Musicman ported 2x12 guitar cabinet...

[Mertmo]

Hi all!

Here's the deal:
Yesterday I finally entered the world of "grown up" guitar amps by purchasing a 1968
Fender bassman head. Totally overjoyed! I've been happily playing two pro juniors since
they first came out in '93. That's a long time. They are always great, but they have
finally gotten pretty ragged and I got tired of the tube rattle that they make.

Long story short, playing in a new band with guys that have "real" amps. My little
toy stereo rig just wasn't going to cut it. So enter the Bassman, which is SO COOL!
Perfect for me, not too clean... big open fender love.

But it needs a cabinet. I have a couple options that are only OK: the blue alnico
speakers from my original tweed pro juniors are now housed in two Marshall 1x10 cabs.
The cabs that came with Marshall's little mini-stack from the late 80's with the cool 12
watt solid state head. I tried the bassman powering both of those and it's only... meh.

Other option is I have an Epiphone valve junior half stack with a 1x12 at 16ohms.
Nice Celestion speaker in that cab, out of a Marshall 1960 reissue cab. Bassman head
into this cab sounds pretty damn good, but only when the cab sits by itself. Put the
head on top: lame sound. Put the head underneath: lame sound. Practically
speaking that's just not gonna work. Plus I'm afraid it won't be loud enough during
the heat of a real show.

SO: ONTO THE QUESTION

There is a Musicman ported 2x12 cabinet at the store where I bought the Bassman.
It's the cab I was listening through when I was checking out the amp. Sounds
pretty fantastic. Loaded with Celestion greenbacks. Only $250, which seems like a
pretty good deal. I love that the speakers are a good distance off the ground due to
the ported bottom. It's on wheels, and actually a pretty light cabinet for it's size.
Looks great with the bassman, has a similar silver/blue grill cloth. Seemed to have a
bit of a buzz somewhere in it when I hit certain lower notes....

Basically, it seems like a great cab for the new amp, but I thought I would see what
the GS community thinks.
I have read that these amps do like the greenback speakers...

Don't know what ohmage the cab OR the amp are rated at.

You guys got any experience with the MM ported 2x12 cabs?
How worried should I be about the buzz? If it's unfixable that would be a dealbreaker.

Also, I'm broke so I'm going to have to trade both the Marshall mini-stack
(english made and wrapped in white tolex. awesome) AND the epi valve junior half
stack, which looks beautiful. It might be a bummer to lose both these mini rigs, but
I need a real rig, and let's face it these two are only so useful. Especially since I still
have two Pro Juniors. (which both need repair currently)

I'd love some thoughts on the MM cab, I really couldn't find much on ye olde interweb
about them.

Thanks everyone, and sorry about the long winded post...

[kafka]

Originally Posted by Mertmo2

Sounds pretty fantastic ...Only $250

That kind of seals the deal now, doesn't it?

Buy the cab, find out where the buzz is, and fix it. It'll be something like a loose screw or something that needs to be glued. If it's a broken baffle board, get a coping saw and make a new one for less than $10.

[Mertmo]

Thanks for the perspective, Kafka. Good advice.

Found some other stuff to trade instead of the mini guitar amp rigs.
Off to make the deal!

Hopefully I can post some pics later...

[Mertmo]

Got the cab! My guy at the store sat with me and we figured out the buzz. Both
speakers had pinholes near their edges. And as it turns out neither one were greenbacks.
Both were some other Celestions, I don't know what. Tiny magnets on them.
He promptly grabbed two Celestion G12T-75s off the shelf and just installed them in
the cab for me for free!!!! Both were used but in great shape. WOW.

Holy crap, this rig sounds so so amazing and massive. REALLY loud. At least,
compared to what I'm used to.
Damn, I can't believe I waited this long in my guitar
playing life to actually get a real rig. I'm pissed at myself and giddy all at once.

The amp does need a once over, it's got some crackly crackles going on, and it's slightly
hissy. Nothing extreme enough to make it unplayable at all, but I'll be taking it to a
tech before too long for a recap/general service.

And the amp and cab go together visually so well, it's silly how cool and vintage this
thing looks!

I'll post some pics later, right now I'm going back to the studio to play it some more!


Oh yeah, and bonus: I didn't let go of either the Epi valve junior half stack or the
white Marshall solid state mini-stack.

I actually finally have an amp collection.
YEAH-YUH

[kafka]

Sounds like a good deal. Yeah, the crackles indicates it needs a recap. The hiss could be old carbon resistors, or it could be old tubes. The old silverface Fenders are great amps. That's what I grew up on. They can really move some air.

[Mertmo]

Man you aren't kidding about it moving some air. It's LOUD. Like compress the air in
the room loud! Never had that before. It's positively huge, what a rush! Just played
for hours, man I'm so happy it's ridiculous. Some of the best guitar tone I've ever
heard up close and in person, I can't believe it's mine!

