Marshall Cab Differences

W

WhoFan

Tommyologist
Have i'm looking for some Marshall 4x12 cab history info....

What are the differences between the 800 series, the 900 series, and the 2000 series cabs....? Jacks, speakers, and so on... what are the differences....?
 
Re: Marshall Cab Differences

I'm no Marshall representative but I'll hook you up with what I know.

-I have a 800, and the whole 800, 900, 2000 thing means what decade it was made in (800= 80's, 900= 90's etc).
-Marshall started doing the mono/stereo thing in the 90's so the 800 cabs only have 1 jack and are mono (you can easily buy the little back thing and wire it for mono/ stereo no problem though).
- If you gettign a Marshall cab make sure she's a 1960 and not MG or AVT cab.
-As far as speakers go that usually changes (I'm talking stock of course) with the ending of the model name (1960a, 1960ax etc). My 800 (1960b lead) has celestion G12T-75 just as the new a and b's do BUT there are some thing suggesting either non-stock speaker or at least taken out at one time so don't quote me that the speakers used were the exact same throughout the years but I beleive so.
- A=slant
- B=straight

Theres also the whole "lead" thing that I do not know about (but wish to know!) ans supposively some "bass" cabs (not sure if it referes to for bass guitar or just tonewise or something, speakers maybe?

Anyways thats about all I got, I'm hoping to learn more as well.
 
Re: Marshall Cab Differences

Heres some of the responses so far:

The SERIOUS one :)

The vintage cabs of the golden years were completly made out of birch plywood. As the years went on, more and more parts of the cabs were replaced by MDF. So the "newer" the cab, the "worst" they are. The reason why you should avoid the AVT, etc is because these are ALL made out of MDF. Heavy, cheap and poor sounding. Could not be made any worst.

900 cab being the worst is a fallacy. They're not any worst than the 800 made the year before and if anything are as good or better than the 2000.
Click to expand...

the HILARIOUS one:

The Nigel Tuff answer:

The 800 series can only handle crowds up to 800 people.
The 900 hundred series handles crowds up to 800 along with their girlfriends.

The 2000 series cannot be played with less than 2000 people at the gig.
It's against the law.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Marshall Cab Differences

IIRC, :

1960a and 1960b = celestion g12t75
1960 vintage = celestion vintage 30s
1960 classic = gelestion g12m greenbacks
1960tv = tall cab, not sure what loaded with
 
Re: Marshall Cab Differences

I've tried MG and AVT MArshall cabs and the 1960's kill them IMO, although your right, thye are ebtter than crate!

More reponses:

1960 4x12 construction really hasn't changed since the early 70s when they changed the backs from voidless birch ply to chipboard. All of the 1960s since then are pretty much the same construction wise, only the cosmetics change.

The biggest difference is with the speakers. You've got G12-65s, G12M-70s, G12T-75s, G12M 25s and G12H 30s, V30s... so the biggest question is which speakers to go for.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Marshall Cab Differences

and the BIG MOTHER!!!

They were originally all 13ply with plywood backs. In the mid 70's they addressed the issue of the back panel rattling off the center support. Many had been using anything they could to stop the resonance against the center support. The solution was MDF. MDF is not the worst thing in the world. It is actually used in some high quality audio gear. It does add weight though and tends to deaden the sound slightly. By deadening I mean it grounds the sound so it is less lively so to speak. It makes it more consistent though.

The 800 cabs were basically the late 70's cabs with a new little badge and name. They were all mono cabs. They started with 65s and 70s but later switched to the 75s.

The 900 cabs were upgraded with stereo wiring at 8 ohms per side and a choice of mono inputs (one at 4 ohms and one at 16 ohms). A new badge was created.

The 2000 cabs are yet another label change.

In the 70s they typically had the 70s or 65s for the general cabinet. They had the greenback cabs like the ax/bx and other models than the 1960. Marshall made cabs for higher wattage and labelled them as other model
#s like 1982 (I think that is the right model #) that had 100s in it. They also made 2x12's in a 4x12 cabinet. I believe these were 1965s.

In the 800s they continued to produce the various cabinets but also made slightly smaller 4x12s. There are so many cabinet models I get confused sometimes without seeing them. They continued to make the 1922 and 1912 cabinets (2x12 and 1x12 respectively). The 1922 is the precursor to the 1936.

