• From: Florida, USA
  • Registered: 2008-06-04
  • Posts: 1,420

Topic: New Cab Day!!!

Hey everyone, I'm excited to share a sweet gear aquisition that I scored last week.  I have had some buzzing issues with my Fender cab recently and have considered a speaker swap or restoration job.  I have always made by with the Celestion G12T-75s due to the fact that they are pretty much what Marshall uses as their default speaker in most of their cabs.  Well I get a call from a local buddy that manages a large music chain to tell me that he just got a beat to hell Marshall cab in.  I said "how much".  We discussed a price of $300 for what appeared to be an early '80s JCM800 cab.  So I did my research and to my dismay most of them were equiped with the dreaded G12T-75s! Darn it!  mad  He said it was one of the best cabs he's ever played through so I decided to check it out anyways.  So I cranked it up through my Metro and WOW that was the TONE I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR.  No scooped mids, no treble spike, and a nice tight low end without being overly boomy.  It really brought my amp to life! 

  Confused, I go home and do some more research and I find out that some of the earlier cabs from around '81 to '83 were loaded with the very respected Celestion G12-65.  The G12-65 for those who are not familiar is what all the Dumble guys go nuts over, probably due to Robben Ford stating multiple times that it is his speaker of choice.  The tone is described by Celestion as a big brother to the legendary Greenback and that was exactly what I heard from that cab!  So I pay the guy the money, take the thing home, open the back, hold my breath, and in it was............










4 MINTY G12-65s!!!!!!!!!!!!  big_smile  big_smile  big_smile  big_smile   I got $600 worth of speakers for $300!  Not to mention the cabinet is very broken in and sounds incredible.  I am going to do a vintage makeover on it, but for now I'm just stoked at the tone of this thing.  BYE BYE HARSH FENDER CAB!  big_smile  big_smile   If you guys can find an old JCM800 cab with the G12-65s in it JUMP ALL OVER IT.  These things are somehow still under the radar...  For $400-$600 these are the best deals out there for a solid sounding 4x12 cab IMO.  Sorry for the long winded post, it's just that these types of things don't happen to me.  The only good deal prior to this was my '65 Bassman for $300.  cool

'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.
  • From: N.Wales, UK
  • Registered: 2009-03-06
  • Posts: 2,183

Re: New Cab Day!!!

Nice one...I've owned two early 800 cabs (both beat up) - one with the 65s and one with the 75s. (a slightly later one then clearly with the 75s)

The 65s were much nicer and had that edge...but the price difference seems excessive. I'd bunch those speakers in the the Classic Lead 80s (more high end ring) which are v.cool. I'm running with G12 Centuries right now...the happy medium...powerful, articulate, no harshness...and yet half the weight of a fat ceramic. Two of those in my THD 2x12 means an easy cab to get in the car. - that's why I got rid of the 4x12s...they sound good, but I haven't got roadies...yet.

  • Registered: 2008-03-07
  • Posts: 508

Re: New Cab Day!!!

HAPPY NEW 4X12  big_smile

Yeah you got a pretty good deal ,even if the cab is a bit worn it adds to the mojo  wink

the g12-65 is a very unique sounding speaker thet really nails the robben ford sound .

I Look forward to a clip to hear how your metro sounds with the new cab, greenbacks also would be a great mach

for the metro , they have a woody syrupy sound in fact a mixture of the two would be interesting.

I also snagged a bargain 1 SET CUSTOMWOUND LINDY FRALIN VINTAGE HOTS £130 cant wait to fit them to my strat  smile

"Everybody's entitled to my opinion. wink
  • Registered: 2008-03-07
  • Posts: 508

Re: New Cab Day!!!

