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JBL Dog
05-21-2006, 10:56 PM
I recently picked up several vintage JBL cabinets. One of the C37 grilles had a brass logo I haven't seen before. Can anyone out there give me an idea when JBL used this logo?

TYIA

:D

glen
05-22-2006, 01:20 PM
Can anyone out there give me an idea when JBL used this logo?
TYIA
:D

Hi Dog,
It seems like JBL used this "L" exclamation point logo for a relatively short time around 1955/1956. It was this version of the logo used on the first D130 "foilcals". This would have been after the big swoopy script "L" decals and before going to "JBL" in the dot of the exclamation point which is on many classic drivers and cabinets.
http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=14949&stc=1&d=1145247754

Yours is the first example I have seen using this logo with the brass emblem which is more common with the later "JBL" in the exclamation point.
Even this C34 cabinet with the "L" exclamation point decal did not have a matching brass emblem:
http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=15812&stc=1&d=1148275666
It has a sales receipt from a Miami dealer dated July 10, 1956, and by that time the N1200 crossover network in the same cabinet already had a decal with the "JBL" exclamation point.
More about that cabinet in this post:
http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=112437&postcount=126

JBL Dog
05-22-2006, 02:53 PM
More about that cabinet in this post:
http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=112437&postcount=126

Thanks Glen,

I looked in the JBL Library on the LHS and noticed the 1956 brochure had this version of the brass logo on the C39 Harlan, but no other speakers. All indications it was in production for a very short period of time. I thought about throwing the logo out on eBay. There's probably a few collectors out there looking to complete a set. It would have been fun to watch the bidding war. But, the wifey put the brakes of that. The speaker is in real nice shape and she wants to keep it.

It appears the C37 Rhodes with an 001 system was produced at the same time as the C34 you've referrenced. The serial numbers are very close. 2119 and 2283 for the 175's. 126 and 284 for the N1200. I'm not sure about the 130A on the C34, but mine is 11577.

It looks like there was a lot of transition going on at JBL around that time. One thing I noticed about the 175DLH in my C37 is the components did not match. The 1217-1290 HL had the old Jim Lansing decal and the 175 driver had the black plate for the ID tag. I don't think the original owner was responsible for this. My guess is JBL had old stock of 1217-1290 HL's and just attached them to the new-look 175's.

I would also guess the same held true with the brass logo on the C37 I have and the decal on the C34. Out with the old before bringing in the new.