This web site is the culmination of the efforts of many people. Our
role has been to compile and present the history of James B.
Lansing and his namesake companies. However, most of the
information and documents that went into this compilation were
from the generous contributions of the following people and
organizations. To them, we are indebted.
First and foremost, our deep gratitude to
JBL
Professional
and
Harman International
. They have been
more than generous to us in providing access to their
irreplaceable archive materials and granting permission for us
to use Harman International's copyrighted documents and images
throughout this site. They have made their key staff available
to assist us and have taken the time to host us on two separate
occasions at their Northridge headquarters.
Altec Lansing Professional
-
As of February 1, 2002, the Altec Lansing brand has been
resurrected in the professional market as a division of Altec
Lansing Technologies. The President of this new venture, Davis
Merrey, and the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, John
Sexton, have been kind enough to grant us copyright clearance
for the Altec scanned images on our site in addition to offering
their assistance in further documenting the history of this
storied brand.
George Augspurger
-
George is a world renowned acoustic
designer through the work of his firm Perception Inc. Prior to
working as a consultant, George spent 12 years at JBL where he
was responsible for managing and establishing JBL's professional
division. George has provided detailed insight into JBL during
his tenure and copies of documents that have been incorporated
into this site.
Mark Cerasuolo -
Mark is the former
Director of Communications for JBL International. Mark
coordinated the development of most of the promotional
literature, manuals and press kits for JBL International
products. This included the remarkable K2 and XPL series of
loudspeakers. Mark has generously donated numerous original
documents and copies that have been incorporated into this site.
Glen Claybrook
-
Glen is responsible for developing the logo that appears on the
top left corner of every page on this site. In late 2001, a
contest was held amongst our readers to develop a site logo.
Glen's elegant, stylized D130 rendition is instantly
recognizable to anyone familiar with James B. Lansing and his
products. It is a very fitting representation of his legacy that
we are proud to have as a logo. Obviously, our readers agree
since it won the clear majority of votes in our contest.
Hal Cox -
Hal has allowed us to
capture a sense of the time and personalities involved in the
birth of the hi-fi phenomenon. Hal has been extremely generous
with his time, in particular, allowing Steve Schell to document
both his life and his collection of vintage audio equipment. As
a personal friend of James B. Lansing, he has given us first
hand insight into the personality of the man.
Drew Daniels
- Drew is responsible for all of the
detailed articles in Drew's Clues - and was good humored in
accepting the cheap pun that titles his work :-) Drew worked as
Applications Engineer at JBL Professional from 1984 to 1989.
That term of employment led to the genesis of his "high
efficiency" loudspeaker design. Drew has generously provided us
with the details of that system's design and modification
through the years along with his experience in building a
prototype.
John Eargle
-
The value of John's contribution can be
measured by the simple fact that this site would not be possible
without John's original work and ongoing assistance. John has
been extremely generous in sharing his knowledge and detailed
notes on Lansing heritage. John has kept a watchful eye on our
progress and has been invaluable in ensuring the accuracy of our
reporting and providing leads for further investigation. John
has also become our guide in sorting through the materials at
Harman International's archive.
Dr Bruce Edgar
-
Most of the documents on the products
of Lansing Manufacturing, Altec Lansing and the earliest years
of JBL are from the files of Dr. Edgar. He has kept
comprehensive records on the history of horn loudspeakers, that
are in some cases, the only records in existence. The complete
and unrestricted access to these records that Dr. Edgar provided
has proven invaluable.
John Edwards
-
John Edwards was one of our first
contacts and has proven to be one of the most valuable. He has
provided a remarkable insight into James B. Lansing and JBL,
from John's start as JBL's fourth employee to becoming Vice
President of Finance. John shared with us numerous personal
recollections, promotional documents, letters and photographs
from this time.
Mark Gander
- Mark is Vice President of Marketing at JBLPro. It was Mark's early offer to help us
develop this site that allowed our vision to grow from a limited
hobby site to a comprehensive account of the legacy and heritage
of James B. Lansing. Mark has recently given us access to the
archives of Harman International. This has proven to be
invaluable. The vast majority of original photos, product
literature and historical documents on our site are due to his
and Harman International's generosity.
