JBL D130 v90 Speaker ??

[KenTone]

I have a friend who e-mailed me the following message & question ....

"About six months ago I scored 2 NOS JBL D130 v90's. They look exactly like the 60's D130f's I have but instead of the yellow/gold label they have a green label that say "custom designed for Vox, guitars, amplifiers, sound equiptment."
Serial numbers 1096 and 1152. They came in their original boxes and plastic with waranty card etc. Anyone see these in Thomas organ gear?
I'd really love some feedback on the what, when, where and why fors on these speakers."

Anyone ever hear of the JBL v90, or have any info on them ??
Thanks in advance.

[Don McRitchie]

It's possible that they are physically different from a standard D130 or D130f, but I doubt it. In most cases, when there was a label that stated "Custom Designed for", it didn't refer to anything but the label. Over time, JBL supplied drivers to numerous OEM's including Sunn, Kustom, Vox and Fender. As early as the late 1940's JBL was selling raw drivers for musical instrument use. Les Paul bought his first drivers directly from Jim Lansing. At the time they supplied exact equivalents of their extended range speakers (D130, D131).

Starting in the mid 60's, it was apparent that these drivers could not keep up with the ever increasing power levels being used in musical instrument amplification. Around 1967, JBL employee Harvey Gerst made a proposal to JBL's owner to develop ruggedized drivers that would be targeted directly at this market. This proposal was approved and resulted in the "f" series of drivers. According to Harvey (he is a member of this forum and hopefully will jump in), the "f" was in reference to Fender. That was because Fender was their largest musical instrument customer, but it did not mean that these drivers were exclusive to Fender. They were sold to their other OEM customers as well. The "f" series of drivers were pretty much the same as the previous "D" series drivers they were based on with the exception of more rugged spiders and treated paper surrounds.

[Harvey Gerst]

This "custom foilcal" stuff was probably the brainchild of Tony Lowe, the guy who took over when I left. All the foilcals were made by Miller Dial & Nameplate, who also happened to be located on Casitas, less than a block away.

[Alex Lancaster]

:) Harvey: Keep on posting, I always get a kick from Your info.

[KenTone]

Thank you for the very quick and informative answers.
Don, your answer seems dead-on accurate.
The owner of the JBL "v90" said the speaker is exactly like the 1960's D130f's that he has, and that the label is the only thing different.

Later, he added this comment …
"I have a D130 and two D130f's - all recones - and for some reason these
v90's sound better than both D130 and D130f's, original cones I guess is
the reason." "They sound awesome in my 2x15 Kustom cab."

I don’t know where the recone work was done, but it appears the JBL "v90" is indeed equal in quality to the original D130 and D130F speakers.

The JBL D130, D130F, D140F series of speakers are so amazing - they had, and still have, such universal application and appeal, that they and the designer should be entered into some sort of "Hall of Fame."
These speakers have a strong American heritage, and have greatly contributed to the sound and musical instrument industry. They have a wide appeal to this day, and are still much sought after.

Harvey, thanks for the further insight into the label differences. Although I’m not sure what a "foilcal" is.
Is that a term for a "California Label" ? (I’m new at this).

I just have one more question … If the D130 speaker is mounted properly (Four screws - hand tighten) how safe is it to use with a guitar amplifier ??

[Harvey Gerst]

Thank you for the very quick and informative answers.

The JBL D130, D130F, D140F series of speakers are so amazing - they had, and still have, such universal application and appeal, that they and the designer should be entered into some sort of "Hall of Fame." These speakers have a strong American heritage, and have greatly contributed to the sound and musical instrument industry. They have a wide appeal to this day, and are still much sought after.
blush Thank you for the compliment.


Harvey, thanks for the further insight into the label differences. Although I?m not sure what a "foilcal" is. Is that a term for a "California Label" ? (I?m new at this).
It's short for a "foil decal" - I believe that's what Miller Dial and Nameplate called them.


I just have one more question ? If the D130 speaker is mounted properly (Four screws - hand tighten) how safe is it to use with a guitar amplifier ??
If you just "lightly" tighten the speaker (just enough to keep it from rattling), it should be fine.

[KenTone]

Harvey, thanks for taking the time out to give me your very definitive answers.
I can see you are a very humble man.
But you certainly deserve a lot of credit for taking the initiative at JBL for your all of your past designs, as well as your current contributions with all of your knowledge as novices such as I take a look into the past to apply those wonderful speakers today.
Thanks again !!

I’m a new member here, and also would like to thank Don McRitchie for his help, and express how nice a website this is.

-- KenTone