Marshall 1960A JCM900

I've been around the block a few times with cabs. I've owned and seen all the cheap stuff...peavey, carvin, avatar, marshall. And I've owned and seen the nice stuff and in between...Bogner, Stone Age, Mills, etc... I've learned a lot over the years. If I know anything it's that I'm destined to be continually surprised by different cabs and speakers.

I have probably worked on or played through 10 of these 1960A cabs. They might be the most common 4x12 out there. Marshall, being one of the most popular tube amp companies of all time, has basically chosen this is its main cab. Now I'll talk about Marshall cab quality in a bit, but first I want to comment on the speakers. I think a lot of people seem to think "celestion = great" when they see these. They have the G12T-75 which Marshall itself insists is a great match for the JCM series. Truthfully, I have to disagree and I think a lot of pro guitarists will agree. The 75's have scooped mids, sizzling highs, and boomy lows. In theory this is a good match for a JCM amp, eq wise. But for everything but heavy metal...it's not. A lot of grunge and nu metal used these in the late 90's and I guess that's where the popularity comes from. They're great for the scooped mids thing. The bottom line is that the 75's just aren't as good a match in real life as they are on paper. Ideally I would say the best speakers for these are greenbacks or G12H. Vintage 30's are okay but the mids can get rough.

Marshall cabs are not made very well. The MDF is fine and the materials are decent enough, but the joints aren't secure. There is major air leakage going on. This can be remedied with a simple Caulk/sealing mod but honestly for a name brand like marshall it's sad. The good news is that these are very cheap on the used market so it's not like you're getting duped.

I can't say I would recommend this to many players. If you are into the modern metal sound or like scooped mids with sizzling highs, it's a good cab. I could never bond with these speakers so I have always stayed away from using the 1960A, but it's such a common cab that I see them almost every 2 or 3 months. It's hard to give it a rating but for my uses it's pretty mediocre. I will say though with a sealing mod and some tasteful speakers it's a solid 8.

Love them or hate them, the Marshall JCM900 1960 cabinet is probably the standard 4x12 cabinet out there on the market. No matter what music shop you walk into, you’re bound to find one of these somewhere on the showroom floor. Equipped with four Celestion G12T75 speakers, the cabinet is able to withstand 300 watts of power. The selectable ohmage and stereo switching on the back makes it a fairly versatile cabinet, and it should be adequate for most gigging musicians out there.

The cabinet is made out of birch plywood, but the back panel is actually made out of MDF. Some people like the MDF back, and some people don’t. Contrary to popular belief, the MDF backing has actually been around for quite some time, so it’s not something new that Marshall has been doing. The wiring is pretty skimpy and should be replaced, in my opinion. The tolex is alright, but it can ding somewhat easily. Grill cloth and piping are fine, but some people prefer the salt and pepper grill cloth for tone. Yes, different grill cloth can result in different tones as it determines how much dampening occurs between the speaker and your ears.

The biggest complaint I have with this cabinet is that it tends to leak some air. This means that it’s not as tight and focused as it could be. Taking the time to use some caulking around the seams can help improve the cabinet’s overall sound. The handles are plastic and tend to break when thrown around a bit. Thankfully, Scumback Speakers makes 100% drop-in replacements to fix this issue. The other handles on the market actually don’t line up 100%, so keep that in mind when ordering cheaper metal handles.

The G12T75s are probably some of the most notorious speakers on the market. Quite a few people dislike them, and I’m one of those people. They tend to sound very scooped and harsh, even in this rear loaded cabinet. Mixed, they can sound pretty good, but alone, they’re just not for me. If you’re looking for a 4x12, this cabinet should definitely be on your list. However, if you’re willing to spend a bit more, there are better cabinets on the market.

Originally written by drapeau_rouge on Audiofanzine FR.

I use these speaker cabinet with a 100-watt VHT Pitbull CLX amplifier head and a Gibson Les Paul Custom or a Fender Stratocaster Highway 1 with Bare Knuckle humbucker on the bridge.

Compared with my VHT 4x12" cabinet it provides more highs (but not too harsh), a bit more mids but much less lows, although you have to consider that the VHT head provides extremely fat lows! However, I can always compensate with the amp's Depth and Bass controls...

On the other hand, this cabinet is much louder than my VHT. For live gigs it's no real advantage since the speaker is miked... but the strong mids/highs are a real advantage! The sound cuts better through!

This is a good speaker cabinet (not excellent) but it doesn't quite fit all music styles, like heavy metal and jazz (not warm enough). This speaker is good for other music styles.