kick_the_reverb wrote:

Impressive job, congratulations!

As for speaker recommendations. If you look hard enough, you can find JBL D130, K130, etc in the $150-200 range. Not as easy as a few years ago but still can be done. You went through the trouble of building a Showman from scratch, what's the point of trying to use a speaker that's completely different than what the Brownface Showman came with. You will spend the money buying this speaker then spend it again to buy JBLs.

BTW - Did you keep a log of expenses and hours spent on the build? I am sure many would be interested to know the numbers (fully aware that you were in it for the experience not the accounting).

Good luck,
Ran

I would do that but my budget is a little tight. There are two JBL D140Fs on my craigslist for $150 but they're for bass I guess. I was going to buy a new speaker just because of the warranty and stuff on it.

UPDATE: The JBLs sold I guess.

Liam S

Last edited: Mar 31, 2020 10:29:48

Ariel wrote:

A common replacement for the original JBL is the Weber California ($125). Not the same, but seems like the consensus is that it's a closer sound profile than other speakers in current production. Do a search on this site.
Amazing project!

I can do the Weber California! Right in my price range too! How close do they sound to an old JBL?

Liam S

kick_the_reverb wrote:

From the consensus here over the years and from hearing a few Webers live, they don't sound the same as JBLs.

Remember the JBLs are a 4" voice coil, large AlNiCo magnet, tight voice coil gap, etc. Compare to the Weber construction.

They can get you something to work with, so they may be a solution for you if that $50 difference is so critical.

Good luck
Ran

lljsullins wrote:

Ariel wrote:

A common replacement for the original JBL is the Weber California ($125). Not the same, but seems like the consensus is that it's a closer sound profile than other speakers in current production. Do a search on this site.
Amazing project!

I can do the Weber California! Right in my price range too! How close do they sound to an old JBL?

No argument from me, Ran!
But do you know of any other current production speaker that at least comes close?
Of course I agree that an original JBL is more than worth the extra (if he can find one), especially with all the investment done so far.

Last edited: Mar 31, 2020 11:58:52

kick_the_reverb wrote:

Unfortunately, I don't know of any such speaker. If you look at the Weber California AlNiCo model it is $246. So no savings there. Lorenzo (Surfer Joe) has been using a Neo Eminence for touring sometimes (for durability reasons). I made the math years ago. There are a LOT of JBLs in the United States. The asking prices are sometimes high but they can be bought for reasonable prices. If Liam didn't care about the original sound, why bother building a Brownface Showman?
Ran

I care about the original sound but at the same time, I'm using different capacitors than the old Mallorys. I'm checking out the G15-Fullback Celestion and the Eminence 151.

Liam S

Gilette wrote:

Did you consider the Eminence eps-15c?

No, I'm in a budget of $150 or less! So I can't do that one..

Liam S

Redfeather wrote:

Hold out for some JBLs. It's the right and proper thing to do. It's a shame you missed those D140Fs but there will be more. It's true that there are a lot of them out there. The 140s don't have the same top end and 130s but they're still decent guitar speakers, for sure. Also, if you happen to find one damaged and in need of a recone (worth about $30), it can be reconed with 130 stuff and voila, you'll have yourself a K130. There aren't any legit D130 kits available anymore so K is as close as it gets and this is just fine, in my opinion.

In fact, if you stick to a single speaker, I'd say to avoid a D series and look for a K, for power handling concerns. Or even an E would be a good choice. They're not the "real" thing when it comes to JBLs but they're still good speakers and probably closer to the sound than anything else.

So should I just buy a K130? They're more readily available. Here's two: JBL Speaker 1
JBL Speaker 2

Liam S

Gilette wrote:

I don't even know how much it is...
sorry dude.

It's all good!

Liam S

Redfeather wrote:

I'd say no to those those examples. The first one has a 140 cone and the second one has what looks like a non-original cone. Given the possibility of crappy recone jobs or subpar parts, it's advisable to avoid recones.

But you're on the right track. If you could find an original one for $150 I'd say yes, go for it.

If I do end of finding one, what's a realistic price to pay? I'm also not able to build my cabinets until this COVID-19 virus goes away because me and my grandpa had had it planned. Shucks..

Liam S

Redfeather wrote:

I think $150 is realistic. I got lucky once and found a 16 ohm K-130 in a big ported bass cabinet (even though it's not a bass speaker) for $120 at a local music pawn shop. I leapt on it, knowing that was uncommonly good, but I'm confident that if you hunt around locally you will find something similar. Keep a close eye on craigslist too, of course.

There have been a bunch of JBLs on my local CL recently. E130s for $100 and I think at one point there were some K140s for $150 or thereabouts. Run that Peavey for now and just keep lookin'.

Here's one on eBay I could bid on:eBayI'm not sure of the condition tho.

Liam S

Redfeather wrote:

Returning to the topic of your amp itself, how are you feeling about that power load of mids? Were you surprised by how much the brownface circuit has?

I admit that I was when I got my Gomez. It didn't take me long before I wanted to give myself a scoop option so I installed a push/pull pot on one of my channels to accomplish that. Feels like sacrilege in a way but at least it's just an option and is reversible.

Well, I really can't hear it with this horrible Peavy speaker. It sounds very thing but I know the amp "works."

Liam S