DaveWammbarro wrote:

Nice one...I've owned two early 800 cabs (both beat up) - one with the 65s and one with the 75s. (a slightly later one then clearly with the 75s)

The 65s were much nicer and had that edge...but the price difference seems excessive. I'd bunch those speakers in the the Classic Lead 80s (more high end ring) which are v.cool. I'm running with G12 Centuries right now...the happy medium...powerful, articulate, no harshness...and yet half the weight of a fat ceramic. Two of those in my THD 2x12 means an easy cab to get in the car. - that's why I got rid of the 4x12s...they sound good, but I haven't got roadies...yet.


Hey I heard good things about the G12 centurys A guy who sold me an evm12s had changed to those !

"Everybody's entitled to my opinion. wink
  • From: N.Wales, UK
  • Registered: 2009-03-06
  • Posts: 2,183

Re: New Cab Day!!!

SOFTMC wrote:
DaveWammbarro wrote:

Nice one...I've owned two early 800 cabs (both beat up) - one with the 65s and one with the 75s. (a slightly later one then clearly with the 75s)

The 65s were much nicer and had that edge...but the price difference seems excessive. I'd bunch those speakers in the the Classic Lead 80s (more high end ring) which are v.cool. I'm running with G12 Centuries right now...the happy medium...powerful, articulate, no harshness...and yet half the weight of a fat ceramic. Two of those in my THD 2x12 means an easy cab to get in the car. - that's why I got rid of the 4x12s...they sound good, but I haven't got roadies...yet.


Hey I heard good things about the G12 centurys A guy who sold me an evm12s had changed to those !

You read that on HC and a few on TGP. I can see why...they are great speakers. (I just think the evm's are indestructible and that's why they might be used more on the road) - evm comes in at a hefty 8.6kg...while the Century comes in at 1.3kg - it's an easy choice for me right now.

  • Registered: 2010-03-09
  • Posts: 422

Re: New Cab Day!!!

nice.

  • From: braintree essex
  • Registered: 2010-02-22
  • Posts: 221

Re: New Cab Day!!!

xcorporate wrote:

nice.

cool will they sound better then the vintage 30s???
CAN YOU ATTACH A VIDEO OF THE CAB SO WE CAN HEAR THE DIFFERE?
If they sound as good as you say i will look into them!!

  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: New Cab Day!!!

Metro Amps is coming out with a 4x12 kit, and I really wanna get one of those.

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool
  • Registered: 2008-10-02
  • Posts: 373

Re: New Cab Day!!!

Nice score does it have the duel inputs so you can run to heads in stereo through it?

  • From: Massachusetts
  • Registered: 2008-10-27
  • Posts: 577

Re: New Cab Day!!!

stratpaulguy86 wrote:

 

    The G12-65 for those who are not familiar is what all the Dumble guys go nuts over, probably due to Robben Ford stating multiple times that it is his speaker of choice.  The tone is described by Celestion as a big brother to the legendary Greenback and that was exactly what I heard from that cab! cool


I just found a Marshall jtm60 2x12 for under $600 that is listed with Celestion G12 Heritage speakers...From the pic I can't see any green on them (not very visible in pic) so I am thinking they might be G12-65's.  According to this guy, there is no overheating with it...going on trust factor.  Hopefully going to go check it out soon.  Also, he added a switch to pypass the distortion diodes inorder to get a more low gain Marshall tones...

So if this is the set-up with not overheating issues, what do you guys think of the amp and the price?

2009 Gibson Les Paul 1958 VOS (with black plastic)
2008 Gibson Les Paul Traditional Goldtop (with the cream plastic from the 58RI)
> Marshall Bluesbreaker 2 pedal >Boss sd-1> DD3 > Vox Ac15cc1

11 Reply by vim

  • vim
  • vim
  • Platinum
  • Offline
  • From: Norway
  • Registered: 2009-06-03
  • Posts: 108

Re: New Cab Day!!!

Nice!
I love my 12-65 Heritage with the OTS HRM (together with Ceriatone 2550/EV12L).
Guess the originals are way better than the Heritage reissues.

