Good thing Harvey's here!

[Regis]

I've been reading the various responses by Harvey Gerst to questions, both technical and general, as well as some of the submissions and frankly, I'm glad we get a chance to view his perspective on history, detail and insight on the world of JBL.

Heck, it's an education, just reading it! My thanks to our newest "junior" member!

[Mr. Widget]

Originally posted by Regis

Heck, it's an education, just reading it! My thanks to our newest "junior" member!

Ditto!

It is great to get the history and historical perspective behind these speakers that we love so much.

Widget

[Harvey Gerst]

I have to tell you that working at JBL during that period was probably one of the best times in my entire life. There are times when a group of dedicated people come together and it becomes a family. That was JBL during the 50's and 60's.

When you have people such as Bill Burton, Bart Locanthi, George Augspurger, Ed May, Howard Weiser, Ray Pepe, Johnny Edwards, Tony Pacheko, George Martin, Margaret Jackson, and a president like Bill Thomas, the impossible becomes possible.

It wasn't a job; it was a passion - one that we all shared. I can't begin to describe the feeling we all had for JBL during that period. You really had to be there.

Yeah, we had regular working hours, but we'd just stay there till whatever needed doing, got done. Bill Thomas would scold me when he caught me sneaking in on Saturdays and even Sundays to do extra stuff, but after a while, he finally gave up.

We were a family in every sense of the word. It was a privilage and an honor for me to be considered part of that group of people.

[Regis]

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and while my experience with JBL is from the outside, it's been an imbedded part of my life for decades. I often passed the plant on Balboa Blvd and often wondered what kind of speaker wizardry they were up to in there. I also had friends who worked there in the 70's. I brought my first set of speakers in Yokusaka Japan while serving in the USMC back in 1978, of course they were JBL's! A fine pair of L-65A's that my little brother still owns (and they still crank!). I paid $650 for them, or roughly half of retail back then. I was the only one who even owned a pair of JBL's in the barracks. What was hilarious were the challenges I'd get in the "Stereo Wars" we'd have in the barracks. Everybody thought the Bose 901's were "it" and of course I knew better. They'd look at the 24" inch high L-65's and sniff disdainfully, "them's little speakers", 'um, yeah..., but wait till you hear them'. I never lost a dB battle! Anybody else? When did you get your first pair of JBL's and what was your experience with them?