Jim Marshall, known as “The Father of Loud” for designing the amplifiers that became ubiquitous in the rock world, died on April 5th, 2012 at the age of 88. Jim has been listed as one of the forefathers of Rock music equipment along with Leo Fender and Les Paul. He was the man behind the weapon of choice for guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend of The Who and Eric Clapton.

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved founder and leader for the past 50 years, Jim Marshall,” read the notice on Marshall Amplification’s website . “While mourning the Guv’nor though, we also salute a legendary man who led a full and truly remarkable life.” Jim died in a London hospice Thursday morning; he had cancer and had suffered a series of strokes, according to his son, Terry Marshall.

“The news of Jim Marshall passing is deeply saddening,” tweeted Slash, the guitarist from Guns N’ Roses. “R & R will never be the same w/out him. But his amps will live on FOREVER!” Over the years the U.K.-based Marshall Amplification sold thousands of amps and as a result, Marshall was consistently listed in The Sunday Times as one of the 1,000 richest people in Britain.

From 1960, Marshall owned a music store in West London selling drums and then branching out into guitars. His customers, who were rock luminaries such as Ritchie Blackmore and Pete Townshend, spoke of the need for a particular kind of sound, so Jim recruited an 18-year-old electronics apprentice, Dudley Craven. With his help, they began producing prototype amplifiers, resulting in the founding of Marshall Amplification in 1962. Soon after he started production, musicians including Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton were using his equipment. In 1967, Jimi Hendrix stated, “There’s nothing that can beat my old Marshall tube amps.”

Marshall amps can be seen in thousands of rock ‘n’ roll performance photos dating back to the era when The Who would smash their Marshall amps at the conclusion of their stage shows, Marshall said that Townshend had actually been careful not to destroy the speakers, damaging only the cloth exterior, which was easy (and cheap) to repair.

Jim Marshall turned his amplifiers into a successful business, keeping much of his production in England. He became involved with numerous charities and in 2003 was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for his successful export of British-made goods and his various charitable deeds. He is survived by two children, two stepchildren and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

So please remember to turn your amps to 11 in honor of Jim Marshall.

-Kirk Yano