JBL L-Pad / Attenuator / Potentiometer Restoration

[Jackle]

Posting this in case anyone is having issues and wants to dig a little deeper into their attenuators / potentiometers.

A buddy finally sold me a set of L36's he had sitting around in his shop. He was under the impression that the crossovers or tweeters were faulty. I skipped hooking them up and dove straight to pulling the crossovers and drivers (woofers needed refoaming anyway).

One of the pots only turn partially, so I sprayed Deoxit in the openings on the back and worked the shaft back and forth with no success. So, I decided to remove the back plate and investigate a little further, assuming a bunch of corroded pieces would fall out of the faulty part... but was surprised to find the outer coil had actually popped out of position on one side (pic 1), which prevented the pot from turning. I was able to fit the coil back into its slot and also gave a more thorough cleaning with a small wire brush and some more Deoxit - what a difference it made (pic 2).

Refoamed the woofers, refinished cabinets, and slapped on some "groovy" burnt orange grill fabric - great speakers overall!

 

[absolve2525]

Awesome! I picked up a pair a little while back, and really enjoy them. The crossovers didn't have any electrolytics to replace either! Great job. Nice receiver too!

 

[Jackle]

I'm really digging them so far, they're the first pair of 70's JBL's I've ever owned. They're apples to oranges compared to my KLH Model 5's - much more open and detailed. I get why a lot of folks get turned off by a little brightness if they're used to more laid back darker speakers, but every speaker has a time and place IMO.

 

[swechsler]

Nice choice of grille cloth. I recall some members here say they prefer the sound of the L36 (Decade) over the much more expensive L100, even though they use similar midranges and tweeters.

 

[Jackle]

Thanks, I like keeping speakers as original as possible, so went with the burnt orange from Huntley Audio on eBay. It wasn’t cheap, but the quality is there and has a nice texture up close.

I’ve only heard a set of L100’s at a shop and wasn’t really impressed, but may have been the room’s acoustics. They certainly do have the iconic look and I’d love to restore a set if a pair ever crossed my way.