The great JB love/hate..Convinced I hate!

[Nigel]

Enter the JB... At first I thought it roared, but I didn't spend a long period with it until last couple weeks. It sounds bloated, muddy, and like shit. Not sure if the pots are playing a role here too, I believe they're ESP branded. Nothing fancy. It sounds like the tone knob is on zero!

Sounds to me like the pickup is too high or you've got really big bass strings or both.

You most likely have 500K pots, which would make a JB bright since it wants to see a 125K load total, rather than 250K which is what two 500K pots provide.

The DC resistance to ground basically affects the amplitude of the resonant peak frequency of the pickup. More resistance? Less of the highs go to ground, more to your ears! JB's are designed for 250K pots which is why most people that hate them for being bitey/harsh/too bright have trouble.

In your case, it's hard to say. Lower it a bit, you might be surprised. I went lower output (Screamin' Demon) and while I love it for certain things, overall I needed more meat and the JB just works for what I do.

Let us know how it turns out!

Also, for those that have 500K pots and don't want to rip them out, one can wire a 333K resistor from the hot output of a JB to ground to get the DCR where it needs to be, @142K. Pulled this from Tom Anderson's "Vintage Voicing" mod.

 

[kmanick]

I love the JB in my Charvels and Jackson Soloists, but not in a Les Paul type of guitar. I have a Rio Grande BBQ in the bridge of my Les paul and it's a perfect match. (I play 70's , 80's 90's rock/hard rock) with that guitar and it sounds huge.
In General I prefer the BK Holydiver or the Nail bomb as they are (to my ears) both similar in tone to a JB but different better versions of it. I actually have a Holydiver in my wildCard #4 right now and it's one of my favorite sounding guitars I own.

 

[stephen sawall]

JB SH-4 or Distortion SH-6 with 500K is my preference.

 

[hammered]

JB SH-4 or Distortion SH-6 with 500K is my preference.

I tried the JB years ago with a 250k and it just didn’t sound right . Sounds much better to my ears with the 500k

 

[stephen sawall]

I tried the JB years ago with a 250k and it just didn’t sound right . Sounds much better to my ears with the 500k

I used a 300K for years. It sounds good. I just prefer the brighter more aggressive sound I get with 500K.
It does require changing the amp settings to match the potentiometer being used.

 

[PBGas]

JBs really need a 250K volume pot to sound right, much more often than not. It just transforms the pickup from garbage to great! Other "JB-ish" pickups don't necessarily require such a high load to sound good. It's weird.

100% agree with this! I swapped out the 500K pot on the Charvel Henrik that I had with a 250K and it was perfect with that setup. Again, we all have different hearing and for me, that setup sounded fantastic. It also depends upon the amp or setup you are running as well.

 

[Little B]

I can't speak for a jb being used for chugga chugga cookie munsta detuned a# stuff.but for the last 30 yrs for me anyway,I've had excellent results with a jb for most styles. It splits really well too.

 

[scottosan]

I do want better electronics. I just have to figure out what will work. Being an import, I don't think a CTS will go in without some reaming.

They sell metric pots that will fit. Just check the shaft length.

https://www.philadelphialuthiertool...haft-audio-taper-potentiometer-coarse-spline/

 

[scottosan]

Also, if it’s lacking high end, putting in a 250k will have less high end.

 

[DanTravis62]

Unfortunately, with pickups it's imperative to experiment to really know what's best with each individual guitar. IF you want it to sound it's best. Which, admittedly is a PIA. For example, the USA Charvel SoCals from 08/09 came with DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge...I can't stand that pup. Just not for me...I have 4 sitting in my 'miscellaneous junk' box. But, I had an 08 Candy Tangerine SoCal that had GREAT tone....as good as anything I've owned/picked up and it had the stock TZ in. I ended up selling it because I found an 84 Charvel for 799...listed as a model 1 Lol....but before I sold it I swapped the TZ for a Duncan Custom...the TZ sounded better in THAT guitar. First time that ever happened. I always swap in/out a few pickups that I have here just to see if one fits better than the rest. Time consuming yes, but worth it in the end. I have an MCP Angel Dust, Duncan Custom and RTM, 1983 JBJ, and Wagner Iron Man for my experiments here.
I would also add, with a JB and any pickup you really have to experiment with the height to get different responses/tonal changes. But you guys probably know this already.

Yep, this question is seriously rig dependent.

I don't generally care for JBs personally, but that's probably dependent on the guitars and amps and cabs I'm using it with - let alone the style of music.

Pickups are a super personal thing, because they're so dependent on the rig around them.

I think in the right situation a JB could rock.

 

[SQUAREHEAD]

Ok, what about an A2 mag in a JB?
Anyone have good experience comparing with A5?

 

[napalmdeath]

It's getting the zebra Duncan SH-5/59 set in it. I'm sure that slice the Custom has will be a big improvement.

 

[midnightlaundry]

I would never say a JB is bloated and muddy.. It's all treble and mids..

 

[scottosan]

Ok, what about an A2 mag in a JB?
Anyone have good experience comparing with A5?