In the 900s they discontinued production of the 1912, 1922, and the 4x12 sized 2x12 and then introduced the 1936. As far as if the 1936 was MDF or not I am not sure if they started as MDF then changed or if they were always MDF. Production of non standard 4x12s halted. This is when they added the Lead/ Vintage label. I thought I remembered seeing a classic too. The lead had the 75s. The vintage had v30s. The classic had greenbacks.

In the 2000s they again changed the badge this time removing the series from the type. Stereo switching stayed standard and so did the 75s. The vintage and classics stayed as well. They reissued the checkerboard and tv cabs also. These hadn't been produced since the 70s. They also released expansion cabs for cetain models like the TSL combo that could really use an extension cabinet (TSLC212?)

In the 70s and 800s there were special cabs made that were designed for bass. Between speaker choice and slight dimension difference they were tailored to the bassist. These cabs came in as much as 800 watts with configurations from 4x10, 4x12, 1x15, etc. I think the 1x15 was a 300 watter.

As far as the MG and AVT are concerned there again is nothing wrong with MDF other than weight and a dampening of the sound.

I am a believer in the fact that the plywood resonates in a certain way and that the MDF does not resonate as well. That and the fact that most of the music that you hear is played through a plywood cabinet makes the plywood cabinet more appealing to your ear. If we had all been raised on MDF cabs then the situation would be reversed.

Your preference, amp, and playing style will tell you what cabinet is for you. Some guys like the bass cabs for even more bottom. The v30s tend to give up a little mids for more bottom as well. The 75s will give you tight bottom and a slightly scoopy sound. The 65s have more mids. The greenback is all about mids but is still a dynamic speaker with full range. Some of the speakers are also Marshall labelled Celestions. I have heard that the Marshall 70 is actually a 75 but more conservatively rated. This is not to be confused with the v30 that is also 70 watts (totally different voicing). In addition to your standard fare for speakers are the various heritage and classic speakers. This is in addition to the reissues.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Marshall Cab Differences

WhoFan said:
Have i'm looking for some Marshall 4x12 cab history info....

What are the differences between the 800 series, the 900 series, and the 2000 series cabs....? Jacks, speakers, and so on... what are the differences....?
Click to expand...


Although your probably more interested in the modern designs, it doesn't hurt to know the extended history of Marshall 4x12 cabs, because this legacy impacts the modern designs and designations, as well.

Terms like JCM800, JCM900, ...ect... just denote the time period that the cab was built and do not denote modifications in design. A lot of Marshall's confusing numerology stems from their old distributer; Rose-Morris. Jim Marshall had to make a deal with RM in 1965 to obtian a larger factory. A lot of the numbers like 1960, 1982, 1987, ect.. were simply the stock numbers that RM listed in their catalogs. In the year 1980, the RM deal expired, but RM held considerable Marshall JMP invetory to saturate the retail market with for some time. Marshall came up with a new look for their products, and a new name to make the RM invetory obsolete in the market. The new name was JCM800. 800 simply denoted the decade of the 80's with an extra zero added.

The original Marshall cab was slant faced (simply a cosmetic thing) and open backed. It had acoustical foam lining the inside too. These cabs were loaded with Celestion G12 Alnico 15's. By about 1964 it became completely closed back but retained the foam lining for a few years, but this was eventually dropped, because many players didn't like it, and ripped it out thinking it deadened the resonance. After the full stack became a big thing, a straight front version was offered. The early straight front, or B cabs , were about 4 inches taller. The slant, or A cabs, were stacked atop the straight cabs.

Post 1968 to JCM 800 cabs are pretty simple. It was the same cab, but the cab numbered 1982 was loaded with G12H30's, and the 1960 was loaded with G12M25's. In 1978 the G12-65 replaced the Greenback. The G12H30 was replaced by a G12-50, then eventually by the G12H80 (aka Classic Lead 80). At that time the G12-65 was well recieved, because it exuded the same warmth of the Greenback (with a tite bass), but the 80's were not liked much at first. The 1982 320 watt cabs were considered too tight, and too bright, and too agresssive. The 80 watt loaded cabs soon made a following among lead metal players though.

