Reloading a Marshall slope cab... advice requested...

[Highlander]

I've gone down the 2 speaker route; I may go to a 2nd pair at a later point - so I ordered 2 Eminence 75watt 8 ohm Governor's from Thoman (in Uwe-land) - I found reference (more than one) during my research to mixing Wizard or Governors with old "greenback" Celestions - obviously, my Marshall is a "guitar" cab, and these are "guitar" speakers, but for the sound I've predominantly been happy with, going for it...

Soon as arrived I'll post on the repairs - going to strip the speaker mounts and probably fit some kind of mesh grill in place of the "basket-weave", sprayed black, of course - not going for the purist route and stripping back to re-cover...

[Highlander]

Speakers are in - work to do...

[godofthunder]

Can't wait to see/hear the results !

[rahock]

Interesting choice using guitar speakers. I've never used Eminence guitar speakers for bass, but in general, I've never had any luck using a guitar speaker for bass . I've tried it a few times and have successfully shreaded Altec, JBL, Jensen cheapos, and personal best record of blowing a Celestion in one note/one second .
I don't mean to frighten you  with this becsause I know a lot of people who have had good luck running guitar speakers. I am not one of them
Rick

[nofi]

my sound city head and cabs were for guitar and i never had a problem. the bass i had at the time was a 68 tele so not the hottest pickup around. that may be why they worked so well.

[rahock]

All the guitar speakers that I blew were of older design and very responsive free moving types . I know that was a major reason for my tale of woe
What did you have in that Sound City?
Rick

[nofi]

to be honest back in those days i didn't care as long as it worked.

[Highlander]

iirc Sound City speakers were Celestion - I did have an old pair of "upright" styled cabs with the open slot down the back - got them when I bought a PA cheap and used the head as my bass amp for a while until I blew a transformer - then got the Hiwatt and used them with that until they died, also used a WEM 215 with the Marshall...

I've predominately used guitar speakers, the Celestions that are in the cab are guitar speakers, afaik, but when I strip the cab down I'll post a pic or two, I guess...

Dave (Mr Hiwatt - RIP) Reeves used to be employed by Sound City, which is why there is a similarity in design between them and the Hiwatts...

Just as a point re the instrument and pups, I used to be running the Thunderbird with a Peter Cook Custom pup and a DM MB1, and a pre-amp I built myself from some old plans, so it did "bark" quite a bit, and the RDA with all the bells and whistles until they burnt-up on re-entry, so I did push them...

I will eventually post some stuff - there are some studio recordings (4) I made with the Peter Cook in '88 that were recorded DI which will give a reasonable impression of her sound, plus some (dodgy) video I got from this year to give some before/after comparrison - something I'll do in my "spare-time..."  I'll also post the fretless RD for a sound image, too...

[Highlander]

Changed my mind... just ordered some "salt-and-pepper" for the front...

[OldManC]

Changed my mind... just ordered some "salt-and-pepper" for the front...

I think they'll look better that way. I wouldn't have mentioned it otherwise, but I think (hope?) you'll like the grill cloth better as well.

[Highlander]

That's what was on her originally... just rotted in the "old" shed... (hangs head in shame...)

Not going to recover the cab - just spray black (again)

[Highlander]

The salt & pepper's in so I hope to start stripping the cab soon... just found out I've got no staples... for that matter, I'm not sure where the staple gun is, post the shed rebuild...  typical me...

[OldManC]

I usually find out I'm missing something only after I need it and spend a fruitless half hour looking for it.

[Highlander]

Part one of three...
Got a chance on a very wet evening to start stripping the old beastie down - posting this in stages - she's presently a pile of parts...


The preview to the STRIP... yep... she's a bit of a wreck, but she's been in the family since the late 70's... the only significant bit of tolex left is (nope, woz, now...) the last pic...


Insides... I had to do a quick fix when I got her back operational - one of the speakers (lower left) was a bit scratchy at first - so I did a temp mod - all the old red/black wiring was junked and I connected everything via a "choccyblock" to enable a "quick repair" (read discon) - works fine...


next out were the big ol' metal handles...they should clean up quite well as the "handles" are bollted each side...

[Highlander]

Part two of three...
Some pics are slightly out of sync (not bothering with Photoshop, George... ) but it gives a better narrative...


The wheels were fitted shortly after I got her, with types commonly used on commercial catering racks - lose the surround and the "locking peg" becomes a "nut"... the holes were drilled out and some of the original "shaft remains in place... the wheels had to come off as they protrude throgh the front - I used a 11/4" inch hole cutter to allow for the "nut" - these will be blanked at the back during the rebuild... The loose strip of wood in 1st pic secures the base of the front in place... - the rather "scraped" condition of the base is evident in the 3rd picture...


Removing the front is not an easy task - this is a friction fit - you can see the remains on the original "salt and pepper" cloth on the edges - not sure if I'll replace the white trim, or re-use the original - I elected to strip the remaing tolex - no point in being sentimental...