An A2 will have less mids, softer high end and the low end will have a bit more sag.

The original JBs had a rough cast magnet whereas the newer ones have a smooth magnet. People want the MJ wound JB’s but JBs have always been completely machine wound. Neither MJ or anyone else there hand winds any humbuckers. Only some single coils are hand wound in the custom shop. The older JBs just had different magnets, not MJs magic, as she only assembled them when the machine was done. Tonally rough cast will be a little less harsh in the highs, so it’s a nice in between of the mids of an A5 and and some less high end of the A2.

 

[Nigel]

I used a 300K for years. It sounds good. I just prefer the brighter more aggressive sound I get with 500K.
It does require changing the amp settings to match the potentiometer being used.

Yes indeed. Speakers, amp topology, cables, strings, wood, scale length, bridge/nut/fretboard wood all factor. Being and electric guitarist creates a situation where one has to develop artistic consciousness, that is seeing how many factors relate to create a result. What a challenge!

 

[stephen sawall]

I always remember my friend Rebel Bill putting a Invader and 1meg pot with everything else removed in his SG thirty years ago.

 

[Nigel]

Yes indeed. Speakers, amp topology, cables, strings, wood, scale length, bridge/nut/fretboard wood all factor. Being and electric guitarist creates a situation where one has to develop artistic consciousness, that is seeing how many factors relate to create a result. What a challenge!

Biggest icepick to smooth tone factor I've seen in years is switching from Ernie Ball Slinky's, which are nickel plated steel, to Fender 150's which are made by D'Addario and are pure nickel. They don't cut as much, but the tone is WAY more musical/less harsh. String tension is higher too. This is one of the big secrets of EVH tone!

 

[PBGas]

Unfortunately, with pickups it's imperative to experiment to really know what's best with each individual guitar. IF you want it to sound it's best. Which, admittedly is a PIA. For example, the USA Charvel SoCals from 08/09 came with DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge...I can't stand that pup. Just not for me...I have 4 sitting in my 'miscellaneous junk' box. But, I had an 08 Candy Tangerine SoCal that had GREAT tone....as good as anything I've owned/picked up and it had the stock TZ in. I ended up selling it because I found an 84 Charvel for 799...listed as a model 1 Lol....but before I sold it I swapped the TZ for a Duncan Custom...the TZ sounded better in THAT guitar. First time that ever happened. I always swap in/out a few pickups that I have here just to see if one fits better than the rest. Time consuming yes, but worth it in the end. I have an MCP Angel Dust, Duncan Custom and RTM, 1983 JBJ, and Wagner Iron Man for my experiments here.
I would also add, with a JB and any pickup you really have to experiment with the height to get different responses/tonal changes. But you guys probably know this already.

Thank goodness someone else out there dislikes the Tone Zone as much as I do! I had a bunch of J-Custom guitars through the years (sold them all of through Covid over the past couple of years) and that has to be the absolute worst pickup to put in those mahog bodies. I would pull them anytime I got one. Like you, I put them all in a box and sold them off last year as well. Similar to what happened to you, I had a Fender Custom shop with one that came as stock and it was somewhat better sounding in that guitar. It is a pickup that needs a brighter guitar for sure.

 

[Racerxrated]

Thank goodness someone else out there dislikes the Tone Zone as much as I do! I had a bunch of J-Custom guitars through the years (sold them all of through Covid over the past couple of years) and that has to be the absolute worst pickup to put in those mahog bodies. I would pull them anytime I got one. Like you, I put them all in a box and sold them off last year as well. Similar to what happened to you, I had a Fender Custom shop with one that came as stock and it was somewhat better sounding in that guitar. It is a pickup that needs a brighter guitar for sure.

Yeah the TZ turned most of my USA SoCals into a low end mud fest...and that's with Alder! I've read where some feel the Afwayu is too low-centric; but my 09 SoCal has an Afwayu and it's perfect. At least compared to the TZ I yanked long ago.

 

[Billelzebub]

JBs really need a 250K volume pot to sound right, much more often than not. It just transforms the pickup from garbage to great! Other "JB-ish" pickups don't necessarily require such a high load to sound good. It's weird.

This makes sense. I pulled a JB out of my King V that was my main guitar for years because I didn't like how it sounded in there anymore, and ended up dropping it in my HSS strat because I wanted something hotter in it and that was the only pickup i had laying around that was 53mm. That pickup sounds AMAZING in that guitar. Several people that have played it have said it's the best sounding strat they've ever played. One keeps trying to buy it from me. I'll never sell it.

To me, pickups are subjective to the guitar, some more than others. The JB is definitely the extreme example of a pickup that is very guitar dependent. I used to love it and it sounded good in the guitars I put it in, but over time i fell out of love with it as my tastes changed and my gear knowledge widened. Great example - I've had a JB in two Les Pauls. One sounded great with it. That guitar had gone through several pickups trying to find the right match and on a whim i dropped a JB in it and it was the winner. Few years later I bought another Les Paul, it had a JB in it and I couldn't get that pickup out of it fast enough. Basically I've found that for me, no one pickup is a solution to everything.