In the mid 80's the new speakers now had so much power handling that there was no point in offering a heavy duty cab, and the 1982 was dropped. The G12-65 was superceded by first the G12M70, and then by the G12T75, by about 1985. The G12M70 was much hated as perhaps the most sterile sounding Celestion ever. The G12T75 wasn't much of an improvement, but it was an improvement. It had the tighter bass of the 65 but had scooped mids in comparison. I still find the 75 harsh and brittle, and so did many others at the time. The Vintage 30 came into it about 1987 as a ceramic alternative to an alnico 15, and Marshall was quick to have their own version of this to quell the complants about the more modern speakers. This became the 1960 Vintage cab.

The steroe switching and jacks came into use with the higher power handling JCM 900 era cabs. The standard cabs used the G12-75's and the Vintage used the V30. After a awhile you could get the regular 1960 cab with re-issue Greenback, called the 1960 Classic. This cab doesn't have the steroe jack plate. There was also the reissue cabs with 60's (1960TV) and 70's (1960X) cosmectics. Both of these are Greenback loaded. The 1960TV was 4 inches taller like old straight fron cabs from 66 and 67, but it's a slant front to be used with the JTM45 re-issue heads in a 1/2 stack format.

All these top line cabs are 13 plye birch, except that the post 72 cabs have particle board back plates.
 
Re: Marshall Cab Differences

Lake Placid Blues said:
Although your probably more interested in the modern designs, it doesn't hurt to know the extended history of Marshall 4x12 cabs, because this legacy impacts the modern designs and designations, as well.

Terms like JCM800, JCM900, ...ect... just denote the time period that the cab was built and do not denote modifications in design. A lot of Marshall's confusing numerology stems from their old distributer; Rose-Morris. Jim Marshall had to make a deal with RM in 1965 to obtian a larger factory. A lot of the numbers like 1960, 1982, 1987, ect.. were simply the stock numbers that RM listed in their catalogs. In the year 1980, the RM deal expired, but RM held considerable Marshall JMP invetory to saturate the retail market with for some time. Marshall came up with a new look for their products, and a new name to make the RM invetory obsolete in the market. The new name was JCM800. 800 simply denoted the decade of the 80's with an extra zero added.

The original Marshall cab was slant faced (simply a cosmetic thing) and open backed. It had acoustical foam lining the inside too. These cabs were loaded with Celestion G12 Alnico 15's. By about 1964 it became completely closed back but retained the foam lining for a few years, but this was eventually dropped, because many players didn't like it, and ripped it out thinking it deadened the resonance. After the full stack became a big thing, a straight front version was offered. The early straight front, or B cabs , were about 4 inches taller. The slant, or A cabs, were stacked atop the straight cabs.

Post 1968 to JCM 800 cabs are pretty simple. It was the same cab, but the cab numbered 1982 was loaded with G12H30's, and the 1960 was loaded with G12M25's. In 1978 the G12-65 replaced the Greenback. The G12H30 was replaced by a G12-50, then eventually by the G12H80 (aka Classic Lead 80). At that time the G12-65 was well recieved, because it exuded the same warmth of the Greenback (with a tite bass), but the 80's were not liked much at first. The 1982 320 watt cabs were considered too tight, and too bright, and too agresssive. The 80 watt loaded cabs soon made a following among lead metal players though.

In the mid 80's the new speakers now had so much power handling that there was no point in offering a heavy duty cab, and the 1982 was dropped. The G12-65 was superceded by first the G12M70, and then by the G12T75, by about 1985. The G12M70 was much hated as perhaps the most sterile sounding Celestion ever. The G12T75 wasn't much of an improvement, but it was an improvement. It had the tighter bass of the 65 but had scooped mids in comparison. I still find the 75 harsh and brittle, and so did many others at the time. The Vintage 30 came into it about 1987 as a ceramic alternative to an alnico 15, and Marshall was quick to have their own version of this to quell the complants about the more modern speakers. This became the 1960 Vintage cab.

The steroe switching and jacks came into use with the higher power handling JCM 900 era cabs. The standard cabs used the G12-75's and the Vintage used the V30. After a awhile you could get the regular 1960 cab with re-issue Greenback, called the 1960 Classic. This cab doesn't have the steroe jack plate. There was also the reissue cabs with 60's (1960TV) and 70's (1960X) cosmectics. Both of these are Greenback loaded. The 1960TV was 4 inches taller like old straight fron cabs from 66 and 67, but it's a slant front to be used with the JTM45 re-issue heads in a 1/2 stack format.

