Picked up a 1969-70 Marshall Basketweave 4x12

[chrisom]

Swapped a newer 1960A cab for this cab on Kansas City CraigsList. The original speakers were long-gone and replaced with a pair of Celestion Modern Lead 70's and 2 Peavey VK1216 Valve King's, but it has the older interior bracing and the 'corner triangles' inside, along with a plywood back panel, not the later MDF. Marstran's cab dating site shows it by serial # to most likely be a 1970(?) basketweave. Someone used caulking to fashion a hilarious homemade Marshall logo, but you can see where it originally had a 6" logo. This 'toothpaste' Marshall logo was replaced by previous owner with an 11" logo. The plastic corners that have been added will be removed soon... Still looks GREAT!

[chrisom]

[chrisom]

[chrisom]

Will most likely load this cab with a set of 'Made in England' Greenback Reissues that I have...

[chrisom]

The serial # tag is '301xx' but the Stock Number tag is missing, so I guess it could be either a 1960, a 1982, or a 1935 cab. It doesn't look like it had a '100' or 'Bass' logo in the upper Left corner (no holes), but the wooden triangle for it is under the grill in that spot. Anybody have any clues or ideas?

[neikeel]

I am pretty sure it is a late68/early 69 cab. Earlier basketweaves and pinstripes have a long strip on the bottom inside to brace the baffle and the pop-in Revvo wheels, later cabs have different wheels (the bronze boss type) and they do not have the corner braces.

If there are no holes on the upper left corner brace then it is a 1960 cab and would originally have had T1221 greenbacks (15ohm, 75Hz 25w) so a set of Heritage reissues would suit it well. The original logo would have been a 6" Gold (brittle) type that you can only get from Londonvintagegadgets on ebay uk.

[chrisom]

Thanks Neikeel! I might have to replace these newer added casters with something more period-correct, but they're ok for the time being 'till I learn more about the cab. Much appreciated!

[neikeel]

If the cab has the original tubes still there then the Fender pop-ins are the best ones to use. Originals are rare as hens teeth and are nearly all knackered by now.

[chrisom]

The dark Marshall 'outline' is remnants of the caulking 'toothpaste' logo after it was removed...

[chrisom]

I took off one of the 'hardware store' casters to check out the caster-tubes...

[neikeel]

Think I would give the grille a gentle scrub to get the colour even just where the logo shadow is and fit a small gold logo. Similarly remove the corners and use black filler in the holes and get some fender pop-ins, a set of good greenbacks of whatever you can afford and you are set!
I would not restore it any more than that.
Only my opinion and some might say strip it recover and regrill, but for me that defeats the purpose of a well used old cab.

[chrisom]

...give the grille a gentle scrub to get the colour even just where the logo shadow is and fit a small gold logo. Similarly remove the corners and use black filler in the holes and get some fender pop-ins, a set of good greenbacks of whatever you can afford and you are set! I would not restore it any more than that.

My thoughts exactly. I let go of 3 older Marshall cabs back when I was young and dumb. So glad to have one again, and I'm keeping it this time- Thanks again Neikeel!

[Scumback Speakers]

chrisom, that's a 69 cab. The Fender pop-in casters should fit those tubes if you lube them up, they are a hair small for them I think. Use soap or some other non destructive lubricant (not sure WD40 would work or not) to help glide them in.

My 69 spec cabs were made just like yours, here's a pic to reference.
http://www.scumbackspeakers.com/cabinet ... ar-raw.jpg

Congrats on the cab score, now you just need some decent speakers for it!

Enjoy!

Jim

[chrisom]

Ah- Thanks Jim, I was hoping you'd check it out. Just wondering- What were the clues that gave away it was a 1969 rather than a 1968 or 1970? My Marshall/Doyle book doesn't provide enough specific info for me to figure it out without assistance from knowledgeable MetroCrew guys like you and Neikeel. Any info you could provide would be appreciated. Thanks! co

[chrisom]

Neikeel- I did some research and found a picture of the plywood-strip you mentioned. I see what you were talking about. It's at:
http://vintageamps.com/plexiboard/viewt ... 1&t=108858