Marshall 1960A

Simple, but more than most cabs. Having the ability to switch between mono/stereo and different impedances is a big help. Mine is a 1995 Special Edition red one, which I love the look of.

Before I get under way I would just like to point out that I am not a 'major recording artist', 'in a signed band' or 'a touring guitarist for [insert famous musician here]' nor do I plan to be. Let me tell you straight who I am.

I'm an english guy in uni on a commercial music course, I've been playing around six or seven years. I'm 19. I'm not a great player nor ever will be. I used to own loads of effects but now own just a GT-5, a Small Stone and a couple of others. I'm not out to bulls**t anyone.

I rarely award anything a ten, but this is as close as it's going to get to perfect in my opinion. The frequency response, punch and clarity of those big G12T-75s is perfect for the two main Marshall heads I've had the pleasure of owning or using. These are the Valvestate 8200 Bi-Chorus 200w head (great for what is more or less a solid state) and my current amplifier, a 1978 Marshall JMP MKII 50 watt 2204. Both of these amps sound exactly as I want when using these cabs.

Guitars I'm using with it, currently a 2002 Gibson SG Standard that I've owned from new and a Squier Affinity Strat on loan from a friend. Both guitars are stock however the Strat has been fitted with a Roland GK-2a external MIDI pickup for use with the Roland VG-8 system I am currently testing.

Music styles: rock, with some subgenres (heavy metal, old punk, new punk [minus good charlotte and that sort of junk]), folk and some contemporary R&B/hiphop. Blues too, although I'll never have the sort of soul Hooker and King had/have in spades. I don't play jazz, although I know a great arrangement of 'misty' by errol garner.

Noisy? Only if what you're running it through is. Plenty of variety (depends on your amp and guitar), but I'm sure I can cover most things I need with this, a good JMP/Plexi and a Strat.

The thing I really love is the headroom - it's a 300w cab so you'd have to have a mighty amp to ever get those speakers to distort.

Aside: I actually sold my AC30 w/alnico blues to get this and the JMP partly because I disliked the easy break up of the blues, even if they ARE part of that coveted Vox tone. Not for me I'm afraid, although I was thinking about changing the blues for G12T-75s, but that would have made the amp so heavy - it's already a healthy 35kg or so - and more impractical.

To me, I can do practically everything I want or need with this cab, and I can't say that about most pieces I've ever owned so it's got to be a 10 - perfect for me.

Built well as most Marshall stuff is. The wheels are great and can stand up to a lot of abuse - important if you're gigging a lot. It's never let me down, and I've been using these cabs (a few before I got mine) for around two or three years and I'm not careful with my gear.

No idea, although I've heard firsthand from a friend that Jim Marshall is a **** these days. His words, not mine.

If this were stolen or lost (how would you lose it I wonder) I might be tempted to try out some other marshall cabs, like the vintage 30 or greenback loaded ones. But I have a feeling I'd still come to this one.

What do I love about it? Everything, especially the red. What do I hate? The weight, but I'm willing to put up with that for the tone it gives me.

Didn't really compare it to other products I'll be honest; why keep searching when you've already found a tone that you love and one that still impresses you every time you plug in? I've been down that road and I just came back to what I had before, but with less cash in my bank account.

I chose this simply because in combination with the right amp heads and guitars, I can get the tone I hear in my head coming out through the speakers. I like that.

Anything I'd like to share? Certainly. I think guitarists today are far too picky and never appreciate the sheer variety available today. There are plenty of classics out there to choose from, and many more still being made (time will tell what is classic and what isn't) so I think we should realise that we've never had it so good. I do now, and it humbles me as a player. Maybe Jimmy Page was that impressive because he concentrated on his technique, not how collectable his rig was or how many effects he could cram on his pedalboard. Sorry for the lecture.

So in conclusion, I think this cab is fantastic, and I got it for half price because I bought it with my JMP head and paid cash. I don't think I'll need any more cabs after this. I don't usually award 10s for every catagory, but this is a rare occasion. Great piece of kit!

Everyone who plays rock guitar has seen this cabinet!!! It's a 300 watt 4 x 12 speaker cabinet the runs mono at 4 or 16 ohms and stereo at 8 ohms per side.

Ok here's the skinny....
I am a touring rock guitarist in a major label band(name witheld for legal reasons). In my 10 years as a musician I have either owned or gigged with every half stack, combo, midi rack, etc. you could possibly think of. I have come to the decision that no matter what head or power amp you run, you can't go wrong with a 1960A. I currently play with a marshall TSL100 run in a series with a 1985 JCM800 that are both rack mounted in a midi rack. These babies are my bread and butter! I'll never leave home without them. And of course you know that the 1960 was made for these heads. They have a frequency response like no other cabinet out there. Lets put it this way, my rhythm guitarist runs a Mesa Duel Recifier 3 channel head and an XL recto cab with a PRS custom 22... and guess what??? I dominate him in a mix!(sorry T!!!) The mesas have a compressed poopy sound that kinda sounds great by itself but when the whole band plays it gets lost in bassland, and thats no place a guitar player wants to be. We don't play 80's metal or anything, we are a modern rock band and we sound like it too. And for me it's all due to my Les Pauls(which are a whole nother story!!!) and my marshalls. I my professional opinion the 1960a is the best rock guitar cabinet made.

