Check out this dream rig - 1983 Marshall mint stack

N

nigelpkay

Active member
Saw this for myself the other day at a local guitar shop that deals with a lot of vintage gear, estate sales etc.

https://musiccitycanada.com/collect...-marshall-jcm800-full-stack-time-capsule-1983
1983 white JCM 800 full stack completely mint condition. I mean it looked right out of the box from the factory. In fact, the store guy told me the bottom cab was still in its original carton when they got it. Marshall rep visited the shop one day and couldn’t believe it either.

Story behind it was that the guy bought it brand new from Steve’s Music in Toronto 1983/84, then died a few days later (I think he said it was a car accident). His brother kept it and left it untouched all those years. Sad story :(
 
yeah except nobody hardly gigs with rigs like that anymore.
Those Canadian Marshall heads have no 16 ohm tap which is useless to me.
 
Fun fact : the small 8ohms sticker on the back of the cab is bullshit, the cab is really a 16ohms one. I have the exact same cab from 83.
 
Jack Luminous said:
Fun fact : the small 8ohms sticker on the back of the cab is bullshit, the cab is really a 16ohms one. I have the exact same cab from 83.
Click to expand...
The Canadian (CSA) versions of Marshall amps in that era have no 16 ohm tap. So all the cabs for the Canadian market were 8 ohms.
 
I think they were marked 8ohms but really were 16ohms, just like mine. I can assure you I have the exact same 8ohms little black sticker on mine. The cab is really 16ohms with the stock speakers.
 
Jack Luminous said:
I think they were marked 8ohms but really were 16ohms, just like mine. I can assure you I have the exact same 8ohms little black sticker on mine. The cab is really 16ohms with the stock speakers.
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I disagree.
In 50+ years ive never know Marshall UK Bletchley to purposely mislabel impedance on a cab from the factory.
If it looks like a duck its a duck.
Put a meter on it that will remove all doubt.
 
Samhain said:
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I disagree.
In 50+ years ive never know Marshall UK Bletchley to purposely mislabel impedance on a cab from the factory.
If it looks like a duck its a duck.
Put a meter on it that will remove all doubt.
Click to expand...

Trusting the label, I used that cab as a 8ohms cab for years. I was all the more surprised when I opened it for the first time some years ago to find four original 16ohms G12-65. Draw your own conclusions.
 
Jack Luminous said:
Trusting the label, I used that cab as a 8ohms cab for years. I was all the more surprised when I opened it for the first time some years ago to find four original 16ohms G12-65. Draw your own conclusions.
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And, to throw another possible wrench into the cab, they may be loaded with the dreaded M70s. The G12 65 speaker is my favorite of all, and over the years I’ve bought many 800 cabs with the 260w badge only to find M70s inside. They were original to the cab. Just a word of caution when buying an old cab…always open them.
Being white tolex from 83 suggests these are 20th anniversary but the badges don’t reflect that. The legit 20th anniversary cabs DID contain G12-65s
 
Not saying it isn’t true in your case but Canadian cabs were 8 ohms for a reason.
Also in that early 80’s era when they moved from G12-65s to G12M-70 then G12T-75s in a short period of time, they had lots of leftover plates that they used up so many were mislabelled at least in terms of the wattage. You open a cab thinking you had G12-65s (because it says 260 watts) and you’ve got 70’s or T75s in there. In any case, always open the cab and take a look when buying from that era.
 
Samhain said:
I disagree.
In 50+ years ive never know Marshall UK Bletchley to purposely mislabel impedance on a cab from the factory.
If it looks like a duck its a duck.
Put a meter on it that will remove all doubt.
Click to expand...

Importers could put black stickers on things too. Imports that got relabeled in different markets wasn't uncommon at all in Ye Olden Days of yore when it comes to electronics. I don't know the details of Canada here, but I can easily see that happening.

Anyone know why Canada got no 16 ohm tap on their amps? That seems like a weird technical glitch in their rules for electronics of the time and I'm genuinely curious.
 
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Meters don't lie if working properly.
The likelihood of a 40 year old cab being rewired or messed with is high compared to a 5 or 10 year old cab.
 
rstites said:
Importers could put black stickers on things too. Imports that got relabeled in different markets wasn't uncommon at all in Ye Olden Days of yore when it comes to electronics. I don't know the details of Canada here, but I can easily see that happening.

Anyone know why Canada got no 16 ohm tap on their amps? That seems like a weird technical glitch in their rules for electronics of the time and I'm genuinely curious.
Click to expand...
Another curiousity when it comes to Marshall-I’ve owned a Canadian 1982 2104 212 combo….yes a 1982 2104. It was in JMP skin, not JCM 800. But exactly like a 1978 2104. While the US and England got JCM 800s. Also, the JMP design/aesthetic lasted even further into the 80s with the Scandinavian Marshalls….Sweden, Norway, Holland…up to 1986 date codes from what I’ve seen for sale. Germany also got the 800 design right away.
I wonder why this was the case…?
 
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Racerxrated said:
Another curiousity when it comes to Marshall-I’ve owned a Canadian 1982 2104 212 combo….yes a 1982 2104. It was in JMP skin, not JCM 800. But exactly like a 1978 2104. While the US and England got JCM 800s. Also, the JMP design/aesthetic lasted even further into the 80s with the Scandinavian Marshalls….Sweden, Norway, Holland…up to 1986 date codes from what I’ve seen for sale. Germany also got the 800 design right away.
I wonder why this was the case…?
Click to expand...

My gut feel is that they had chassis and cabs either stocked or contracted for and just finished those out in smaller markets. The US was the market seen as the place you really needed the shiny, new, updated look, and I'm certain it's the primary driver for the update so we got it first.

It's too bad. I love the JMP look 2203's.......and once again completely regret selling my trusty old one years back. I just can't bring myself to go buy one now, but keep contemplating building a clone for the fun of it.
 
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