Marshall experts ?

[viking]

Hi!I have an old Marshall 4x12' cab and i would like to know when it was built etc..I think i bought it in 1980 +/- with a bass/keyboard amp (Sound)..I use it with my M&B Nomad55 and i never opened it.It's very reliable and still in very good condition.What do you think?I have two pics here:  And:[/img]

[viking]

[viking]

[hunter]

What does it say on the backplate, if any?

[Tellboy]

The front cloth looks like 'basket weave' which I think replaced the 'pinstripe' around 1970, so I would guess it is early 1970s. You might be able to get a bit more accurate date by looking inside (speakers? labels?)

Here's a 1968 Marshall cab with the older pinstripe cloth (apologies for the terrible photo)

[Will]

Yeah, just take the back off, and you will be able to find the date code for the speakers.
http://professional.celestion.com/guitar/features/drdecibel/index.asp
1968 - 1991
YEAR
   
CODE
        
MONTH
   
CODE
1968    A         January    A
1969    B         February    B
1970    C         March    C
1971    D         April     D
1972    R         May    E
1973    F         June    F
1974    G         July    G
1975    H         August     H
1976    J         September    J
1977    K         October    K
1978    L         November     L
1979    M         December    M
1980    N              
1981    P              
1982    Q              
1983    R              
1984    S              
1985    T              
1986    U              
1987    V              
1988    W              
1989    X              
1990    Y              
1991    Z/A

[Lew]

Is that a dirty mag on the floor lol ?  :lol:

[hamfist]

As Will has said, the only way to date something like that from Marshall is the speaker codes. If it has the original speakers, then you will be able to date it pretty much to the month.

If it doesn't have the original speakers then you are into an awful lot of guesswork, as Marshall chopped and changed all sorts of things so often. They used what they had on the shelves from month to month, so don't believe anyone who says they can accurately date a cab from looks and speaker type alone.

[viking]

Thanks guys !I guess i will have to open it..It has no backplate,Hunter.About the mag on the floor,i couldn't tell  :),it's an old pic already..Thanks for the code,Will!Btw,i don't know if Marshall had different cabs/speakers for their Bass amps and their guitar amps,but this one looks really huge.Much bigger than the regular guitar cabs from the 80's and 90's anyway.Could it be a bass cab?

[HTH AMPS]

67/68 was the transition year from pinstripe to basketweave and I believe '71 was the transition year to chequerboard (certainly the earliest I've seen myself).  Of course with Marshall back in those days there will be oddballs where they found some old tolex or fretcloth and stuck it on a 4x12 or you may find a cab with speakers that have date codes a few months appart, but in the main all my Marshalls have been fairly consistent in having the 'correct' features for the year.

Your cab appears to be a basketweave cab made somewhere between '68 and 70' imo.  The location of the gold piping and the metal handles back this up.  Pics of the back of the cab and of course the speakers would help pinpoint the date.

Oh, and before anybody lowballs you with an offer - don't accept anything less than £1500 if the speakers are all original.

[viking]

67/68 was the transition year from pinstripe to basketweave and I believe '71 was the transition year to chequerboard (certainly the earliest I've seen myself).  Of course with Marshall back in those days there will be oddballs where they found some old tolex or fretcloth and stuck it on a 4x12 or you may find a cab with speakers that have date codes a few months appart, but in the main all my Marshalls have been fairly consistent in having the 'correct' features for the year.

Your cab appears to be a basketweave cab made somewhere between '68 and 70' imo.  The location of the gold piping and the metal handles back this up.  Pics of the back of the cab and of course the speakers would help pinpoint the date.

Oh, and before anybody lowballs you with an offer - don't accept anything less than £1500 if the speakers are all original.

                                                                                    Thanks!This confirms what i found since i posted  8).I will def. look inside to check the speakers and take a pic of the back!It looks like nobody has ever open it.I'll let you know the results. :D  Cheers!

[WezV]

and i was going to say it was a pile of cr@p that needed sending to me for a disposal.... obviously i will have to charge you a £50 disposal fee ;)

[Machek]

The front cloth looks like 'basket weave' which I think replaced the 'pinstripe' around 1970, so I would guess it is early 1970s. You might be able to get a bit more accurate date by looking inside (speakers? labels?)

Here's a 1968 Marshall cab with the older pinstripe cloth (apologies for the terrible photo)

What terrible photo? It Rocks!!