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Marshall 1984A and 1552 bass cabs

OneWayPunk

OneWayPunk

Jul 1, 2003
454
107
San Clemente, CA
#1
I have been thinking I would like to get my hands on a Marshall bass cab to put under my Sound City head. 2 of the cabs I am thinking about are the 1984A 4x12 cab and the 1552 2x15 cab. I really like the size and look of these cabs since they basically look like the Marshall guitar cabs. Have any of you played either of these cabs and what are your opinions of them?

Anyone got either of these cabs for sale in the So Cal area??
 
#2
I have a 1984A bass cab, and don't often meet anyone that knows of them... where did you hear of it? In 20 years I've only seen one other.
They're great cabs. The lower-mid voice is sweet as can be (under a tube head, of course).
I'm actually going to sell mine soon, along with some other gear, to make room for a new Berg NV cab. Too bad you're on the other coast.

Good luck in finding one... if you do you'll be pleased.
 
#4
There was some dude here in Phx selling serveral 4x12 and 15" Marshall bass cab models a few months ago on our local craigslist. (musical inst. section) He had a pic posted of a huge wall of them stacked up and claimed they all were definitely bass cabs. (I seem to remember $500-ea pricing)

I just ran a C/L search and they didn't pop up. You could try running a C/L "seeking" ad here and possibly find the guy still has some... I really wanted to check-em out but I'd just bought another amp at the time and forced myself to pass... :bawl:

ps:
They might have been posted here instead of C/L:
Link Removed
 
#5
Anderbass...
I saw that too. The guy had (in his garage?) six or eight Marshall cabs, in different states of condition. The 4x12 cabs (2?) were the later variety cabs though, not the 1984A cab. The ones he had are deeper, like the 15" cabs... either 16" or 18" deep IIRC.

There were also two eBay auctions, both within the last month or so, for older Marshall bass cabs. One was for the single 18" cab (again the deep model), and a 2x15" cab (deep as well)... I didn't catch that 2x15 auction until after the fact. Wish I could have taken that one home.
 
#6
Hi.

If the 1984A is the "regular" (same as the guitar cabs) depth bass cab, I ran that combination with a JMP1959 on top some 15 or so years ago. My 1552 had cast frame 15" Celestions, VERY good speakers for the money at the time.

It sounds loud and vintage, not too much deep low end, but definately good. And screams Classic 60's Rock'n Roll miles away. Well Marshall was pretty much all they had to choose from, loud and affordable. No-one had SVTs obviously, as none had been made until the very end of the decade.

The 1552 is some 150mm deeper IIRC, so the recessed plastic tubs and rear casters won't line up, but there's enough thread in the front ones in the 1984A to make the adjustment. I had split washers I secured there. About 15mm thick, the same depth as the tub, IIRC again.

Both cabs seem to be rather rare everywhere as Marshall bass gear doesn't seem to have been too popular in any time-period other than 60's and early 70's. Some might say: "Until something better came along".

Regards
Sam
 

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