I was totally content with my cab until....

[will_shred]

I played a small gig with my band yesterday at the House of Guitars, in which I ended up using one of their Marshall 1960 vintage cabs.

Mother of god, that thing was amazing. It brought new life to my amp. I thought my Blackstar cab sounded good, but the Marshall blew mine out of the water.

It was a pretty brightly voiced cab from what I could tell which pared perfectly with my very dark Egnater amp... Now I've got the GAS pretty bad.

Maybe i'll just upgrade the speakers in mine? what speakers are in that model? it didn't sound like greenbacks, however they were much more clear and defined than my seventy-eighties.

 

[troyguitar]

Is the Blackstar cab the same size and made of real plywood like the old Marshall cabs or is it MDF? If it's MDF changing the speakers will only get you so far. My MDF Marshall MG cab went from sounding bad to sounding mediocre with good speakers in it - not worth the $$. I use it as a cool looking table now

 

[will_shred]

Is the Blackstar cab the same size and made of real plywood like the old Marshall cabs or is it MDF? If it's MDF changing the speakers will only get you so far. My MDF Marshall MG cab went from sounding bad to sounding mediocre with good speakers in it - not worth the $$. I use it as a cool looking table now

I'm pretty sure it's made from real plywood however it's not the same size, its a good deal smaller. But it feels like it's built very well.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

I'm pretty sure it's made from real plywood however it's not the same size, its a good deal smaller. But it feels like it's built very well.

If the size/construction are different, then replacing the speakers will only somewhat get you the type of sound the Marshall has.

For example, Mesa's Traditional and Standard Rectifier 4x12 cabs. The Standard is about two inches taller and a tiny bit wider, but they have really different sounds even with the same V30 speakers.

I'd suggest trying to find a Marshall used rather than replacing the speakers in your Blackstar because it will cost about the same (maybe less) to do, and in the end you'll have either two great cabs for different sounds or you could sell the Blackstar and make back some of the money you spend on the Marshall. Plus with both cabs and the different speakers, you could try different speaker combos in each

 

[tedtan]

I think all of the Marshall 1960 cabs made since the 90s have Vintage 30s in them. What year was the one you played?

Anyway, I agree with TheWarAgainstTime; buy a used Marshall (or Mesa - don't overlook these) cab. It's about the same price as upgrading speakers in your existing cab and will be something you can use from here on.

 

[BeyondDan]

I think all of the Marshall 1960 cabs made since the 90s have Vintage 30s in them. What year was the one you played?

Anyway, I agree with TheWarAgainstTime; buy a used Marshall (or Mesa - don't overlook these) cab. It's about the same price as upgrading speakers in your existing cab and will be something you can use from here on.

Most of 1960 cabs have G12T-75 or Greenbacks

 

[wakjob]

Marshall 1960A (slant,angled,top ect...) and 1960B ( bottom,straight ) have G12T-75's

Marshall 1960AV and 1960BV ( "V" means vintage ) will have Vintage 30's.

Marshall 1960AX/BX and 1960AC/BC and the TV cabs will have G12M-25 (Greenback) speakers.

There are some of the vintage series cabs that had the Heritage 30 watt speakers also.

You need to google image all the above models and pick the one that looks most like the the one you played. OR go back to the HOG and ask.

 

[TheWarAgainstTime]

Marshall 1960AV and 1960BV ( "V" means vintage ) will have Vintage 30's.

Marshall's site says that the 1960AV and BV cabs are loaded with 70 watt G12 Vintage 70's, not V30's. Not sure if that's a typo or something on their part, but it's there haha

 

[tedtan]

Good catch wakjob. The OP says 1960 vintage so I was thinking AV/BV when I posted, but apparently my fingers didn't get the whole message.


EDIT

Marshall's site says that the 1960AV and BV cabs are loaded with 70 watt G12 Vintage 70's, not V30's. Not sure if that's a typo or something on their part, but it's there haha

That should be just a 70 watt version of the V30. Mesa has used 70 watt V30's instead of the normal 60 watters at times, too for some reason.

 

[wakjob]

Yep.

They are still Vintage 30's made for Marshall rated @ 70 watts.

 

[TheDepthsWillRise]

You could probably get an older roughed up 1960A for about $300, and grab a couple V30s for a little more. Run them in an X pattern with the stock T75s. It will slay. Plus you can sell the extra T75s and recoup a little cash.