Early 90’s Marshall 1960V cabs VS new production?

[Greazygeo]

The newer Marshall Vintages, 16 ohm versions (not sure if they even make the 8 ohm anymore?) have a super extended high end….I’ve heard them described as ‘crispy’ ….and that’s not far off. I dial most Marshalls high end with presence first, to get that bite I like…can’t do that with the recent Vintages or it’ll rip your face off. By contrast my 88 slant with the 8 ohm versions, I have my presence dimed and it sounds great. Very different speaker than the 90s or newer versions. More like a 65 than a V30.

That is how I would describe how this was, rip your face off bright. Im sure they were 16 ohm.
I have a dsl 40 watt combo now that I think about it. It has one of these speakers in it. I think its 8 ohms. Not sure on the year.

 

[Racerxrated]

That is how I would describe how this was, rip your face off bright. Im sure they were 16 ohm.
I have a dsl 40 watt combo now that I think about it. It has one of these speakers in it. I think its 8 ohms. Not sure on the year.

There’s another early version out there, that came out in 85/86 and they have a vent on the magnet like a 65 or 80. They put them in the Artist combos, and Studio 15 as well. I’ve never played one though. Be interesting to compare a vented version, the next version like I have, then a broken in 90s version to a new version with some break in. Maybe Johan S will read this and put a nice vid up?
He’s got some nice informative videos regarding speakers.

 

[cardinal]

I have an 8-ohm vented V30 but it looks to have been reconed . And only one of them.

Just in general the 8-ohm V30 is warmer than the 16-ohm. I have a quad of each from the early '90s and it's noticeable.

Same with the G12M. I have a quad of 8-ohm 6402 and 16-ohm 6402 and there's a big difference. Some of it probably is switching the amp from 8 to 16 ohms, but either way the 8-ohm is noticeably darker/warmer.

 

[Greazygeo]

There’s another early version out there, that came out in 85/86 and they have a vent on the magnet like a 65 or 80. They put them in the Artist combos, and Studio 15 as well. I’ve never played one though. Be interesting to compare a vented version, the next version like I have, then a broken in 90s version to a new version with some break in. Maybe Johan S will read this and put a nice vid up?
He’s got some nice informative videos regarding speakers.

I was wrong on the combo speaker. Its a Goldback G-100T. 16 ohm.

 

[ls67nova]

I’ve been scouring the earth for early 90s BV cabs, namely those from around the black album era, but I very rarely if ever have seen one for sale. I’ve seen a few 92, and I have 2 Marshall vintage speakers from 95 that I need to wire up and throw in one of my Marshall cabs, but that’s it. The late 80s jubilee cabs wjth 8ohm Marshall vintage I’ve seen as well, and even bought one here locally for a friend. They are all alittle different, but phenomenal no doubt! The new ones sound fantastic I agree with the above: don’t fall in the rat trap, just accept they will all be slightly different, even cabs made in the same year, and as we all know, even in the same cab.

Resurrecting an old thread here lol. I'm a newbie and I stumbled across this site in my search to figure out what I have. I saw your post and thought maybe you might have some info? I even emailed Marshall and they really weren't much help lol

I have a 1960 vintage angled cabinet. Bought it used around 1996 from a friend. I didn't know anything about it and didn't really care. I just want to have a Marshall half stack lol now that I'm getting into things more, I wanted to build a full stack, and I'm finding that it's going to be very hard to do..... Because my cabinet is a single input 8 ohm only. Opening up the back, I see that I have the 8 ohm Marshall G12 speakers. Looking online, I can't find any other cabinet like this.

Anyone have any insight?

 

[ls67nova]

I think there are maybe 3 versions of these…2 without a doubt. I recently picked up an 88 JCM 800 half stack…2205 and a 1960 AV. Although, this early Marshall Vintage cab is marked as a JCM 800 only..no V anywhere. This cab is rated at 270w and is loaded with 8 ohm Marshall vintages; they do not have the high treble ‘spike’ of the newer versions. Very fat, warm cab that resembles a G12 65 cab more than it does a V30 cab. It sounds great with any of my Marshalls; very different from any other V30 + Marshall where I don’t care for that combo. I’ve also had early 90s AV cabs and they are brighter but not overwhelming bright like the newer cabs with the Marshall Vintage. Although this could be due to use…but those 8 ohm first version Marshall Vintages are far different imo than what’s made today.

Can you take a look at the post I just made, right above this one? Curious to see if you have any idea about the cabinet that I have?

 

[Racerxrated]

Can you take a look at the post I just made, right above this one? Curious to see if you have any idea about the cabinet that I have?

So, you have a very interesting cab….it has the 8 ohm Vintages, like my 1988 cab, as well as the 280w sticker like mine. But, you have a 1960 Vintage badge on the front which my 1988 cab does not…it says JCM 800. My guess is your cab is from the very end of the 800 line, and is a transition cab with that vintage badge being one of the first cabs to use them. If you can, take another pic of the stamp on the frame of one of your speakers. I’ll bet it’s from 89/90. Or, someone could have just replaced the 800 badge with that vintage version.
Either way those are killer speakers, and as hard to find as a Pulsonic cab.

 

[Rex Rocker]

I haven't tried any of the OG Marshall Vintage speakers, but I like the new ones just fine.

I personally normally prefer 16 ohm cabs, but maybe that's because that what I've always had and have an easier time dialing in. I sometimes feel 8 ohm speakers are kinda tubby and blunt.

