Jimi and JBL D-120F Speakers

[basile865]

So I've heard about jimi and these JBL's a tiny bit. Not much evidence supports this, but I have read that he outfitted 4x12's with them before, and most likely they were in his fender twin reverbs earlier in his career.

From listening to some clips of these, they seem to have a bit of a scooped thing going on, with sorta thin highs and big lows, but then when they get pushed they seem to be compressed and thick - with a really subtle smooth overdrive - mainly like a thick clean.

I'm wondering if these were in the Band of Gypsys cabs, which would account for that 6550 type tone we hear.

I'm wondering if the ultra smooth, thick clean, slightly SLIGHTLY broken clean sounds we've been drooling over is the result of an alnico magnet?

[shakti]

I for one don't believe that rumour for a second. Outside of the Newport '69 gig, where he used the festival backline of Showmans(?) on huge JBL-fitted cabs, I don't hear a single Jimi show which sounds like JBLs. I'm pretty familiar with the sound of those speakers. When you push those speakers they do get thick, yes, but in a slightly raspy, hoarse kind of way. Add a fuzz, and it's Harsh City. Listen to the Newport recordings, and you'll understand what I mean.

Besides, if he ever did put JBLs in his cabs, there would probably be at least *some* photos where the aluminum dustcaps of those speakers would show through the grille cloth.

[basile865]

I guess thats true. But that grill cloth was so thick you could barely see through. But I'm not familiar with them enough to say one way or the other.

[frenchie]

I for one don't believe that rumour for a second. Outside of the Newport '69 gig, where he used the festival backline of Showmans(?) on huge JBL-fitted cabs, I don't hear a single Jimi show which sounds like JBLs. I'm pretty familiar with the sound of those speakers. When you push those speakers they do get thick, yes, but in a slightly raspy, hoarse kind of way. Add a fuzz, and it's Harsh City. Listen to the Newport recordings, and you'll understand what I mean.

Besides, if he ever did put JBLs in his cabs, there would probably be at least *some* photos where the aluminum dustcaps of those speakers would show through the grille cloth.

yes there are photos , more than that ......videos (and yes the BOG fillmore video );

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9Uurg2b ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

make a pause at 1M47 you'll see the alu dustcap through the cloth in the big sunn cab at jimi's right side so it's clearly a JBL(120 or 130 dunno ...12' or 15' dunno the same way) ....and i'm pretty sure it's miced ( jbl aren't for jimi's voice and aren't for the bassist so what's their use ? )...dunno what is the little cab put on the seat though (at the very end of the song seems he's turning down some controls on it) ...
i'd throw my coin on the fact that these JBL a effectively miced to acieve the famous BOG fillmore elusive tone ( and greenbacks too ) !

and i add pete townsend adopted this same rig mixing sunn gear and marshall heads and cabinets in a seattle gig 51( december 71) cuz he's been obliged to borrow some gear since he's gear truck have had an incident on the way...so after all i wonder why jimi wouldn't have tested this mix before pete no ?

[Scumback Speakers]

I don't see a mic in front of that cab you're referring to, shakti. Without that I'll bet it's not getting heard in the mix with those three Marshall stacks mic'd behind Jimi.

My guess is it's a stage monitor.

[frenchie]

. Without that I'll bet it's not getting heard in the mix with those three Marshall stacks mic'd behind Jimi.

that's why i say i guess the sunn cab might have been be miced ( probably the left speaker , i see a straight bar in front of it , or maybe i'm dreaming dunno) ...it's pretty obvious a 2X12 or 2X15 sunn cab won't be heard in front of three stacks daisy chained ....but since no one achieved the BOG tone with greenbacks only my guess was the presence of this sunn cab JBL loaded (obviously the video proves it was jbl loaded ) might be the missing link in a way or another ....yeah control cab perhaps , we'll probably never know for sure ....but what the hell is this thing on the seat behind him ? it has controls on it ...

[frenchie]

I don't see a mic in front of that cab you're referring to,
My guess is it's a stage monitor.

ok here 's another part of the gig ;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qB_JIOL ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

make a pose at 5M19 you'll see what i'm reffering to ....you see the tip of the cab's mic on the left speaker....and it's shiny as polished metal ...meaning if it was the shadow of the voice mic on the grill cloth of the sunn cab it surely wouldn't be shiny but dark ....am i right ?

[Scumback Speakers]

Yup, looks like a mic. Now of course, is it a vocal or guitar cab being mic'd?

[frenchie]

since jimi's sunn jbl loaded cabs have been altered for use with guitar ( i must find again the article where i read this , i lost it ) ... to me there's only one solution ....guitar...maybe i'm wrong but ...

now at least we're sure the sunn cab was miced ( i know some will try to say the shiny part of the mic is just the conjunction of the reflection of the 2nd jbl aluminium dust cap with the shadow of the voice mic but it would be false cuz the shiny part of the mic wouldn't fit with the place of the dust cap which is some centimeter far to the left ) ....i'm 99.9999 per cent sure this fuckin' JBL cab is miced now

[frenchie]

another thing ....IF the sun cab was for voice ...what would be the purpose of micing the voice in the man height mic , then loading it into the cab ...and then remicing it obviously to reload it into the other speaker ??????
maybe i'm stupid but i 'd find kinda silly .....right ?

[thousandshirts]

another thing ....IF the sun cab was for voice ...what would be the purpose of micing the voice

For the purposes of making a recording.

A microphone on those speakers does not imply that they were being used for guitar.

They could have been used for guitar. They also could have been used for bass, or vocals.
They might have even been there for a miniature Mariachi band comprised of Forest Gnomes.
We don't know.

As for Rob, why don't you hunt down a quad of vintage JBLs, then?

Or you're afraid you won't like those, either?

[frenchie]

yes you're right about the lack of "could" and "might" in my sentences little to much excitment from me i suppose .....to be honest i didn't have thought about the recording ..... but basile865 said in another post that he achieved the bog sound with a fender amp spot on .....so i'm quite partial about the influence of the "bright" speakers beeing supposedly used as those found in fenders...


ps ; the little "nano" mariachi band is another theory i'm pretty sure i won't try to prove though i have eagle eyes but not to this point

[frenchie]

shirts ...just one thing again ...if the cab was for voice then recorded by the mic ....why this fuckin' cab is he oriented like this ?? isn't it better to orient it to the public ?
and for jimi to hear the bass with it , yes orientation would be correct but are really jbl the best speakers to hear bass ? just a bunch of questions thousandshirts

[thousandshirts]

just a bunch of questions

Yep, and zero answers

shirts ...just one thing again ...if the cab was for voice then recorded by the mic ....why this fuckin' cab is he oriented like this ?? isn't it better to orient it to the public ?

As you point out - doubles as a monitor? You see, for every positive speculation we can find a negative one. And as such there is no proof one way or the other, positive or negative.

It does not help anybody who is interested, to say, well, BOG "might" have used JBL. He might have used μ-Mariachis, too, but I cannot prove it. True, JBL are more believable than μ-Mariachis, but we already knew that.

[frenchie]

one thing is sure to me ...i don't believe the sunn cab was monitoring the bass for jimi ...cuz then i really don't know why it would have been miced ....if you wan't to record the bass ....you mic directly the marshall bass stack of the bassist ...

more reading about the use of the sunn amps during this era ;

http://www.jimihendrix.dk/index.php?lang=en&page=gear" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;