JB with 250K pot

[Nightburst]

I can see now why Seymour Duncan designed this pickup originally for the tele gib with 250K pots.
I'm so glad I made this small change! The pickup sounds less mushy under high gain but still retains its typical character. Also cleans appear to sparkle some more without being overly bright.
I expected the pickup to sound muffled and dull but that's not the case at all. The sound just opened up a little staying fairly bright but also darkened a little bit (which is good in my case) and I can definately hear some more crunch.
This pickup can do anything! I love it!
The '59n definately has to go now as it has way too much bass...

I hope this review can help some guys out there as a lot of talking about taming the brightness is going on now. Soundclips will follow soon.

[sifukev]

Re: JB with 250K pot

Did you replace the Volume or the tone pots.... and are they on both pickups? or just the JB? I am doing my guitar operation tonight.... just want to make sure I do it right....

[Chi3f]

Re: JB with 250K pot

I did the same thing to my rg... the JB sounded so extremely bright with the 500k pot i had to do something

it was the right change for me. It's not the best clean sound compared to how great the jazz sounds clean but it's job for me is to have exellent bite when run through distortion and that it does perfectly

It gave a little more bass to the jazz in the neck but it still sounds exellent so if your looking for a neck pickup to replace that 59 i would definatly recommend putting in a Jazz

"sifukev- Did you replace the Volume or the tone pots.... and are they on both pickups? or just the JB? I am doing my guitar operation tonight.... just want to make sure I do it right...."

i replaced just the volume which controlls all three of my pickups (H-S-H) the 500k tone pot still works fine but i leave it at 10 on my guitar

[RG 2570]

Re: JB with 250K pot

I can see now why Seymour Duncan designed this pickup originally for the tele gib with 250K pots.
I'm so glad I made this small change! The pickup sounds less mushy under high gain but still retains its typical character. Also cleans appear to sparkle some more without being overly bright.
I expected the pickup to sound muffled and dull but that's not the case at all. The sound just opened up a little staying fairly bright but also darkened a little bit (which is good in my case) and I can definately hear some more crunch.
This pickup can do anything! I love it!
The '59n definately has to go now as it has way too much bass...

I hope this review can help some guys out there as a lot of talking about taming the brightness is going on now. Soundclips will follow soon.

you really want to hear a good one? there are many who actually believe that the JB's used in old kramer guitars were wound different! guess what? they used 300K pots in those kramers making the JB sounds warmer!
the guys at kramer asked duncan the best set for thier pacers, and duncan told them the JB/jazz set with 300K pots

[Nightburst]

Re: JB with 250K pot

Yeah I guess the JB will work fine with 500K pots in a fat guitar like a Les Paul to add some bite and brighten up the warmth to prevent it from getting muddy. Or were those kramers made out of fat mahogany too?

Sifukev,
I replaced the tone knob for a 250K volume for the JB. The '59 still has the 500K volume pot. Schematics can be found on the SD website. Good luck and tell us how you hear the difference.

Chi3f, I hear ya about the extra bite. I love that! Works extemely well with bass heavy distortion. Never gets lost in the mix. I hardly ever use the JB cleans, they are ok but I like the '59 cleans a lot better. If Jazz cleans are even better I really should try it, but I think I'll need something hotter like a Demon in there or maybe a Jazz bridge model, I haven't decided yet.

[sifukev]

Re: JB with 250K pot

You switched the tone (500K) knob for the JB for a Volume (250K) knob? Do you now have two volumes for your JB?

[Nightburst]

Re: JB with 250K pot

You switched the tone (500K) knob for the JB for a Volume (250K) knob? Do you now have two volumes for your JB?

No I have 2 seperate volumes now and no tone pot. 1 volume for the '59 and 1 for the JB.
This way the split position are kinda awkward but I never cared much for a split tone anyway.

[Marcel]

Re: JB with 250K pot

what do you mean with mushy?

[Nightburst]

Re: JB with 250K pot

what do you mean with mushy?

Well there is just more crisp in the sound now, more clarity, more articulation.
It sounds a little less dense now maybe but the added bite and sligtly more bass make up for that. Especially when riffing fast I can hear all the notes better. It's still a bright pickup though and the typical character still remains it's just not so shrill anymore.
Maybe I'll squeeze a tone pot or some resistor inbeteen later on to see what will happen.

[Marcel]

Re: JB with 250K pot

Well there is just more crisp in the sound now, more clarity, more articulation.
It sounds a little less dense now maybe but the added bite and sligtly more bass make up for that. Especially when riffing fast I can hear all the notes better. It's still a bright pickup though and the typical character still remains it's just not so shrill anymore.
Maybe I'll squeeze a tone pot or some resistor inbeteen later on to see what will happen.

hm with less load more clarity. weird. have to try this too.
I'll put a 500kOhm against the Volume pot.
Maybe it is just because you now have no tone pot. You had a ton pot before, right? In (my) theory the highs you win without tone pot are more than you lose with 250 k pots.

[Nightburst]

Re: JB with 250K pot

Yeah I had a tone pot before but some of the highs are definately tamed, maybe just the shrill ones.You could be right about the win/lose situation of the left out tone pot.
If you will try it please let us know what difference you hear, I'm very curious about what other people have to say about the 250K phenomenon, hence this thread.

[sifukev]

Re: JB with 250K pot

I Just Changed The Pots For My Jb And ................wow.....

I Went From 500k To 250k And It Warmed Up The Tone...... Now I Really Do Have Tone.

All I Did Was Changed The 1 Volume For The Bridge (jb). I Left Everything Else. The '59 Sounds Crisp And The Jb Sounds Scorching Without The Shrills. It Is Still On Harmonic Overload Too :-d

Amazingly The Combination Sounds Sweet Too (a 500k With The 250k) The Only Thing Is That It Is Just A Little Lower In Volume (about Like Going From 10 To 8 On The Volume Knob).

You Guys Are Awesome.... Thanks For All Your Help And Input

Thanks,
Kevin

[UCSDBoy]

Re: JB with 250K pot

Can a 500k pot turned down simulate a 250k pot's effects on the JB (or any other pickup)? I would think so, but then I also think every little change you make affects the sound hence 500k pot set to 250k != 250k pot

[korinastratkyle]

Re: JB with 250K pot

Couldn't you just have a second 500K resistor in parallel with the hot of the JB and ground and make it act like a 250K for the JB and split postions while still acting like a 500k on the neck? Oh well, I guess you get more versitility out of having two volumes.

[Nightburst]

Re: JB with 250K pot

Couldn't you just have a second 500K resistor in parallel with the hot of the JB and ground and make it act like a 250K for the JB and split postions while still acting like a 500k on the neck? Oh well, I guess you get more versitility out of having two volumes.

Hey, that sounds interesting. Would that actually work? If yes how exactly do I have to wire the resistor? One side of the resistor goes to where the hot wire is connected and the other to ground?
Yesterday at band practise I noticed the '59 sounded way fatter and warm over the JB... Maybe trying to put in a tone pot would do some good? I'm sorry to ramble on about this but I want it to be right before I go into the studio on the 26th. Thanks.