1960A Review

The Marshall 1960A produces a loud, well-focused, and uncluttered sound with a tight, full low end and a crisp, bright top. Excellent for players who don't want to muddy-up their effects. Loaded with G12T75 Celestion 75W speakers.

Features:	9
Sound:	8
Reliability:	8.8
Impression:	8.3
Overall rating:	8.5
Users rating:	7
Comments:	14

overall: 9.8

Featured review by: MGuitar24, on december 08, 2008

Purchased from: K&S Music

Features: My cab was made in 2007. It is very versatile in my opinion... Some say that it is just built for metal. That is true in the sense that it has a really great low end sound but the high and mid range isn't bad by any means. You can get almost any sound out of it if you have the right equipment I.e. pedals and eq on your head. I use a Marshall MG 250 combo amp to power it stereo through the back. It puts out 100W. It is solid state and I have to give the credit to it for the great metal sound that I get with it. I don't use any pedals just the amp and it's digital effect settings. // 10

Sound: I play a ESP ltd deluxe ec-1000 with Seymour Duncan passive humbuckers. They are sweet. The bridge is the best sound. It isn't too hot like some and the low end of the amp makes it sound great through this cab. Sometimes if you use too many pedals I get a little buzz but that is to be expected and may have to do with my amp too not the cab. The cab can handle a good clean sound. I have played a tele through it and it sounds good. My guitar on the neck is the way to go for clean but the sound isn't amazing it could be better but that is just because of the guitar. A different guitar would be better suited for a clean sound. // 10

Reliability & Durability: I think this cab is pretty dependable. The only design flaw is the handles. They feel cheap and are really light. When you lift it you almost feel like you might break them. I have used this cab for many shows loading and unloading though and haven't had a problem yet. The casters seem to be pretty good they make it really convenient and I'm pretty sure they come stock on this cab. // 9

Impression: My overall feeling about this cab is that it is amazing! It is a perfect match for a metal sound. If you have a decent head you should be able to eq it perfect for that sound too. I chose this cab because I wanted to upgrade from a combo amp without having to get a head and a cab. If I was going to by a cab powered by my combo amp (which was my plan) it had to be Marshall because of the way that they wire the speakers in stereo. So I found this amp and I am very pleased. I would recommend it to anyone. // 10

overall: 7.5

Reviewed by: SG6578, on february 02, 2009

Price paid: $ 400

Purchased from: Ebay

Features: I guess the only way to describe this is... a cab is a cab. Mine was made in 1993 and is actually a JCM-900 960A. It can connect to either 4, 8, or 16 ohms. I can be switched to stereo, but only in 8ohms for each jack. Mine had Celestion GT-75's with it. I use mine for practice and also gigs. Overall, the features are pretty good, I just wish it had better casters. // 9

Sound: I used mine with a Squier Telecaster with Seymour Duncan pickups. I played it through a JCM-2000 DSL-50 on classic crunch mode. I mostly played alternative and punk (RHCP, Muse, Rise Against, The Living End, The Distillers, ect... ). Overall it was a pretty quiet cab, any noise I experienced was a crappy input jack on the Squier. The thing that I absolutely loved about this cab was that it could handle just about any watts and volume that you threw at it. I could play at full tilt on 50 watts and it would still remain very clean and crisp. That being said, it's not a cab that you want to use for home use. It doesn't sound very good when playing at lower volumes. I had a pretty good sound out of my cab, but it lacked bass response and tone. In conclusion, just make sure your bass player has a loud amp. // 6

Reliability & Durability: The actual construction of this cab was top notch, as are most Marshall cabs. I had the back panel off a few times and found that it was held together with dovetail joint and glue (makes for a VERY strong build). The problem that I found however was not the construction, it was the quality of the material. The tolex on these cabs is absolute junk. I had to watch my cab on every gig to make sure that someone didn't bump into it because the tolex would rip all the time. // 8

