This will be covered with the sapele veneer on 2 sides and then painted black on the inside edges. I'm adding an edge molding to the front of the L100's. This actually worked!Ī couple of AR4x's snuck into the shop to be refinished too.
I sprayed water on the wood and then weighted them down over a piece of wood. I had to straighten out the grill frames because they were slightly warped. The L100's are quite a bit older than the 4311's I'd say. But I'm not even going to use the grill frames for these. But that still really wouldn't look right. I thought about filling the gap and painting the grain back in. With this kind of problem, there's not much you can do.
I'll have to repair a few chips like this. The 4311's had a few issues with the veneer, like this chip. I was not able to find replacement foam grills, so I'll be installing cane grill cloth. You can tell it's a replacement because the squares on the foam are not evenly centered in the grill. Here's the "before" shot! These originally had the segmented foam grills and someone replaced them with similar foam. I'll take some photos of the components later, they are beautifully made, like all the JBL speakers of the 70's. The only flaw is one tweeter has the dustcap pushed in. I'll be installing new cane grill cloth on both pairs.Īll the components work on these speakers. The 4311's will simply be sanded and refinished. The L100's are going to be re-veneered with quarter-sawn sapele mahogany veneer from "Certainly Wood". 'Jim Lansing Signature Speaker' logo nameplate on the side of their rolled and welded, flat-back, no-hole magnet pot.This photo-essay details the restoration of a pair of JBL L100 Century, and a pair of JBL 4311's. This tag first appeared in conjunction with the race-track oval shaped Venice, Calif. Lansing Sound Inc.', name only, appears at the bottom of the cut-corners tag.
#JBL L100 SERIAL NUMBERS SERIAL NUMBER#
The pair are not serial number matched and there is a slight acoustical variation between. JBL L100 Century Speakers Walnut Beautiful Authentic Restoration Condition: Overall Very Good- All Original (see exceptions*) Sound: Very Good - Fully tested (see below) for correct frequency response and oscillator swept to verify no rattles or buzzes. Shouldn't make any difference as for as sound goes. The earliest 'cut corners' tag with spaces for 'Model No.', 'Impedance', and 'Serial No.' And the 'James B. The model was molded into the outer edge of the frame as it had been on the D101. They did not have an applied label showing serial number or model. The nameplate was placed on the side of their rolled and welded, flat-back, no-hole magnet pot.
So these would have bbeen made after the move to 4221 Lincoln Boulevard in Venice.
#JBL L100 SERIAL NUMBERS DRIVERS#
The earliest D130 drivers I have seen bear the same square Venice, California 'A Jim Lansing Signature Speaker' badge/logo/nameplate as the last D101s. In late 1947 (more details here: ) The first D130, D175 and N1000 components and D-1000 cabinet also bore this rectangular decal and no serial numbers, but I haven't seen it used on any other models. The final D101s appeared with the rectangular logo adopted when JBL move to the Marquardt facility in Venice, Ca. Maybe this was what prompted Altec to apply enough pressure to cause Jim Lansing to stop using the 'Iconic' name. A second version of the Iconic label added the 'Trade Mark Reg.' Under the three stars on the upper half. The D 101 (D101, D-101) had the model number cast into the frame and initially bore the 'Iconic' label, badge or name plate, the first one shown below. This is a trick posting, because, as far as I know, JBL's first product, the D 101 speaker was never given serial numbers.