A year after founding Lansing Sound (now JBL), James B. Lansing began working on a high-performance woofer using the new Alnico V magnet material developed during World War II. With its 4-inch edge-wound aluminum wire voice coil, lightweight cast aluminum frame, 36Hz free air resonance, rear cone venting (to reduce air turbulence) and aluminum dome to radiate high frequencies, the resulting D130 in many ways defined the modern high- power woofer.
The D130 quickly found favor with cinema, sound reinforcement and home hi-fi users, while its extended HF response—out to 6 kHz—was also ideal for the growing musical instrument market. According to legend, after blowing up guitar amps, surf guitar king Dick Dale contacted Leo Fender, who solved the problem by switching to JBL D130s and began using JBL speakers in Fender amps in 1955. In the early 1960s, JBL made a specialized version—the D130F—with the “F” referring to “Fender.”
In various forms, the 130 series was in production for more than 50 years—a remarkable accomplishment.
