CMI (MARSHALL)

The Cleartone Musical Instrument Ltd. Company (CMI) was a distribution company established in 1965. Jim Marshall bought into the company in 1967, and took over the company in 1969 when it was financially indebted to him. Later in the 1970s, Marshall decided to introduce a new line of amps to run alongside its other sibling called Park. Park amplifiers had been made for Johnny Jones since 1965, but were essentially Marshall amps with a different name on them. CMI amplifiers were introduced around 1976 and also followed Marshall design very closely. To this day, there is speculation as to why Marshall would introduce a new line of amplifiers that were almost identical to Park. Most of CMI amplifiers were designed for PA use, but they also made a few guitar amps. CMI proved to be unsuccessful as another Marshall line and was discontinued around 1977. Source for CMI history: Michael Doyle, The History of Marshall: The Illustrated Story of "The Sound of Rock".