27 posts
HAD to get a new cab to fit with the new amp. :-[
Lots of recomendations for the matching EVH 4x12 which comes with re-labeled G12M Greenbacks (complete with red decal and black/white stripes ;D). Yeah, those run for a cool grand new or $600-ish used. No thanks. The 2x12 EVH comes stock with G12H30 Anny's. Bah. Already have some of those, love them with my other amps but tried them with the 5150 III and had good but not great results.
Annnnnnyway, for years I've been wanting some old skool Greenbacks. I've been using a Heritage Re-Issue G12H30 55hz for mic'ing purposes, and they're as close as I thought I'd ever bother getting...
Then this weekend I got extremely lucky. Like jackpot lucky. I finally got my Greenbacks, only they're Blackbacks instead, lol!! A good friend of mine (drummer) told me about this older gentleman he works with that is selling some of his gear (and other things, who knew, older folks DO sometimes divorce, poor bastard). I thought, hmmm, he might just have something I'd like, I mean you never know?!?! Worth checking out, right. So once there I spotted this cab right away. It's a 1976 Marshall 1960A in excellent condition!! He said he bought from someone else "another lifetime ago." I knew it was most likely housing Greenbacks but he let me remove a handle so we could peak inside. I saw that the speakers were black on their backs and tried to contain my grin because I knew what that meant. ;) Once home I popped it open and yep, it's a matching quad of G12H30 55hz Blackbacks, date coded for June 23rd, 1976. :o :D
I asked what he wanted and he said $500. DONE. I would've gone higher. I've seen dudes on boards pay over $200 per speaker for these (crazy). Don't mind the wacky red tolex.
wow, that's like... words fail. too cool!
congrats!!
Nice! Hey, The red and white go together well enough. Dang, great snag!!
Thanks gents!!! I figure it's so ugly it's actually hip, lol, especially inside my trippy mic'ing space (which it will prolly never leave). :P
The cab is kinda weird, but then I see that it's normal for that era...like the input jack on the back panel (which is made of the same WOOD as the rest of the cab), there is no 'seletor' plate, just a single input at the BOTTOM of the cab.
The speakers sounds sweet and smooth, especially the high end, no zingy's or grittiness, yet it still has teeth.
Nice score! And, of course, you could always get it re-tolexed fairly cheaply if you wanted to. :)
How can you say that this BEAUTIFUL red is ugly ??? It's the same BEAUTIFUL red color of my actual Vox Ac15 !!! ;D ;D
True, Craig, and I WOULD definitely have it re-covered if I heard or stumbled onto a local guy that does that sort of thing and it's not costly. I wouldn't go out of my way however or even search online for that though, just not enough of an issue for me because I don't play out and few folks will ever even see this thing. I can live with it as is. Only reason I would is because I kinda like things in their 'original' look when possible, and ok, the red isn't that gawdy, but you got to admit, Lwb, these older Marshall cabs with the checkerboard grill cloth do look better with black tolex! :)
Speaking of the grill cloth...what a pain in the ass!!! I wanted to make a quickie mic test clip yesterday but damn, even with a flashlight you can't see shit through it to help set up the mic! >:( Not a thing! I'm having to do it with the headphone bit and listen for the hiss. Should probably be doing it like that anyway, but once you get that visual in your head where you once had it sounding best, you usually wan't to just repeat that.
Kabala — Aug 28, 2012
True, Craig, and I WOULD definitely have it re-covered if I heard or stumbled onto a local guy that does that sort of thing and it's not costly.
Yeah, I'm kinda spoiled up here 'cause there's a guy who does it out of his home for very reasonable prices. ;)
Awesome Bro!! What a score!
Thanks! I ordered a 9" white logo yesterday (someone had the 6" plexi style on there - incorrect). I'm not a big 'intentional relic' fan but this cab is pretty sweet and quite ollllld, damn near as old as me, lol, and I do wan't it to look as close to its intended/original vibe as possible so I've been reading up on how to "age" white plastic logo's and parts, wan't it to look at home on the cab. One of the aging tips was a riot, dude told someone to take his white parts and "burry them in your cats shitbox for a week, they'll yellow up nicely." :P
Test clip of the new old cab...
Vintage Cab Clip / Download
wow. both thumbs up!
damn, that sounds good.
