Did Jerry really ever use E120's??

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

People who have spoken to Jerry have heard he preferred to use the D120 and K120 JBL's. And any photos that seem to be available clearly show Jerry using the older alnico D120 or K120 speakers. Can't seem to find any evidence of him using the heavy ceramic E120's. I know people say that, but where does that come from? Our friend Scoid just reminded us that in the Gear Book, page 245, you can very clearly see the alnico K120's in the cab. That's from 1989.

[EDITED - OK, those could be E's in the photo - didn't remember that the E and K stickers look identical]


Brad

[CrispyTapes]

I was able to scoop up 3 of Jer's E120's at the Ramrod auction, so I do know that is what he had stocked up.....the E120 brochures in the boxes were dated 1984 btw

[playingdead]

He's got better eyes than I do; I'm looking at page 245 and I can see the stickers on the back of two of the speakers but not the frames.

The E-120s have cloth surrounds, and the others paper, if I'm not mistaken. There are lots of high-resolution photos of the front of Garcia's cabinet, but I don't know how to pick out the difference visually.

I remember Paul Rivera talking about the amp that Garcia ordered shortly before he died, and that he wanted E-120s in it, which was going to make it very heavy.

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

I suspected that if he did use them, it may have been in the early '80s. So that would fit. There is a period, maybe '83 thru '85 or so, where he seemed to be a bit louder and more often distorted than during other times. Knowing how easily he could blow the lower powered D and K120's, I wonder if that phase allowed him to really drive the rig without such a risk of blowing the E's. So I don't doubt it, I'm just seeing more evidence that the speaker of choice over the long haul may have been the K120 and NOT the E120.

Brad

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

OK,

you're right, the E series had a very similar sticker to the K. So indeed maybe those are E's in the '89 photo. I recalled E's looking different on back for some reason.

Does anyone know when JBL released the E series?


Brad

[playingdead]

I know I bought a brand new E-120 from Sam Ash in 1982, so they were at least available then.

[jdsmodulus]

I have one that is new in the box and the box says 1982. I didnt realize it was that old!

[SarnoMusicSolutions]

Here's the older shot of K's.

K120JerryCab.jpg (42.89 KiB) Viewed 1884 times

And the E120:

E120.jpg (28.51 KiB) Viewed 1881 times

[jeffm725]

I suspected that if he did use them, it may have been in the early '80s. So that would fit. There is a period, maybe '83 thru '85 or so, where he seemed to be a bit louder and more often distorted than during other times. Knowing how easily he could blow the lower powered D and K120's, I wonder if that phase allowed him to really drive the rig without such a risk of blowing the E's. So I don't doubt it, I'm just seeing more evidence that the speaker of choice over the long haul may have been the K120 and NOT the E120.

Brad

SHHH!!!
Will you keep your voice down........I have been buying up cheap K's for the last 2 years.......while watching E's fetch 75 bucks more per speaker..........now you just raised the price!

The following is just my opinion, but I think K's blow E's out of the water every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Especially for players who play in clubs and bars rather than coliseums. They are just a sweeter more organic sounding speaker while maintaining the JBL quality and clarity that people like from the E'S. There is no doubt in my mind that Jerry used K's and the only argument would be for how long, compared to the E's.

[mijknahs]

I believe that Jerry started using E's once those replaced the K's in JBL's production/inventory (I think from the early 80's on). Jerry didn't like to use "old" speakers and would changed them even if they weren't blown. He probably changed them as soon as they got broken in (I guess he liked that "new" speaker sound). Steve Parish would know when they switched to E's.

Also, the 3x12" cab appeared somewhere around '84 (maybe in the 70's also?). But in 1980-'83 he was using that tall 4x12" cab (sometimes with the black grill).

Jim

[waldo041]

i would think he used the D's when he was still using stacked combo's swapping to the k's in the wall of sound period or just before when hestarted tapping to an bigger amplifier for more power handling, ending up with the E's sometime in the early 80's.

peace,
waldo

[jeffm725]

for some reason something sticks in my mind as the guitar speakers for Jer and Bob being D's in the Wall. AS always, could be wrong.........

[tigerstrat]

for some reason something sticks in my mind as the guitar speakers for Jer and Bob being D's in the Wall. AS always, could be wrong.........

You are correct, the large rear shot from 12/6/73 (link escapes me atm) seems to show 20 D-120's each in Bob's and Jer's stacks. The first confirmed K-120 sighting i can recall is from 12/31/78. ymmv

[mijknahs]

Can anyone tell what speakers are in that 3x12" cab with Parish (above)? I bet they're E120s.

Jim

[bpg21]

There was in article in Guitar Player magazine in the 80's in which Parish described Garcia's rig and he states that he used the E120s. I have heard that there is little tone difference between the E120 and K120. I am thinking of replacing my E120s for a pair of K120s. Besides the weight difference, is it worth the change? I am a fan of his middle to late 70s tone more than his 80s.