• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

JBL K120

John 3:16

John 3:16

Nov 13, 2007
46
14
South Central Pennsylvania
#1
Has anybody used these for bass guitar? I'm thinking about using a pair of these either in two seperate cabinets or one cabinet. They are 8 ohm speakers. I mostly use tube amps. But I do periodically use my Aguilar TH500. I don't have a cabinet yet so I'd have to have one built. I really like the sound of my JBL d140's. I have 2-15 and 1-15 cabinets. So I'm thinking maybe a 2-12.
 
#5
yep, tone is not the issue so much as power handling. To my knowledge 120's are intended for guitar, and have modest power handling specs compared to the other bass oriented JBL's. If you have not got the K120's yet, you might look for 130's instead.
 
#6
Well that's the 12" speaker that is very, very hard to beat for midrange agility and tone, either for cleanish guitar or bass, if you want to use a pair with anything other than a lowish watt tube amp you will blow them up.
The 12" old school JBL pair that will handle your 500 watt Tranny amp all day long is the 2206 driver but that said, I think my 2206's are a lot duller sounding than my K120's and I have an old Orange basket fender signature JBL D120f that tends to get used in studio as the go to loudspeaker to compliment the Motherload Speaker sim direct output.
image.jpg

The White framed driver to the left is the Altec Lansing 417 series II, another utterly classic sounding 12" Alnico magnet speaker with an aluminium voice coil cap.:-)
 
#7
I have an Ampeg B-15N loaded with a Altec 418B. So I am familiar with Altecs. I used to have a Ampeg B-15S loaded with a Atlec 421. That's my experience with Altecs. I really like the 418B. So I'm thinking maybe the JBL K120's would not be worth the effort to use in a bass guitar cabinet.
 
#8
Power handling is very low under ~70Hz. The aluminum VC is wound with very low overhang, and the entire moving mass is very quite low so it's optimized for >100Hz really.
 
#9
John 3:16 said:
I have an Ampeg B-15N loaded with a Altec 418B. So I am familiar with Altecs. I used to have a Ampeg B-15S loaded with a Atlec 421. That's my experience with Altecs. I really like the 418B. So I'm thinking maybe the JBL K120's would not be worth the effort to use in a bass guitar cabinet.
Click to expand...
Probably better to think of the K120's as the tube powered midrange component of a bi amped bass rig based on a modern lightweight powered sub of some sort.
I used the JBL 2206's in my old tri amp rig.
image.jpg

but they really needed the 2" horn units to extend their upper mid response.
I don't think you would need a horn with the K120's as they seem to put out a lot of treble without a tweeter.:-)
PS My excuse for the excessive Acoustic 408 4X15 was that I was in a Reggae Band back then.:-)
 
#10
The K120 makes a fine 50 watt bass speaker where low end under 70 is not needed at any kind of volume. It's also a nice driver in combination with something like a 2240 or 2240, with the natural rolloff of the 2240 complementing the K120 pretty well. (yes, mixing driver sizes)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bassmec
#11
John 3:16 said:
Has anybody used these for bass guitar? I'm thinking about using a pair of these either in two seperate cabinets or one cabinet. They are 8 ohm speakers. I mostly use tube amps. But I do periodically use my Aguilar TH500. I don't have a cabinet yet so I'd have to have one built. I really like the sound of my JBL d140's. I have 2-15 and 1-15 cabinets. So I'm thinking maybe a 2-12.
Click to expand...
I've used K120's in a 4x12 cab with about 600 watts. The cab below it was another 4x12 loaded with 2206H's ( JBL 2206H 12" High-Power LF Driver ) with about 1200 watts. My K cabinet was eq'd for about 80hz and up - they give a beautiful tone like no other. That K cab of mine was one in a million. So, yes, they sound astounding for bass guitar. They are quite efficient - my cab sure was.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bassmec
#14
pfschim said:
yep, tone is not the issue so much as power handling. To my knowledge 120's are intended for guitar, and have modest power handling specs compared to the other bass oriented JBL's. If you have not got the K120's yet, you might look for 130's instead.
Click to expand...

And to the OP also.

I think you'll find that the K130 actually has half the xmax of the K120. I understand the sound can be very nice. I have a D130 in a custom cab I built about 30 years ago, but the xmax is only 0.76mm and I only use it for practice so I can enjoy the sound without over driving the suspension system. I use D140's, E140's, E145's and my favorite is a 2035HPL which has an xmax of 7.0 and a very low voice coil inductance (0.25), which allows a higher rolloff frequency and I need no HF driver, and it handles 300 watts.
Check out these refs:
Invalid Link Removed
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] This brochure seems to identify K120 usage in cabs for guitars.

Lloyd Howard
 
#16
Oh
nysbob said:
People used to put those in fender twins - they could kill you. So much louder and more full range than the stock jensens. I think they'd be great to record through, where you want a little low end roll-off anyway.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, and they sound even better in a big old Bandmaster 2x12 cab with a 105 watt Twin Reverb ll head ! I played through just such a rig for many years until l couldnt lug that boat anchor around anymore due to a bad back. The head was about 70 lbs and the cab around 80 lbs, though with wheels not ungodly.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back