The Steel Guitar Forum

Guys

What's the difference between D series, K series, 120's and 130's?

thx

bob

120s are 12", 130s are 15".

The D series was the original series made in the '60s and discontinued in the '70s. If there is an F at the end it is an instrument speaker. These have a slightly wider voice coil gap that is more robust, but slightly less efficient.

The M series was a JBL copy of the D series for certain manufacturers in the '70s.

The K series is the current production series that seems to be the closest to the old D series.

Thanks, Dave

Is there a preference by steel or guitar players? I'd assume older is better?

thx

bob

i believe the K series had a higher power rating than the D series
i prefered the Ks to the Ds for sound quality, clearness and reliability
in the long run i did blow 'em out on C6 and distortin' channels on my Twin
i switched to Peavey Black Widows, they handled a lot more that JBLs and sound darn good too !

The M series of JBL's were "vintage" marketed speakers, discontinued in about 1996.

The D-130 was actually designed in the <u>late '40s</u>, and carried a power rating of 25 watts. The "F" (Fender) series was originally rated at 35-60 watts, and improvements led to their ratings being increased to 100 watts by the '70s.

IMHO, all the "D" series were fine sounding speakers, but they were doomed when big amps took the jump to over 100 watts of power in the '70s. The "D" series was, for decades, simply the best you could get for most applications, but some speakers today are far more robust and efficient. For most of us, reliability takes precedence over sound quality. Having the best sounding speaker is a rather moot point if it melts down half-way through a gig.

So, for a small tube amp like a Deluxe reverb or even a Peavey Bandit, the D-120 is the ticket?

bob

Soundwise, yes.

Are the K series really still available? The JBL website shows them as obsolete:
http://www.jblpro.com/pages/obsolete.htm

bob

K series JBLs are no longer being made. I even heard a rumor that the most recent E series speakers are not being made either.

Dave Z

Being new to steel guitar, I dont know much about speakers,but I have 2 Altec Lansing 417
DiaCone speakers that really are heavy, but do they ever great sound great.

Was JBL and Altec and JBL some sort of connection?

Greg

I believe there were 2 brothers, James (JBL) and ? (Altec). I think there was a falling out and they went there separate ways. But I might be full of xxxx

bob

I have found PV BW speakers to be superior to JBL's for steel. I am using a 1203-4 BW in my Webb in place of a K 130-4 JBL. Much sweeter tone and plenty of grunt....IP

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My ears hear it the exact opposite way. I prefer the sound of JBLs and always have JBL speakers in my steel amps. The clarity of highs is like pinging a crystal and my Webb amp with an E130 generates terrific string seperation in the lows.

For tons of great info on JBL and Altec check: www.audioheritage.org !

spend a little time with BW speakers and you won't care what D, E, M, means

jim,

I've spent 25 years with BW speakers

I love the original spider web decal BW in my Session 400 but find the newer "no decal" ones sterile sounding. I don't know if it's a paper cone thing or what. Never could get a definitive answer on the differences on the BW speakers over the years.

bob

I have a K120 in my Deluxe Reverb and would accept no substitutes. There is one for sale right now over in For Sale: Electronics...somebody should scoop that up!

James Lansing was born in Illinois and his last name was Martini. He moved to California and changed his name to Lansing. He had two brothers who moved to CA and changed their name to Martin. JBL started a very small speaker factory and his brothers worked there. They made 6" and 8" speakers for radios. At night they would wind voice coils at home. Sound came along in movie theatres and Western Electric practically sewed the sound installation business up in movies, so much that the government made them sell it which some of Western Electric's engineers bought. They named it ALTEC for All Technical. Before long they realized that they needed better speakers than were available so they bought James Lansing out and he and his two brothers went to work for them. They named the Co. Altec Lansing. After WW2 James Lansing left and started up his own company and blew the industry's mind when he finally came up with the D130. He was $20,000.00 in debt and took his own life in 1949. A guy that worked with him took it over and made JBL what it is today.
Woody Woodell

Mike Brown has provided historic info on the differences in the BW speakers here on several occasions. A search in the Electronics section should turn it up.

Some of the "newer" speakers had Kevlar impregnated cones as opposed to paper-only cones. The 1501-4 Shallow Basket speaker (smooth paper-only cone) sounds pretty nice!

The 1502-4 with the ribbed cone that was used for a while in the NV 400's is voiced differently than the 1501.

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Woody, that is by far the coolest post i've read in a while. So much so, i had to go back over it several times. Very very very cool!

PMS

for sure the older BW with the spider web is the best in my opinion, will make any amp it's in much better, the 1501 shallow basket with the paper dust cover