Did some of the JBL's from the L-100 era (4310, 4311, etc) come with blond light colored stripes in the cabs? The pair of 4310's I own have dual blond stripes running down the sides of the cabs like the picture below. Is this normal?
Did some of the JBL's from the L-100 era (4310, 4311, etc) come with blond light colored stripes in the cabs? The pair of 4310's I own have dual blond stripes running down the sides of the cabs like the picture below. Is this normal?
The veneer was cut from a part of the tree that was different in color, thats all. In a world of simulated wood grain vinyl product, it is understandable that a natural color effect would be thought of as unusual.
That too, but I thought it might have been some bizarre fading effect at first, either chemical or light induced. I thought the stain would've covered all the lighter areas (?). Interesting to see another speaker of this vintage with the strange blond stripes. Funny, that I've never seen the later 70's JBL's with any color variations on the cabs (L-150's, L-65's, L-300, etc. etc).Originally Posted by duaneage
It's not too common but it happens. In the furniture trade that would be considered a blemish or unacceptable for resale. I think it looks cool!
Definitely! I've had a few anomally's in veneer but never any that cool...It's not too common but it happens. In the furniture trade that would be considered a blemish or unacceptable for resale. I think it looks cool!
It is what I have heard many times referred to a "sapwood" and is usually less desirable in expensive furniture and quality hardwood products. The darker walnut is the oldest and densest part cut from the center of the tree and the lighter sapwood is the newer growth closer to the outside bark. As expensive woods get in shorter supply the mills use more of the tree (or smaller trees to get more wood to meet the demand) which results in wood with more of the sapwood. I would consider veneer with this quality a "second" or "B" grade.
Since the speakers are finished in an oil type stain the sapwood will not stain the same color as the dense walnut. One way to make it less noticeable is to use a spray type clear finish with color mixed in it to tint the lighter areas.
I think it gives it character. Just my opinion!
Mb
Thanks all for the input. Blemish or not, I think they look cool! The mint cabs sure came around with an application of Old English almond oil. I had been using tung oil, but the almond oil is non-toxic, smells nice and puts a nice low profile shine on the cabs (you can see the reflections of your fingers when you hold them up close to the cab).
"This pair of rare and important figured JBL speaker cabinets...."
The whiter wood as you refer to is Sapwood. Must lumber producers lessen the color variation by steaming these boards, then once stained the contrast should be even less. It may be that over time the Sap wood has given up the pigment of the stain and has caused a greater variation.
In addition to sound JBL was known for the fine veneered cabinetry. I'm surprised that they would have sold something originally with a large color variation.
Ed
Edwards,
I have wondered the same thing. I have seen several auctions on eBay with two-tone veneer. Sometimes, I suspect that the veneer is not original. While some may prefer the look, I have always considered it to be an inferior grade of veneer.
I don't believe that JBL sold pairs of that type of veneer. All the L 100s, 4310 & 4311 I've seen had a more uniform veneer.
Ron
The 4310's that I described above came from the original owner and no, it wasn't reveneered. I picked these up in person in Ventura, California. It did come with the 'blonde' stripes straight out of the factory and the photo from the ebay auction I posted was what drove my curiousity. I too thought that JBL would never sell 'unevenly' colored veneer, but they did. I believe this to be a very minor detractor from what they are; a pair of finely built, great sounding speakers that usually look very, very good.
I have seen several L100s that have had sapwood (the blonde bits) and other unmatched grain patterns. It seems that at the rate they were cranking these out they simply didn't bother to consider the grain much ( or at all). Even the L300s will sometimes have surprisingly mismatched grain from one side of the cab to the other.
Widget
Thanks for the information. I am happy to learn that my suspicions were wrong.
I have seen this a few times with JBL cabinets. All of the above are good points in that the veneer grade is somewhat lower when sapwood is involved.
What surprises me is you have two completely diffrerent shades on your pair of cabinets. JBL tried to keep them as closely matched as possible.
Veneer is cut from the log and like pages of a bookit is layed one sheet on top of the next. Quite often you will see almost an identicle grain from one sheet to the next. I suspect someone was asleep when pairing your speakers or the shop where they were purchased mixed them so there might be another pair very similar in the locale where these were sold.
I would bet if the serial numbers are consecutive, the cabinets would match quite well. If you could ever locate the consecutively numbered speaker, you would find it very close in color and grain.
I bought two pairs of Altec 19s back in 1976 and one of the pairs were consecutively numbered. The grain pattern on top of each speaker was what is refered to as "Book Matched" and nearly identicle from one cabinet to the other.
I recently bought a Lot of 6 sheets of Burl Walnut and each sheet is nearly identicle to the one above and below it.
I like the way your cabinets look and would be proud to own them!
Gary
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