Seeking Further Information On ' UNICORD ' A U.S. Marshall Distributor . . .

[JTM 100 Mk V]

Recently it was brought to my attention in a few threads about Unicord Schematics that they were importers. Origionally I had thought they were just the drafting company of the actual Schematic. It turns out they were U.S. importers of Marshall amps in the late 60's until ? I thought Rose Morris was the exclusive U.S. Importer so I wanted to look into this a bit further, Why ?

Well, it turns out they were involved in changes to the amps and schematics over time and had input into Transformers being used up to and including engineering and stateside replacements or Service. The Service department, as it turns out was run by Kenny and Tony Frank. It is claimed that Tony had designed Transformers that Marshall then used as well as designed the Master Volume Amps or at least in part 'helped' with the design.

What does this mean ? Well thats what I am trying to nail down here. It appears as Unicord was a Transformer Company before they took on U.S. Importation of Marshalls. Also, a U.S. Service center, based out of Westbury, N.Y. on Long Island they were Very influential with the feedback of the reception of Marshalls here in the states. Would it be a stretch to say Tony Frank is the father of the 'cold clipper' ? An engineer providing guidance to Marshall , Dagnall and Drake for product enhancements ? Maybe . . . The material I found is resourced below. But it does not stop there. Thats why I am presenting this data so others here may ADD to it, this is apparently a VERY interesting part of the history. !

There is some Juicy discussion about Tony Frank and Jimmy Page below also, so this is bigger story I want to get into.

So if I wanted a JTM100 in say 65 or 66 what was a Patriot to do ? What was the process ? Just call Marshall, send them a letter ? Drive to Main St. Music Store and ask ? Lets talk about this piece of History. When and where did the first Marshalls arrive in America, who got them, how did they get them and How Much ? ;-)

Thanks in advance for staying with me this far and for any insight you may impart !

Cheers

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Tony & Jimmy @ Unicord :

Jimmy Page content... anyone know much about Tony Frank?

We have discussed Page's amps and possible mods through the years here a thousand times. And we've speculated a lot about what might have been done and when... Today I got some info that I had never heard before and maybe with the far reach of the internet, somebody out there may know more about...

www.lespaulforum.com

( The info below is clipped from the article at vintageunivox history, a much longer read )

Originally from material Copyright Michael Wright, author of Guitar Stories Vol. 2, and Vintage Guitar Magazine ;

Univox Company History

In the early 60's, the company Unicord purchased the Amplifier Corporation of America (ACA) in Westbury, NY and marketed a series of tube amps under the name Univox. Before that Unicord was a Manufacturer of Electronic Transformers.

• For many years Unicord was the US importer of Marshall Amps and Korg synth/keyboards.
• Unicord designed transformers were used in the imported Marshall amps, because the company didn't think the Marshall transformers could handle the full 100 watts from the 6550 tubes (British Marshalls at the time used KT-88s which were lower wattage).
• Marshall of England eventually adopted Unicord's transformer design.

Kenny and the late Tony Frank, the team of brothers who were in charge of service and amp mods for Unicord's amp lines, Including Marshall.

 

[Purgasound]

There's a lot of bold statements in that LesPaulForum thread with zero sources to back it up. Some might be true, but some is absolute myth and lore. This whole magic trick about rewiring a Superlead to put out more wattage... that's pure baloney.

Although I share your interest in the Unicord history involving Marshall amplifiers.

Check out this video with Mitch Colby. He worked for Unicord back then and has good insight.

 

[JTM 100 Mk V]

Thanks for the effort Purgasound. Unfortunately nothing in that video. . .

@14:38 Mitch talks about his first job in the music industry at Electro Harmonix in 1978.

He says he did a few demos for Univox in 79-80 and wrote a few instruction flyers.

Says he learned about elerctonics 'tinkering' with his father and reading a Jack Darr book.

===

The Unicord discussion above is from 1965 through 1975. The Jimmy Page link is just for discussion. We are looking for data or sauce here.

