NtmRCD- New to me Refurbished Cab Day- or, a bigger cannon to fire an HXDA through!

RickP

Established 1960, Still Not Dead
Joined
Dec 10, 2019
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6,251
Location
Gulf Coast of Texas
I know… it’s a PRS site. But, at it’s base, this is an HXDA post. :)

I’ve played through lots of 4x12s over the years. Originally an Ampeg V4 stack of them, then several different Carvin cabs, then several Mesa Rectos before steering away from the weight and hassle. Oddly, never a Marshall. Used the amps, but never the cabs. It wasn’t intentional, it just worked out like that.

So recently I came across a 1960A Lead cab on the cheap because the owner inexplicably decided to cut the grill cloth out (literally, just cut out of the front), and the logo was broken, etc. but the cab itself was in good shape. I’ve been wanting to drop 4 greenbacks into a cab for a while, and this was an opportune moment!

I stripped the cab down, removing what was left of the abused grill material, and swapped the G12-75T speakers for a quad of UK-made G12M GBs. To give it a proper classic look, I ordered some checked grill cloth. Also ordered a new logo and a 1960 Classic plate, as that’s closer to the current configuration, and I was born in 1960, so we’re both Classics now!

It sounds glorious doing classic rock with the HXDA. I’ll likely never lug it out of the house, but it’s a lot of fun here! And it was a fun and relatively easy/cheap project, to boot. Good vibes!

1MNwU2i.jpg
 
Hubba hubba! It’s like I wrote that story, except I don’t have a rebuilt Marshall cab in my house. :( For your same reasons, always wanted to do the same thing. That’s a snazzy as hell build, bud.
 
I know… it’s a PRS site. But, at it’s base, this is an HXDA post. :)

I’ve played through lots of 4x12s over the years. Originally an Ampeg V4 stack of them, then several different Carvin cabs, then several Mesa Rectos before steering away from the weight and hassle. Oddly, never a Marshall. Used the amps, but never the cabs. It wasn’t intentional, it just worked out like that.

So recently I came across a 1960A Lead cab on the cheap because the owner inexplicably decided to cut the grill cloth out (literally, just cut out of the front), and the logo was broken, etc. but the cab itself was in good shape. I’ve been wanting to drop 4 greenbacks into a cab for a while, and this was an opportune moment!

I stripped the cab down, removing what was left of the abused grill material, and swapped the G12-75T speakers for a quad of UK-made G12M GBs. To give it a proper classic look, I ordered some checked grill cloth. Also ordered a new logo and a 1960 Classic plate, as that’s closer to the current configuration, and I was born in 1960, so we’re both Classics now!

It sounds glorious doing classic rock with the HXDA. I’ll likely never lug it out of the house, but it’s a lot of fun here! And it was a fun and relatively easy/cheap project, to boot. Good vibes!

1MNwU2i.jpg

That's one heckuva great combination, Rick!
 
I’ve been jamming on it most of the morning. Fun. There are some things Greenbacks don’t do well, but classic rock and blues are right in the center of the GB zone. Surprisingly, they clean up really nicely just backing off pick attack… not even touching the volume knob. Part the amp, too, but the pairing really works. It’s so classically rock n roll, it just feels right looking at it. I’m very glad I did this one!

Thanks for the positive comments. :)

Here are a few “during the trip” pics. When I received it, it looked like this:

9qu9diw.jpg


I removed the Marshall logo which, besides missing that chunk of the M, was cracked or broken in several spots. The lower left badge plate had been pried and broken. You have to remove the gold plate, then the plastic holder is screwed on; something the prior owner apparently didn't know. I was replacing the 1960 Lead plate anyway, so I repaired the holder with some silicone underneath. Removed the back cover, then the speakers. G12T-75s are classic Marshall speakers, but I wanted the 60s-70s sound of G12M Greenbacks. Then removed the baffle and what was left of the original grill cloth. Once the grill cloth was replaced, it looked like this (note the pile of what had been the logo on top!):

3fXCCpM.jpg


Once the 1960 Classic plate and logo arrived, they were carefully installed, and the speakers added. I left the original input jack there, so you can have 16 ohm mono (series-parallel), 4 ohm mono (parallel), or 8 ohm stereo pairs (parallel). I don’t know that I’ll use that, but it seemed a plus and I didn’t have a rectangular jack plate to fit it anyway! All together, it has the look I was going for, as you see in the original post. There are a few dings in the tolex, but what Marshall cab that’s been anywhere doesn't have those? They should call their covering “tearex” instead of tolex. :eek:

Pretty easy project, as these things go, and I’m quite happy with the outcome. Now it has me wondering…

Should I replace the HXDA grill cloth to match???
 
