Fatter JB soundalikes?

RedPlated said:
Haha, yes. This damn flu is affecting my brain.

Yessir, my current favorite. I just bought an Aldrich neck off TGP. Looking forward to trying it in the same guitar.
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can relate, just got over a stomach bug. There are a ton of nasty viruses going around. My friend keeps telling me it's drones spraying stuff :LOL:
 
Erock said:
can relate, just got over a stomach bug. There are a ton of nasty viruses going around. My friend keeps telling me it's drones spraying stuff :LOL:
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Whatever it is, it's a nasty virus. I haven't been sick in 3 years. This one got me good.
 
headlessdeadguy said:
Motor City Afwayu
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The Afwayu vaguely reminds of the Aldrich in that it’s got more of a lower mids focus and doesn’t come across as hot sounding/feeling. It’s clearer than Aldrich and has a great growl to it. Kind of like a hotter Pearly Gates with a lot more bottom end. Both will sound scooped compared to the JB and its mid spike. Killer pickup and addicting!
 
Nashville Riff Co said:
unpopular opinion but whatever

https://customshop.seymourduncan.com/eclair/
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The alnico II vs the V is a pleasant change to the JB. I enjoy it.

The Aldrich is a fantastic pickup with clarity and thickness.
The Bareknuckle Polymath is one that I've used in a handful of my guitars and it pairs well with my les paul or with my T style guitars.
The Custom 5 has a fat bottom.
I do like the Dimarzio Norton.
 
I'll second the Custom 5 and Norton, although the Norton -while a better pick-up in most senses- has a slightly leaner, but tighter low end than the JB.
Here's another option: DiMarzio AT-1.
Has more thickness and roundness than the Norton, while also having that 'JB but better ' core thingy going on.
Originally Timmons' Ibanez sig guitar had a JB IIRC, so it makes sense that his sig pickup is based on that.
I replaced a Norton in a Les Paul with the AT-1, looking for a bit more thickness in the lows and low kids and it delivered.
 
Rex Rocker said:
So if I want a slightly chunkier, louder JB, then the Aldrich doesn't get your seal of approval?
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I wouldn't say "chunkier and louder", I'd say more refined and better. The JB doesn't have the palette of colors and versatility that the Aldrich has. I haven't played my JB in awhile, but when I turn the volume down, it just gets lower in volume. The Aldrich becomes versatile and can use it for cleaner parts and sounds warm.

I will say this. The fact that we are struggling to separate the two means that they are close tone wise and that is a good thing. You are not going to lose anything. You ate going to get less harshness on top and more focus on the bottom.
 
I Highly recommend reviews from reliable forum members to get you pointed in the right direction, then find a used example of whatever seems to check the boxes and try it out with your guitar plugged into your rig. Guitars / Rigs / Player's touch - attack - style are all such major variables in how any pickup is going to sound. And I absolutely endorse what others have said over and over, that DC Resistance is a very unreliable metric of how a pickup sounds and feels in a particular guitar. I have tried some pickups with moderate to high resistance that end up sounding so compressed (and almost 'congested') that through my rig, they make the guitar sound thinner and smaller than a pickup with far less DCR. The Duncan '78 is a perfect example of a pickup with relatively low DCR but sounds and plays like a much higher output pickup. (Not suggesting the '78 for your LP - just making an example). If you can find an Aldrich (I know there are variants of the Aldrich, too) used for a decent price, just snag it and give it a try. If you buy a pickup used, you are likely to be able to sell it for whatever you gave for it. If there is a small 'loss' on the ones you don't bond with, its well worth the price of a 'no time limit' at home audition.
 
NotThatBrightCap said:
The alnico II vs the V is a pleasant change to the JB. I enjoy it.

The Aldrich is a fantastic pickup with clarity and thickness.
The Bareknuckle Polymath is one that I've used in a handful of my guitars and it pairs well with my les paul or with my T style guitars.
The Custom 5 has a fat bottom.
I do like the Dimarzio Norton.
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yea dude, alnico IIs and alnico IIIs lower output pickups into high gain amps is a great feel thing for me

especially if you have a strong picking attack, they're super responsive for my tastes anyway
 
You said you like the Antiquity better, why not get one of those?
Other than that fatter JB to me is a Tone Zone.
 
I do have a regular Custom lying around and an A5 magnet to swap in. Maybe I should.

I will say, I didn't like the ceramic Custom, LOL. It's too thuddy and not very JB-like at at all. But maybe A5 would make it closer to the JB. One thing that I worry, though. It's definitely not going to be as hot.
 
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Greazygeo said:
You said you like the Antiquity better, why not get one of those?
Other than that fatter JB to me is a Tone Zone.
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That just goes to show how different we all are. I had that pickup installed in a guitar in the 90s and hated it. I hated it so much that I asked him to put the stock pickup back in.
 
Speeddemon said:
I'll second the Custom 5 and Norton, although the Norton -while a better pick-up in most senses- has a slightly leaner, but tighter low end than the JB.
Here's another option: DiMarzio AT-1.
Has more thickness and roundness than the Norton, while also having that 'JB but better ' core thingy going on.
Originally Timmons' Ibanez sig guitar had a JB IIRC, so it makes sense that his sig pickup is based on that.
I replaced a Norton in a Les Paul with the AT-1, looking for a bit more thickness in the lows and low kids and it delivered.
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I actually have an AT-1 in my Strat, and while I do find the attack smoother like the Antiquity JB, I find it has less low-end and output than either the Ant or the regular JB.

Killer pickup, though.
 
romanianreaper said:
That just goes to show how different we all are. I had that pickup installed in a guitar in the 90s and hated it. I hated it so much that I asked him to put the stock pickup back in.
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Any pickup can sound great in one guitar and terrible in another. Just have to find the one that matches up to whatever you have.
Duncan and Dimarzio both have exchange policies.
 
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