In the mid-1960s volume wars, no one figures quite like Pete Townshend. Although Ritchie Blackmore would eventually have the loudest Marshall amp, that came later, in 1970.
Before Blackmore, Townshend was pushing the envelope for stage volume, but his efforts were outdone by John Entwistle, the Who’s bass guitarist, who had Jim Marshall build him a 4x12 speaker cabinet.
“Then I got a 4x12 cabinet and put it on a chair,” Townshend explained, “so then he invented the 8x12 cabinet, to get louder than me, and I invented the stack by getting two 4x12s and stacking them up."
“Stacking up” is an apt phrase to use. Townshend’s claims fail to do so when faced with a certain historical artifact: the diaries of Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood.
From 1963 through part of 1966, Wood kept diaries of his daily activities, which included gigs with his first pro band, the Birds (a.k.a. the Thunderbirds). He played with them from 1963 through 1967, after which he joined the Jeff Beck Group before going on to perform in the Faces with former Jeff Beck Group singer Rod Stewart.
Wood’s journals are a fascinating look at London’s rock and roll music scene in this pivotal era — so much so that in 2015, Genesis Publications published his 1965 volume as the limited-edition book How Can It Be? A Rock and Roll Diary. In addition to reproducing Wood’s handwritten notes and illustrations, it featured his newly added footnotes that elaborated on his experience and the heady times.
Among the entries was Wood’s story of buying his first Marshall amp and 4x12 cabinet from Jim Marshall. He and the Birds’ other guitarist, Tony Munroe, would visit Marshall’s shop in Hanwell and discuss their dream rigs.
“It was a friendly rivalry,” Wood told Guitar Aficionado for a 2015 cover story about How Can It Be? “I’d bounce ideas off of him, and we'd usually end up arguing about them.”
But as Wood explained, he had another competitor: Pete Townshend. Each was vying to be the loudest guitarist on the scene.
“We kept on pushing Jim Marshall to make amps with more watts, and volume controls that went up to 12," Wood recalled.
To that end, Wood asked Marshall to create a rig that could outdo any out there. The date of September 4, 1965 is significant — as his diary entry explains, that was the day he received a 100-watt head and 8x12 speaker cabinet from the Marshall shop. Wood proclaimed the sound “a knockout.”
You could say the same of Wood’s revelation. Prior to the publication of his diary, it was assumed Marshall had made just six 8x12 cabinets: two for Townshend, two for Entwistle, and another two models for display that were purchased by Steve Marriott’s band, the Small Faces, precursors to the Faces.
Even more startling was the new footnote from Wood that indicated he was the one who suggested the 8x12 format to Marshall. He recalled Townshend’s reaction upon seeing the cabinet.
“Pete Townshend came in and went, 'You bastard!"
Considering that the Who didn’t perform with their 8x12 cabinets until November 13, 1965, it seems a safe bet Wood got his first, and may very well be the originator of the design.
Wood’s diary demonstrated he was also ahead of the curve with the fuzz box, having used one before Keith Richards did on the Rolling Stones’ May 12, 1965 session for “(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.” According to the book, he bought his fuzz unit from Macari's Musical Exchange on London’s Denmark Street music row.
“I don't remember the brand," Wood told Guitar Aficionado’s Chris Gill. "It was a little orange box with no name on it, and it just had a little foot switch on top and two jack-plug holes.” (Gill surmised that it was likely the Fuzzy pedal created by Pepe Rush, an early version of the Pepbox that Rush later licensed to WEM.)
For that matter, Wood was painting graphics on his guitars well before George Harrison applied paint to his Sonic Blue 1961 Stratocaster, which he dubbed Rocky, or Eric Clapton had The Fool art collective paint his 1964 Gibson SG with a psychedelic finish.
"I had two Telecasters back then,” recalled Wood, who is an accomplished painter. “I painted a violin on one of them, and I decorated the other with a mod/pop art pattern of black-and-white checks. I did that to catch the eye of people in the audience. Later I saw the Beatles on tour with their psychedelic guitars and went 'I'm doing something right here!"
Indeed he was, and well before anyone else. He has the proof.
