Those that dislike the Duncan JB, describe the tone...

[Shiny_Surface]

Wow, didn't realize so many JB haters were around

Guess it took a thread like this to ferret 'em all out

 

[jkdsteve]

What do I like about the JB?
That cocked, abrasive/aggressive, almost nasal tone...

What don't I like about the JB?
That cocked, brasive/aggressive, almost nasal tone...

..depending on the day.

I've had four guitars with 'em in now...two Alder Jacksons (DK2M and Dinky Pro)...both sounded like ass.

Had one in a nice mahog. LP type...sounded great...should never have sold that guitar.

I installed one in my Epi LP and while it sounds about 10,000x better than stock...it's still greasepaint on an old whore

 

[blackba]

The JB is one of the most popular pickups around, so most people have tried it at some point. Kind of like a vintage 30 speaker, you either love it or hate it.

I like the JB I have in your old strat Chris, sounds thick and cuts through well. Does it sound like a les paul, no, but it works great in that strat. In my MIJ contemporary tele which is a muddy guitar by nature it sounds super thick and a bit muddy.

 

[loudgtr]

JB in my Godin SD with a 250k vol pot and disconected tone pot...sounds killer: ripping '80's type tone !!!

250k vol pot is the trick to JB's. They were designed for strats with 250k vol pots already in them.

George Lynch used JB's all over the place in the "good tone" days.

 

[blackba]

Have you ever tried a BBQ in a Strat?

Unfortunately no. I do have a mid 80's Ibanez Roadstar II that needs a bridge pickup. Its basically a strat with a basswood body. If I find a used BBQ, I may throw one in there...

 

[AmpliFIRE]

The JB is one of the most popular pickups around, so most people have tried it at some point. Kind of like a vintage 30 speaker, you either love it or hate it.

I like the JB I have in your old strat Chris, sounds thick and cuts through well. Does it sound like a les paul, no, but it works great in that strat. In my MIJ contemporary tele which is a muddy guitar by nature it sounds super thick and a bit muddy.

Have you ever tried a BBQ in a Strat?

i tried one in an EBMM Axis, and didn't love it. It just sounded blah for some reason . I swapped it out for an Air Zone and I was much happier with the results. That is a killer pickup IMO

 

[danhops]

Any pickup is dependent on the guitar. It may suck in one and kill in another, just have to find the right pickup for your guitar.

I could not agree more. Even between two identical spec'd guitars there could be a huge difference.

 

[Rayneman]

I can't say I dislike the JB, but I've found that pup does justice to a guitar that isn't "big" sounding on it own. For example, I've not loved that pup in any guitar I've owned, except for my Yamaha RGX-TT which has a smaller, thinner body than most guitars.

 

[Subclavian]

I started out really liking the JB years ago, but I realized that over time that it was a little "thin" sounding for me in most of the guitars I've tried. However, I will say that each guitar responds differently. I have a Jackson and a Charvette that sounds HUGE with a JB. In my Les Pauls, they sound "thin".


I still have a few guitars with them in the bridge and have a few laying around...to me they're one of my "tester" pickups I'll swap in when trying stuff out.

I think it's a decent pickup, but overall it's not my 1st choice


sub

 

[Nigel Tufnel]

Okay, so I may not be crazy. I do hear the "bland" tone and almost a "cocked wah" thing going on. Not that strong, but it's there and annoying the heck out of me. I used to love this pickup, but having the BBQ in my LP has really opened my eyes. I like that thick fat tone. The BBQ is loose too (because it has tons of lows) and I'm okay with that. But the JB just doesn't sound good to me in this hardtail strat I just got.

I have another BBQ, a Duncan '59, and a DiMarzio Virtual Hot PAF sitting here tempting me. I may try the other BBQ in this guitar, hoping it will do the trick.

The Rio Grande BBQ is everything that the JB wishes it was imo. The BBQ has that nice mid push but with a fat, round tone, much smoother highs too. I really like most of the duncans that I've tried which is quite a few and I'd take them over any of the dimarzio's that I've tried which is decidedly less but that's just because I've never messed with a dimarzio that rang my bell. I have heard great thing about that dimarzio VHPAF though, I'd love to hear a review when you get around to trying it. I think one of the other guys drew an excellent parallel with v30's, I love a good celestion but I hate a v30, just as I love a good SD pickup but I can't stand the JB. Happy b-day btw.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

one pickup is not going to sound or produce the same results in every guitar, not just the JB either. I like the JB in certain guitars myself. I've always swapped pickups around until I found a right match with a particular guitar. For me the JB seems to be well suited in guitars with some mass to em...heavy mahogany/maple tops

 

[blackba]

^ Good enough for me, I am on the hunt for a BBQ now. They do make them in F-spacing, but I bet that will be nearly impossible to find used.

 

[blackba]

^ Good enough for me, I am on the hunt for a BBQ now. They do make them in F-spacing, but I bet that will be nearly impossible to find used.

