Marshall 1936 2x12 opinions

mark_jwedge

My search for a 2x12 cab goes on and I see a lot of the 1936 2x12 cabs for sale at reasonable prices and in fact they are within budget for me new. I'm after an 8ohm 2x12 to pair with a 50w Plexi style head.

A Zilla modern is just about in budget but before I pull the trigger I wondered what people's thoughts were on the 1936, particularly in comparison to the Zilla?

Winny_Pooh

Apparently the newer mdf ones are crap, older jcm800 era models built out of ply are better. I have a late 70's chopped down 2x12 that sounds fine, but I'd buy a Zilla personally as more thought and love goes into one. 

ICBM

Beware - most 1936s are made from MDF. Marshall have recently returned to using ply for them, so a new one is a better bet than a used one unless you're sure it's ply. They seem to have come down in price too, I'm pretty sure they were over £400 not long ago.

But a Harley Benton G212V is half the price, is all-ply and comes with V30s, arguably better (and certainly slightly more expensive) than the Marshall's G12T-75s.

Zilla are good, but I would also be inclined to get a new or new-ish one - I have seen some issues with a couple of earlier ones. I know saying that will not get me Brownie points here...

p90fool

I had a 90s 1936, it had run of the mill Celestions I don't even remember and was shallow bodied compared to a lot of other 2x12s, but it just seemed to project really well in a gig situation, without any harshness. 

Lovely with a JTM45, and turned a Fender Pro Jr into a monster. 

I've had deeper sounding, 'better' cabs since, but the 1936 is one I definitely shouldn't have sold. 

John_A

IMO for classic rock paired with a plexiglass the 1936 is a much better choice than a G212V, get a ply one.  I actually quite like The GT12t-75's as well.

JayGee

I’ve got the unfashionable MDF version. It was very cheap and (IMHO, YMMV etc)  isn’t nearly as dreadful as some commentators suggest, in fact I’ve been perfectly happy with the way it sounds either as an extension cab to a Mesa 5:25, with a Blackstar Series One, or an Ampmaker SE5.

It is Bloody heavy through and pretty much exactly the wrong size and shape to fit neatly into the boot of a Nissan Leaf...

clarkefan

It's slow going finding an old Marshall ply 1936. You either find a very recent one like ICBM said or find a JCM800 one. Everything in between was MDF to my knowledge. Have a look at a recent thread I started on the 800 cabs. Another member said his mate was selling one. I'm not in a position to buy it right now, and it might still be available.

ICBM

JayGee said:

I’ve got the unfashionable MDF version. It was very cheap and (IMHO, YMMV etc)  isn’t nearly as dreadful as some commentators suggest, in fact I’ve been perfectly happy with the way it sounds either as an extension cab to a Mesa 5:25, with a Blackstar Series One, or an Ampmaker SE5.

Have you used it with a band, or only at lower volume? What I've found with them is that they actually sound fine at home, but when they're played loud, for some reason they just don't project well compared to the ply ones and are much more directional - which is odd because they're the same dimensions! This was very noticeable when a friend of mine used one with his band - we couldn't work it out at first because there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the cab when I tested it, but on stage it just seemed to totally lose definition and volume unless you were right in front of it. Nothing at all like the older JCM800 ply one he'd had.

clarkefan

Would different speakers do that @ICBM ? Or even old v recent G12T-75's?

JayGee

ICBM said:

JayGee said:

I’ve got the unfashionable MDF version. It was very cheap and (IMHO, YMMV etc)  isn’t nearly as dreadful as some commentators suggest, in fact I’ve been perfectly happy with the way it sounds either as an extension cab to a Mesa 5:25, with a Blackstar Series One, or an Ampmaker SE5.

Have you used it with a band, or only at lower volume? What I've found with them is that they actually sound fine at home, but when they're played loud, for some reason they just don't project well compared to the ply ones and are much more directional - which is odd because they're the same dimensions! This was very noticeable when a friend of mine used one with his band - we couldn't work it out at first because there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the cab when I tested it, but on stage it just seemed to totally lose definition and volume unless you were right in front of it. Nothing at all like the older JCM800 ply one he'd had.

Been using it with a band for [counts on fingers] 4 years now.

Output does fall off a bit if I stand close up and way off to the side but that’s not necessarily a bad thing (especially when I was going through my ES295-a-like phase). If anything there’s actually a bit of a dead spot close up and it actually seems louder (relatively speaking) a few feet out into the room.

Of course the dispersion is probably radically altered because I invariably using it standing on end in vertical format, which if it is a bit “beamy” in what would normally be its horizontal plane might account for why it seems to get louder as I walk forward and my ears enter the hotter bit of the pattern!

ICBM

clarkefan said:

Would different speakers do that @ICBM ? Or even old v recent G12T-75's?

Not sure. Both cabs would have had 75s, but it's possible the 800 cab had the older vented-magnet ones.

JayGee said:

Of course the dispersion is probably radically altered because I invariably using it standing on end in vertical format, which if it is a bit “beamy” in what would normally be its horizontal plane might account for why it seems to get louder as I walk forward and my ears enter the hotter bit of the pattern!

Yes, it would be .

For what it's worth I've been trying to get that friend to use a vertical 2x12" because he's always complaining about the dispersion, but he won't because it "doesn't look right". You can't win .