No problems out of any of the 4 cabinets i own.

Never delt with Korg USA, never had to!

You can't go wrong with this cab. the only thing that may be a factor is the size of your hall. If you have to stand more that 20 feet away from your cabs you might not hear the top 2 speakers but a 1960b will do you just fine. Or be like me and use inner ear monitors and never hear a d@#% thing again(that one's for you Ron!!!)

Stereo or mono options (4-8-16 ohms). It's a 4-12 cab built like a tank. It is loaded with 4 Celestion G12T-75 Watts with 300 RMS rating. IT's on castors so it rolls wherever you want to push it. Plus it's not really that heavy if you want to carry it, and it fit in my trunk. Sure, it's not as easy to carry as a 2-12, but who cares?

I play a Fender Bassman Head (Torrez Modified) 100 W. THis head is one of a kind. Couldn't be happier with it with this cabinet. Sounds incredible. I've been playing for some 15 years, all styles from country, blues to hard ACDC like rock. This cabinet sounds great even in that range of music, ballads to rockers. Sounds awesome clean with perfect break-up, and at the same time, if you want to boost it dirty, it somehow maintains the tone. Unlike any other cab I had played with, my vocals actually broke through despite my playing being 10X louder with this box. It basically balanced the treble and the bass, which I had trouble with with other boxes.

Looks pretty damn reliable.

I think you will be happy with this cab if you have a big head to power it. I can't speak for metal, but for hard rock, I got the most beautiful crunch out of this with screaming leads that were miraculously easy on the ears. Even at excessively high volume levels, this cab is clear and packs a punch. I paid more than I thought the thing was worth. (I had played it on a Mesa head at the store). THen I brought it home and now, I couldn't be happier.

As many features as a cabinet can have. Stereo or mono wiring also 4,8, and 16 ohm options. You don't really get more options than this for cabinets.

I use mostly custom superstrats made by me as well as a zion custom radicaster with dimarzio pickups. This sounds great and really captures the marshall metal sound really well. I wish if people would stop complaining about bass response and all of that. This delivers all the bass I need at very high volumes. Keep in mind marshall cabinets were designed to be used with marshall or british sounding amps and mesa cabs were designed for mesa cabs. If you play a mesa with a marshall cab it won't sound and likewise if you play a marshall through a mesa cab it won't sound good. Basically a marshall cab is designed to thicken and fatten up El34 driven amps. If you play a mesa through it's going to fart. These are completely differently voiced amps and likewise the cabinets have to be voiced differently. It's mostly a matter of speakers. Since 6l6 driven amps aren't as punchy in the midrange area they really benefit from vintage 30's which is why mesa choices them. El34 driven amps have a very sharp upper mid spike which is why they need speakers with a more relaxed mid quality. Everybody has their tastes and some people actually like vintage 30s with el34 driven amps. Also the 1960AV series doesn't have vintage 30's. IT's a custom designed vintage speaker made for marshall. Vintage 30's are 60 watt not 70 like in the 1960AV cab. Now back to the cab. I'm running a laney gh50l and marshall dsl50 and dsl100 and I get some really good sounds. At first like most cabinets it's harsh and overarticulate sounding but after playing a few hours at high volumes the speakers smooth out as they break in. It really captures the 80's marshall metal sound. At first I didn't like the cab but after I've fed it some loud playing it sounds nice. Another thing you have to get the volume up high for this cab to sound good. I also own a 1960AX and there is a huge difference and sometimes I use both cabs on a gig. THis is a 300watt cab so to get the best sounds you really need a powerful amp running at high volumes. So this is definitely not a practice at home cabinet. The neighbors will call the police on you. At home I usually run an avatar 1x12 at 16ohms so I can get good sounds without being so loud. Now I have the best of both worlds. The classic marshall sound with the 1960AX and the more all around cabinet 1960A. Whenever I need the soaring marshall sound I go to the 1960A and whenever I need the more classic plexi sounds I look to the 1960AX. This cab definitely has an agressive sound to it and clean sounds are actually pretty good for a closed back 4x12. This cab has alot of bite to it and harmonics really seem to come out very well through this cab. My Laney has never sounded this good although the 1960AX sounds great with it. If you are into hard rock this is a great cab. For more bluesy or classic rock sounds go with a greenback loaded cab. THe 1960AV seems to be pretty popular if you are looking for a louder vintage sounding cab. One of my gripes against the 1960AX. Not very loud and it only has a 16ohm input. Now that I've covered the bases if you are using this for the right style of music and with the right kind of amp and know how to EQ an amp this cab will just about anything you ask of it. Very good sounding cab. After all marshall invented the concept of stacks.