Had to put some foam under the head to decouple it. The cab has a slick spray painted
surface, and the whole thing was humming enough to make the head slide around on
top of the cab! Took the nameplates off of everything, I like the clean look without
them.

Got inspired to clean up and restring my favorite guitar, which has been out of service
for a while. Epiphone sheraton II.

Pretty much had a religious experience guitar day...

PICS!! (sorry for the cell phone camera)

[nedorama]

Congrats on a great amp and cab purchase! A drip edge silverface bassman is a great find.

On the amp, be sure to replace the power cord to a 3 prong and have the "death cap" and grounding switch removed; you'll also want to replace the filter caps, as after 42 years they're toast. Neither will affect your tone, but may get rid of some of the noise and will reduce risk of electrocution.

If the cab is fairly resonant, you may want to stuff it with insulation/batting, which will keep the rattling down to a minimum. This was standard on the old Fender cabs; but I don't know what they used - I'm sure you can google it to find out.

Another great item for decoupling the amp cab from the floor (when it starts vibrating everything in the room) is the Auralex GRAMMA - works wonders for playing at home.

[Mertmo]

Thanks nedorama! Good tips, I appreciate it.

I'll ask my tech about the "death cap" and ground switch... sounds scary.

My salesman at the store already replaced the power cord with a nice long heavy duty
grounded cable.

As far as decoupling from the floor, it's already on casters...? Anyway, there's no
playing this amp at home. Holy god, every neighbor around would lynch me. And
they're ALL musicians!

Band practice in one hour, they are going to freak out when they see and hear it.
WOO HOO

[alkooloid]

Easy on the Jerri Kurl, bro! Let it look as old as it is! Yuk.

There's some other easy mods to make her sound badass - blackfacing is a good start. Get a couple THD Yellow Jackets and some JJ EL84s. Much more house friendly and opens up a world of really cool tones.

Speakers will radically change the vibe too - a couple of Weber Blue Dogs would really make you smile.

Congrats on your 1st real amp!

BTW - measure the amp re the Yellowjackets - they're about 5.5" long or so with the tubes installed. But they will make your amp much more Voxy. There's also a set called "Triodes" which will bring the output down to like 5 watts - VERY COOL!

[rogerbrain]

Originally Posted by Mertmo2

Hi all!

Here's the deal:
Yesterday I finally entered the world of "grown up" guitar amps by purchasing a 1968
Fender bassman head. Totally overjoyed! I've been happily playing two pro juniors since
they first came out in '93. That's a long time. They are always great, but they have
finally gotten pretty ragged and I got tired of the tube rattle that they make.

Long story short, playing in a new band with guys that have "real" amps. My little
toy stereo rig just wasn't going to cut it. So enter the Bassman, which is SO COOL!
Perfect for me, not too clean... big open fender love.

But it needs a cabinet. I have a couple options that are only OK: the blue alnico
speakers from my original tweed pro juniors are now housed in two Marshall 1x10 cabs.
The cabs that came with Marshall's little mini-stack from the late 80's with the cool 12
watt solid state head. I tried the bassman powering both of those and it's only... meh.

Other option is I have an Epiphone valve junior half stack with a 1x12 at 16ohms.
Nice Celestion speaker in that cab, out of a Marshall 1960 reissue cab. Bassman head
into this cab sounds pretty damn good, but only when the cab sits by itself. Put the
head on top: lame sound. Put the head underneath: lame sound. Practically
speaking that's just not gonna work. Plus I'm afraid it won't be loud enough during
the heat of a real show.

SO: ONTO THE QUESTION

There is a Musicman ported 2x12 cabinet at the store where I bought the Bassman.
It's the cab I was listening through when I was checking out the amp. Sounds
pretty fantastic. Loaded with Celestion greenbacks. Only $250, which seems like a
pretty good deal. I love that the speakers are a good distance off the ground due to
the ported bottom. It's on wheels, and actually a pretty light cabinet for it's size.
Looks great with the bassman, has a similar silver/blue grill cloth. Seemed to have a
bit of a buzz somewhere in it when I hit certain lower notes....

Basically, it seems like a great cab for the new amp, but I thought I would see what
the GS community thinks.
I have read that these amps do like the greenback speakers...

Don't know what ohmage the cab OR the amp are rated at.

You guys got any experience with the MM ported 2x12 cabs?
How worried should I be about the buzz? If it's unfixable that would be a dealbreaker.

Also, I'm broke so I'm going to have to trade both the Marshall mini-stack
(english made and wrapped in white tolex. awesome) AND the epi valve junior half
stack, which looks beautiful. It might be a bummer to lose both these mini rigs, but
I need a real rig, and let's face it these two are only so useful. Especially since I still
have two Pro Juniors. (which both need repair currently)

I'd love some thoughts on the MM cab, I really couldn't find much on ye olde interweb
about them.

Thanks everyone, and sorry about the long winded post...