All these top line cabs are 13 plye birch, except that the post 72 cabs have particle board back plates.
Click to expand...

now there's a history leason..... thanks for sharing and writing that all out!

WhoFan
 
Re: Marshall Cab Differences

lastwinj said:
IIRC, :

1960a and 1960b = celestion g12t75
1960 vintage = celestion vintage 30s
1960 classic = gelestion g12m greenbacks
1960tv = tall cab, not sure what loaded with
Click to expand...

Greenback on the TV's, i think, unless yo uspring for the HW or Hendrix models, which have the G12H30 Heritage models and cost as much as the average used Kia:laugh2:
 
Re: Marshall Cab Differences

Lake Placid Blues said:
Although your probably more interested in the modern designs, it doesn't hurt to know the extended history of Marshall 4x12 cabs, because this legacy impacts the modern designs and designations, as well.

Terms like JCM800, JCM900, ...ect... just denote the time period that the cab was built and do not denote modifications in design. A lot of Marshall's confusing numerology stems from their old distributer; Rose-Morris. Jim Marshall had to make a deal with RM in 1965 to obtian a larger factory. A lot of the numbers like 1960, 1982, 1987, ect.. were simply the stock numbers that RM listed in their catalogs. In the year 1980, the RM deal expired, but RM held considerable Marshall JMP invetory to saturate the retail market with for some time. Marshall came up with a new look for their products, and a new name to make the RM invetory obsolete in the market. The new name was JCM800. 800 simply denoted the decade of the 80's with an extra zero added.

The original Marshall cab was slant faced (simply a cosmetic thing) and open backed. It had acoustical foam lining the inside too. These cabs were loaded with Celestion G12 Alnico 15's. By about 1964 it became completely closed back but retained the foam lining for a few years, but this was eventually dropped, because many players didn't like it, and ripped it out thinking it deadened the resonance. After the full stack became a big thing, a straight front version was offered. The early straight front, or B cabs , were about 4 inches taller. The slant, or A cabs, were stacked atop the straight cabs.

Post 1968 to JCM 800 cabs are pretty simple. It was the same cab, but the cab numbered 1982 was loaded with G12H30's, and the 1960 was loaded with G12M25's. In 1978 the G12-65 replaced the Greenback. The G12H30 was replaced by a G12-50, then eventually by the G12H80 (aka Classic Lead 80). At that time the G12-65 was well recieved, because it exuded the same warmth of the Greenback (with a tite bass), but the 80's were not liked much at first. The 1982 320 watt cabs were considered too tight, and too bright, and too agresssive. The 80 watt loaded cabs soon made a following among lead metal players though.

In the mid 80's the new speakers now had so much power handling that there was no point in offering a heavy duty cab, and the 1982 was dropped. The G12-65 was superceded by first the G12M70, and then by the G12T75, by about 1985. The G12M70 was much hated as perhaps the most sterile sounding Celestion ever. The G12T75 wasn't much of an improvement, but it was an improvement. It had the tighter bass of the 65 but had scooped mids in comparison. I still find the 75 harsh and brittle, and so did many others at the time. The Vintage 30 came into it about 1987 as a ceramic alternative to an alnico 15, and Marshall was quick to have their own version of this to quell the complants about the more modern speakers. This became the 1960 Vintage cab.

The steroe switching and jacks came into use with the higher power handling JCM 900 era cabs. The standard cabs used the G12-75's and the Vintage used the V30. After a awhile you could get the regular 1960 cab with re-issue Greenback, called the 1960 Classic. This cab doesn't have the steroe jack plate. There was also the reissue cabs with 60's (1960TV) and 70's (1960X) cosmectics. Both of these are Greenback loaded. The 1960TV was 4 inches taller like old straight fron cabs from 66 and 67, but it's a slant front to be used with the JTM45 re-issue heads in a 1/2 stack format.

All these top line cabs are 13 plye birch, except that the post 72 cabs have particle board back plates.
Click to expand...

Are you sure the 65W Celestion came as early as 1978? I've red it came in 1981 when the JCM 800 era began.
 
Re: Marshall Cab Differences

I love my 1960B cab it has two Celestion 75's in it and then I put an Eminence CV-75 and a Celestion Creamback in it nice mix of tone.
 
Re: Marshall Cab Differences

First off...10 year old thread guys. ****, I was fifteen when I wrote those.

Secondly, 65's made their debut in Marshall cabs in 1979 according to some sources.
 
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