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Re: What is the MOST versatile pickup Duncan makes?
I find the JB awesome for most musical styles. It rules in metal, alternative, prog, grunge, punk, straight up rock or hard rock, fantastic for thick blues rhythm, leads and fusion stuff. In fact the only place it seems out of place is probably country and I've certainly seen it done, especially when split, even though we ruled that out. Not to mention the amount of one pickup guitars that have JB's in them. If it wasn't very versatile, and you're only gonna choose one pickup, why would you choose something with such specialized interest? You wouldn't, you would choose something flexible. Occasionally I have seen the Invader in one pickup guitars too (though not as often stock as the JB) because it it capable of getting darker tones that the bridge pickup can be lacking that could come in handy in a guitar with only one pickup. The JB has potential in that it can be dark and warm when you want it to be or cutting and bright depending on what is around it, plus the JB is more dynamic than the Invader in this regard.
The JB is also on the hotter side, capable of pushing amps into overdrive, but not so powerful that it becomes difficult to clean up. Lets not forget how well the JB also works with different pot values like 250k, 300k, and 500k while most other pickups can fall short when using pots other than what the design intends them to use. As for the woods, the JB works in ash, alder, poplar, basswood and maple well does it not? It has in all I have tried them in. Apparently it doesn't behave well in mahogany to some but I have rarely found this the case seeing as it has worked for Alex Skolnick, Dave Mustaine for a while, Jerry Cantrell, Adam Jones, etc. Plus it sounds fine here in a les paul.
With all that being said (works great for many styles [except maybe country], works with many pot values, loud but capable of clean tones, works well with many woods [mahogany debatable]) isn't this a pretty wide series of applications for one humbucker pickup even ignoring it's reliable coil splitting abilities? Doesn't this justify it being rather versatile? I know I'm not alone on this either considering how many others have selected the JB as part of their 3. It's one of Duncan's most popular humbuckers and I don't attribute that solely to how long it has been around and marketing alone. It wouldn't be so popular if it couldn't be a workhorse. Sure marketing would bring people in but from then on the JB had to perform: it had to be good enough to stay in people's guitars, and be favored at that, while standing the test of time to earn the reputation it has. It is entirely reasonable to put a JB on a list like this.
I find the JB awesome for most musical styles. It rules in metal, alternative, prog, grunge, punk, straight up rock or hard rock, fantastic for thick blues rhythm, leads and fusion stuff. In fact the only place it seems out of place is probably country and I've certainly seen it done, especially when split, even though we ruled that out. Not to mention the amount of one pickup guitars that have JB's in them. If it wasn't very versatile, and you're only gonna choose one pickup, why would you choose something with such specialized interest? You wouldn't, you would choose something flexible. Occasionally I have seen the Invader in one pickup guitars too (though not as often stock as the JB) because it it capable of getting darker tones that the bridge pickup can be lacking that could come in handy in a guitar with only one pickup. The JB has potential in that it can be dark and warm when you want it to be or cutting and bright depending on what is around it, plus the JB is more dynamic than the Invader in this regard.
The JB is also on the hotter side, capable of pushing amps into overdrive, but not so powerful that it becomes difficult to clean up. Lets not forget how well the JB also works with different pot values like 250k, 300k, and 500k while most other pickups can fall short when using pots other than what the design intends them to use. As for the woods, the JB works in ash, alder, poplar, basswood and maple well does it not? It has in all I have tried them in. Apparently it doesn't behave well in mahogany to some but I have rarely found this the case seeing as it has worked for Alex Skolnick, Dave Mustaine for a while, Jerry Cantrell, Adam Jones, etc. Plus it sounds fine here in a les paul.
With all that being said (works great for many styles [except maybe country], works with many pot values, loud but capable of clean tones, works well with many woods [mahogany debatable]) isn't this a pretty wide series of applications for one humbucker pickup even ignoring it's reliable coil splitting abilities? Doesn't this justify it being rather versatile? I know I'm not alone on this either considering how many others have selected the JB as part of their 3. It's one of Duncan's most popular humbuckers and I don't attribute that solely to how long it has been around and marketing alone. It wouldn't be so popular if it couldn't be a workhorse. Sure marketing would bring people in but from then on the JB had to perform: it had to be good enough to stay in people's guitars, and be favored at that, while standing the test of time to earn the reputation it has. It is entirely reasonable to put a JB on a list like this.
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