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Vintage 15" JBL comparisons w/soundclips

#81
Before I purchased my Acme cabinets I was using a "stereo" bi-amp rig with a pair of K120s and a K145 on each side of the stage. For small gigs I'd take either two or four of the K120 cabinets and run them full range. My first Acme B2 sounded better to my ears and I sold the lot.

I still have an E120 and three 2205s re-coned with the 2225 kits. One has a ceramic magnet and the other pair AlNiCo.
 
#82
nysbob said:
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This is my full stereo rig, but typically I just use the 15"s and either the SVT or a V4B to push them. The cabs were made by a local company that builds for several of the major makes.

I had all of my gear stolen in '92, so I found & bought another pair of used K145s at that time and just asked the cab builder to build me a 15" box to JBL's recommended spec for that driver.

Prior to having these, I had 1 K145 in a JBL cabaret cab & one in one of the old "scoop" cabs. Before that I had them in a Sunn 215BH box, but that was stupidly heavy.
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Uhhhh... stairs?
 
#83
edbass said:
Yes on the terminals, as far as the holes; in that era it was common to rear mount the drivers. That may be your issue with the newer cabs.





This Kustom rig is loaded with D140F's.

DSC00010.jpg


The only times I gigged it was in a Motown/R&B revue band I was in, and I "cheated"; I ran a pass through cable from the inputs to one of the output jacks and actually ran the signal to this located side stage on a stand;

DSC00007.jpg


Oly White P w/ flats and covers, coiled cord, and the Kustom rig on the behind me... It was like a "flashback" visually. :D

Sounded pretty good too!
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Pity.... one of the absolute BEST bass tones I've heard in my entire life was a guy playing a 66 P through that exact same rig. 100 seat mini theater warehouse sort of space probably 4000 sq ft with no PA support and it was GLORIOUS. Covered the floor in a soft velvet fog with a sparking top and throaty midrange. Perfection in old school tone...
 
#87
Back in the 70's I had a Sunn 2-15 cab. First it had the fabled D-140's. I was running a 100 watt Marshall head and they didn't quite handle it, but loved the sound. Went and upgraded to K-145's. OMG whata sound! Later got a Colesium 880 and added a JBL 18", K-151 to my rig. I kick myself for ever selling it all.

Earlier this year I got a K-140 and built a cab fashioned after my old Sunn cab. What a sound! JBL Rules.

676A0065.jpg
 
#90
pgk said:
edbass said:
I'm pretty much of a Sunn-o-phile. I don't claim to know everything about Sunn gear, but the only "Sunn specific" JBL driver I've heard of is the model D15S. It was a rebadged D130F, same driver just with a Sunn model designation.
JBL did make a D140F6, which was also used in Sunn bass cabinets; but that was just the 16 ohm version of the D140F.

Exceptional work John!
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yeah edbass theyt're very rare but they do exist. a d140 but double the magnet. only made for sunn, probably for the 2000s. that's all i know. probably weighs as much as an ev sro! my friend is one of the more knowledgeable jbl reconers around (retired unfortunately) and a bass player himself, so he knows
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Well, I did some more digging to find out about this mystery “D140 on Steriods” bass driver. It's not that I didn't believe you pgk, it just that if there is such a beast I [DEL]want[/DEL] NEED one! :D

The bad news is… there isn’t/wasn’t one. No prototypes, no experiments; it just didn’t happen. :(
If I were to guess I would think your friend is referring to a K145; that’s like a bigger, badder D/K140, but was never Sunn OEM.

I did get some new-to-me Sunn/JBL info that I didn’t know though, so it wasn’t a wasted effort. I previously mentioned the JBL D15S, which was simply a relabeled D130F, however there was in fact a custom built, Sunn OEM JBL driver for guitar use. It was called the D130S, and featured a 3” VC instead of the standard 4” JBL VC.
I don’t know how many were actually built (I’m guessing not many), and as I said before yesterday I never heard of them, but they were in fact a Sunn/JBL OEM driver.

So… If anyone has a JBL D130S, feel free to start extorting me. ;)
 
#92
Love the old school tone of the K-140, kicking myself that I sold mine in a Gary Raymond single 15 cab for $150. Total dumb ass move #8 in the long list of great acquisitions long since gone. #7, selling a mint K-145. #6 Le8 12" woofer with huge xmax in a bag end cabinet. dumb dumb dumb!
 
#93
#94
Great post and thanks for all the info.

Here is my '67 Dual Showman rig with 2x15 D140F's

1967dualshowmanrig01.jpg


jbl140_left_03.jpg


My band plays traditional instrumental surf rock, which means lots of nice vintage Fender gear on stage.

Have you ever tried Weber drivers? I have another Dual Showman 2x15 cab loaded with Weber Californias. They are supposed to be a pretty close comparison to JBL D130s. Weber's are quite popular in the guitar world. Here's a link Link Removed
 
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#95
I know, I was checking out your K-145 posting. Thankfully I have acknowledged my gear acquisition syndrome addiction and that is the first step to being able to just say "no". Especially when I have two 3015LF's not seeing enough action, and just picked up a EVM 15L on the cheap. Good luck on your sale, thats a beautiful driver.
 
#96
todd 4ta said:
Great post and thanks for all the info.

Here is my '67 Dual Showman rig with 2x15 D140F's

1967dualshowmanrig01.jpg
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that's a BEAUTY!

todd 4ta said:
Have you ever tried Weber drivers? I have another Dual Showman 2x15 cab loaded with Weber Californias. They are supposed to be a pretty close comparison to JBL D130s. Weber's are quite popular in the guitar world. Here's a link Link Removed
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i have heard great things about them but haven't had a chance to actually hear one.
 
#97
This is possibly a stupid question... But I just picked up a joe's cab with a E140 in it.
What sturck me as odd was it has the black dust cover. I assume this means that it was re-coned somewhere along the way?

Did they ever do a factory black dust cover?
 
#98
mp40smg said:
This is possibly a stupid question... But I just picked up a joe's cab with a E140 in it.
What sturck me as odd was it has the black dust cover. I assume this means that it was re-coned somewhere along the way?

Did they ever do a factory black dust cover?
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AFAIK, they all came with aluminum dust covers, so it's either been reconed, someone replaced a dented aluminum one with a paper one, or it was special ordered that way to be used as a woofer.
 
#99
mp40smg said:
This is possibly a stupid question... But I just picked up a joe's cab with a E140 in it.
What sturck me as odd was it has the black dust cover. I assume this means that it was re-coned somewhere along the way?

Did they ever do a factory black dust cover?
Click to expand...

Is it obvious that its a paper dust cover? thinking maybe someone sprayed black at some time? otherwise I'm guessing it's a recone. Post a pic and we all speculate for days on it. :D
 

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