Seems to be pretty well built. As long as you don't drop it off a 10 story building or light in on fire it will hold up. It's a cabinet. Marshall is pretty well respected in this aspect. I've owned and gigged marshall gear for years and I trust them.

Never dealt with them.

I really like the sound of this cabinet. I got it pretty much so that I can have a different sounding amp in comparison to the 1960AX and also I got a pretty good deal on it at guitar center. They let me crank a dsl100 in the silent room to test it out. I'm good friends with the salesman and I got a good deal. It's just so sad what has happened to the music scene. I walk into guitar center and hear 15 year old kids playing the guitar as if it's a bass or drums. If you like bass play bass. If you like percussion play drums. I'm also sick of all these boutique makers charging 4 grand for their stuff. I've tried bogners, diezels, and soldanos and honestly I will take my laney or marshalls over them any day. I don't need 6 preamp tubes of gain to get sufficient drive. Like another reviewer stated marshalls don't let you hide mistakes. My laney is the same way. You better practice so that you don't sound like ass. Once you get your technique perfected then man what a sound. All my heroes used marshalls lynch, rhoads, malmsteen, van halen. My laney also delivers this sound and this cab helps. Sorry guys I don't need to spend 4 grand to sound good. It's player who ultimately needs to sound good. If you play like crap, you will still play and sound like crap no matter how much money you spend. That's all fellows.

I don't rate 'features' for speaker cabs.

I would like to add my opinion to the ongoing Marshall vs Mesa wars, that this cab is great and so is the Mesa Recto 4x12 cab. I think that this cab gives more distortion somehow, and the Recto cab is a more bassy (some would call it more muddy). But I have played through both cabs and I like both.

I have played through Marshall, Crate, Mesa, Peavey, and Genz Benz speaker cabs, and except for the Crate cab (which sounded okay but not great), they all sound fantastic. I think I like the Peavey 5150 cab the best though.

Light weight and strong.
300 watt RMS power handling.
Wheels
Handles
Stereo/Mono operation
Icon of rock history

Original Concept of stacked quads was invented by Marshall.

9 what else?, perhaps a semi open back top half with a closed bottom section

1960A and B cabs have what is know as a "Heavy Metal" sound. Not to be confused with the "Nu" "Mental" attempt to cover up sloppy assed shithole playing with abismally dull sounding amps and matching cabs which have vast fields of dead zones in their tonal spectrums (pronounced Rectums).

You play a bad note on a Marshall, you hear what a crappy excuse for a human you really are. In this day and age of post coital Kurt Nobrain shlock gone way wrong further down the path of tone deaf nausia the kiddies will pay HUGE dollars for a few valves thrown into whatever boutique amp happens to be in vogue at the time.

These things stay together long after the outside has gone to dust.

This is an addendum to the earlier posts by "Mesa is Betta" henceforth known as "Mensa Beta", the lesser known NQR outlet of the world wide genius fraternity ;)

Mensa Beta wastes all our time espousing the pitfalls and merits of the 1960 cabinets whilst attaining the perfect achievment of those who have no clue what tone is by buying a rectumfrier. When Mensa Beta was just a little sperm 1960 cabs were stacked upon stages all over the world. It is Mensa Beta and the other WANNABEE's who must attempt pittyfully to measure up to Marshall and never will.

Features?, its a cab.

not bad but there are far better cabs out there..
i have two amps.
1 is Boogie dual rec 3 channel plus oversize recto 4x12
2 is JCM2000 TSL 100 plus 1960A cab

use either of these heads and i will guarantee that they both sound heaps better through the Boogie cab.

the marshall sounds weak, boxey, tinny, scratchy and nasally in comparison to the gorgeous sound of the rectifier 4x12 (loads more bottom chunk and better mids and gorgeous treble response{really really nice cab})

This Marshall JCM 900 1960A cabinet was made in 1995. I play what I call "American Hard Rock" (not quite "Metal" by modern standards) i.e Van Halen, Hagar, Guns and Roses, and Buckcherry. I also play classic punk ala Sex Pistols, Johnny Thunders, Stooges, Ramones and the modern punk knock-offs like Green Day and Offspring. I had heard that this cabinet loaded with G12T-75 speakers was ideal for the sound I like and I was not disappointed.

This one was used and spray-painted John Deere green with yellow handles and a big white Egyptian Eye thingee painted on the grille cloth. How's that for features?

