Eargle - The jbl story - 60 years of audio innovation

9781476853543

Copyright 2006 by JBL Professional

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

The following corporate names and marks are the property of Harman International Industries: JBL; JBL
Professional; JBL Consumer; James B. Lansing Sound, Incorporated; Harman Kardon; and Lexicon.

The following product names and marks are the property of Harman International Industries: Bi-Radial; VerTec; Coherent Wave; SFG (Symmetrical Field Geometry); Synthesis Systems; VGC (Vented Gap Cooling); Differential Drive; HLA; EON; TTMS (Total Thermal Management System); PD (Precision Directivity); Array Series; AE (Application Engineered); JRX; SRX; ScreenArray; VRX; On-Stage; DBC; HiQnet; Everest; Invisiball; LSR (Linear Spatial Reference); RBI (Radiation Boundary Integrator); Screen Spreading Compensation; HT Series; Performance Series; Project Array; JBL Synthesis; SonoGlass; TiK Series; Control; Cabaret; and Creature.

Other corporations and business entities: MGM is a division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Incorporated; AMPAS, Academy Award, and Oscar are trademarks of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences; Altec Lansing, Voice of the Theatre and Duplex are registered trademarks of Altec Lansing Technologies, Incorporated; Ampex is a registered trademark of Ampex Corporation; Fender is a registered trademark of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation; THX is a registered trademark of THX Limited; Grammy is a registered trademark of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; Capitol Records is a registered trademark of EMI (UK); On Stage is a trademark of OSA International, Inc.; Emmy is a trademark of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; IMAX is a trademark of IMAX Corporation; and iPod is a trademark of Apple Computer, Incorporated.

Published by:
Hal Leonard Corporation
7777 W. Bluemound Road
P.O. Box 13819
Milwaukee, Wl 53213

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Eargle, John.

The JBL story : 60 years of audio innovation / by John M. Eargle. -- 1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-4234-1281-6

1. Sound--Equipment and supplies--History. 2. James B. Lansing Sound--History. 3. Sound--Recording and reproducing--United States--History. 4. Audio equipment industry--United States--History. I. Title.

TK7881.4. E165 2007
338.76202--dc22

2006038246

Printed in China through Colorcraft Ltd, Hong Kong

First Edition

Visit Hal Leonard Online at
www.halleonard.com

Foreword

I was honored when my friends at JBL asked me to write a Foreword to their Sixtieth Anniversary Book. I first met Jim Lansing in 1943 when he was putting the finishing touches on his 604 coaxial speaker, which was to become one of the great monitor speakers of all time. That meeting went like this:

I had been invited to Jims lab on Vine Street in Hollywood, and there was a man talking into a small horn. (Actually, it was the high frequency horn section of the 604.) How does it sound now? he asked. A little muffled, said the technician who was working with him; it was quite a bit louder when you were standing in the middle of the room. Then, the man asked me what I thought. I said yes, the midrange is about six decibels lower, but the high end is way down. The man then said, whats your name? Les Paul, I replied. The man then said, Im Jim Lansing; lets go out and get a bite. It was the beginning of a long friendship.

Three years later, after we had all come back from the War, I was wondering what directions modern music would take. In 1946, Colonel Richard Ranger showed me one of the first Magnetophone tape recorders from Germany, along with his Rangertone machine, and I immediately envisioned putting an additional head in the tape path for doing sound-on-sound recording. A little later, Bing Crosby, working with Jack Mullin, made plans for using one of the machines for delayed West Coast broadcasting of his radio shows.

Later, when Ampex was manufacturing its version of the machine, it was largely at my insistence that they added Sel-Sync to these machines, enabling engineers and artists to lay down extra tracks, like I was doing. This led directly to the first Ampex 8-track machines during the mid-fiftiesand the rest is recording history.

It was also in 1946 that Jim Lansing founded a new company known as JBL. Jims directions turned toward a new generation of speakers, such as the renowned D130, that were to play a vital part in the development of the amplified guitar and the new music of the daypop, jazz, or whateverand also led to the concert sound industry we know today.

It turns out that Jim himself was not just a speaker engineer, but also a great fan of music and musicians. He loved his art, and we considered him to be the only speaker guy we could talk to. He was truly our man in technology.

Personally, I have always felt a kinship with JBL. Over the years, weve both worked, each in our own ways, to improve music making. So, JBL, heres to your 60th anniversaryand may your next 60 years be as fruitful! Remember, its all about the music!

Les Paul
Mahwah, New Jersey, July 2006

Preface

The writing of The JBL Story has taken a little over one year and has been an exciting trip all the way. It begins with a corporate history that draws on interviews with many old-timers who actually knew and worked with Jim Lansing, and then wends its way forward to the present. The highlights of JBLs contribution to loudspeaker technology are covered in graphic and technical detail, as are the many facets of JBLs unique approach to company graphic standards via logos and advertising.

The heart of the book is presented in nine chapters that cover the major product areas JBL has addressed. Here, you will see sixty years of consumer products, starting with the humble original four items in Jim Lansings catalog, moving on through the first era of cost-no-object statement products, then through a long period of forward looking industrial and technical design, and finally to the most recent round of statement products.

By contrast, JBLs Professional Division is only about thirty-five years old, but it has left its own imprint in many areas. JBL Pro is seen and heard in motion picture theaters, sports facilities, performance venues, and is one of the leading providers of loudspeakers for the highly visible tour sound market. The eight vertical markets of JBL Pro are covered in depth through illustrations of noted installations.

The company was founded at the beginning of the high fidelity era, a distinctly American institution. Those of you who remember those heady post-war years will recall the enthusiasm and sheer fun of it all. Not many of those early companies exist today, largely because they lacked long-term knowledgeable corporate guidance. JBL has had the great fortune of having its destiny shaped by two notable men of HiFi, William Thomas and Sidney Harman. It is to them that this book is dedicated.

John Eargle
November 2006