Thanks! And the new logo just showed up...just wait'll I slap that on...should sound even better. :P
I like this amp. The cab is great too! Ahh hell, I haven't been this satisfied with tone, well, never. :)
Two more! LOVE IT!!!! That sounds fantastic. I WANT IT. (fingers and all :( )
Wow, best tone yet! That first part was dead on. :)
DreamTheaterRules — Aug 31, 2012Two more! LOVE IT!!!! That sounds fantastic. I WANT IT. (fingers and all :( )
Thanks! Proves once and for all....tone is in the wallet. ;)
It's actually the most dynamic amp I think I've ever played, perfectly balanced with the right guitar/pickup, speakers and fingers. ;D The low end is tight but nowhere near what the Splawn was (overly tight). The mids have a Soldano-ish chewy thing to them, which I'm loving. Single notes have a touchy, sensitive feel. I also like the the "aw" quality on some single notes, which seems to varry depending on where you're at on the neck...listen to it in the "Feel Your Love Tonight" riff, I've always wanted that WITHOUT a pedal (clip is just Charvel > amp). Rolling the guitar volume back works great and sorta has a vintagey effect - aint no JTM, but it's also not just a 'semi modern' only amp either. The clean channel is in the Fender realm...not a bad place to reside. And it's not an overly loud amp either.
CraigBert — Aug 31, 2012Wow, best tone yet! That first part was dead on. :)
Thanks!! I know it gets old hearing some hack trying his hand at VH over and over but it's a great place to start with a new amp. I've also been dialing in a Satch like lead tone and even a pretty decent Yngwie tone, lol. Not clip worthy though.....yet.
Fender nailed it with these heads. Thing I like about it, I know they pair up nicely with the spanking new EVH cabs....but the clip proves an ancient cab can work just as well. Some nice new + old mojo. Sleeper of an amp. At under 1k, an amp for Joe Six-Pack. A stock, PRODUCTION LINE, non boutique head with stock tubes @ a factory bias sounding great right out the box with the knobs near noon. Simple, yet most fuck that up and miss the mark with something. I hear they're selling these like crazy, hard to find, first batch long gone and the second round can't get built and shipped quick enough. Well, the king should be smiling all the way to the bank anyway.
Congrads that thing is too heavy for my old bones however. I am glad it is working out for you.
desertbluesman — Sep 01, 2012Congrads that thing is too heavy for my old bones however. I am glad it is working out for you.
Thanks, dbm! I admit that, it is a heavy @#&%r for its size...they definitely used some quality iron.
After doing some more digging, it turns out Marshall did offer these cabs in red back in the mid 70's and most likely mine is its original color after all (though maybe it was re-covered at some point).
Pretty nice find right here: http://www.gbase.com/gear/marshall-1960a-1973-red#
Other then having blackbacks instead of greenie's (which seemed to depend on the year right around that time), it's the same cab. This is looking more and more like a nice little investment/find! :)
Tried to get a Satch vibe here, but not exactly the tone from this particualr tune and album (my favorite Satch tone is from The Extremist, in particular "Summer Song"), I just found a simple backing track to give it a go.
Playing is pretty shaky...I'm a big fan of Satriani's approach to music and playing, etc, but I've never really sat down and tried to learn his tunes, and definitely never this one!
Failing In A Blue Dream / Download
Thanks man!! I wasn't as happy with it today as I thought I was yesterday so I tweaked the knobs (little more low end and less verb) and gave it another go this afternoon. Think I got a better tone on it now (same link) but probably played it worse, lol!
Satch tone was nice, but something's missing... Maybe a bit of compression? Or? In other words, I don't think the tone needs to change, it just needs something else in the chain! :-?
Thanks Craig. Yeah, funny thing is, everyone swears channel 2 is the highlight of this amp because it's so uncompressed and open, yet I've been all up in channel 3 with the gain set really low, because set that way, it sounds just as clean and uncompressed to me as channel 2. Both clips, the VH thing and Satch are purely a guitar into channel 3, and yep, they're pretty much in your face, so mabye channel 3 could use some MORE compression, lol.
Someone else made a comment similar to yours btw and said "that's the tone, it just needs something else around it, like maybe a big stereo delay to fill up the space." I suppose. Main thing I was after though was seeing if I could get a nice, clean lead tone ala Satch.
I'm going to start fooling around with channel 2 more now for fun, pretty happy with what 3 does. Channel 2 set for a light crunch and then hit with the Jetter pedal is putting out a great, thick Dumble tone, better than the Budda in fact becasue it's more open and clear.
Hey Derek, have you played the original 5150? If so, how does the new one compare?
Nope, never played an actual 5150. Had a 6505+ for a while but not sure if those were exactly the same. FWIW, the Peavey 6505+ and the Fender 5150 III are different animals altogether. Two entirely different amp lines from the ground up from what I've read. I remember liking the crunch channel of the Peavey, especially with a pedal in front...but then I also hated its lead channel, sounded like a fizzy, compressed buzzsaw. Some guys even dubbed the Peavey 5150 line as "can of bees" tone. Not sure about that but the 5150 III has none of that going on with the gain and way more character in the mids. It may not be as "angry" sounding as the original 5150's, but it does have an "attitude", lol, while also being more refined, punchier and sorta with a distinct voice of its own (like Soldano meets Marshall). Week three of the honeymoon and I'm stll feeling the luv. ;)
Yeah, a 6505+ is the same as a 5150. Interesting.
One more clip. :)
I mentioned liking how it sounds with the guitar volume rolled back...
Dialed Back / Download