My new 1960VB sounds different from my old one

[frehley]

Hey guys,
I bought a 1960 Vintage bottom 4x12 cab to go with my old 1960VB
cab and when I fired both of them up, they sounded nothing alike. My old cab
sounds way better and I also noticed that the old cab is rated at 300w and the new one is rated at 280w. The new one sounds extremely scooped, like a bee buzzing around my head whereas my old one sounds nice and midrangey with lots of definition.

Anyone here know what the deal is?

 

[krankguitarist]

Re: My new 1960VB sounds different from my old one

Hey guys,
I bought a 1960 Vintage bottom 4x12 cab to go with my old 1960VB
cab and when I fired both of them up, they sounded nothing alike. My old cab
sounds way better and I also noticed that the old cab is rated at 300w and the new one is rated at 280w. The new one sounds extremely scooped, like a bee buzzing around my head whereas my old one sounds nice and midrangey with lots of definition.

Anyone here know what the deal is?

Sounds like you got some G12T-75's in your first one and some Vintage 30's in your new one. Vintage 30's tend to be a bit hotter in the upper mids, and also tend to seem a bit louder than the G12T-75's.

Strange though, I was under the impression that all the 1960BV cabs were loaded with Vintage 30s. That would account for the wattage difference though (4X75 watts versus 4X70 watts).

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: My new 1960VB sounds different from my old one

Sounds like you got some G12T-75's in your first one and some Vintage 30's in your new one. Vintage 30's tend to be a bit hotter in the upper mids, and also tend to seem a bit louder than the G12T-75's.

Strange though, I was under the impression that all the 1960BV cabs were loaded with Vintage 30s. That would account for the wattage difference though (4X75 watts versus 4X70 watts).

There is no way that a V30 will sound scooped . . . they have a very healthy dose of mids. Actually, the G12T-75s are supposed to have "relaxed mids".

 

[krankguitarist]

Re: My new 1960VB sounds different from my old one

There is no way that a V30 will sound scooped . . . they have a very healthy dose of mids. Actually, the G12T-75s are supposed to have "relaxed mids".

Thats another thing that was making me a lil confused...but...I guess the only way to really figure it out is to open up the cabs. Somebody mighta swapped out the speakers somewhere along the line.

 

[marvar]

Re: My new 1960VB sounds different from my old one

Another thing to consider is that new V30's seem to take a long time to break-in, I hated them at first, but after what seemed a long time, they seemed to have relaxed quite a bit.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: My new 1960VB sounds different from my old one

Honestly, I won't even buy a used cabinet without showing up at the guys house with my drill. I insist on checking the speakers before handing him the money.

That's gonna suck if you open up the second cab and find Radio Shack speakers in it! LOL

 

[frehley]

Re: My new 1960VB sounds different from my old one

Thanks for all your replies!
I got my first 1960VB about 11 years ago and it does indeed have the Marshall/Celestion "vintage" speakers in it. The 1960VB cabs back then were rated at 300w and somewhere along the line, the specs seem to have changed. I opened up the cab when I bought it at a pawn shop, so I know they are the "Vintage" speakers. I also opened up the new cab and they also have the same "Vintage" speakers in it but neither speaker cab has a wattage rating on the speakers themselves.

The weird thing is that the speakers in the new cab sound like G12T-75's to me. Really scooped with a loose low end and a fuzzy high end. I contacted Marshall and they also said they think my old cab is a 1960 lead which it isn't.
I might try out another cab at Guitar Center to see if it sounds the same.
The guy at Marshall doesn't seem to be aware that the older 1960V cabs were 300w. I don't know

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: My new 1960VB sounds different from my old one

Can you take some pics for us?

 

[frehley]

Re: My new 1960VB sounds different from my old one

Well, I would but I'm not set up for posting pics. I've also replaced the speakers
in the cab with real Vintage30's. They sound very close to the speakers I have
in my old cabinet but with a bit more mids and slightly less low end.

I've since been told by a friend that Marshall uses chinese made Celestion speakers in their cabs now and that's probably why my old cab sounded much better than the new one. This might also be why the Marshall guys acted like they didn't know what I was talking about, they don't want people to know it.
The speakers have the "Suffolk, England" marking on them but I've since also found that it means nothing. Carvin's P.A. speakers say "Made in the U.S.A." when in fact, they're also made in China! What do you guys think, does this sound likely.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: My new 1960VB sounds different from my old one

That's weird. You could have broken them in more to see, but as long as your happy thats all that matters!