# difference between jcm 800 and jcm 900 cabs???



## tbwrench

can any one tell me the difference between the jcm 800 and jcm 900 4x12 cabinets? 

tone? speakers? design? like them or not???

I have a jcm 900 1960a and it doesn't sound as good as the straight bottom i have which just says lead on it.

thanks.


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## V-man

There's a very informative Marshall guide (hell of a coffee table book) I was perusing and it shows every change with cabs & heads on a year-to-year basis along with a history of an amp series. I was perusing it while waiting for a repair, so I can't give you more specifics today, but the type of speakers could have changed from year 1 to year 2, as well as the cabinet construction/materials/wiring.


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## jcmjmp

tbwrench said:


> can any one tell me the difference between the jcm 800 and jcm 900 4x12 cabinets?
> 
> tone? speakers? design? like them or not???
> 
> I have a jcm 900 1960a and it doesn't sound as good as the straight bottom i have which just says lead on it.
> 
> thanks.



They're pretty much the same construction. The speakers MIGHT be different though. Some early JCM800 cabs came with G12-65 Celestions.

If the speakers are the same, the difference is probably due to having more hours (broken in speakers) on the bottom cab, the bottom cab isn't aiming high frequencies into your ears because of the height etc.


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## coldsteal2

difference between jcm 800 and jcm 900 cabs??? 

speakers and age is all thats different


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## Purgasound

if it said jcm900 or 800 on the cab, all it means is that it was originally sold as a full set with the corresponding head. to buy a cab sold by itself it would just say 1960lead on it. they're all 1960 cabs inherently. the only reason speakers would differ depends on the year they were made. so no, there's no difference except for that faceplate.


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## WrenchDevil6

Agree that they're the same if the speakers are the same. If the slant "A" cab is too shrill or trebley for you, put a U-Haul blanket over the slant and turn it up a bit. 

Or get some EVM12L Black Label speakers and drop in it. EVM12L's are like duct tape. IMO, the only thing thicker, or at least as thick as the EVM's are the Eminence Legends in Vader cabs. But they're straight front cabs.

Or, you could do the old trick of turning your cab to face the wall. Total tonality change there.

Or...

You see where I'm going with this, right?


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## thrashforlife95

They both sound good thats for damn sure.


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## stargazer76

JCM-800 labled 4x12 cabs are loaded with the Celestion G12M70, JCM-900 cabs use the G12T75's. According to Michael Doyle, author of The History of Marshall, he prefers the 75's. (pg 49)


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## HOT TUBES 70

stargazer76 said:


> JCM-800 labled 4x12 cabs are loaded with the Celestion G12M70, JCM-900 cabs use the G12T75's. According to Michael Doyle, author of The History of Marshall, he prefers the 75's. (pg 49)



i have the book , its true.......

my 4x12 is a 1982 cab , originally came with 4 100 watt speakers ,said
to be a concert venue cab for large area coverage. sounds damn good
with 4 g12h 30's.


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## Gain Man

stargazer76 said:


> JCM-800 labled 4x12 cabs are loaded with the Celestion G12M70, JCM-900 cabs use the G12T75's. According to Michael Doyle, author of The History of Marshall, he prefers the 75's. (pg 49)


I have a 1960A cab labeled JCM800 and it is loaded with G12T-75's. I couldn't say for sure if these are original, but I guess they are since the cab is rated at 300 Watts. I am not quite sure which year it was built. It is possible though, that Marshall switched to the 75's sometime during the production years.

The main difference apart from the label is, that with the JCM 900 labeling Marshall introduced the stereo switching and multiple ohm settings to their cabs. These have two input jacks, allowing you to run the cab at either 16 ohms or 4 ohms, or when set to stereo, you could use both inputs at 8 ohms each.
The JCM800 labeled cabs only had one input jack and the cabs were running at 16 ohms only.


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## psphill27

tbwrench...i don't mean to sound like an ass, but do you have your ohms set right? That would make a difference, but I'm sure you have it set right...sounds like you know your gear.

I have a JCM900 cab and I love it. I also had a couple JCM800 cabs in the '80s...I think both are equally good cabs. NOW...I have noticed with some cabs you can get more "bottom end" with a straight cab as apposed to a slant. That might be part of the issue. And like mentioned earlier, it could be that the angled cab is aimed at you ears more and giving you an edgier sound. Just some thoughts...


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## Ken

HOT TUBES 70 said:


> i have the book , its true.......
> 
> my 4x12 is a 1982 cab , originally came with 4 100 watt speakers ,said
> to be a concert venue cab for large area coverage. sounds damn good
> with 4 g12h 30's.