This cabinet suits my style perfectly. This is not surprising, since this cabinet was built with the sound of my influences in mind. I play a Les Paul loaded with a Duncan JB at the bridge and a '57 Classic at the neck, through a Marshall DSL 100 head. I tried this head with my brother's Mesa Rectifier cab loaded with Vintage 30s, and it was just too "smooth" for me. I was looking for that "Skid Row, Joan Jett, "rip-your-face-off" crunch that I craved, and this cab fit the bill perfectly. I could use a tad more bass than it delivers, but it only at low volumes. At full scream, the appropriate amount of bass is there. I agree with a previous reviewer that a lot of metal guitarists these days are creeping into bass territory with the quote "modern sound".

What is surprising is that this cab sounds better for me than the Mesa cab on the clean side. More of the Fender "sparkle" than with the Vintage 30s, which is not surprising. More clarity in Jazz tones with more definition.

I don't know why Marshall insists on using plastic parts for corners, handles, etc. They crack at the corners and the "rivets" they use make it difficult to replace the hardware (probably by design). Even the Marshall logo is mounted in the weirdest possible way. I would probably be better served with an Avatar or JDesign cab but what the heck, it matches. How can you rate the reliabilty of a tolex-covered cabinet, when carpet is more road-worthy? Objectively, I give it a six. Subjectively, I buy it anyway 'cause it says "Marshall". I'm a slave to fashion.

If my rig breaks, I get pissed and throw it off the stage, then buy a new one next day. I don't call Customer Service. It isn't rational, but does anybody really think about this stuff? I'm a guitarist, not Ralph Nader.

I played so much crap gear before finally caving in and buying Marshall. I honestly thought I could get the same for less, and boy was I wrong. If someone stole it, I'd just go buy another one, regardless of cost. I've had my ass kicked too many times to go after anybody for ripping me off.

If you want to create your "own sound" with Peavey Duck Fart or Mesa Mud, then by all means, go for it. If you want to play Eddie, Jimi, Slash, Mick Mars, and Billie Joe for real, then quit wasting your valuable time and money and buy a Marshall. I did.

2002 Marshall 4x12 1960A Cab

Celestion G12T-75 Speakers, 4/16 Ohm, Mono or stereo

I use a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier 3-Channel Head (loaded with Siemen EL34's) through this cab and my main instrument of choice is my 2001 Paul Reed Smith Singlecut (I also use a 1998 Gibson Les Paul Standard for alternate tunnings). My band plays Modern Rock Originals (Creed, 3 Doors Down, Seether type stuff) This setup works amazingly well, I always have a great sound. I get good bottom end, good highs, and good mids. So don't let these jerk offs fool you, most of them don't know shit about music or their own equipment. This is truly a very well-built, nice sounding cab. I give it a 9 because there are better cabs out there, I've played through a few. But this is one of the better cabs you'll find.

I have to say one thing about Marshall, they can be very cheap about shit but their cabs are built like very, very well.

Marshall has no customer service, just a bunch of drunk English assholes giving you dumb answers. But don't worry nothing usually goes wrong with a cab unless you leave it in the rain or hit it with an axe.

I'm a young dude, been playing for about 7 years. I've been gigging since I was 14 and I've played through alot of shit. So trust me when I say this cab is well worth the money. But the best way going about buying a cab that will fit your needs is playing through as many as you can. With the exact head that you own or are planning to buy. That way there are no suprises and you know exactly what your getting. My personal favorites are the, Mesa Boogie 4x12 Recto, the Marshall 4x12 1960A & 1960B, and the Rivera 4x12 knucklehead cab. So hopfully I've helped you guys out a bit and I hope you all try alot of cabs including the ones I've listed above, GOOD LUCK!!

I bought this cab used in Dead mint condition!! It's loaded with GT12-75's...that's all I know. From the rest of the reviews here I think they have it covered pretty well from the wood and other materials.

This cab sounds really good but it's missing alittle bit of the low end beef that Vintage 30's have which the 1960b cab has but that cab lacks the high end mistique that the 1960a has.....well to solve that problem i took out 2 gt12-75's and put 2 vintage 30s in a X configuration! The Tone now is monterous!! Wow!! The perfect blend of highs and lows in a great cab! If it were just stock speakers i would give it a 8 with the new modification it's a perfect 10!!

I've been playing for 8 years and always been picky about tone......I bought a mesa recto 4x12 cab with vintage 30s and it just sounded boomy!!! and not enough crunch! The Engl 4x12 cab with vintage 30's sounded almost the same but not as boomy. I wanted to like the mesa cab but realize that it's not what i'm looking for and plus it weighs a ton!!! My poor aching back can't handle it so I sold it and so glad i did!! I bought some 2 used vintage 30's from a local seller both for 125.00 and popped them in my marshall cab and it just sounds incredible!! Marshall cabs are voice to sound great! you just have to fine tune it and you've got a killer cab!