I just spent 30 minutes or so with the guitar cranked and yes, I do absolutely love that darn BBQ pickup. That's my all time favorite. I used to always get annoyed by "ice pickish" highs in my tone and always swapped speakers, amps, guitars, etc... It was the Seymour Duncans all along. I've heard people refer to them as bright pickups and I've realized what that means over the past year or so. I just can't get into them anymore.

If I go for anything new, I'll start with DiMarzio. Slightly darker pickups with smoother highs like the BBQ is where it's at for me.

I did some searches on various forums and the few who tried the BBQ in a strat or strat type guitar liked them. I am not that unhappy with the JB, but the white tremspaced one I have doesn't sound as good as the zebra regular spaced one

I don't mind bright pickups so much as long as they have some meat to them.

I am going to be doing some pickup swaps in the next couple of months assuming I can find some used BBQ's for sale....

 

[blackba]

Any update on the BBQ in the new strat Thump? Are you still digging it?

I have one coming for my LP studio, but it may end up in my strat down the road. (I wish the one I was getting was a 4 conductor, but I may pickup another one if one comes up forsale)

 

[Sick Michael]

The best thing I ever did was move away from a Dimarzio Evolution which was tight and thin, and back to a JB. WAY better tone, the low end is boaty (for want of a better word) but Bands like Anthrax and Megadeth used them on classic recordings so tightness is not really an issue for me.

The only thing I might suggest is maybe try a Duncan Custom, bit tighter than the JB and less high end hair. I have one of them also and I've chopped between the two.

 

[Sick Michael]

The best thing I ever did was move away from a Dimarzio Evolution which was tight and thin, and back to a JB. WAY better tone, the low end is boaty (for want of a better word) but Bands like Anthrax and Megadeth used them on classic recordings so tightness is not really an issue for me.

The only thing I might suggest is maybe try a Duncan Custom, bit tighter than the JB and less high end hair. I have one of them also and I've chopped between the two.

I put a Custom in my old LP Goldtop years ago and I remember liking it better than the JB. Seemed like it had less highs and maybeve even more lows?

Yeah, still plenty of highs for the cut, but tighter lows. I think it had a little less gain actually, but not by much. There were more mids - the tone was fuller in any case.

 

[eaeolian]

I'm a JB lover, but with a caveat: It's damn hard to find a new one that doesn't suck. They're too hot, and that ruins the vibe of that pickup.

I've got one late '90s Jackson OEM that isn't bad. I've got one from about '88 that's lights-out awesome - and it's been in alder, mahogany, maple and (currently) ash guitars.

I have yet to play a TB4 that didn't suck.

My advice? If you like idea of the JB, and not the execution, send your JB to Wolfetone for a rewind. I had him do my JB 7 string to the resistance of my '80s JB, and it's a totally different beast...

Or buy an old one. The BBQ actually intrigues me, because that's not the first time I've heard the "like a JB, but better" idea...

 

[blackba]

I'm a JB lover, but with a caveat: It's damn hard to find a new one that doesn't suck. They're too hot, and that ruins the vibe of that pickup.

I've got one late '90s Jackson OEM that isn't bad. I've got one from about '88 that's lights-out awesome - and it's been in alder, mahogany, maple and (currently) ash guitars.

I have yet to play a TB4 that didn't suck.

My advice? If you like idea of the JB, and not the execution, send your JB to Wolfetone for a rewind. I had him do my JB 7 string to the resistance of my '80s JB, and it's a totally different beast...

Or buy an old one. The BBQ actually intrigues me, because that's not the first time I've heard the "like a JB, but better" idea...

This is not the first time I have heard the Tremspaced JB doesn't sound as good as the standard spaced one. I replaced a standard spaced JB in my strat and the new tremspaced one just does not sound as good. No idea on the years of each pickup.....

 

[grooveHT]

Hey Thump, if you sort of like the JB and sort of don't, the Breed might be a way to go, sort of in the vein of the BBQ. It's still got a bit of that mid hump, and has the output, but thicker. There was a thread just recently about this on the SD forum, and a lot of guys that go on from the JB to the Breed that have the issues you do fall in love with the Breed. I dunno, something to try maybe.

Jeff

 

[grooveHT]

Hey Thump, if you sort of like the JB and sort of don't, the Breed might be a way to go, sort of in the vein of the BBQ. It's still got a bit of that mid hump, and has the output, but thicker. There was a thread just recently about this on the SD forum, and a lot of guys that go on from the JB to the Breed that have the issues you do fall in love with the Breed. I dunno, something to try maybe.

Jeff

Really? Interesting! I've never even given that pickup a second thought. I'm pretty covered right now on my humbucker guitars (I have a BBQ in the bridge of both of them), but I'll keep that in mind for sure the next go 'round. Thanks.

No problem man...I think thats what Andy Timmons uses for his bridge PU, if thats any indication.