Do your speakers say "Marshall" on the back, Celestion, and not much else; not even a model number? That's what mine are. I'm told Celestion supplied these only as original equipment. If you needed to replace one it had all the model info on them and looked completely different.

Ken 

Also with a 1982 and 30 watt speakers.


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## Purgasound

The History of Marshall: The ... - Google Book Search


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## jcmjmp

stargazer76 said:


> JCM-800 labled 4x12 cabs are loaded with the Celestion G12M70, JCM-900 cabs use the G12T75's. According to Michael Doyle, author of The History of Marshall, he prefers the 75's. (pg 49)



My 1985 JCM800 slant cab came stock with G12T-75s
My 1983 JCM800 slant cab came stock with G12-65s


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## jasonclarkkent

Saw this was an older thread, but I have the same question. I am looking at a Marshall 1960A, but the badge reads "JCM800, LEAD SERIES." Pictures show Celestion G12T-75 Speakers date-coded to 1990. They say it is wired for 16 ohms.

One or two people on some threads have suggested a different type of wood was used, but again, on a couple - most posters are saying there is no difference in construction.

Then when I went to Guitar Center, three close-to-mint used cabs, two 1960A, and one 1960B ranged in price from $400 for the regular 1960 cab, and then 500 and 650 for the 900 and 800 series labeled cabs respectively.

Is this based on an assumption the speakers were of a different quality based on the year of the make, or on the 800/900 difference?


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## Ken

jasonclarkkent said:


> Saw this was an older thread, but I have the same question. I am looking at a Marshall 1960A, but the badge reads "JCM800, LEAD SERIES." Pictures show Celestion G12T-75 Speakers date-coded to 1990. They say it is wired for 16 ohms.
> 
> One or two people on some threads have suggested a different type of wood was used, but again, on a couple - most posters are saying there is no difference in construction.
> 
> Then when I went to Guitar Center, three close-to-mint used cabs, two 1960A, and one 1960B ranged in price from $400 for the regular 1960 cab, and then 500 and 650 for the 900 and 800 series labeled cabs respectively.
> 
> Is this based on an assumption the speakers were of a different quality based on the year of the make, or on the 800/900 difference?



That's a somewhat rare cabinet...a 1990 still carrying a JCM 800 badge. I would question if those G12T-75's are original.


GC probably priced them by the speakers they contain. All "JCM 900" cabs have G12T-75's which are excellent speakers but also the most common. (Rare in an 800 cabinet though.) Thus the cabinet's cosmetic condition is the value on the used market for the 900's. 

"JCM 800" cabinets can have at least 5 different speaker types in them and all are excellent, especially if it's a 1982 model as opposed to a 1960 model. Yes, Marshall badged both some 1982's and 1960's with a JCM 800 plate. A minty "JCM 800" cabinet is more sought after than any 900 cabinet in similar condition, and GC's pricing reflects that.

Note that there are 1960 cabinets with premium speakers as well; I've not seen one with a "JCM 900" badge, but I don't know for a fact there aren't any.

Ken


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## axe arsenal

A JCM 800 labeled cab with g12t-75's is definately not rare.
I got one from 1989, two from 1986, and one from 1984 (I think this was the first year).
I hear a difference in sound between both (B) cabs from 1984 and 1986; the 1984 has less bass projection, I can say that it isn't caused by the speakers because I have changed them and the difference is still present. 
In fact, I haven't got a cab that sounds the same as another.. including my 1992 cab (and obviously my 1978 with blackbacks).
I have come across quite some "mistakes" in that book (History of Marshall).


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## GIBSON67

The stereo switch in most cabs has phenolic traces like computers so they are not hard wired, whereas the 800's just had a mono swith and were hard wired. I have no experience with those Marshall cabs. But I did have a Peavy Tweed 4x10 and when I hard wired the speakers for mono, then cab came alive. At least to me. Just something to think about.


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## hankerman

just picked up a JCM 800 LEAD 1960 according to gold badge in bottom left corner.its got G12T75's on board, slant front,fawn material over face. speaker code says its April 1985


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## Clammy

Construction-wise, there's no difference. Speaker-wise, there's plenty. There were also different badging on the 800s

This is what i have seen personally over the years:

JCM 900 1960 cabs all came with G12T-75 speakers. All the cabs had "JCM 900 Lead Series" corner badges.

