Information on JBL instrument speakers

[Spellcaster]

One of my primary interests is JBL instrument speakers and that's what originally brought me to this forum. However, I'm finding that there's not nearly as much information offered on musical application speakers as there is on sound system drivers. Am I just looking in the wrong place here, or is there another forum somewhere that specializes more in the things I'm looking for. I recently made a change in my bass guitar speaker systems and I'm purchasing a 15" E-140 JBL. I was inquiring about matching it with other JBL drivers and luckily ran into a Mesa Engineering consultant over on Talk Bass who was helpful. But I wondered if there are other sources online I should be checking out.

[jpw retired]

One of my primary interests is JBL instrument speakers and that's what originally brought me to this forum. However, I'm finding that there's not nearly as much information offered on musical application speakers as there is on sound system drivers. Am I just looking in the wrong place here, or is there another forum somewhere that specializes more in the things I'm looking for. I recently made a change in my bass guitar speaker systems and I'm purchasing a 15" E-140 JBL. I was inquiring about matching it with other JBL drivers and luckily ran into a Mesa Engineering consultant over on Talk Bass who was helpful. But I wondered if there are other sources online I should be checking out.

Spellcaster has a point. Not nearly the detail on D-K-E series drivers. I'm a guitar player and decided to get a refurbished D-130 for my Fender amp. It was an option on a 1964 Vibroverb.

[Spellcaster]

I've used JBL's in a number of guitar and bass amps in the past.....Most recently a Fender Dual Showman cabinet with two D130F's, and I've had a couple of bass amps with dual K-140's. They all sounded marvelous. Right now, I'm just acquiring a bass cabinet with an E-140. I've been giving some thought to buying a second !5" JBL and building a second cabinet for it, so I started looking around online.....The first one I came across was a 15" K-145 which apparently is suitable for bass and organ applications. The expert over on TalkBass said "Very Different drivers and differently voiced" and suggested they wouldn't be a good combination. I also found a number of K-140's and inquired about using an E-140 and a K-140 together. He said "The E-140 has more mechanical power handling than the K140, somewhere around 150-200 watts RMS is a reasonable assumption assuming the cabinet is properly tuned. The K-140 has about 100-150 watts RMS mechanically so you need to be more careful." I'm most appreciative that he's been willing to share his expertise, but it just drives home the fact that I really don't know much about JBL instrument speakers and how to competently mix and match them. I don't know anybody else to ask for information sources online, so I'm hoping somebody here on the Lansing Heritage forum knows of a place to acquire this knowledge. I also have a guitar amp, a Twin Reverb head that I'm using a 15" Altec Lansing 418 cabinet with. There appear to be a number of 15" Altec Lansing 421 bass speakers available used, but since I'm already having trouble matching JBL's of different series, it seems like trying to mix a JBL and an Altec Lansing would just be adding more uncertainty into the mix. I find that as much as guitar forums are pretty good about sharing advice, once you get beyond the D-120F's and D-130F's that Fender supplied as factory options, there's not a lot of expertise out there.

[BMWCCA]

I don't know enough about the topic to really contribute other than to say that under the advice of Harvey Gerst I installed a D123 I'd had sitting around for decades in a Fender DeLuxe amp. Those of my friends and family who can actually make a guitar sound like music were impressed with the results. When I was a kid, I played a Gibson EBO bass through my stereo which consisted of the 030 system speakers with the D130 and 075. It worked fine as a practice amp for me.

We are a community of enthusiasts. I you start a topic which fails to garner participation, it's only because there aren't enough members here, or left here, to cover all interests. I'd love to follow this discussion if it does go anywhere. I remember back in the '60s both Standel and Acoustic amps had hang tags on them announcing the optional availability of JBL speakers in them. I always thought that was so cool as I stumbled around with trying to play my Hagstrom-III through my Magnatone amp.

[RMC]

Hi Spellcaster,

I have most of the info the for the JBL D/K/E series, however the older the drivers are (e.g. D series) the lesser spec sheet details available.

For all JBL MI woofers the most difficult to find is original frequency response curves. Musical Instrument drivers often have a tailored/specific response for the intended use that manufacturers don't necessarily want to give away on graphs due to competition. Some do some don't. MI drivers often have a rising response. That curve shape is part of their "secret recipe" in order to achieve a certain sound.

I have the factory response curve of the E145 but none other from JBL. That one is pretty flat, up to a point, for an MI woofer.

As a start, attached are JBL E140 and E145 Tech Manuals since you mentioned these.

I have a ton of info regarding MI drivers from JBL, Altec, E-V, McCauley, Gauss, Fane Acoustic, etc. but i can't spend my days transferring such data to you. Moreover some files are too large to post here since there's a size limit, plus some material i have on paper.

You need to be precise on what exactly you're looking for as this reduces the search time in my stuff, and increases your chances of getting something, i might well have what you're trying to find. Regards,

Richard

P.S. Please divide your long text in shorter paragraphs this way its easier for me and others to read (as i did here).

[1audiohack]

Hi.

There is a man, who may or may not have all the tech sheets. He is a guitar player and a JBL master reconer. In this age he may have nearly unmatched knowledge and wisdom on this subject.

His name is Ken, his handle is edgewound. Search him out grasshopper. :)

Barry.

[DerekTheGreat]

Yep, that he's good for. Do not under any circumstances send him any of your gear, there's a chance you may never see it again. Speaking from experience.

[Robh3606]

Look here to find out why the 140 and 145 are such different drivers. It's by design and this tells you what those differences are. The tech sheets don't address design differences.



https://www.lansingheritage.org/html/jbl/reference/notes/tech1-3a.htm


There are response curves for a significant number of MI drivers on the site

https://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?59-Transducer-Information

Catalogs here

https://www.lansingheritage.org/html/jbl/specs/pro-comp/pro-comp.htm




Rob :)

[Spellcaster]

I'm pleasantly surprised by the response to my inquiries. Thank you all....I really appreciate it.