Impression: This is a great cab for classic and hair rock. I've been playing for about 5 years now and so many people tell me that Marshall is the way to go for amps and cabs. I don't believe it anymore. Marshall carries a lot of history and a good word with their company, but I really don't like their products. If this cab was stolen I would not buy another, I would probably save up and buy a Mesa or an Orange. I loved the look of this cab, but I didn't love the sound. Almost every artist has a stack of Marshalls behind them, I think I would rather play with Mesa's. // 7

overall: 8

Reviewed by: RicardoB, on may 26, 2008

Price paid: $ 423

Purchased from: Craigslist

Features: I purchased this cab used, it is the JCM900 version and was made in 1995. It comes with the Celestion G12T-75 Watters for 300 Watts total. The amp is switchable from 4 to 16 ohms and has two inputs so you can use the cab in stereo. Mine came with casters, and I would highly recommend them if you don't want to scratch up the tolex while moving it around. The one negative with this amp is the plastic handles which crack around the screws. For the price, it should come with metal handles like the early Marshall cabs. // 8

Sound: 300 watts should be able to handle any head you want to use with this cabinet. In one sense, I wish it had a combination of these speakers and Vintage 30s or the G12H, but that would lower the total wattage significantly, and might limit your choice of heads. Anyway, these speakers have a nice bottom end and decent upper registers. This cab, with these speakers, is built for metal but it handles any other style you throw at it, with the right amp of course. // 8

Reliability & Durability: The cab is well built but the handles, like I said should be metal, and the plastic corners could also be metal as well. Marshall has enough money not to skimp on these minor details. The casters are pretty much essential but I've heard of a lot of people's breaking, or being lost. The cab weighs in at about 85 pounds, which is a little on the light side for a 4X12, meaning the wood thickness is not up to par with some other cabs (Mesa and Orange). I was able to unload the cab, solo, from my trunk with out too much problem. If you take care of it, you shouldn't have any problems besides the tolex and grill cloth ripping. // 8

Impression: I bought this because I wanted to look cool... haha, but seriously I love the classic look of a Marshall cab, and it looks funny with my Orange Tiny Terror sitting on top of it. One thing I wish it had was the Vintage looking grey grill cloth, which in my opinion looks so much cooler. I'm not really a metal head so for me I wish it came with the G12H speakers (which sound the best) but then the amp would only total 120 watts. In reality, I wish there was some middle ground. If it was stolen (you can't really lose a 4X12) I wouldn't pay the full price to replace it. In actuality I like the look of the Vintage Tall better, but for the price that you pay to get one used (usually less than $500) I would replace it for sure. Mine was in terrific shape, besides the handles, and at the price I paid, I wouldn't hesitate to replace it. // 8

overall: 8.8

Reviewed by: reggie119, on january 21, 2008

Purchased from: Mountain Music

Features: This cabinet was made in 2004 I think. It has 4 Celestion G12T 75 watt speakers. It has a (4 or 16 ohm) mono/stereo switching mechanism. Other then that those are the only features of it. I purchased my cabinet used for $678.00 Canadian which is not bad. I recommend people to buy this cabinet if they want to upgrade to a half stack. // 9

Sound: I use a B.C. Rich Mockingbird NJ classic series guitar and I use a Marshall AVT 100X as the head, only until I upgrade to a Marshall JCM 800 head. This Cabinet suits any type of style of music from country to death metal. I play hard rock, blues, and metal, and it sounds great. My Mockingbird makes the amp produce a heaver bass sound because it is a neck through guitar. This cabinet is a beast! It's very loud at half and it's huge weighing 80 pounds. the clean channel sounds amazing on this. It's clear and loud. The distortion is a bit muddy, but it all depends on what amp head yo have. I'm thinking of replacing two of the celestion G12t-75 for Celestion Vintage '30s which will produce a much tighter sound. Kirk Hammett has the exact same thing, Two Celestion Vintage '30s and two Celestion G12T-75. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I can depend on this Cabinet no problem! The handles are well put together making it easy to carry it around. I bought it used and it was in very good condition! It is built with solid wood which hopefully wont break. I hope this cabinet will last me years down the road. // 10

