Is a Marshall 1960A a good cab?

[jgcable]

I'm about to buy a head and cab. I'm trying to save money, so I'm going to buy a used Splawn QR head, and I planned to buy a Marshall cab. I found a 1960A on my local CL for $300. Is this a good cab that will make the Splawn sound good? Any other recommendations will be appreciated. Thanks.

It will sound as good as the speakers that are in it. Make sure it has quality speakers in it. Most likely it should have 75w Celestions. It may have Vintage 30's depending on the year. I have 2 4 x 12 cabs. Both are 1960A. One is a JCM900 Lead cab and the other is a JCM800. Both are loaded with stock 75w Celestions. Both sound great. The Marshall 1960a is the industry standard for 4 x 12 cabs.

[Robotechnology]

As others have said... Industry standard and good sounding cab Do I like other cabs more... Yes but, you're not going to get them for $300! Well except for The Mode 4 cabs. They are great (and usually found in the 300 range). I had an MF280 cab and sold it then regretted it and bought a replacement which I still have. It hang with some of my really high dollar cabs.

[PowerTube]

I love mine. Ironically, I didn't like it that much when running it with the JVM410H head. It has the T-75's and they sounded too scooped for my taste. But when using it with the Carvin X100B in conjunction with the Carvin 4x12 cab, it sounds killer.

[vector]

1998 Marshall 1960B cab, believe it or not. The impact of a straight front (i.e. the speakers all aimed in the same direction) creates something of a greater "oomph-factor" IMHO. It kicks the shit outta my cheaper M412A and left my Kustom 4 x 12 weeping in a fetal position. Speakers play a big part in that, too. Likewise, I'm told, the heftier constructions materials also impart a bit of that "oomph"

[Catharpin]

1960 is a good cab. I prefer the JCM800 and JCM900. Newer ones have cheaper handles and particle board instead of plywood. I think speaker production moved to China around 2003.

[Adieu]

A 1960 cab and g12m25 speakers is the cab that made rock and roll.

British M25 greenbacks made classic rock, yup...which is 99% likely NOT what's in there.

The Chinese T75's that have been in stock 1960A's for the last 20 years or so are a different beast. They're a solid enough speaker vs. stock stuff in most combos and cheap offbrand speakers and hold up their end with gobs of volume thrown at em.... but NOT an industry standard first pick or anything a cork sniffer would even look at. Critics call em "too scooped" and may say that they make everything sound like it's played through a 9v EMG 81 (...which may actually be why others like em)

And, btw, somebody crunched some numbers and claimed that a good 70% of studio recorded material is done on V30s. The stuff in Mesa Recto cabs and Marshall 1960AV / 1960BV cabs, Marshall's "premium" high wattage serious business cab model.

As to other old "keeper" 1960A cabs, a bunch from the 80s had brit g12-65 and brit g12-80 speakers. THOSE ones and the earlier greenback 1960A's are what built and maintained the 1960A legend.


PS and then there's also the medium-desirability older british T75 1960A cabs, and the often-badmouthed 70M cabs that seem to be voiced to work well with a specific head (jcm900?) and are hit or miss with other amps

[BenoA]

Used to own one. Should have kept it but back then, the other guitar player in my band needed a cab (I had 2 other Peavey which were sounded nice too) so I sold him my 1960A for a bit more than I had paid.

Everyone above gave good comments. And I will say like them, check the speakers as 300$ is a good price.

[slayer]

I like the 1960A a lot but only with bright sounding amps. If you use a warm amp it seams a little muddy. I believe they are great for bright amps like the 800`s and 900`s.

[catzodellamarina]

Since I was installing the last 2 Weber Beam Blockers today, I thought I would take pics of my 1960a. It has been rode hard and put away wet all its life. Bought new for our band in early 90's with a JCM 900 4500. Stereo cab, particle board back, plywood sides & front, made in England G12T-75 Celestions.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/95487127@N05/shares/ap1hF3

https://www.flickr.com/photos/95487127@N05/shares/MjwWa7

https://www.flickr.com/photos/95487127@N05/shares/qhXFZR

https://www.flickr.com/photos/95487127@N05/shares/Z709kB

[PowerTube]

1998 Marshall 1960B cab, believe it or not. The impact of a straight front (i.e. the speakers all aimed in the same direction) creates something of a greater "oomph-factor" IMHO. It kicks the shit outta my cheaper M412A and left my Kustom 4 x 12 weeping in a fetal position. Speakers play a big part in that, too. Likewise, I'm told, the heftier constructions materials also impart a bit of that "oomph"

Truthfully, as much as I like my 1960A, if I had it to do over I would have instead spent $20.00 more and got a 1960B. My A was $299.99 used at Guitar Center and the B's were running a few dollars more.