Webb 614E

Rodney Shuffler · Post by **Rodney Shuffler** » 11 May 2000 4:50 am

Can anyone tell me about this amp? I have a chance at one for maybe around $700.00. Is that a fair price and is this a good amp? I am somewhat less than satisfied with my Session 500 (LeMay mod and all)...any info. on it would be greatly appreciated. I've not even seen the amp yet; just thought I'd check it out with you fellas first. Thanks men.

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Rod's Place www.geocities.com/vibrasonic9/index.html

John Lacey · Post by **John Lacey** » 11 May 2000 5:03 am

Rodney, over the years I've owned both and yes, I would go for it. The price is reasonable (if you know the shape of the amp) and the tone is superb. Nice compressed mid (almost gone) and silky highs and punchy lows. I kick my ass the day I got rid of mine.

Kenny Forbess · Post by **Kenny Forbess** » 11 May 2000 5:32 am

Rodney,
do you know what year it is?
I have two of the older models and wouldn't part with them. they're killers.
Kenny

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 11 May 2000 6:24 am

They're the most flexable amp out there
(tone-wise). Just make sure the JBL is
the E130-4 with the
original cone.

Duane Dunard · Post by **Duane Dunard** » 11 May 2000 6:44 am

Rodney,even though we are no longer a Webb dealer, I still own a 614-E and a nice used Starburst model. Certain steels just sound better through one amp, over another. My Zum comes alive with the Webb, but my Emmons seems to sound better with a Peavey Nashville-1000 or Evans SE-200. So, one is not better then another, it's a matching game we have to play with the guitar, pick-up, and amplifier. Last I heard, the "new" factory price on a 614-E was $1700.00, so the used amp for $700.00 could possibly be a very good deal, pending age and condition.[This message was edited by Duane Dunard on 11 May 2000 at 07:46 AM.]

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 11 May 2000 11:38 am

I bought a used Webb 6-14E for $450 at Atlanta, only kicker is that it did not have the original JBL speaker in it. It came with a K-130 but otherwise it was in good condition and it sounds better than anything I've ever owned. Not sure how much I'm losing soundwise not having the D-130 but the D-130's are getting hard to find so that does explain part of me getting the amp so cheap. To me the reverb is just incredible. The tone controls can be tricky to set. With the Nashville 1000 going for $695 new with full warranty I'm not sure I would buy another Webb amp before trying a Peavey 1000. I can say that the Webb has more clarity, warmth and dynamics that my Nashville 400 has but for the money the 400 is still agreat amp.

Greg

Fred Murphy · Post by **Fred Murphy** » 11 May 2000 12:05 pm

I sold my Webb a little while back for $450. I wish I hadn't, but I still have a lot of amps. The reason I sold mine was that I didn't like the sound quite so well with my Emmons as I did with my Sho-Buds, but it is still a great amp. Different amps seem to go better with different brands of steels. At least to my ear, anyway.

Mike Fried · Post by **Mike Fried** » 15 May 2000 10:16 am

You don't want to put a D130 or D130F in a Webb; the 225wrms will fry it in short order at high volume. The K-series JBLs will handle a little more power than the D-series speakers, but are still marginal for stage use. The best speaker for the Webb (and the one they started using as soon as it came out) is the JBL E130-4. A good second choice is the Black Widow 1501-4, which is a little darker-sounding than the JBL, but pretty close in effeciency and power-handling.

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 15 May 2000 11:22 am

Mike,
Do the JBL E-series actually make more sound (louder) than the D or K series, or do they just survive higher power levels? In ohter words, are they equally efficient at converting electrical energy to soudn energy?

Mike Fried · Post by **Mike Fried** » 17 May 2000 2:45 pm

Earnest,
The JBL's seem to have gotten less effecient as their power handling has increased. I think this is due largely to increases in the voice coil gap and the use of stiffer cone formulas. The original D130 (not D130F) was by far the most effecient speaker JBL (and probably anyone else) ever made, but would only handle 25-30 watts. The story is that Leo Fender had JBL design the D130F to better handle the power of the Twin amp, which was blowing the factory-option D130s and causing replacement headaches. They increased the power handling to about 50 watts by increasing the voice coil gap, which improved heat dissapation (hence better power-handling) at the expense of effeciency. Over time, they've also changed paper and cone surround materials (starting with the K-series) to resist decomposition and tearing from over-excursion. Most amp designs such as the Webb have been optimized for the sound of a particular speaker, hence the use of the E130, which is just about blow-proof in that amp. The E130 is an effecient high-power speaker - just not as effecient as the lower-power versions. One of those "no free lunch" tradeoffs, I guess...

Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 17 May 2000 4:21 pm

Which is louder?
E130 with 300-watt amp
.or.
D130 with 30-watt amp?

If they sound the same then we this 35-year exercise has been worse than pointless.

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 17 May 2000 4:49 pm

A 300 watt amp is TWICE as loud as a 30 watt amp. The general rule is that it takes an amp
with 10 times more of a wattage output to sound twice as loud. Of course then you need
a speaker that'll handle the power.

Dennis Manuel · Post by **Dennis Manuel** » 22 May 2000 6:13 pm

I recently bought a Webb 614-E amp and the sound is fantastic. It has a reconed 4 ohm speaker in it so I can't really say if the original speaker sounded any different. Currently I play a Legrande lll with a 17,500 ohm hum bucker pickup and it sounds great. I have the main EQ section shut off and the other EQ section set like this.
Sensitivity +6
Volume +3 to +4
Bass +6
Mid Range +1
Treble +2.5 to +2.75
These amps are bright sounding amp so be careful with adding to much highs, you could hurt someone. Hope this helps and if you don't like it someone will definitely buy it.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 23 May 2000 3:03 pm

I used an 8 ohm JBL (a D-130, I think) in my Webb for a few years, until I finally got around to reconing the original speaker. When I put the 4 ohm speaker (reconed) back in, I noticed an increase in volume.