The Duncan JB. Who is a fan, why?

  • Thread starter Thread starter mooncobra
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I love the JB and models, but I like other brands too .

But the JB is a Classic highball when shopping for pickups .
 
This thread was pretty old starting out but it gave me more info than I was aware of.
In the case of an older JB one I have thats going into a Lester has the initial sticker .
Mine is either "JBC" or JBO.
Anyone know the winder of this one?
 
I get the appeal of JB’s, they have a good voicing and feel that’s easy to enjoy and fits well in many guitar types, I’d even prefer them over most of the sterile sounding BKP’s, but there are just so many pickups out there that outclass it in quality of tone, clarity and nuance. I would expect most forum gearheads to know about using the better stuff. Always was odd to me that a lot of high end guitars use Duncan’s or Dimarzio’s (cutting corners in pickups), but few luthiers seem to build with sound as the priority anyway (they seem to be meticulous about everything on a musical instrument lol). Anyway, rant over
 
mchn13 said:
Was using mcp's for awhile, but I'm back to my les Paul with the jb/'59 in it.
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Me too! I think I had three guitars at one point with motor city pups. I got an Antiquity JB a few years ago for my goldtop and love it… crispy & clear, single notes sing and great chugs for what I like to play.
 
Had a JB in my USA soloist, immediately swapped to an SH-5!
 
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My old JB still gets me
 
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I like them in strat type instruments. Some may say that they lack low end chug compared to others but from 0 to 10 on the guitar volume is just the right range. I also like the plain old stock JB's best, I have custom shop etc and just tend to use the regular ones.
 
The JB is my go-to bridge position pickup. Like others have said, adjustments seem to matter a lot with this pickup. I adjust pickup and pole piece height by ear on each of my guitars.
 
Few pick ups beat the JB for leads, it is just wonderful. I love the overall tone, my issue has always been the loose low end for the chugga. I really love the SH-5 too, moreso for rythym though. Playing leads, something is alwaysing missing for me with the SH-5.

That's why I've gravitated towards JB variants that solve that issue, like the MC Afwayu, Aldrich, etc. The Afwayu is my favorite bridge pup right now because it combines the tight low end of say an SH-5 with the sparkling lead tone of the JB and is a bit more balanced in the mids.

I'd still play and keep a guitar with a JB if the occasion struck me and I had an extra axe unloaded laying around!
 
I love the JB in the right guitar, but it can be a mushy screeching mess in the wrong guitar.
I think the same can be said for most of the "go-to" pickups out there.
I love th eSuhr Aldrich but I had one in my Amber DK24 an dit was an upper mid mess. It's in my Infinity blue DK24 now and it sounds killer.
Same for BK's I absolutely love the Holydiver, but again in the right guitar.
The Jalen FW is the other "JB-ish" pickup I go to now, I don't think it splits as well as a JB does but in "full on" mode
it's a great sounding pickup, very JB-ish but smoother and tighter
 
The JB is great, currently have JB/59 in my LP and SG. Many many great records were made with a plain ‘ol JB and then lots of those players released either sig pickups and/or used boutique versions but their best tones people chase are almost exclusively stock pickups or duncan/dimarzio.
 
A JB in the right guitar is magic. Some of the most sought after tones in rock have been recorded with one. To truely understand what the JB does, you need to hear it in the contect of a band mix.
 
mooncobra said:
I recently got a bitchin Soloist, and it came with a JB and a 59. I have always liked the 59, but have never really been a fan of the JB. The soloist has an alder wings on a maple neck through. This time, the guitar and my amp, the Masotti x100m(which rules by the way)have made the JB tolerable. I usually cant stand the JB, but a combo of the guitar and amp make it ok. I will change it out eventually, but I am not in a rush like I usually would be to get rid of a JB. Its amazing that certain combinations of guitars and amps can make such a big change in sound and feel occur in a pickup.
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The JB is easy to like and very versatile but still has enough output to make an amp scream. Perhaps you should consider a Dimarzio Norton DP160 as it's the closest you'll get in the Dimarzio line to the JB, but in my opinion even better than the JB.
 
I been using the same JB pickup since 1988. It has been in a dozen guitars throughout the decades. I am honestly not liking that sound too much anymore.
 
Still loving the JB. Put a TB-4 into a HSS Strat with 250K pots and it just worked out so well. Great pickup.
 
A nice J.B. (vintage model, current SD custom shop, boutique copy of) is a super fun pickup to play. By varying the pick attack and left hand vibrato/grip, this pickup can sing sweetly or scream vocally like no other. In a tight sounding guitar, it's tight enough for chugga chugga (Scott Ian, Mustaine), yet it's not so hot as to render it incapable of subtlety or roll back tones. There's not many genres this pickup can't cover well.
 
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