It’s been 60 years since Jimi Hendrix first used a Marshall – now the company is celebrating with an array of cosmic-inspired guitar gear

Marshall is marking 60 years since Jimi Hendrix first played through one of its amplifiers by launching a unique gear drop featuring three cosmic-inspired items.

The drop includes a reskinned Acton III Bluetooth speaker, a 1959 JMH Half Stack, and a limited-edition Fuzz Face pedal, with each inspired by Hendrix’s sound, style and love of science fiction. The brand also hints that more Marshall x Hendrix surprises could be launching later this year.

• READ MORE: Ronnie Wood remembers living with “sweet man” Jimi Hendrix: “He’d just sit back and play right-handed or left-handed – that blew my mind”

The limited-edition Acton III’s design is influenced by Hendrix’s love of velvet, silver jewellery and his fascination with space. It’s coated in crushed velvet and has a silver control panel featuring purple knobs and purple LED lights. The all-seeing eye is stamped in silver onto the side of Acton III, “symbolising both clarity and vision”.

Taken from a selection of Hendrix recordings, including a rare instrumental version of Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland) from The Jimi Hendrix Experience deluxe box set, a new on-off sound also pays homage to the guitar legend.

As for the 1959 JMH Half Stack, these are made by hand in the Bletchley Marshall factory in the UK. A 1960 AJMH 4×12 Handwired Angled Cabinet combines with a 1959 Handwired Head to form Hendrix’s signature set-up.

It hosts a black and purple cosmic swirl across the fret and control panel and a purple LED indicator. Silver detailing inspired by Hendrix’s jewellery also features throughout, including on the knobs, handle, logo, grill and back panel. The all-seeing eye badge sits on the top and bottom of the stack.

Dunlop’s limited-edition Fuzz Face Distortion pedal features the same unique oil-on-water design, and is available exclusively with the stack.

“Jimi was a formidable musician, a real force of nature. He took everything to a new level and carried everybody with him. When he played, it was an emotional time for everybody because everyone was thinking, if he can do it, I could maybe do it. And he’s using Marshall, therefore we want Marshall. It was a really special time for us all and there’s no doubt that we grew with him and his fame, it was a natural tie-up. The rest is history as they say,” states Terry Marshall, co-founder of Marshall Amplification.

“From his fashion to his lyrics and of course, his music, there are so many different stories we could tell when it comes to Hendrix,” adds Emma Rydahl, Senior Industrial Designer at Marshall Group. “We started with materials and pattern exploration, looking at different fabrics and running test prints with a psychedelic track in mind. We spent a lot of time adjusting the final design to get it just right across the whole collection.”

Find out more or buy now via Marshall. The collection will also be available from select retailers from 14 May.