1960b: particle board vs birch

[Chris4189]

Is there really that bigger of a difference between the two tone wise? I have a 1960 “100” cab and the baffle is Baltic but the all the rest is particle board. I’m considering getting a Mojo or Mather but is it REALLY worth the money and is there REALLY that bigger of a difference? Speakers always seemed to make a bigger difference to me.

 

[Lance Chambers]

huh?

 

[Chris4189]

huh?

Some people say the all birch cabs sound better then the particle board ones and some people say there isn’t that big of a difference. So is it worth getting an all birch one?

 

[Lance Chambers]

All 1960 cabs are made of Birch

 

[Chris4189]

All 1960 cabs are made of Birch

Mine isn’t. The baffle is birch but the rest is particle just like the rear panel.

 

[Lance Chambers]

Mine isn’t. The baffle is birch but the rest is particle just like the rear panel.

Picture?

 

[Chris4189]

I’ll post some in the morning.

 

[Metroman]

I thought they were Birch too???

I had Mather make a recreation of a 1966 JTM45/100 TVB Cabinet with EC Collins Pinstripe cloth. Loaded with 4 1972 Celestion G12M 75hz/25w. 100% 5/8 Baltic Birch.
Best sounding cabinet I could hope for of this type.
Amp is a LTD ED Metro GMP45 head.

 

[Cadorman]

Depends on the sound you want. MDF is acoustically dead, which is what you want for music reproduction from a stereo.

Playing guitar you are creating the sound. MDF will be dull and will mostly only let you hear the drivers. Birch will be a little brighter and resonant. A pine cabinet will even give you more liveliness. Just depends what you want your sound to be.

 

[john hammond]

Depends on the sound you want. MDF is acoustically dead, which is what you want for music reproduction from a stereo.

Playing guitar you are creating the sound. MDF will be dull and will mostly only let you hear the drivers. Birch will be a little brighter and resonant. A pine cabinet will even give you more liveliness. Just depends what you want your sound to be.

i haven't seen a post in these forums i agree with more.
mahogany will color it too.

 

[SkyMonkey]

But bubinga would probably be going too far.

 

[Adrian R]

Is there really that bigger of a difference between the two tone wise? I have a 1960 “100” cab and the baffle is Baltic but the all the rest is particle board. I’m considering getting a Mojo or Mather but is it REALLY worth the money and is there REALLY that bigger of a difference? Speakers always seemed to make a bigger difference to me.

I've made custom Baltic Birch back panels for two separate 1960 cabinets. One was for a 2005 model, the other was a mid 80s model. Both times I noticed a brighter, tighter improvement. My Jubilee 2551AV cab came with a Birch back panel.

 

[Chris4189]

So I feel like a dumb ass right now.

Took the back panel off to take photos and once in the sunlight, I now see that it is in fact birch. The lighting in my “music room” isn’t the best and the interior of the cab has some kind of black overspray all over it which makes it feel uneven and ruff which led me to believe it was particle. I took a rag with some lacquer thinner on it and while the black over spray isn’t easy to remove it’s definitely birch under there.

 

[Adrian R]

All 1960 cabs are made of Birch

Except the back panels. Many are made of MDF. I think *most* of the vintage cabs feature Birch back panels. But then a member posted saying his AV cabs were MDF too...Either he was mistaken, or Marshall uses whatever they have on hand.

 

[Kutt]

Is there really that bigger of a difference between the two tone wise?

1. Particleboard and MDF are two different things

2. I went down this path a few years ago after learning that my 1936 was made of MDF. It's perfectly serviceable but I must admit there is a tonal difference between ply and MDF. I prefer ply because the cabinet resonates. Marshall changed the 1936 back to ply sometime around 2012 by most accounts. I'm guessing there was a reason for it.

 

[mk2 steve]

Except the back panels. Many are made of MDF. I think *most* of the vintage cabs feature Birch back panels. But then a member posted saying his AV cabs were MDF too...Either he was mistaken, or Marshall uses whatever they have on hand.

You’re talking about me. I had an AV and BV at the same time... the BV was all ply, including back panel. The AV was ply apart from an MDF back panel. Both were mid 2000s models.

I used to work for a timber / lumber company, so am very familiar with what woods they were made of and what those woods look like. I suspect they use whatever they have on hand.

 

[Adieu]

But bubinga would probably be going too far.

Only until November 26

...or not? DO amplifiers/cabs fall under the new instruments exemption?

 

[dragonvalve]

MDF has a more consistent resonance to it over solid wood or even ply. The ideal speaker cab would be made of cement but that would be impractical to move.

The tighter the cabinet is, the less acoustic work the speaker has to do on the cabinet and can produce a truer sound, more efficient use of amp watts.

Think of the speaker as a high-dive springboard athlete who would launch better if the diving board was stiff enough to launch them rather than flimsy.

The diving board is the cabinet in this case.

 

[charvel2]

It's my understanding that Marshall started using MDF for the backs of the 1960 cabs around '71-'73. Would imagine they did some R&D and found they could put a little more money in their pocket with out it effecting the tone by a noticeable difference. I've considered making plywood backs for my cabs but decided not worth the effort. The time would be better spent improving my playing!(lol)

 

[BanditPanda]

Audiophiles choose MDF specifically because it is " acoustically dead". That is to say MDF does not resonate = color the sound.
If a guitarist wanted to hear, shall we say the " purest " representation of his guitar and the woods from which it is constructed, the strings , cables, amp and speakers not to mention his own touch then MDF would be the way to go.
That is why audiophiles utilize MDF. No resonance and no tonal coloration. Their goal is too get as close as possible to purity in sound reproduction.
Of course the majority of electric guitarists prefer a non MDF closed speaker cabinet, as in plywood or birch or pine because those woods DO resonate and color their sound reproduction in a way that they feel is an enhancement to the / their sound / tone.
Of course there are other pros and cons that come into play with the use of MDF or ply /pure woods in cabs.
BP