The JB "I call BS on everyone" thread

[Aceman]

This is suddenly the most entertaining thread on the forum.

This has been going on for 17 pages with, shall we say, many differences of opinion. I'd say it has been more interesting than a lot of things...and not just now.

[Lewguitar]

Frank and I think along similar lines and I'm very grateful for his input.

He's far more eloquent than I am and he also has the benefit of having more credibility due to his history as a music industry professional.

I'm glad he showed up.

Thanks!

[JamesPaul]

I had to go rummage around the parts shelf. I didn't get to the back, where I'm "quite confident" my original '84 JBJ is, but I did find my direct mount modified JBJ I got from Wildstar and my JBJ I got from Masta'C. Yes, sadly I don't have a JB installed at the moment although as previously noted I'm really resisting the urge to put one in my RI HM Strat.

I will note that I purchased the extra JBs based on my memories of good tones from my original JBJ. It's only been a couple (?) years since I purchased the JBJ from Masta'C, so I could've got a current production or an Antiquity JB or whatever. However, I'd had good tones from a JBJ, so why not?

It looks like both my installed '86 and spare Distortions are DDJ and my original '83 Custom is a DCJ.

So maybe I have MJ bias or maybe she was just winding the pups I was buying in the '80s.

I think in the shootout, I'd lean towards the JB which sounds the most like I remember my JB sounding.

[Lewguitar]

I had to go rummage around the parts shelf. I didn't get to the back, where I'm "quite confident" my original '84 JBJ is, but I did find my direct mount modified JBJ I got from Wildstar and my JBJ I got from Masta'C. Yes, sadly I don't have a JB installed at the moment although as previously noted I'm really resisting the urge to put one in my RI HM Strat.

I will note that I purchased the extra JBs based on my memories of good tones from my original JBJ. It's only been a couple (?) years since I purchased the JBJ from Masta'C, so I could've got a current production or an Antiquity JB or whatever. However, I'd had good tones from a JBJ, so why not?

It looks like both my installed '86 and spare Distortions are DDJ and my original '83 Custom is a DCJ.

So maybe I have MJ bias or maybe she was just winding the pups I was buying in the '80s.

I think in the shootout, I'd lean towards the JB which sounds the most like I remember my JB sounding.

Can you see enough of the magnet to tell if it's roughcast or polished?

[Lewguitar]

I think we need zenmindbeginner (Geoff Waldron) to come back and make a formal comparison video.

THAT dude is dependable, has great chops, and an ear for tone!

I wonder if we're hearing a JB with 250K pots in this video. I suspect that we are. They all sound warmer and smoother than I remember JB sounding with 500K. It's probably been 10 years since I've had one in a guitar.

[Clint 55]

It said the bass and treble on the amp were dimed.

[Lewguitar]

It said the bass and treble on the amp were dimed.

So I think we're hearing a JB with 250K pots. It's a Super Strat with two single coils that he's using, so that would be a logical assumption.

[80's_Thrash_Metal]

So Aceman, when do we get to hear the comparisons? Is there a tentative time frame?

I'd really like to test my ears out.

[ArtieToo]

So I think we're hearing a JB with 250K pots. It's a Super Strat with two single coils that he's using, so that would be a logical assumption.

It does make you wonder, how much of what hear differently, is our total setup. For example, if you used the new Duncan Pickup Booster, even at unity gain, it's a 250k input Z. That small detail would alter your tone, as opposed to going straight into a 1-meg Z amp input.

[Lewguitar]

It does make you wonder, how much of what hear differently, is our total setup. For example, if you used the new Duncan Pickup Booster, even at unity gain, it's a 250k input Z. That small detail would alter your tone, as opposed to going straight into a 1-meg Z amp input.

If you take a 500K audio taper pot and turn it down until it measures 250K, how far does it need to be turned down? I think it's to around 7.

So if that's true, what we're hearing in that video is the sound you'd hear if you put a JB in a guitar with 500K pots and then turned the volume and tone knobs down to about 7.

That's quite a loss of volume and treble.

Evan told me once that he thinks that's how Seymour used the JB and JazzN set in his Tele. With 250K pots.

[ArtieToo]

If you take a 500K audio taper pot and turn it down until it measures 250K, how far does it need to be turned down? I think it's to around 7.

Hey Lew. That's not quite right. A volume control, turned down, is not the same as a lower "load." Note the subtle difference here. 500k pot turned down to 250k, vs 250k pot full up. There's no volume reduction with the 250k load. But it will impact the tonal character of the pup. The pickup still "sees" 500k with the "500k turned down" fig.

[Aceman]

Can I respond to you?

Anytime...anyway you chose.

[Butch Snyder]

I'm going to chime in here. Not that I have any really useful information, or revelation. I have used three different JBs in three different guitars, at three different time. First on was on an LP copy in 1982. Second was in a Kramer Striker in 1987, and the third was in an ESP LTD George Lynch signature model just a few years ago. The first made the LP copy sound good. Was used with 500k pots. The second didn't do quite what I wanted and I changed it out to a Custom. This guitar used one 250k volume pot. In the ESP, I was using 250k pots. It was an HSS setup. The JB was leaps and bounds better than the stock pickup.

All that said, I always thought that the JB (and Jazz) were designed to be used with 250k pots because the guitar Seymour put them in was either an Esquire or Telecaster and just used the stock controls; so the voicings, per his design were used with the stock 250k pots, so, maybe not by purposeful design, but more because that's what was in the guitar at the time?

[Lewguitar]

Hey Lew. That's not quite right. A volume control, turned down, is not the same as a lower "load." Note the subtle difference here. 500k pot turned down to 250k, vs 250k pot full up. There's no volume reduction with the 250k load. But it will impact the tonal character of the pup. The pickup still "sees" 500k with the "500k turned down" fig.

Hmmm...

I'm not a theoretical guy. I just know what I hear. You sure could be right!

What I definitely hear when I compare a JB with 500K pots to a JB with 250K pots is: a much smoother and less biting tone with 250K pots and seemingly a little less output. Maybe that's just because there's less treble?

[ArtieToo]

What I definitely hear when I compare a JB with 500K pots to a JB with 250K pots is: a much smoother and less biting tone with 250K pots and seemingly a little less output. Maybe that's just because there's less treble?

Yes. Exactly. And perhaps, a bit "smoother." Imagine your pick-'em truck empty or with a full load. With a load, it will be smoother and slower. But you still have the same horsepower. (Maybe, a bad analogy.)