Looks like a great '74, 1935 model bass cab. Everything looks original to me, although the plastic corners and skid trays were not usually on around early to mid 70's, when they did use them I think they were rivets not screws. Bit confusing in the post which is Vinsanitizers cab but there looks like a couple of things wrong with that one.
Agree. Looks like a really nice 74 cab in original condition. Original wiring and castors. Price you paid was fair in my opinion, you did well. Nothing wrong with RIC cones, I like them. Just a different sound to the pulsonics. Doubt the cover is original, but if you want to keep the cab in good condition definitely use it. They did use pozi screws on the plastic hardware, the rivets came shortly afterwards. The Vinsanitizers cab is non original. Got to watch out for cabs like that, see them all the time on reverb.com with the seller claiming all original.
You did well with 1200$ shipped, if you don't have coil rubbing speakers. Congrats and take good care of it
Thanks! How will I know if I have a coil rubbing issue? I’m fortunate to live in a house where my son and I can dime out the Marshalls, so if there’s a particular type sound I would be able hear related to coil rub, then I should be able to hear it, right?
If you've dimed your Marshall and can't hear any issues then it's unlikley you have any major speaker problems. Personally I'm a perfectionist and like to get each speaker out of the cab and check each one individually.
I still have the back off, so I could take a look at the frontside of the speakers. What would I be looking for other than rips in the cone or the the dust covers blown off?
The most common problems are coil rub, and failed glue at the spider support. This might help: https://www.bygonetones.com/how-to-test-a-vintage-celestion-greenback-speaker.html 2 potential issues before you do anything: You will have to remove the wiring to do it properly. There is the argument that removing original solder joints affects value and collectability. Personally I think it's more important to know that the speakers are in good order, rather than preserve the solder joints and have potentially crappy speakers, but it's your call. If you have to, solder them off rather than cutting through it, and be as neat as possible. Don't go melting the plastic speaker covers etc, it's very easily done, those magnets are strong and will pull your soldering iron into them if you get too close. Another issue is the speakers might be stuck to the baffle. Don't try to pull them out with brute force, you will tear the cones from the frame. Make sure the speakers are 100% loose when you take them out. Use something thin to get underneath the gaskets, like a palette knife. Obviously be very careful not to damage the speakers. To check loose spider support just brush your finger upwards against the edge and see if it lifts off. Like this: To check for coil rub press lightly around the front edge of the cone, and also from underneath to check the outward movement. Like this: Ideally you want to play through each speaker individually. Loudly, with something like a 15w to 18w amp near dimed.
Thanks for the videos! Honestly I did know what checking the spider was. It makes me think I might to go through my vintage cabs now.
I predict a future of a lot of beginners ruining some nice speakers and vintage cabs doing this. I can understand doing this in a few cases, but this seems at least to me a bit excessive if you don't detect any issues. I think Bygone Tones is an exception since he is a business and deals with a volume of product most others will not. But for a cab like this... na. Something else not mentioned here is how easy it is to poke a hole in a beautiful vintage speaker from the mounting screws when re-mounting if not perfectly lined up. Also, human nature's tendency is to "crank" down on the mounting bots/screws of a speaker when re-mounting or checking on the inside of a new to them cab, but this can deform the frame and cause speaker rub and other issues. They should not be tightened much at all. Lastly, it is also human nature to want to fix or correct things that actually aren't really any issue while in there so we feel things are "right" or "at their best", but I have seen many blunders futzing with things that could have and should have just been left alone. in the 50+ that have passed through my hands in the past 30 years, only 2 have had any coil/speaker rub and one had the glue come away from part of the frame which I easily and cleanly re-glued good as new. If you do this, follow Bygone Tones directions and warnings to a T and expect you may make a mistake that will make things worse than if you had just left well enough alone.
I was actually thinking a bit of the same thing. I already had a lot of speakers in my hands and I don't get nervous anymore from picking up 300-400€ speakers and checking them for lose spider or coil rub. But I do remember the first speakers I ever took out of a cabinet many years ago, those were 15" Eminence speakers from the 70s, I poked a hole in both of them with my fingers, by not being knowledged and confident on how to manipulate them. Lesson 1 (learned the hard way): put the cab on its back
Plastic corners and skid trays came in 1973. Plastic handles in 1971 or 1972 (though there was some use of metal handles into 1973 like there was basketweave grill), rivets were not used on the plastic corners until 1976, but were used on plastic handles (and I think the skid treys) until 1975. These are good basic guidelines to help rough dating cabs. There are so many more like magnet cover colors, grill, wheels, etc. on 1970 through 1976 cabs which prove challenging to many. If the speakers are original as they appear to be in this cab, simply date the speakers to find the year of cab when all these things look to be correct. The OP's cab looks pretty darn good and spot on for a 1974 year. Especially with the grey and tan backs. The vinyl cover is an original, but probably not to that cab. It looks to be a 1976 or so cover... I had a few myself.
I understand where you're coming from. Yes if you are a 'beginner' or the clumsy or impatient type of person then don't meddle with vintage gear, but that goes for amps as well, then you don't kill yourself! It takes patience and a steady hand, or expect some damage. You want to keep any 'meddling' to a minimum of course, especially on rare cabs or mint condition cabs. I've got cabs here I haven't messed with at all, one is a mint sound city herringbone grill. I wont be fiddling with those old speaker bolts, I know what a nighmare they can be when they turn in the wood. You can do some checks with the speakers still loaded in the cab though. You can do a very basic outward cone movement with your hands and feel around the spider support a bit, or run a tone generator straight into the cab. The main one is to play through it nice and loud. 50 speakers with only 1 of them having coil rub though? You are either incredibly lucky or prehaps just not as perfectionist at testing them as I am. Although if you are going back 30 years, there were likely less faulty speakers around then.