 

[Purgasound]

If you go far enough in he does talk about Tony Frank and Kenny for a brief moment. I found it most interesting when he discussed his theory on why Marshall used 6550s for the United States. This was done at the request of Unicord.

 

[JTM 100 Mk V]

Your on the hunt Purgasound and I like it ! cool information. I personally LOVE Mitch Colby the guy bleeds electrons ;-) I think if we could interview Mitch, he would have SOooo much to offer on the topic, and thats where your spot on. He could probably lay this whole thing out.

The thing is Unicord made executive decisions in the importation of Marshall Product. What was their position. We are told Rose-Morris handled the importation and now we know that is not true. The Marshall Book is wrong. So, Unicord as a Transformer winding company in the United States ADVISED Marshall, AND they took LIBERTIES in AMERICA on how customers received their amplifiers.

This is no BULLSHIT. This is REALITY. So, who got amplifiers from a distributor named UNICORD . . . WITHOUT a DAGNALL or a DRAKE ??

DO YOU SEE WHERE I AM COMING FROM MARSHALL BROTHERS ?

WE have a GAP in HISTORY Here. But We DON'T. . .

Because the information is out there.

The fact is Tony Frank and his Brother Ken in the Office were STEERING the end result of Marshalls in AMERICA. Could be tubes, could be SPECS, because we have in print their own schematics. We all thought UNICORD at the bottom of the schematic was just a drafter or architect draft of the actual document.

NO, it was not. It was an American company, a Transformer Company taking Liberties and making changes that WALKED ON BY the entire Marshall community until NOW.

So lets go people. This thing is not OVER. It has JUST BEGUN.

Thats my point.

 

[JTM 100 Mk V]

So, I can point out the obvious. A Marshall Import Company AND a Service Company. Make the link in your mind. The Parent company is a transformer company. They push for 6550 tubes. . . Are you with me ?

You have to run the screens Waaaay lower on 6550's compared to plates.

Did they use their own transformers for imports and use the Marshalls, replaced and put on pallets for American SERVICE ?

Are you following what I am laying out here ?

These are questions in the depth of this thread. ALL Valid and on the table .

 

[RLW59]

Unicord was Marshall's US and Japan distributor from around '75 to the mid/late '80s. After Rose-Morris (although there's a confusing overlap with most sources saying Rose-Morris ran until 1980).

If you do a Google image search for "Marshall Unicord ad" you'll find lots of mid'70s through mid'80s ads that list Unicord as Marshall's distributer.

 

[Purgasound]

On an interesting note, I have a Big M cab that was made by Unicord and of course, everyone likes to pass them off as Marshalls but I suppose they're more like a licensed product. In any case, as I was going through it I noticed it has standard Marshall plastic handles but they have the "U" insignia on the top of the handle where the Marshall script logo should be. Just thought it was neat.

 

[JTM 100 Mk V]

Thanks for the insight RLW59, great addition to the topic. We are focusing on 1965 through 1975. Unicord has no advertisements for the product, during this time because its a transformer company ( a damn good one too ) and their facilitation of moving the English product into the U.S.A. This was most likely a back door deal, and a very big one. Lets KEEP DIGGING !

 

[JTM 100 Mk V]

Rose-Morris was a U.S. Distributor, however, NOT exclusive. . .

Rose-Morris was the distributor of instruments and amplifiers by Rickenbacker, Marshall, Eko, Shaftesbury and many others >> Vintage Guitar and Bass

Rose Morris guitars included (at various times) rickenbacker, Eko, Levin, Fenton Weill, Martin, Burns, Shaftesbury, Avon, Tatay, Aria, Ovation, Ariana, Suzuki and Sigma;

www.vintageguitarandbass.com

So, again, since no exclusive 'distributorship' in the U.S.A. existed, could one call, or write or buy from OTHER places besides Rose-Morris OR Unicord ?

My sources say YES ! Lets go people, what do you got ? WHO could have ordered or received a bad boy 100w stack between . . . 1965 and 1975 ?

Who would need an amp of this power in a public space for example ?

You bring it back friends, TELL US ?