I really like a Marshall 1960AV better than a Mesa Recto cab in the room. But recorded, the Mesa cab is that sound. Not to say the 1960AV can't be made to sound good recorded, though. Just listen to The Blackening or Anthems of Rebellion. Searing, aggressive, buzzsaw top end that you just don't get from Mesas.

I would love to custom-order a Mesa Recto cab with 16 ohm Mesa-voiced V30's.

 

[ls67nova]

So, you have a very interesting cab….it has the 8 ohm Vintages, like my 1988 cab, as well as the 280w sticker like mine. But, you have a 1960 Vintage badge on the front which my 1988 cab does not…it says JCM 800. My guess is your cab is from the very end of the 800 line, and is a transition cab with that vintage badge being one of the first cabs to use them. If you can, take another pic of the stamp on the frame of one of your speakers. I’ll bet it’s from 89/90. Or, someone could have just replaced the 800 badge with that vintage version.
Either way those are killer speakers, and as hard to find as a Pulsonic cab.

I'll grab a picture of that stamp as soon as I can. But even if they did swap the label, wouldn't the back tag say something different than 1960 AV?

 

[Racerxrated]

I'll grab a picture of that stamp as soon as I can. But even if they did swap the label, wouldn't the back tag say something different than 1960 AV?

I’ll have to take a look at my back label when I get home. But, for reference the Jubilee cabs from 87, those back labels were marked AV or BV if they were loaded with the 8 ohm vintages.

 

[anomaly]

I'm noticing a trend on this site... the older the better. Vintage = win, Modern = meh

I wonder what the reality of it really is???

 

[Rex Rocker]

I'm noticing a trend on this site... the older the better. Vintage = win, Modern = meh

I wonder what the reality of it really is???

I honestly think it's all a bunch or romanticizing.

Vintage gear is nice and whatnot. But technology is advancing, not regressing.

I don't have a lot of experience with vintage gear, TBH. But everytime I hear a clip, I think we all agree that the "mojo" of vintage stuff doesn't translate to recordings. Which honestly says something about what I'm trying to say.

But that's just my somewhat ignornant opinion, TBH.

 

[anomaly]

I honestly think it's all a bunch or romanticizing.

Vintage gear is nice and whatnot. But technology is advancing, not regressing.

I don't have a lot of experience with vintage gear, TBH. But everytime I hear a clip, I think we all agree that the "mojo" of vintage stuff doesn't translate to recordings. Which honestly says something about what I'm trying to say.

But that's just my somewhat ignornant opinion, TBH.

I agree with you. It's all a bunch of romanticizing. Couldn't have said it better myself. People think because it's super old that it has some special mojo to it or something, but it doesn't. That's not to say that there isn't some good vintage gear out there, cause there is...

 

[Rex Rocker]

I was arguing a few threads ago that to me, vintage gear has its mojo because that's the sound we're used to in all those iconic records. So our brains immedately switch to "mojo" mode, and recognize "yeah, that's the magic of a IIC+", or "Oh, yeah, Rev C Rectos are so much better" or "yeah, 2000's Recto cabs are the ones to own" or "yeah, only 70's Greenbacks are worth playing through".

That's just my theory, though. I'm sure someone will disagree.

 

[gtrwun]

I'm noticing a trend on this site... the older the better. Vintage = win, Modern = meh

I wonder what the reality of it really is???

I agree with your thought.

The other trend on this sight is people bumping years old threads and acting like it’s a normal thing.

?????

 

[Racerxrated]

People that bag on vintage or let’s say more ‘expensive’ gear, in most cases haven’t ever seen let alone played through any of it.
It’s what I like to call the ‘Charvel Dan’ syndrome.
Rip on something that they’ve never even heard in person. Or seen.

The 80s Marshall Vintage speaker is very different sounding than the well worn 1991 BV cab I had. Both cool but I prefer the 80s version by a mile.

 

[jtgainor]

I'm noticing a trend on this site... the older the better. Vintage = win, Modern = meh

I wonder what the reality of it really is???

This place is turning into TGP

 

[gtrwun]

People that bag on vintage or let’s say more ‘expensive’ gear, in most cases haven’t ever seen let alone played through any of it.
It’s what I like to call the ‘Charvel Dan’ syndrome.
Rip on something that they’ve never even heard in person. Or seen.

The 80s Marshall Vintage speaker is very different sounding than the well worn 1991 BV cab I had. Both cool but I prefer the 80s version by a mile.

I do miss Dan. Guy was hilarious.

 

[Racerxrated]

I do miss Dan. Guy was hilarious.

It's kinda funny; I saw him active on the Marshall forum a few yrs ago and he was talking about a Triple Rec he loved. Of course, years before that on this forum it was a terrible amp. Lol

 

[VESmedic]

I would give up trying to analyze speakers. They are a complete lottery. I’ve gone dozens of Marshall vintages, from 87 to present. In MY opinion, the only ones that are just consistently different as far as tone and timber, is those from 87-89. After that, they all have the same vibe, different midrange spikes/high end spikes ( sort of
), and that’s really it. Yes, a 91 is going to sound different than a 95 or 2005 or another 1991, because of the inherent nature of speaker design and how they are made, they are super inconsistent. The only way to narrow down what you like is to try dozens of them, and keep the ones you like. I can almost guarantee there will be no association between the ones you love and the ones you hate. I’ve got some from 92 that I love, sold some 94s, and some 2005’s that destroy everything. It ain’t the year, it’s a lottery. Period.