80's Marshall "bass" cab g12h30 55hz blackbacks , any good for guitar ?!Now With pics!

riffpowers

ive seen an 80's Marshall cab for sale locally . It's angled , checkerboard front and is loaded with g12h30 55hz blackbacks .

i think these are a bass cab , but I'm interested to know how they sound for guitar .

does anyone have any info or experience of similar cabs and speakers ??

timmysoft

They sound great! 

ICBM

riffpowers said:

i think these are a bass cab , but I'm interested to know how they sound for guitar .

Better than the 'guitar' ones .

riffpowers

Thanks for the input guys, I may well go for this cab!!

Bygone_Tones

Got any pics? Checkerboard with blackbacks is an unusual combination, unless it's one of the US cabs with the small check.

Speakers could be T1281 or T1886. The T1886 is more of a bass speaker with the looser spider support and will sound less compressed and more 'open', but will still sound good so long as they are in good condition. The T1281 is a classic (used by Hendrix etc) and is one of the most sought after Celestion speaker models.

If they're asking a lot of money always check them over in person if possible. Never assume speakers that old are just going to be perfect and worthy of a high asking price, most of them are not.

riffpowers

Bygone_Tones said:

Got any pics? Checkerboard with blackbacks is an unusual combination, unless it's one of the US cabs with the small check.

Speakers could be T1281 or T1886. The T1886 is more of a bass speaker with the looser spider support and will sound less compressed and more 'open', but will still sound good so long as they are in good condition. The T1281 is a classic (used by Hendrix etc) and is one of the most sought after Celestion speaker models.

If they're asking a lot of money always check them over in person if possible. Never assume speakers that old are just going to be perfect and worthy of a high asking price, most of them are not.

I'll find out and post back!!

cosmiccarrot

riffpowers said:

ive seen an 80's Marshall cab for sale locally . It's angled , checkerboard front and is loaded with g12h30 55hz blackbacks .

i think these are a bass cab , but I'm interested to know how they sound for guitar .

does anyone have any info or experience of similar cabs and speakers ??

Not sure if that's an 80's cab as marshall stopped the check grill at the end of '76
The 55hz bass cones are the one's for guitar, the T1281's are the classics. Always been confusing calling them bass cones, imo the 30w spec 55hz's are best, likewise the 75hz (lead cone) T1221 are best for the G12M greenback.

As Bygone Tones says I would check the performance of each speakers at volume if you can.

ICBM

cosmiccarrot said:

Not sure if that's an 80's cab as marshall stopped the check grill at the end of '76

It's definitely not 80s if either the cloth or the speakers are original. By the 80s it was black cloth, G12-65, G12-80, G12T-75 or G12H-100 depending on the model.

I have had a checkerboard cab which had G12H-30 55Hz Blackbacks, it was a '76 if I remember rightly. Of course it's impossible to be absolutely certain the speakers were original, but they were a date-matched set and the soldering was perfect, both of which are very rare if speakers have ever been changed.

cosmiccarrot said:

The 55hz bass cones are the one's for guitar, the T1281's are the classics. Always been confusing calling them bass cones

It's only because they were used in the bass spec 4x12"s… when bass players still used such things!

cosmiccarrot said:

imo the 30w spec 55hz's are best, likewise the 75hz (lead cone) T1221 are best for the G12M greenback.

Also agreed - the ultimate stack is a straight cab with 55Hz 30s and an angle with 75Hz 25s… and an aircraft hangar to play it in .

Bygone_Tones

I think 1980 was the last year for the blackbacks, or maybe even 1979.

Around 1975 or 1976 the UK Marshall cabs got the black grill, and the US cabs got the small check grill until about 1980. There are some of those small check cabs knocking about in the UK.

ICBM

Bygone_Tones said:

I think 1980 was the last year for the blackbacks, or maybe even 1979.

'79 I think, since that was the first year for the G12-65s in the 2104 combos - although it's possible there was some overlap between models it doesn't seem very likely to have been for long, at the volume of speakers Marshall were using.

riffpowers

I've got some low quality pics I'll upload tomorrow .

riffpowers

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/riffpowers/5B77FABB-C41A-40A5-B6FE-703647B8D47B_zpspma86l6t.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/riffpowers/8FF542E4-4134-4CA1-B38E-85CA2E5BACF1_zpsgcomlfyv.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/riffpowers/55C7FB8B-1FA4-409E-A2B4-851204B1B703_zpspb5xxcaz.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/riffpowers/E57F9A48-60A2-407F-AC3F-41458E48C4C4_zpsqj5fvlfz.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/riffpowers/C088DE44-D8C7-42F0-B854-15FAF955DEB2_zps071bsb1q.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/riffpowers/4F09416B-59CF-4A64-ABF6-BFEECCE9F444_zpszkpynko8.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y142/riffpowers/22DD2F2B-436A-47AC-AEE8-67C523ECE813_zpskybyt1e9.jpg

cosmiccarrot

It's a 1982 model cab somewhere between '78 to '80 imo. Looks like they've removed the rivets on the handles to get them out to re-cloth it in checkboard and put various screw fixings back in the handles. lower left speaker has blown and been replaced with what looks like a heritage 30h. New thick gauge wire has been used on speakers. If he could give you the codes next to the speaker model stamps (T1281) that will date the cab pretty much to the month allowing for build.

I would check those 3 remaining speakers for cone rub etc. if one has been replaced.

Have to say the owners got an unusual way of operating his foot pedals! unless he plays lying down!!!

Bygone_Tones

+1 on the above. I would tread carefully with that one, but it depends how much he is asking. If he wants more than 200 for it, I would be taking a screwdriver and my speaker testing gear with me. If he only wants 100 for it then just grab it and check things out when you get home.

The cab itself only has player value because it has been messed about with, so  maybe around 80 for it empty? The heritage speaker should be fine unless it has been mis-treated somehow, so maybe 60 to 70 for that one? Its the blackbacks you need to be careful about.

Its a bad photo but looks like a 1984 model cab to me, which means those are more likely to be T1886's. Personally I get less excited about those than the T1281's, and find them to be more problematic too. Celestions with the bass spider support tend to be more prone to coil rubbing.

Ideally you need to remove the wiring and isolate each speaker individually to test them properly.

riffpowers

He's asking 350.

I've played it, but I don;t know enough about speakers to know about cone rub.

riffpowers

I've seen a modern 1960aTV cab for sale not too far away , but I'm not sure if those M magnet speakers would be a good choice for punk/nwobhm/thrashy stuff that I play.

cosmiccarrot

riffpowers said:

He's asking 350.

I've played it, but I don;t know enough about speakers to know about cone rub.

Way too much mate imo.

Reverend

riffpowers said:

I've seen a modern 1960aTV cab for sale not too far away , but I'm not sure if those M magnet speakers would be a good choice for punk/nwobhm/thrashy stuff that I play.

I use a TV from about 12 years ago. 

riffpowers

Reverend said:

riffpowers said:

I've seen a modern 1960aTV cab for sale not too far away , but I'm not sure if those M magnet speakers would be a good choice for punk/nwobhm/thrashy stuff that I play.

I use a TV from about 12 years ago. 

Any good for that kind of stuff??