  • From: Florida, USA
  • Registered: 2008-06-04
  • Posts: 1,420

Re: New Cab Day!!!

stevebonamassive wrote:

cool will they sound better then the vintage 30s???
CAN YOU ATTACH A VIDEO OF THE CAB SO WE CAN HEAR THE DIFFERE?
If they sound as good as you say i will look into them!!

I've never owned a cab with vintage 30s but most people associate them with more of an edgy hard rock kind of tone.  There's nothing wrong with that and Celestion sells a ton of them for a reason.  I'm just into a more polite kind of Marshall distorted sound that isn't rough around the edges.  The G12-65s offer that refinement and elegance to the tone that wasn't there before.  I will certainly do a demo of the Metro and possibly the HRM100 with the new cab.  I did a video of my new rig but have had a lot of problems uploading it to my youtube account.  Besides, it sounds so awesome that I've had a hard time putting my guitar down long enough to do a proper demo!

'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.
  • From: South Dakota
  • Registered: 2009-12-18
  • Posts: 129

Re: New Cab Day!!!

stratpaulguy86 wrote:
stevebonamassive wrote:

cool will they sound better then the vintage 30s???
CAN YOU ATTACH A VIDEO OF THE CAB SO WE CAN HEAR THE DIFFERE?
If they sound as good as you say i will look into them!!

I've never owned a cab with vintage 30s but most people associate them with more of an edgy hard rock kind of tone.  There's nothing wrong with that and Celestion sells a ton of them for a reason.  I'm just into a more polite kind of Marshall distorted sound that isn't rough around the edges.  The G12-65s offer that refinement and elegance to the tone that wasn't there before.  I will certainly do a demo of the Metro and possibly the HRM100 with the new cab.  I did a video of my new rig but have had a lot of problems uploading it to my youtube account.  Besides, it sounds so awesome that I've had a hard time putting my guitar down long enough to do a proper demo!

I can't wait to see the updated sounds video with all the fancy switching! I've been wanting a new cab myself. I have an Avatar with 2 V30's and 2 G12H30's, and I want to get one of the Mojotone cabs that Joe used to use with EV 12L's.

Congrats on the NCD!  cool

Please, call me Austin.
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  • From: Scotland
  • Registered: 2009-02-11
  • Posts: 453

Re: New Cab Day!!!

what a find. Can't wait to here it. Are you doing some video demos anytime soon?

  • From: Burlington, Ont Canada
  • Registered: 2010-04-01
  • Posts: 365

Re: New Cab Day!!!

Nice score! In those situations I usually hold my breath and..... loaded with Radio Shack Realistic 12's...re-issues - not even vintage wink

Gits: '03 Gibson Historic R7 Goldtop, '06 Gibson R8 Plaintop, MIJ '62 RI Strat,  and others...
Amps: '99 Marshall 1987x Plexi RI, 1969 Fender Super Reverb

My band: www.meanbones.com
  • From: Ridgeland, MS
  • Registered: 2009-08-12
  • Posts: 1,248

Re: New Cab Day!!!

lol  lol  lol

  • From: Florida, USA
  • Registered: 2008-06-04
  • Posts: 1,420

Re: New Cab Day!!!

kevman13 wrote:

Nice score! In those situations I usually hold my breath and..... loaded with Radio Shack Realistic 12's...re-issues - not even vintage wink

ME TOO this is why I felt like I needed to share it with everyone!  I am totally not the guy who finds old vintage gear for stupidly low prices so when I do get lucky with a nice find I get especially excited.  Now if I could just get an Echoplex for a reasonable amount  hmm

'67 and '74 Fender Twin Reverbs, '74 Marshall 1987 lead mkII, Metro Superlead 100. Pedals from TC Electronic, Ibanez, Dunlop, BK Butler, Electro-Harmonix, Fulltone, Maestro/Gibson, Loopmaster switching, VoodooLab, Boss. Gibson and Fender guitars, Dimarzio pickups.