Impression: Like I said before I play hard rock, blues, and metal and it suits it perfectly. I've been playing for 3 years and I'm not bad. I wish this cabinet came with wheels on it so it would be easier to move around. If it was stolen I would probably buy this cab again but put Vintage '30s in it. // 8

Comments

[shredder_666]

I think that it can ALMOST be universally agreed that this cabinet (a or b no matter on that) is THE number one guitar cab in the world. People's opinions vary on heads but this cab is the most popular cab in marshall and world history (i have one)

[HELLSHREDD]

I agree with shredder , this cab speaks a universal language & it says ''Im # 1"", i personally think it is the best sounding cab in the world.

[solitudes stevo]

its so true though: you CAN play anything on this badass peice of cab. got one aswell and there is truely nothing better

[MGuitar24]

Ricardo hit the nail on the head when he said that this cab has a "nice bottom"! This amp has a great low end wich makes it great for a metal sound although i think it is so versatile that with the right pedals and eq on the head you can get almost any sound you want!

[DiveRightIn63]

1960A gets me hot in the pants.

[Multiplayerjon]

Could I Hook this up to my MG100dfx Amp?

[aznrockerdude]

Eh, not that great, I wish I would've gotten a Mesa 2x12 instead..

[Whiskey Tango]

I own won as well. Always get compliments on my sound on stage which I attribute a lot to this cabinet. Nice crunch! Plenty of lows.

[MGuitar24]

Multiplayerjon wrote:

Could I Hook this up to my MG100dfx Amp?

Hey dude...um to answer your question you can for sure! Im not really sure how the speaker is wired in that amp but the MG250DFX that i have has two twelve inch speakers and the outputs to the speakers are a left and right with two separate leads for each speaker so it is wired in stereo. Since yours only has one speaker it probably has one lead coming out into the speaker. What you do is you just get the cab and buy a male to male mono lead. And plug one end into the amp and the other in to the left (mono) input. If that is the case with your amp than you could power any cab. I was limited to marshall because of the stereo wiring. My amp is 100W and handles powering the cab no prob. Idk about the amp you have though it is 100W but it is really meant for one twelve inch speaker. But then again my amp is only meant for two but it sounds great through my cab. Best thing to do is take it to a music shop that has the cab and test it out. See if it works and if you like the sound. It saves you alot of money if you can just get a cab to make yourself louder instead of buying a head and cab. Other than that if you want send me a friend request and I will post some more pics of my set up to show you how I plug all the shizz together.

[FNAFJ]

do NOT get this cab if you're planning on using it with a Peavey 6505, seriously... I made the mistake v.v

[DIBGuitarist]

Will it be worth getting this cabinet for use with my Vintage Modern 2266C? The cab has a power rating of 300 Watts, and the VM combo only produces 50 Watts, would the combo be able to fill out the speakers?
Cheers

[TriviumFan717]

Would this cabinet be a good mix with a Mesa triple rectifier? From what I've hear, it seems like a good investment.

[reggie119]

DIBGuitarist wrote:

Will it be worth getting this cabinet for use with my Vintage Modern 2266C? The cab has a power rating of 300 Watts, and the VM combo only produces 50 Watts, would the combo be able to fill out the speakers?
Cheers

Get the 100 watt head instead, it has more balls to it!

[SeanX3187]

TriviumFan717 wrote:

Would this cabinet be a good mix with a Mesa triple rectifier? From what I've hear, it seems like a good investment.

It's an amazing mix.
Mesa cabs usually have celestion speakers so it would sound virtually the same.
Also, the 1960 is a hell of a lot cheaper than Mesa cabs.
I think if you want the best tone, get the 1960AV/BV
V30s are the way to go.
But if you're interested in how the combo of Triple Rec and 1960, listen to Sing Sing Death House, an amazing album by The Distillers.
Judging by your username, it's not your cup of tea, but you can appreciate the guitar in it.
The song "Young Crazed Peeling" is available to listen to on YouTube because it has a music video in which you can clearly see the combo.
Good Luck.