JCM 800 1960 cabs came with G12-65s, G12-M70s or G12T-75 speakers. The cabs had "JCM 800 Lead Series", or "JCM 800 Lead - 1960" corner badges. (There were also 1982 cabs that came with G12-80 or G12H-100 speakers, that had the "JCM 800 Lead Series" corner badge.)

I'm sure I haven't personally seen every variation, so there's likely more differences out there.

I personally find that straight (bottom) cabs sound better than slants with the same speakers. So the difference in sound between your 2 cabs is due to design, not construction.

Cheers!


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## axe arsenal

Clammy said:


> Construction-wise, there's no difference. Speaker-wise, there's plenty. There were also different badging on the 800s
> 
> This is what i have seen personally over the years:
> 
> JCM 900 1960 cabs all came with G12T-75 speakers. All the cabs had "JCM 900 Lead Series" corner badges.
> 
> JCM 800 1960 cabs came with G12-65s, G12-M70s or G12T-75 speakers. The cabs had "JCM 800 Lead Series", or "JCM 800 Lead - 1960" corner badges. (There were also 1982 cabs that came with G12-80 or G12H-100 speakers, that had the "JCM 800 Lead Series" corner badge.)
> 
> I'm sure I haven't personally seen every variation, so there's likely more differences out there.
> 
> I personally find that straight (bottom) cabs sound better than slants with the same speakers. So the difference in sound between your 2 cabs is due to design, not construction.
> 
> Cheers!


Hey Clammy, how do you explain this : I have 3 JCM 800 B cabs, all with GT 75's (1984, 1986, 1989) and there is one that has more bass (the 1986).


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## Clammy

axe arsenal said:


> Hey Clammy, how do you explain this : I have 3 JCM 800 B cabs, all with GT 75's (1984, 1986, 1989) and there is one that has more bass (the 1986).



No idea really, but just as the individual amps themselves often had their own tone/sound, the cabs could/would too. I'd say wood density is probably at play in your case.

Cheers!


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## axe arsenal

Yes, I guess that could be it.. The difference is so obvious that even a non musician like my brother hears it.. strange!
Thanks for the answer.


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## jackassrock

Like I said in the other thread, size matters. The B cab has more square inches of space, thereby allowing more bottom end. It's speaker box 101. The type of speaker matters too, A 75 watter will handle more wattage than a 65. It will take more power to break it up, this allows for more clean headroom for bass frequencies.

Also, there's the angle of the speakers, like the doppler effect. The straight cab will blow the sound out right about at waist and ankle level, where the angled one will send it higher up towards your ear, allowing you to hear the actual sound coming from the speaker better than you hear the bassier "room" sound from the other type.


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## Beccaio

My 1982 came with G12M-25s


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## jackassrock

I have those same speakers in my Yamaha 4x12. LOVE!


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## paul-e-mann

jackassrock said:


> Like I said in the other thread, size matters. The B cab has more square inches of space, thereby allowing more bottom end. It's speaker box 101. The type of speaker matters too, A 75 watter will handle more wattage than a 65. It will take more power to break it up, this allows for more clean headroom for bass frequencies.
> 
> Also, there's the angle of the speakers, like the doppler effect. The straight cab will blow the sound out right about at waist and ankle level, where the angled one will send it higher up towards your ear, allowing you to hear the actual sound coming from the speaker better than you hear the bassier "room" sound from the other type.



When I first got my half stack it had the angled cab. It projected the sound right into my ear which I didnt like so I sent the cab back for a straight cab and no more earache. I did notice the straight was bassier. All relative; your eq and presence knobs will adjust the sound to your liking.


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## Clammy

Beccaio said:


> My 1982 came with G12M-25s



That would be pre-JCM 800.

Cheers!


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## ces

Clammy said:


> That would be pre-JCM 800.
> 
> Cheers!



my 75-76 1960 came with "blackbacks". It was pretty rough cosmetically, and GC San Fran wanted a fortune for it... But i bought it anyway. I have a 75 JMP50 on top and it sounds unreal. I'm reading this thread because I'm about toi buy a JCM800 badged 1960B cab and wanted to know if the G12t-75's that are in it are original. Looks like they probably are, since they came with those. (among others) but i had to post to say thank you for all the amazing info i found here. this one thread had more info than a few other sites combined! thanks again for that!


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## wiredog73

i have a vintage 1982 jcm800 cab (labeled 1960 on the back plate) and i was pleasantly surprised find it loaded with G12-65's. through this forum, i found out just how sought after those speakers are. i have since learned that some of the few early jcm800's were loaded w 65's, but many are loaded with 75's. since jcm900's came later, i doubt they have 65's in them but only way to know for sure is to open the back.


