ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Modular touring loudspeaker (Concert Series)

4850 concert system

JBL · 1985–1986

Evidence status · documented

Identity and core specifications are documented; some historical fields remain unavailable.

The JBL 4850 was the base model of JBL's Concert Series, its first line of pre-wired, pre-tested trapezoidal touring boxes. It paired two 12-inch 2204H woofers with a 2445J compression driver on a Bi-Radial horn in a fibreglass-coated plywood cabinet with a 45-degree wedge shape and eight rigging points.

Introduced
1985–1986
Category
Modular touring loudspeaker (Concert Series)
Intended use
Ready-to-fly concert sound
Production
JBL Concert Series base model

Equipment photographs · 1

JBL 4850 Concert Series family, 1986 brochure

1 / 1 · JBL 4850 Concert Series family, 1986 brochure

JBL 4850 Concert Series family, 1986 brochure·JBL Professional·© JBL Professional; used for identification and historical commentary

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    Trade press called it perhaps the first complete factory-built ready-to-fly touring system from a major maker, answering Meyer, EAW and Turbosound.

  2. 02

    Its uniform rigging and wedge shape helped standardise cluster flying.

Engineering record

Drivers
Two 2204H 12-inch; 2445J compression driver on a 2380 Bi-Radial horn[1]
Enclosure
Birch plywood with fibreglass coating, 45-degree wedge, eight aircraft-style fittings[1]
Response
50 Hz–16 kHz ±3 dB[1]

Original pricing

No reliable period price located

2026 equivalent

Not calculated without a reliable original price.

Public price evidence was not sufficient to publish a defensible original figure.

Use in the field

Stanal Sound fielded a Concert Series system for Neil Diamond's arena tour[2]

Manuals & original documents

Sources

  1. 14850 Loudspeaker System Family brochureJBL · brochure · 1986
  2. 2RE/P Files: The Coming Of Age For The Once-Maverick Touring Sound BusinessProSoundWeb (RE/P reprint) · case study · 2014-02-07

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