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Post by briman on Jan 22, 2014 23:53:12 GMT -5
I have a marshall 4 x 12 cab with all greenbacks in it and have always found the bottom end to sound loose and not punchy compared to the spawn's I hear on youtube. It has been bugging me forever and I was thinking about gettting a new cab. I was reading up on the net how to improve your cab and decided to change the speaker wires to 12 gauge. The ones in there were around 22 gauge.... very thin....... thinner than spaghetti! I had already calked the inside of the cab to seal it tight 2 years ago so the wires was my last option before giving up on it.
So long story short........ I soldered in all 12 gauge wiring and then eagerly fired up my Comp. Holy Crow!!!! What a difference! The bottom is much much tighter and punchy and the mids seem to ring out more. I am so happy I tried this!!
The cab is all birch plywood except the back panel which is particle wood and I heard they did that to dampen the sound. I read some posts that say changing the back panel to birch plywood make it brighter and that also the pcb board for the plug that comes from the head is very flimsy and melt sometimes. I might try changing that and the back panel down the road.
So if any of you have a marshall cab with your splawn, check to see if you have those crappy thin wires in there. If you do, change em!! Also, calk all the front joints to seal it up tight. You will love it!
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Post by Ayton(e) on Jan 26, 2014 17:04:14 GMT -5
You sure it's not just confirmation bias? Tough to do a blind test with this kind of thing, I suppose. I do my own cab wiring at 16 gauge. Can't hurt to try 12.
I did tighten up my 1961 (I think!) by adding a rubber end to the tone post. At some point they stopped putting those on, but I don't think they changed the length of the post to compensate, so it didn't press hard against the back panel. Try that if yours is nekkit. I've read that the post pushing into the middle of the back panel divides it into four small panels, which have a higher resonant frequency than one big piece, thus sort of tuning up the low end.
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Post by briman on Jan 26, 2014 21:12:30 GMT -5
Hey Ayton! Good to hear from you. Been a while. After posting this, I took out the jack and pcb board that is attached to it and wired the speakers directly to a single jack. I had been hearing that this improves sound also. Well I did notice a difference but pretty small. Although I was happier with my sound since doing all this to my Marshall cab........ I found a guy in Montreal here selling a EVH 5150iii cab in mint shape. I offered him a straight up exchange for my Marshall with greenbacks and he said yes!
So now I am the proud owner of a EVH 5150iii cab and am loving it. It is night and day compared to the Marshall. The baffle was hanging on by a thread in the marshall and the baffle in the EVH is so strong and secure.... you could stand on it. Build quality is amazing. Built like a tank. It weighs about 20 pound heavier than the Marshall however. When I knock on the top or back of the cab with my knuckles, it makes a very tight high pitch sound and when I knock on the marshall it is very damp sounding knock like there is a thin piece of cardboard there between my knuckles and cab.
So when I plugged in my Comp...... it sound so much punchier, brighter and tighter. The speakers in it are the G12EVH's which are basically greenbacks but I think they have a bit more high focuse than my G12m's had. I am sure I will never buy a Marshall cab again. Cheap wires and connecter jack and wood.
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Post by briman on Jan 26, 2014 21:18:14 GMT -5
The wood is so much harder and thicker in the EVH. I could flex the back panel on the Marshall but the EVH panel won't budge. This whole time I have been questioning the tone of my Comp when it was the cab!!!! I never knew how much difference a cab and speakers make in your tone.
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Post by Ayton(e) on Jan 27, 2014 12:22:44 GMT -5
Yeah, when I started I just felt cabs were simple plywood boxes that held your speakers up off the floor. They are such a basic design, and everyone uses 3/4" baltic birch ply, it's like, how different can one be from another? Of course I found out. Dimensions, build quality, bracing, many things affect the tone.
Pleased you got where you want to be. I don't play my Marshall all the time, but I do think a certain woody looseness is part of their sound, more rock than metal, and some people love that side of them. Handy to have, though limiting if it's your only cab. All the gritty texture of a Splawn sure sounds great through a tight, punchy cab.
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