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NIce work, and the cab looks excellent :cool:

I have a blue 30th anniversary 4x12 from 1992 that sounds brilliant with my EL34 circuits.. The T75's in this one were made in the UK, and I think complement plexi style circuits really well. It would be interesting to a/b greenbacks with them. I've had a Marshall 2x12 with Chinese made T75's in the past, and they were literally no comparison. That one left quite quickly
 
NIce work, and the cab looks excellent :cool:

I have a blue 30th anniversary 4x12 from 1992 that sounds brilliant with my EL34 circuits.. The T75's in this one were made in the UK, and I think complement plexi style circuits really well. It would be interesting to a/b greenbacks with them. I've had a Marshall 2x12 with Chinese made T75's in the past, and they were literally no comparison. That one left quite quickly
I'm not sure which 75s these are, they have a T3760A tag on them. I had a 2x12 Carvin cab with Greenbacks it it that sounded great, but I was worried about toasting the speakers with the 50 watt HXDA that I’m sure is putting out over 50 cranked up. I added two more for this 4x12 cab, and the combination of amp and cab really works. Honestly, I never tried the Chinese made GBs, so I can’t say they were good or bad, but the UK ones have that sound these speakers are known for so it was the safe path.

I had an old pair of 75s with the T3760 tag (no A on the end) that I put in the Carvin cab to replace the GBs, and they sound good. I’d say they were right in the middle of Celestion tone, which is likely why they’re used in so many amps and cabs. It’s always fun to learn more about what makes those sounds we love!
 
I'm not sure which 75s these are, they have a T3760A tag on them. I had a 2x12 Carvin cab with Greenbacks it it that sounded great, but I was worried about toasting the speakers with the 50 watt HXDA that I’m sure is putting out over 50 cranked up. I added two more for this 4x12 cab, and the combination of amp and cab really works. Honestly, I never tried the Chinese made GBs, so I can’t say they were good or bad, but the UK ones have that sound these speakers are known for so it was the safe path.

I had an old pair of 75s with the T3760 tag (no A on the end) that I put in the Carvin cab to replace the GBs, and they sound good. I’d say they were right in the middle of Celestion tone, which is likely why they’re used in so many amps and cabs. It’s always fun to learn more about what makes those sounds we love!

Indeed .. every day's a school day for me :)
 
I’d say they were right in the middle of Celestion tone, which is likely why they’re used in so many amps and cabs.
Aren't they very scooped mids, especially compared to greenies?
 
Aren't they very scooped mids, especially compared to greenies?
They’re not as mid forward, with more bottom end, at least to my ear. Actually a fairly balanced speaker that seems like it’s waiting for you to make it into something, where the Greenbacks just want to be woody and have that sweet rough edge on top.

I actually like the sound of the G12Ts with the HXDA, but the GBs are the tone I was looking for.
 
They’re not as mid forward, with more bottom end, at least to my ear. Actually a fairly balanced speaker that seems like it’s waiting for you to make it into something, where the Greenbacks just want to be woody and have that sweet rough edge on top.

I actually like the sound of the G12Ts with the HXDA, but the GBs are the tone I was looking for.

Many people say that one of the main changes in tones from the "classic rock" 70s to the "80s metal" was the switch from greenbacks to T75s as the greenbacks are mid forward and the T's are mid scooped, but have more bass and highs. So put T's in the same cab, and yes, turn the mids knob down on on your JCM800, hit it with an OD and "HELLO 80's ROCK!"

I read one of the guys in a popular band back then who said in the studio, he'd track all his rhythm's and leads with the same amp head, but switch cabs. Rhythms were done with the T's, leads with the GBs. Tight,punch, bigger bottom rhythm tones, fat mids lead tones. I'm trying to remember who said that but it was in GP mag.
 
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the same amp head, but switch cabs. Rhythms were done with the T's, leads with the GBs. Tight,punch, bigger bottom rhythm tones, fat mids lead tones. I'm trying to remember who said that but it was in GP mag.

This thing about speaker cabs making a big difference is true.

For those who like doing so, I can highly recommend getting an amp head/cab switcher to make this kind of thing a matter of pressing a switch. I use the Swiss-made KHE 8 x 4. It's dead silent, the switching makes no noise or pops, and damn, everything sounds great (it has a buffer circuit at the input and it's a damn good one, plus, soft-touch toggle switches; I cannot resist soft touch toggle switches).

I can't take credit for discovering this great piece of gear. Our wonderful pal, Elvis, suggested I look into it, and I'm a convert. One of the nicest studio buys I can remember making since getting into all this stuff.
 
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