The Fender JBL Sound - The True Story of the Premier American Guitar Speaker - Ask Zac 135

braintheory said:
The Fender JBL sound is a classic sound, but even more interesting is the JBL metal or hard rock sounds when used as quads with Boogie’s, Soldano’s, Marshall’s, Uberschall’s, Hermansson’s, etc. Then it becomes an epic chug machine that no Celestion can rival the same way for that
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True story. They’re utterly vacant in the mids, but paired with something else that’ll fill that void, the chugging potential is jaw dropping…Vicious and unbelievably raw sounding speaker when used in that application.
 
JBLs are my easy all time favorite speaker. To me they are a whole new level of sensitivity to pick attack and player dynamics and more forward and alive sounding. The d and k series have gotten insanely expensive the last five years and the e's aren't cheap either. Better off finding an old Twin or music man loaded with them and buying them that way. Put some shit speakers back in and recoup some $$$.
 
VonBonfire said:
JBLs are my easy all time favorite speaker. To me they are a whole new level of sensitivity to pick attack and player dynamics and more forward and alive sounding. The d and k series have gotten insanely expensive the last five years and the e's aren't cheap either. Better off finding an old Twin or music man loaded with them and buying them that way. Put some shit speakers back in and recoup some $$$.
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They are some of my all time favorites too, but I find the Fane Crescendo’s, Altec 417’s and white voice coil ‘60’s Greenbacks also are on that level of those qualities you mentioned with being lively, dynamic and sensitive. They are very expensive no doubt, but like anything else the best stuff usually has big premiums over close 2nd bests
 
Beyond Black said:
True story. They’re utterly vacant in the mids, but paired with something else that’ll fill that void, the chugging potential is jaw dropping…Vicious and unbelievably raw sounding speaker when used in that application.
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A full quad of them is really epic for the full chuggage effect. Through the iic+ or coli it’s like AJFA on steroids. Even though it’s even more scooped like that I find the sound more cohesive somehow as I often do with full quads like also with the Altec 417’s
 
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braintheory said:
They are some of my all time favorites too, but I find the Fane Crescendo’s, Altec 417’s and white voice coil ‘60’s Greenbacks also are on that level of those qualities you mentioned with being lively, dynamic and sensitive
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I haven't gotten the chance to try those So many speakers so few twin reverbs and $$$. I have heard great things about the old coffee can ev sro's as well but never tried either.
 
VonBonfire said:
I haven't gotten the chance to try those So many speakers so few twin reverbs and $$$. I have heard great things about the old coffee can ev sro's as well but never tried either.
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Those other ones I mentioned wouldn’t be my first choices for twin reverbs, but awesome in other amps. I also found EV too smooth and bland tonally for my taste, but other guys like them. For high power speakers I find JBL’s and Crescendo’s to have much more character/complexity to the tone. Probably why they’re also worth more
 
braintheory said:
Those other ones I mentioned wouldn’t be my first choices for twin reverbs, but awesome in other amps. I also found EV too smooth and bland tonally for my taste, but other guys like them. For high power speakers I find JBL’s and Crescendo’s to have much more character/complexity to the tone. Probably why they’re also worth more
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Blues is more chunka chunka less chug chug so the tight response and added brightness/clarity sounds really good for low down rhythms on a clean-ish humbucker guitar, especially a semi.
 
VonBonfire said:
Blues is more chunka chunka less chug chug so the tight response and added brightness/clarity sounds really good for low down rhythms on a clean-ish humbucker guitar, especially a semi.
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The Altec 417’s are really good for that too and they’re sweeter, warmer/woodier and less scooped than JBL’s. In general for blues I’d myself choose those over JBL’s. Not as expensive as JBL’s either, but both of course are top tier speakers
 
braintheory said:
The Fender JBL sound is a classic sound, but even more interesting is the JBL metal or hard rock sounds when used as quads with Boogie’s, Soldano’s, Marshall’s, Uberschall’s, Hermansson’s, etc. Then it becomes an epic chug machine that no Celestion can rival the same way for that
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Oooooooh... I did not know that. Hmmm.
 
braintheory said:
They can be high gain beasts in a way that no Celestion can. Same with Fane Crescendo’s and Altec 417’s. Celestion still bring the mids that those can’t though
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A guitar player in one of my old bands used a Gibson "The Paul" (Walnut neck and body, ebony board) with the stock pickups into a Rat pedal into a Twin loaded with Altec 417's. His sound was amazing. I was really surprised first time I heard him play through that rig.
 
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