Pickup recommendation needed. Alternative to SH4 JB?

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BesaMoogie

BesaMoogie

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Hi, like the title says, I need some recommendations for a bridge PU.
My setup is a Gibson Firebird Studio (all Mahagoni) --> JB --> some sort of boost --> Dual Rectifier.
My Musik style reaches from Punk to Metal.
I play in Eb to D Standard.

Though I am pretty happy with the JB, I recently realised that the bottom end can be a little bit mushy or squishy with this PU. Paired with a Dual Rec with it`s sluggy low end, this can be to much sometimes (with my Mark III the PU works very well).
I catch myself muting the strings very hard and hitting the strings hard to tighten up the bottom end. Although this works well, it slows down my playing as I have to play with lot of force to get the desired sound.

So I am searching for a PU with a more firm and percussive/aggressive bottom end.
I was thinking of maybe a SH6, which to my understanding is an SH4 with a ceramic magnet, or swapping the Alnico 5 of my SH4 with an Alnico 8 to basically get an Alternative 8. I heard this tightens the bottom end but also increases it, which may be too much for an all mahagoni guitar?

Last but not least, I faintly remember I red about my exact problem with the JB on this forum and the person was pointed out to Bare Knuckle PUs. Can`t remember the model, but it was basically a JB with better bottom end.

Thanks for the suggestions
 
For a Duncan replacement, I really like the SH-5 Custom. I think it is just a better overall pickup and fixes some of the things I don’t like about the JB.

BKP option would be Holydiver, which is closest to the JB imo or consider the Nailbomb with a ceramic magnet.
 
The options in that direction with Bareknuckle would be either the Holy Diver or the Rebel Yell. The Holy Diver has always been considered to be their take on a JB but I’ve also heard that the Rebel Yell may do the job better. I’ve only used the Holy Diver and in my opinion it doesn’t really do what you want. I actually found it to be a bit of a weird pickup that excelled at leads but for rhythms was too quacky and almost twangy.

It is definitely not a tighter JB, the mid focus is lower and while it definitely has a cleaner bass response it ends up sounding a little fatter. It’s actually “cleaner” sounding all around compared to the JB which is maybe why I always perceived it to have a sort of stringy and twangy quality in the top end.

If I wanted a BKP that does what I like in a JB but tighter I’d probably try the Rebel Yell just based on what I’ve heard via clips and word of mouth. Don’t go with the Nailbomb, it has massive amounts of low end. Even though its clear/punchy low end, it’s too much IMO unless your guitar or amp is thin sounding.
 
I like the Ragnarock or Polymath in Bare Knuckles. The Ragnarock is much better than the Aftermath and Juggernauts which I found sterile. The Ragnarock has a great growl and midrange
 
Apex1Rg7X said:
For a Duncan replacement, I really like the SH-5 Custom. I think it is just a better overall pickup and fixes some of the things I don’t like about the JB.

BKP option would be Holydiver, which is closest to the JB imo or consider the Nailbomb with a ceramic magnet.
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SH-5 for me too.
 
SH-5
HolyDiver or Alnico Nailbomb.
Suhr Aldrich definitely has tighter bass response than a JB but is still JB-ish
I have a Rio Grande BBQ in the bridge of my Les Paul and I love it , I don't play metal with that guitar, just classic 70's, 80's rock but it brought my Les Paul to life.
 
After falling down the pickup rabbit-hole over the past couple of years, I have found that for hard rock to heavy stuff, the off the shelf SH/TB 5 Duncan Custom with the Ceramic mag is a zero disappointment choice. Absolutely - there may be better choices for specific guitar / amp combos or tastes, but it’s tough to find anyone saying that a Duncan Custom flat didn’t work or sounded ‘bad’ in any guitar.
 
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Personally I’d go for the Wolfetone Timbre Wolf instead of the alnico Duncan Custom. The latter is too scooped for someone wanting something related to a JB. I’ve always liked the alnico Custom but wished it didn’t lose so much of the midrange push and the Timbre Wolf solved that to me.
 
SD Black Winter
BKP Polymath
BKP Rebel Yell
BKP Aftermath - great pickup but needs to be in a darker guitar or it can be bright.
 
Alnico, ToneNerd Roxy
Ceramic, ToneNerd Wicked 8, or for more low end and rawness, the Psykes.
None are really JB’ish, but Scott’s pickups, prices and service are so good they’re a mandatory try. They’re easily as good or better than any boutique building out there.
 
Tone Nerd Roxy . You didn’t mention what boost you’re using but a Friedman Buxom Boost or SD-1 would be my choice to tighten up the low end a bit
 
Duncan Perpetual Burn did just that for me in an alder super strat. Next best was a Tonenerd Sunset Strip.

The PB with a 300k volume and no tone pot is really what I always wanted the JB to be
 
I really need to try an SH-5 one of these days Asa Seymour Duncan fanatic. I'm embarrassed I haven't. One day I need to do the Tonenerd thing too and try one of those out.
 
Beyond Black said:
Alnico, ToneNerd Roxy
Ceramic, ToneNerd Wicked 8, or for more low end and rawness, the Psykes.
None are really JB’ish, but Scott’s pickups, prices and service are so good they’re a mandatory try. They’re easily as good or better than any boutique building out there.
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I'm on to a new favorite wind pattern. I'll have a few more options after the holidays.


As for muddiness, you have 2 options. Either less winds or higher turn per layer. The Roxy uses a high turns per layer resulting in a more tight/immediate low end. In this case, I think it'd fit the bill of the OP as long as you don't like to run the treble and presence high on the recto
 
Full shred SH-10. Not as hot as the name might imply and it completely tosses the "JB blanket" aside and you get full crisp high end.
 
Thanks guys, a lot of suggestions I`m am still "digesting". Feels like the whole BKP line was suggested at one point :)

napalmdeath said:
SH-5 for me too.
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I had a look on the SH5 before but I`m not sure if I would end up with to much bass? In what guitar are you using the pup?

hammered said:
Tone Nerd Roxy . You didn’t mention what boost you’re using but a Friedman Buxom Boost or SD-1 would be my choice to tighten up the low end a bit
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I have a few boosts: Maxon OD808, Maxon OD820, SD1, DIY TS9 clone, DIY Fortin 33, DIY Intergral Preamp. With the Fortin stuff it gets very tight, but I think the JB has this squishy feel by nature.

scottosan said:
I'm on to a new favorite wind pattern. I'll have a few more options after the holidays.


As for muddiness, you have 2 options. Either less winds or higher turn per layer. The Roxy uses a high turns per layer resulting in a more tight/immediate low end. In this case, I think it'd fit the bill of the OP as long as you don't like to run the treble and presence high on the recto
Click to expand...
I was actually looking at your PUs as I was following your building threads but eventually ditched the idea because I`m in the EU. Any idea how much shipping would be?
 
Fishman Fluence Classic in Voice 2 definitely pull off the "better JB" tone as well!
 
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