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## tbwrench

G12M-70's in my 1982 JCM 800 1960B cab.


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## radiomatts

American Viking said:


> if it said jcm900 or 800 on the cab, all it means is that it was originally sold as a full set with the corresponding head. to buy a cab sold by itself it would just say 1960lead on it. they're all 1960 cabs inherently. the only reason speakers would differ depends on the year they were made. so no, there's no difference except for that faceplate.



Well, that and the fact that JCM 800 cabs are in mono, and JCM 900's can be run in stereo.


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## Matte

Hello there! 
I'm not quite sure if this thread is the right one, but i came here looking for exactly the "difference between jcm 800 and jcm 900 cabs" as this thread is labeled. I was looking for a replacement for my speakerbox that was stolen, but due to the variety of them it is not as easy as i thought. I had to leave it in another city after moving, because i had no free space to take it with me, so i can't remember all the details of it, but here is what i remember: 

280W and a faceplate labeled "jcm x00 lead - 1960" (not sure if 800 or 900, which makes it just that hard to figure out), it has a switch at the back, but i can't remeber if it was for resistance or stereo-mono switching (is there even a resistance switch at marshall speaker boxes, or do you switch by changing the input jack?). Oh right, and it had an angle-front. From what i learned from you all in this thread and according to "the history of marshall", it might be a 1960av with vintage 30's, but then the faceplates i have seen on them won't match with the one from my old speakerbox, or a 1960a with g12m70's (1983-1986), but i couldn't find out if that one has a switch at the back. If so, i think it's actually that one, but well, here is were your concentrated knowledge is in demand: 

Is the faceplate purely cosmetics or will there never be a 1960av labeled "jcm 900 lead - 1960"?
Is it so, when there is a switch at the back, that this has to be the stereo-mono switch, which would implicate, my speakerbox is a 1960av (for the other one being only mono)? But then again, the faceplate issue...

Sorry for the long post, but i'm rather helpless here right now, and wanted to make sure you understand my problem.


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## Ken

Matte said:


> Hello there!
> I'm not quite sure if this thread is the right one, but i came here looking for exactly the "difference between jcm 800 and jcm 900 cabs" as this thread is labeled. I was looking for a replacement for my speakerbox that was stolen, but due to the variety of them it is not as easy as i thought. I had to leave it in another city after moving, because i had no free space to take it with me, so i can't remember all the details of it, but here is what i remember:
> 
> 280W and a faceplate labeled "jcm x00 lead - 1960" (not sure if 800 or 900, which makes it just that hard to figure out), it has a switch at the back, but i can't remeber if it was for resistance or stereo-mono switching (is there even a resistance switch at marshall speaker boxes, or do you switch by changing the input jack?). Oh right, and it had an angle-front. From what i learned from you all in this thread and according to "the history of marshall", it might be a 1960av with vintage 30's, but then the faceplates i have seen on them won't match with the one from my old speakerbox, or a 1960a with g12m70's (1983-1986), but i couldn't find out if that one has a switch at the back. If so, i think it's actually that one, but well, here is were your concentrated knowledge is in demand:
> 
> Is the faceplate purely cosmetics or will there never be a 1960av labeled "jcm 900 lead - 1960"?
> Is it so, when there is a switch at the back, that this has to be the stereo-mono switch, which would implicate, my speakerbox is a 1960av (for the other one being only mono)? But then again, the faceplate issue...
> 
> Sorry for the long post, but i'm rather helpless here right now, and wanted to make sure you understand my problem.



If your old cab said "1960 AV" or some such vintage marking on the faceplate, it had the V 30's it was an AV; if not it would have said "1960 Lead" or "JCM 900". The 800 cabs did not have the switch on the back, so that wasn't it. The mono/stereo switch models are impedence selectors as well depending on how you hook it up: 4 or 16 ohms mono or 8 ohms stereo. They are on all 1960's starting with the 900 series. (The Hendrix 1982 reissues are mono). 

If you are sure it was 280 watts than it didn't have V-30's as they are 65 watts and would have been 260 watts. Maybe it was 260 watts since your not too sure about it?

Ken


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## LAARS

hey guys,
correct me if I'm wrong, but didnt Marshall add the screw in the middle of the back panel on the JCM900s, connecting the brace to the back. By screwing that brace to the back panel, you loose the bottom end from the back. If you look at old Marshall cabs, they don't have the middle screw. 