I kind of skimmed the post ..but the music man with celetians is probably 8 ohms .. that will work fine with the bassman .. as will 4 or 2 ..I have had several bassman heads they are not fussy and I have never managed to burn one up as hard as I have tried

r

[alkooloid]

I have a pair of ported MM "15 cabs - real nice! Look great with Blackface Fender stuff.

[Mertmo]

Easy on the Jerri Kurl, bro! Let it look as old as it is! Yuk.

Huh? you totally lost me here... did I mention changing the look? (aside
from removing the logos...?) anyway...

Thanks for the rest of the advice! didn't realize I could change tubes and get
a lower wattage output from the amp, that's cool. I might have to try that,
it's still way too loud for band rehearsal, even after:

I have actually removed one of the speakers from the cab. So now it's a
1x12 ported AND "detuned"... Sounds fantastic, and even at 16 ohms it's still loud as all hell,
although thankfully it is a bit quieter than before. The cabinet just sounds huge no matter
what, it fills the room with massive sound. I played a recent gig with my
Epiphone Valve Jr head into this cab and I was *plenty* loud. Also did some
recording last weekend with the mini Marshall 12 watt solid state head.
421 in front of the ported cab. Sounds incredible recorded, it's shocking
actually...

I love the Fender head, but man... the Musicman cabinet was the REAL score

[Mertmo]

Ahh, the yellow jackets are tube converters, not tubes.

cool, never knew that product existed, thanks!! sounds like a great solution.

[alkooloid]

Sorry - I was calling Armorall Jerikurl. That was probably done buy an enthusiastic seller. Yeah, the Yellowjackets are way cool - if you try out the triode ones, let me know - very cool to turn a 50 watter into 5! If you do, consider getting a real crappy 10 or 8 inch speaker in a bad enclosure, like what they used to hang in dept. stores for their PA - I love sticking a mic right up to something like that - or you can put it right next to your face and get to rock out and not freak out your cute cat!

[Mertmo]

I guess in those pics, the amp does look armour all-ed. But it's only an
illusion, in real life it's dirty and scrappy just like it should be.
The cab, however, was refinished by someone with a fairly high gloss black
spray paint. No covering at all, just painted.

I think the triode's might be too much, I do still want to compete with a
full band. Just not overwhelm them.

the cat, "Mister Juicy", is hilarious. as soon as the guitars come out, he's like
"screw this, I'm out of here."

[alkooloid]

Don't kill me, I'm about to redo one of my MM 15" cabs convert to 12", and cut out a section in the back and make it semi-closed. It's ported in the front, but I want it to breath a little more.

Yeah, cats and noise... they prefer ninja stealth.

[carbonsystem]

Originally Posted by Mertmo2

Got inspired to clean up and restring my favorite guitar, which has been out of service
for a while. Epiphone sheraton II.

Pretty much had a religious experience guitar day...

PICS!! (sorry for the cell phone camera)

That's a great guitar, I've got the same one, and just bought a bassman 50, recapped and moderately blackfaced. Pretty rockin set up. Would love a proper cab though.

My bassman 2/15 cab buzzes like a mother when it's loud. I use it for bass too though, sounds awesome. jUst buzzes..

[davidlincoln1]

Originally Posted by Mertmo2

Man you aren't kidding about it moving some air. It's LOUD. Like compress the air in
the room loud! Never had that before. It's positively huge, what a rush! Just played
for hours, man I'm so happy it's ridiculous. Some of the best guitar tone I've ever
heard up close and in person, I can't believe it's mine!

Had to put some foam under the head to decouple it. The cab has a slick spray painted
surface, and the whole thing was humming enough to make the head slide around on
top of the cab! Took the nameplates off of everything, I like the clean look without
them.

Got inspired to clean up and restring my favorite guitar, which has been out of service
for a while. Epiphone sheraton II.

Pretty much had a religious experience guitar day...

PICS!! (sorry for the cell phone camera)

Your new amp looks great! I'm so glad you like it. Playing through equip. we enjoy lets the creative process get in gear. Best wishes!

[Mertmo]

Weird, I was just posting about my cabinet in a "detuned" cab thread, as I
have taken out one of the speakers, making it a 1x12 detuned and also ported
cab!

Sadly, I had to leave the band I bought this rig for. 3 years of intense focus
and hard work, but it just wasn't going anywhere anymore. Too many cooks,
and sadly I was the one too many. Rough.

Haven't even turned that amp on since March.

But I've gotten to use the cabinet with my Epi junior head on a couple of
occasions, and it's awesome. Actually, whatever I plug into the cabinet
sounds fantastic! The Fender amp is amazing, but the cab was the real
score!

Now if only I could find a way to play it more...

[Mertmo]

Wow, I forgot that I had already posted about the detuning, and the last
show/recording with the cab and epi head/marshall practice head.

Sad that I haven't played this rig at all in that long. Ugh.
But I do have another show coming up next week with that same band.
Not the band I left, by the way, a different thing that only happens every
few months. Thank god for that at least.