sensitivity
- Built in Electronic Power Attenuation. Controlled by a front-panel knob, this allows you to adjust the amp’s output from 100% to 0.01%, and anywhere in-between, without sacrificing the tone and feel of those all-important power valves.
- Footswitchable* Series FX loop with Return Level control.
- Valve Fault Indicator: meaning that if one of the output valves develops a fault, a visual indicator on the rear of the amplifier shows which one is working incorrectly. This “roadie friendly feature” will save valuable time getting the amplifier back up and running again, should a valve issue occur.
- Auto-Bias & Bias Current Trimmer to ensure correct power valve biasing and optimal valve life and function
*NOTE: A two-way, LED Footcontroller (PEDL-00054) comes supplied with the AFD100, facilitating switching between the #34 & AFD modes, plus FX Loop on/off.
To commemorate the 23 years that have passed since the recording of “Appetite for Destruction”, the AFD100 is Limited to 2300 units worldwide, 500 in the US. Retail price is $2899.
SLASH BACKGROUND
Slash is widely considered one of the greatest rock guitar players of all time. He has received countless accolades and awards including a 2007 star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame alongside his idols Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. An original member of iconic rock band Guns N’ Roses, Slash helped the band create signature sounds like the guitar riff of #1 hit “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “Welcome To The Jungle.” The band dominated the 1980’s and 90’s music scene selling more than 100 million albums worldwide and ushered in a decade of hard charging rock music. After leaving the band, Slash went on to critical acclaim in his personal project Slash’s Snakepit, and global success with supergroup Velvet Revolver. He has been widely sought after by the biggest musicians of all time, performing with everyone from Michael Jackson to Stevie Wonder to Ray Charles. Slash is one of the marquee playable characters in Guitar Hero III, has two signature Gibson guitars in his name, and authored his own top‐selling biography Slash in 2007. Slash recently landed on the top of the charts with his first true solo album, SLASH, which debuted as #1 Rock Album and #3 overall on Billboard’s coveted Top 200 charts, in addition to going #1 in more than 13 countries. The album features an all‐star roster of guest musicians including Ian Astbury, Chris Cornell, Rocco DeLuca, Fergie, Dave Grohl, Myles Kennedy, Kid Rock, Lemmy Kilmister, Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Duff McKagan, M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, Ozzy Osbourne, Iggy Pop, and Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother. In addition to a long career filled with prestigious awards and accolades, Slash was recently honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce who named him as an official selection for 2011 to receive a star on Hollywood’s iconic Walk of Fame. A date for the ceremony has yet to be determined.
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