80's Jackson pickups

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Fiesta Red

Fiesta Red

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Who made the Jackson pickups in the mid to late 80s for Charvel/Jackson? I usually saw these in the Charvel models after they became overseas production models. Some said "Jackson -- Made in USA" on them. Was Charvel/Jackson making their own or were they farmed out to a smaller company?
 
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I had those in a couple of Jacksons from that era. I also had the single coil (J-200???). They were decent pickups, though I did end up swapping all of them out over time. No idea who made them, if they were sourced elsewhere. Those also had the Jackson labeled Floyds on them, that were likewise decent, though I ended up putting original Floyds.
 
Probably decent at best at the time, and often swapped out for the Duncan flavour of the month. Now I wonder how many will prefer these to regular Duncand and DMZs
 
Supposedly they made them in-house, although later ones don't have the "made in USA" sticker on them. Even some early MIJ Charvels had the USA pickups in them, so I guess they sent over a few boatloads before they started winding them in Japan or Korea instead.

I really like the J80C and J90C. I've never had a J95, but I really dislike the J50BC unless it has one of the boosts (JE1000 or JE1200). It just feels way to scooped and low output to me. The non-ceramic ones seem to be a lot harder to find.

The single coils are nice too, J200 is a stacked noiseless single but vintage-ish, J200R is a dual rail pickup that came in the fusions. Wired parallel from factory, but swap two wires for series and it sounds like a great neck humbucker to my ear.
 
I had a J-80C. I shouldn't have sold it. To me, it's one of those perfect pickups for the music I like to play. I'm going to snap one up in a second when I find one.
 
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Supposedly all Jackson pickups were made in house until 88/89, even imports. They were apparently designed by Paul Gagon. Then gotoh or possibly maxon took over import electronics after that.
 
NowYou'rePlayingWithPower said:
Supposedly all Jackson pickups were made in house until 88/89, even imports. They were apparently designed by Paul Gagon. Then gotoh or possibly maxon took over import electronics after that.
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That's what I remember. Gagon designed them, and later ('88? '89?) Gotoh took over production of the ones for the import guitars.

I think I still have a J-50C or J-80C around somewhere... :unsure:
 
Dave M said:
That's what I remember. Gagon designed them, and later ('88? '89?) Gotoh took over production of the ones for the import guitars.

I think I still have a J-50C or J-80C around somewhere... :unsure:
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I'd be interested in taking that J-80C off your hands if you're willing to part with it

Thanks!
 
I had a J80C in a soloist and a J90C in a bolt on single hum. Both killer pickups for the time. My recollection is that the J80C was similar to the Duncan Custom, while the J90 (Alnico or Ceramic) was similar to the Duncan Distortion. J50 was their take on a Duncan ‘59.
 
PDC said:
I had a J80C in a soloist and a J90C in a bolt on single hum. Both killer pickups for the time. My recollection is that the J80C was similar to the Duncan Custom, while the J90 (Alnico or Ceramic) was similar to the Duncan Distortion. J50 was their take on a Duncan ‘59.
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Sounds about right looking at the descriptions
 
NowYou'rePlayingWithPower said:
Supposedly all Jackson pickups were made in house until 88/89, even imports. They were apparently designed by Paul Gagon.
Click to expand...

Jackson Pickup Information​


https://charvelusa.com/jackson_pickups.html

Jackson's primer on pickups, circa 1985 - VERY informative​


PDF Document of the Jackson Pickup Primer - https://pdfhost.io/v/rd81la2Cg_images

Post - https://guitarnuts2.proboards.com/thread/9967/jacksons-primer-pickups-circa-1985

Info on Paul Gagon - Metropoulos Forum

https://forum.metropoulos.net/viewtopic.php?t=40928

The Gear Page

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/nbd-1987-charvel-model-1b.2197444/

"Paul Gagon was the lead guy on the pickup project for Jackson/Charvel. He also worked for G&L and Fender and is responsible for many great pickup and preamp designs there, too."

Paul's Technicalities Forum​


https://www.bassesbyleo.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=28

(He worked for Jackson, Fender (he invented the TBX and MBX controls) and G&L)
 
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I just picked up an old Fusion Pro with a J50B and am very surprised by how low output the pickup is. I would have figured Jackson would put a hotter pickup into a shredder. (Guitar doesn't have a boost system but instead has a built in Wah circuit).
 
cardinal said:
I just picked up an old Fusion Pro with a J50B and am very surprised by how low output the pickup is. I would have figured Jackson would put a hotter pickup into a shredder. (Guitar doesn't have a boost system but instead has a built in Wah circuit).
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One of the first Jackson USA Strats I had, same J50. No boost. Not good. Had another a few years later, same J50 but with the boost. Much better.
 
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