Remove the middle screw, take the back off, and put a piece of rubber on the brace where it contacts the back so it doesn't vibrate, and put the back of the cab back on. See if that makes the cabs some closer. 

Trace at Voodoo told me about this, and it made a big difference in how my JCM 900 4 X 12 sounds.


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## Clammy

Matte said:


> Hello there!
> I'm not quite sure if this thread is the right one, but i came here looking for exactly the "difference between jcm 800 and jcm 900 cabs" as this thread is labeled. I was looking for a replacement for my speakerbox that was stolen, but due to the variety of them it is not as easy as i thought. I had to leave it in another city after moving, because i had no free space to take it with me, so i can't remember all the details of it, but here is what i remember:
> 
> 280W and a faceplate labeled "jcm x00 lead - 1960" (not sure if 800 or 900, which makes it just that hard to figure out), it has a switch at the back, but i can't remeber if it was for resistance or stereo-mono switching (is there even a resistance switch at marshall speaker boxes, or do you switch by changing the input jack?). Oh right, and it had an angle-front. From what i learned from you all in this thread and according to "the history of marshall", it might be a 1960av with vintage 30's, but then the faceplates i have seen on them won't match with the one from my old speakerbox, or a 1960a with g12m70's (1983-1986), but i couldn't find out if that one has a switch at the back. If so, i think it's actually that one, but well, here is were your concentrated knowledge is in demand:
> 
> Is the faceplate purely cosmetics or will there never be a 1960av labeled "jcm 900 lead - 1960"?
> Is it so, when there is a switch at the back, that this has to be the stereo-mono switch, which would implicate, my speakerbox is a 1960av (for the other one being only mono)? But then again, the faceplate issue...
> 
> Sorry for the long post, but i'm rather helpless here right now, and wanted to make sure you understand my problem.



Sounds like a JCM 800 1960A cab loaded with G12M-70s to me (assuming the badge with the wattage rating was correct).

Cheers!


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## Clammy

LAARS said:


> hey guys,
> correct me if I'm wrong, but didnt Marshall add the screw in the middle of the back panel on the JCM900s, connecting the brace to the back. By screwing that brace to the back panel, you loose the bottom end from the back. If you look at old Marshall cabs, they don't have the middle screw.
> 
> Remove the middle screw, take the back off, and put a piece of rubber on the brace where it contacts the back so it doesn't vibrate, and put the back of the cab back on. See if that makes the cabs some closer.
> 
> Trace at Voodoo told me about this, and it made a big difference in how my JCM 900 4 X 12 sounds.



Not sure when that started, but I have an early 90s JCM 900 1960B cab without the center screw, and I used tioo have an early 90s A cab, also no center screw. Pretty sure that didn't start until the JCM 2000 ear at the earliest.

Cheers!


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## shooto

LAARS said:


> hey guys,
> correct me if I'm wrong, but didnt Marshall add the screw in the middle of the back panel on the JCM900s, connecting the brace to the back. By screwing that brace to the back panel, you loose the bottom end from the back. If you look at old Marshall cabs, they don't have the middle screw.
> 
> Remove the middle screw, take the back off, and put a piece of rubber on the brace where it contacts the back so it doesn't vibrate, and put the back of the cab back on. See if that makes the cabs some closer.
> 
> Trace at Voodoo told me about this, and it made a big difference in how my JCM 900 4 X 12 sounds.


 
^ interesting...true?


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## hacksaw

I have a 800 and 900 cab from early 1990s I bought brand new and they do have the screw in the middle of the back for the post. 1960a lead, 1960ax and 1960av all have center screws

The 800 is built a little better. The center post is most of it. The 800 center post is rock solid. The 900 center post is STAPLED in < sucks!! I found the center post in mine was was loose when changing speakers. I drilled a couple angled holes in the center post to put in screws through the post and into the baffle. Much better now.


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## LAARS

shooto said:


> ^ interesting...true?



If your wondering, take a look at a 1970s Marshall cab.... No screw. 





inside of old marshall





Now look at this cab made by Avatar...... see the leather wrapped on the brace? its to keep the brace from rattling, but allow the back of the cab to resonate.






Made a big difference it my JCM900 1960 cabs...... Must be a reason why others are doing the screwless brace, and the leather.

Marshall started adding the screw because as the wood got dry, it would shrink, and then rattle.......Problem is, you screw in the back, and now you don't let the back resonate. 

Take it for what its worth...... Took me 10 minutes, and my cab sounds a lot better. More THUMP!!


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