Edward Van Halen used a 70s Marshall slant 4x12 cabinet for Van Halen 1 what speakers

L

Lightning

Well-known member
Here’s a photo from the control room taken when Van Halen was recording Van Halen 1, you can see the cabinet is a slant 1970s marshal 4x12 cabinet what speakers would be in that cabinet either Celestion blackback or greenbacks. Some of or most of the forums say he recorded with a 60s straight cabinet which looks like that’s not true at all.
 

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That photos is proof that’s a slant 70s Marshall cabinet Ted Templeman took that photo from the control room. Eddie also said in one old interview that it was a slant cabinet not straight
 
If you are asking about what speakers work well with your SLO for VH tones maybe try the speakers that Ed preferred with his SLO according Dave Friedman were early vented Celestion G12T-75's and G1265's. If greenbacks aren't working for you these might be worth the try.

The G1265's stay together under volume better, do not have the wooliness at lower volumes and still have some of that greenback flavor. I loaded two Heritage G1265's mixed into my V30 cabinet and they sound great and I like them more than my 1978 25 watt 75hz Blackbacks, Scumbacks, 6402 Greenbacks. I wouldn't mind having an all G1265's cabinet around after playing these for some time.
 
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I’m happy with greenbacks with my SLO I was curious if they were Celestion blackback or greenbacks
 
It's been fairly well established that 75Hz Pulsonic greenbacks were used, but just about any greenbacks will give you those tones. David Phillips has stated the Ed also used 55Hz 12H-30's and those do sound excellent but I like 12H-30's over greenbacks anyway. You're going to have to make your best educated guess and then try them out and see if they work for you. Try to find that LA Sound and Design VH1 rig with Tim Pierce demo on YT seems it has been pulled.
Speaker in this video by David Phillips are Blackbacks and two JBL according to the vid notes.
 
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I’m happy with greenbacks with my SLO I was curious if they were Celestion blackback or greenbacks
Alot of people love Blackbacks for that tone but you are gonna have to get some to see if they work for you in your setup. I heard alot of similarity between all of my Greenback variants to be honest. You may find Blackbacks to your liking you may not.
 
How can you tell this is a "70's cab" from that poor cropped photo?
Looks like a stripped old cab, no corner protectors, can't see the handles... I'd bet late 60's. No way to know which speaker(s) exactly, probably some kind of late 60's / 70's Celestion greenback, M and/or H.
My '68 slant cab with Lead G12H30 can get some pretty great early EVH sound..
 
Here’s a photo from the control room taken when Van Halen was recording Van Halen 1, you can see the cabinet is a slant 1970s marshal 4x12 cabinet what speakers would be in that cabinet either Celestion blackback or greenbacks. Some of or most of the forums say he recorded with a 60s straight cabinet which looks like that’s not true at all.
Someone zeroed in on that pic and supposedly there is a 2nd 4x12 on the left side up against the wall facing the slant cabinet.
 
How can you tell this is a "70's cab" from that poor cropped photo?
Looks like a stripped old cab, no corner protectors, can't see the handles... I'd bet late 60's. No way to know which speaker(s) exactly, probably some kind of late 60's / 70's Celestion greenback, M and/or H.
My '68 slant cab with Lead G12H30 can get some pretty great early EVH sound..
At this point in the game everyone has to go by their own ears and all the clips done by Ed heads on YT and get what speaker works for you and give you what you want to hear. I am partial to 12h-30's 75 and 55HZ but my recent experience with the G1265's was also positive.

I prefer the woody, slightly chewy character of my 55Hz 12h-30's for that specific tone over any greenback as blasphemous as that is.
 
Fully agree @harddriver !
Any flavor of old Celestion can do great EVH, depends on your specifics (playing style, rest of rig and how you use it, what flavor you prefer etc.)
 
Well said :ROFLMAO: yes can't see if it's plastic / metallic especially, which could help date the cab era.
 
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