EC Collins Pinstripe grill cloth

[goldtop0]

Amps all have a tone signature. Odd that you ignore or actually discount the value of things like grill cloth that can certainly contribute to the voice. That "muffled" sound or top end roll off is a good thing.

I can appreciate what you're saying Eric and I got some EC cloth in the end and installed it on my 1962HW in '22, the amp originally had the fawn grille cloth and has olive green tolex.
My EC fabric is not as rubbery as on the original 1962HW reissue from a few years earlier that I tried and is still here in Auckland.

 

[Wilko]

I hadn't seen a real pinstripe in so long it was before I had a clue about what I was looking at. I do remember thinking the amp sounded old and muffled. I was about 16 and it was just about a 15 year old amp. Sounded weak and muffled to my wanna be rock and roller ears. The "real Marshall" stack is what I thought was cool. It seemed to have a thick dark tone compared to the amps I had access to. JC-120, Fender Twin Reverb and my Polytone!

I"m much more sensitive to the contribution that cabinet construction and grills make on the vintage gear.

 

[goldtop0]

Was never exposed to vintage amps and cabs down here in NZ, there was/is virtually nothing in the country, so it's all been in the last 30 years of travelling to the USA and playing/owning the reissues.
First one was the 1962 combo that M put onto the market in the late '80s, prior to that we imported the JCM800 series, they were the first Marshall amps and cabs to come into the country in the mid '80s.