Harman International, Japan
-
Harman International's Japanese distributor has been
generous in providing high quality copies of their original
artwork for JBL's recent statement speakers. They have played a
major role in maintaining and enhancing the prestige position of
JBL in Japan and around the world with their involvement in the
development and marketing of such systems as the
DD55000 Everest,
K2-S9500
and recent
K2-S9800.
Cap Kierulff
-
Cap was owner of one of the first, and
ultimately the largest, JBL dealership in Southern California.
Cap has provided a unique insight into the beginnings of the
hi-fi phenomenon. His first hand account of the people and
events he encountered is an entertaining romp through those
early times. Cap also provided access to his considerable
collection of Lansing related documents.
Ed Lacinski -
Ed is the Supervisor of
Technical Services for Harman Consumer in Woodbury NY. All of
the files for JBL's home speaker systems were moved to Woodbury
some years ago. Ed has taken the time to root through these
files to find information that has been lost to JBL's Northridge
facility. He has provided numerous copies of promotional
literature that has been used on this site.
Lansing Family -
The
immediate family of James B. Lansing consists of Lois O'Neil,
Glenna Garrett, Richard Lansing and James Kent Lansing. It has
been one of the great joys of developing this site to have come
in contact with this family. They have been very kind in sharing
their personal recollections, photographs and various historical
documents.
Garry Margolis
- Garry is a former Vice President,
Marketing for JBL International and is the spark that led to the
development of this site. One of the developers met Garry
through an internet mailing list. Garry arranged an
introduction to current senior staff at JBL and began the chain
of events that resulted in this site. Garry has since proved a
significant asset to us in providing detailed product histories
from his involvement at JBL from 1974 to1990.
Richard May
- Rich worked at JBL on
three separate occasions from 1961 to 1996. This experience in
over three decades of JBL's evolution has provided us with
invaluable insight. He has become our unofficial fact checker
due to his vast knowledge of product development histories.
Rich is also responsible for providing information on one of the
most influential employees of JBL - his father, Edmond May.
John Nebel and CSD Internet
-
As of November 2003, John and his company have been
providing hosting services for this site and the Lansing
Heritage Library at no cost. This is obviously a very
significant contribution that has removed what had been the
single greatest cost and constraint in running this site. We are
extremely grateful.
Koji Onodera -
Koji Onodera has become
our connection to the Japanese JBL community. Mr. Onodera is
Editor-in-Chief of Stereo Sound Magazine, the preeminent
Japanese audio magazine. Over the past number of years, Stereo
Sound has published in-depth articles and entire issues devoted
to James B. Lansing, JBL and Altec. Mr. Onodera has generously
offered his personal knowledge, in addition that of the
magazine, to aid us in the development of this site.
Sound and Communications
Inc.
of Jackson Mississippi is one of the oldest sound
contractors in the United States and the largest in the state of
Mississippi. Until Telex's closure of the Altec Lansing
Professional Division in 2000, they were a major Altec Lansing
dealer going back to the mid 50's. Steve Edmonds of Sound and
Communications has maintained an extensive library of vintage
Altec literature that he and his employer have kindly shared
with us.
Greg Timbers
-
Greg is the current Chief Development
Engineer at Harman Consumer. Since his start in 1972, Greg has
been responsible for more seminal loudspeaker designs at JBL
than anyone else. Just a short list includes the L300, most of
the 4300 series of monitors, the L250Ti, Everest and K2 series.
Greg has provided detailed information on his involvement with
many of these key systems that are incorporated in a number of
profiles on this site.
Arnold Wolf
-
Arnold has become the most prolific and
substantive contributor to our site. His knowledge and
perspective as President of JBL from 1969 to 1979 would be
valuable on their own. However, he has gone a great deal
further to develop a detailed record of his experiences with JBL
over two full decades. Arnold has devoted numerous hours to
document information specifically for this site in a style that
is informative and entertaining. The profile of his fascinating
life and contributions at JBL were the direct result of detailed
information he provided. Most of the details regarding JBL in
the 1970's are attributable to him.
John Wolff -
John is an expert on the
Hartsfield as a result of his establishment of Classic Audio
Reproductions in 1988 to build and market a reproduction of that
vintage system. John has assembled an extensive collection of
literature related to this system, which he has graciously made
available to us.
