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jonarobb
05-12-2006, 11:03 AM
Hey All,

Brand new to this forum but not to JBL's. I'm a guitarist using a 1970 Fender Twin Reverb. The original gray frame D120F's are still in this amp. Looks like one of them might have been reconed due to one of them having a paper cap and the other a heavily oxidized and rusty aluminum cap.
My question is, I want to bring these back to spec, reconing, etc... and I'm looking for practical suggestions.

Should I send them to JBL? They quoted me $162.00 per speaker. I'm concerned because I don't want any modifications done. I'd like the speaker to end up as if it was just the way it was designed.
Should I have one of these reconing places do it?

Thanks for reading my post!

SMKSoundPro
05-12-2006, 01:45 PM
I have been reconing JBL professional speakers for over 25 years. The shop I worked in and ran specialized in Fender amp refurbishing and hot-rodding.

I have literally reconed thousands of 120s, and I believe that it is best to have a JBL approved reconing service do the job with real C8r120 kits, or c16r120 kits for two in parallel.

I sent a E120 with a ferrite magnet to JBL Customer Service because of a shifted pole piece. They said it was not shifted? and reconed and sent it back. It is in perfect shape from the factory and sittng here as a spare for my 4602a Cabaret monitors. All told though, I have got over $350 in that one speaker.

The point is to STAY AWAY from aftermarket 120 kits. I think they are the wrong tool for the job.

Good Luck.
Scott.

edgewound
05-12-2006, 01:58 PM
I have been reconing JBL professional speakers for over 25 years. The shop I worked in and ran specialized in Fender amp refurbishing and hot-rodding.

I have literally reconed thousands of 120s, and I believe that it is best to have a JBL approved reconing service do the job with real C8r120 kits, or c16r120 kits for two in parallel.

I sent a E120 with a ferrite magnet to JBL Customer Service because of a shifted pole piece. They said it was not shifted? and reconed and sent it back. It is in perfect shape from the factory and sittng here as a spare for my 4602a Cabaret monitors. All told though, I have got over $350 in that one speaker.

The point is to STAY AWAY from aftermarket 120 kits. I think they are the wrong tool for the job.

Good Luck.
Scott.

Good post, Scott...I wholeheartedly agree. Anything less than factory JBL kits is a waste.

jonarobb
05-12-2006, 02:33 PM
Thanks...

I guess what I meant, is it advisable to let Northridge do the actual work or can I go w/one of the so called factory authorized places. I totally believe in using only the actual reconing materials from JBL and not some aftermarket kit. I'm very excited to get this done. After all the years of owning various Fenders this is the first set of D120's I can call my own.

As it stands now they are still playable, but i hear some serious ghost notes, and the paper of the cone literally has creases in it, etc... Furthermore, the amp itself is exceptional and having the speakers done properly, I feel only adds to the integrity of the whole package, not to mention it's going to sound freakin' outstanding!

johnaec
05-12-2006, 04:40 PM
Where are you located? A couple forum members, (including edgewound, above), are authorized JBL Service techs and go out of their way to do good work, especially for other forum members.

If none of our member techs are near you, maybe someone will know a good service center near you, (again- location?). The obvious advantage of having it done locally is that you don't have to worry about damage during shipment.

John

Rudy Kleimann
05-13-2006, 01:26 PM
Welcome to the forum!:applaud:

Read through http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=10456 This thread, titled "JBL D120 Reproductions" has a wealth of information about original JBL D1xx and D1xxF drivers, as well as Fender info, pics, and links that you will surely enjoy. There are posts from a lot of forum members highly knowledgeable in vintage JBL, including Mr. Harvey Gerst himself, the man responsible at JBL for designing the D1xxF Series way back when :cool: .

You may want to have both speakers reconed, as the original D-series cone kits have not been available for quite some time:( . IME, fellow forumite edgewound can steer you right on this topic, although I am sure there are others here.

If you have to ship 'em out to get the job done, find a Certified JBL Reconer on this forum to do the job. Keep it in the Family, so to speak.:bouncy:

Then, when you get those babies back up and running, :rockon1:!!!