Marshall “black” vintage levant/tolex

[Tortuga]

I’ve got two Marshall speaker cabs and a plexi headshell that are all covered in a material that’s not as black as more modern Marshall gear (ie: my DSL and JCM800 headshells). It’s more of a dark green.

Anyone know where to buy the vintage-looking material? I’m probably going to be covering a headshell for my JMP project, and want it to match with my 1960AX cab.

[greatmutah]

Couldn't find much domestic but look into this from Tube Amp Doctor in Europe. Not sure about your specifc cabs but take a look and compare.

https://www.tubeampdoctor.com/en/black- ... olex?c=135

EDIT: Mojotone too:

https://www.mojotone.com/British-Style- ... Tolex-54-W

[Tortuga]

I purchased some "British Emerald Green" from Antique Electronics last year, which I think is very similar / same to what Mojotone sells in that link you posted. It's definitely green - unfortunately, too much so... the stuff I'm looking for is almost more (very dark) gray-green than actual black, but you don't really notice it until you put the older gear right up against the newer stuff.

I think I need to order some swatches from the various sites and see what the "Black levant" actually looks like. Hard to believe there's not a lot out there about this - I can't be the only one (or one of only a few) who have noticed the difference in color - especially with my aging, shitty eyesight.

[greatmutah]

There’s definitely a difference. My Metro stuff is less black than my Marshall 1960A and my Egnater amp head (which uses Mojos Black Levant I believe) so… I don’t know. I’ll reach out to George and see if he can tell me where he got his when he did the replicas and Metroplex.

[GuitarBilly]

Are you sure it's not just color fading from years of use/exposure on your older cabs/headshell? My 1987x tolex is definitely black and the same as the tolex on the 800, 1960A and even 900 I had. The DSL100H is different, probably due to being made in Vietnam.


In addition to their own tolex, Mojotone sells the Marshall OEM tolex:

https://reverb.com/item/2823033-genuine ... 3wQAvD_BwE

[Mike Oxhuge]

I've seen a few pristine Vintage Marshalls and never noticed them looking greenish?

[Tortuga]

The three cabinets I have are a 1960AX and a Hendrix Plexi reissue headshell (both made in the last 20 years, I’d guess), and an actual vintage (1960s, from what I’ve been told) 4x12 that’s been re-covered.

All three have that same green hue.

My DSL and JCM (reissue) headshells are all VERY much black. The difference is pretty noticeable when they’re next to each other. I’ll try to do a photo to show it, but is not exactly a black and white difference that’s easy to capture.

The mojotone guy seemed to know exactly what I was talking about - apparent there’s a green layer under the black that does show through. He indicated that the actual material is proprietary to Marshall, and the exact stuff isn’t made available.

I would love to know the supplier used by the person who re-covered the speaker cab. Gonna have to check with my contact again and see if it’s possible to reach out to them.

[ibenhad]

Colorblind here and Greens kill me but is this what your looking for? I have 2 late 70's JMP's and they are definitely not the same Black as any of my newer Marshall cab coverings.

https://guitarcabinetsdirect.com/cabinets/british-emerald-green-bronco-levant/

[Tortuga]

Pretty sure that similar to the green stuff I bought last year, which is definitely green (not the black with green hue that Marshall appears to have used). I’ll try to get some photos this weekend that’ll show the differences, and include the emerald green material I bought, for comparison.

[Tortuga]

Ok... here's some photographic evidence of said greeeeeen...

This is the Jimi Hendrix Plexi head and my 1960AX. I'm pretty sure both were made in this century. The color & pattern are extremely close in shade and hue. Pretty easy to see how the black handle contrasts and makes the green come out.



I don't have my DSL head on-hand, so I'm showing my JCA50H sitting on the 1960AX. The Jet City tolex is pretty much same black as the DSL, just not as shiny.



Here's the roll of Emerald Green tolex that I bought last year. It's MUCH greener than the 1960AX

[GuitarBilly]

I do see the JCA being blacker than the plexi but I don't see green.
I see the JCA being jet black and plexi being "light black"? I have partial color blindness so that is probably the reason for it.

My 1987x tolex is the same color as your plexi/1960 cab. Definitely not as black as my DSL. But I'm staring at it right now and again no green.

Interesting story, when I got out of college in the 90s I decided I wanted to get a pilot's license and get a job flying private jets. I applied to flight school and on the first day they gave me a vision test where I had to see numbers in some colored circles and I failed it miserably. That's how I learned about my color blindness lol

[MacaroniSalad]

Fuck, I don't know. My only Marshall is purple

[itchyfingers]

I'll take "Obsessing over shit that doesn't matter" for $800, Alex.

[Tortuga]

“Shits gotta match”

[fretless]

Use red or purple for that head.

[Tortuga]

Use red or purple for that head.

Dude... this has me SERIOUSLY considering purple

That could be it

[GuitarBilly]

Use red or purple for that head.

Dude... this has me SERIOUSLY considering purple

That could be it

Please stop

[greatmutah]

Use red or purple for that head.

Dude... this has me SERIOUSLY considering purple

That could be it

Please stop

[Tortuga]

[Tortuga]

Not sure I can dig this color combo, as much as I wanted it to work

[Tortuga]

...meanwhile, the awesome dudes at Mojotone sent me some swatches (for free) of the 4 contenders they sell:







I'm pretty much down to picking either the Marshall or Levant, with the Marshall texture (and color, depending on the lighting) seeming to match a bit better. It's amazing how the Levant color seems to blend in on the straight-down shot - however, I think it's more because it lays so flat (it's more flexible/thin) that is causing it to look that way.

Either way, I think I've got a close-enough option now

[GuitarBilly]

I'd go with the Marshall since it seems to be the best match for the texture pattern. The color difference will be imperceptible 99% of the time. Maybe in a room with white fluorescent light. Maybe.

On a stage or practice space, not a chance.

[Tortuga]

Yeah - it’s definitely the one I’m going with. My son confirmed it for me today.