A JB/Jazz Hybrid?

[Mincer]

Something is afoot....

Two Iconic Coils Combined into a Single High-octane Humbucker

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Seymour Duncan’s JB and Jazz pickups have reigned as the brand’s premier hot-rodded humbucker duo for decades. But what if you could have the aggressive bite of the JB with the crisp clarity of the Jazz packed within a single package? Enter the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop JB Jazz Hybrid: a high-power humbucker that merges the top coil of a Jazz with the bottom coil of a JB. When wired up in standard series operation, the JB Jazz Hybrid provides you with a potent blend of JB-style upper-midrange bark with the clarity-packed highs and firm lows of the Jazz. However, Sweetwater’s tone chasers are thrilled to report that splitting the JB Jazz Hybrid’s coils also grants you the signature sound of each side’s sonic inspiration. Driven by Alnico V magnets, a nickel-silver baseplate, and vacuum wax potting to fight feedback, the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop JB Jazz Hybrid pickup supercharges your 6-string of choice with a fresh new spin on a Seymour Duncan classic.

Seymour Duncan Custom Shop JB Jazz Hybrid Features:

• Combines the sound of Seymour Duncan’s legendary JB and Jazz humbucker duo into a single pickup
• Distinct design pairs the top coil of a Jazz (clear, bright, and crisp) with the bottom coil of a JB (aggressive and rich in midrange)
• 4-conductor wiring allows you to split the coils, thus allowing you to capture a slightly modified spin on both the JB and the Jazz
• Constructed with Alnico V magnets, nickel-silver baseplate, and vacuum wax potting to help fight feedback

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[beaubrummels]

I think I have of those in my Orpheo guitar (that or it's a JB/Screamin' Demon or JB/Full Shred hybrid?). Of course, what I have was custom made. Interesting this is now production.

What does 'top coil' vs 'bottom coil' mean? North vs South?

 

[playas]

Sounds like it has the potential to be a winner.

 

[Clint 55]

Sounds a lil fugly haha. That's awesome that they're producing hybrids, but they coulda chosen better coils. Ime some mismatch is good, but you want the coils to be complementary, not wildly opposite.

 

[Mincer]

FYI…the adjustable coil is the JB wound and the non-adjustable coil is the Jazz Neck wound coil. So this pickup naturally splits to the cleaner inside neck coil.

Pickup has an uncannily wide frequency range and lets itself nicely to all gain levels. Definitely a unique sounding recipe.
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[JamesPaul]

Looks like Beau already has some insight. Although I would give him time to grab his Orpheo and refresh on the tone before pestering him about it. I also figure freefrog can read the description and and have a good idea what it sounds like. And of course the Sweetwater team seems to have some experience with it. Have they posted a longer review I cannot find?

Would it have a touch of HH JB/Jazz split inner coils vibe? Perhaps a little hot bridge + (I apologize in advance, Mincer) cooler middle in series, Strat vibe?

I have actually never had the JB/Jazz together in one guitar. Although as successful as that pairing is, or has been, for the rest of the planet, I am inclined to think there is something about those two, which makes a hybrid less shocking than one would initially think.

 

[orpheo]

I think I have of those in my Orpheo guitar (that or it's a JB/Screamin' Demon or JB/Full Shred hybrid?). Of course, what I have was custom made. Interesting this is now production.

What does 'top coil' vs 'bottom coil' mean? North vs South?

Absolutely not a jb/jazz. I HATED that Hybrid. If you post a pic of the guitar you have I'll know which hybrid it is

 

[orpheo]

The jazz/jb hybrid sounded to me very nasally, honky. it had the worst of the worst of both, not the best.

 

[orpheo]

if my notes are accurate, Beau's guitar has a Fullshred Neck/Jazz Neck hybrid in the neck, and an Invader/Fullshred hybrid in the bridge.

 

[Chistopher]

The 59/Jazz was right there...

 

[Mincer]

Hopefully, we will start to see short runs of other types of Hybrids...

 

[beaubrummels]

Absolutely not a jb/jazz. I HATED that Hybrid. If you post a pic of the guitar you have I'll know which hybrid it is

It's this one:

 

[beaubrummels]

The 59/Jazz was right there...

When the forum did the epic BachToRock hybrid experiment, the 59/Jazz was done as an experiment for a matching neck, but the people who experienced it gave it a 'meh' response so it was dropped. I guess Duncan isn't willing to revisit something that was panned by their most rabid fans.

 

[NotDemanic]

Invader/Full Shred hybrid? Does it use the triple ceramic formula?
And I have a 59n/Jazzn hybrid in the neck of my Jackson DXMG. I think that it sounds great.

 

[orpheo]

The 59/Jazz was right there...

yeah, 59/jazz is amazing. epic. slays.

Invader/Fullshred. I have made one on the invader base (3 mags) and 1 on the Fullshred base. The 3 mag version I gave Dimarzio style polepieces i.e.: long black screws instead of the cap polepieces because I think they're fugly. That pickup is just a monster. Think of the Invader but tighter, more crunchy and less sludgy. An INSANE pick attack sensitivity and pinch harmonics that destroy.

The A5 version is like that but a bit more open. More like a JB/Fullshred hybrid, because the invader coil is so close to a JB coil. The polepieces are also very similar to the regular 'slug' poles but with a hex top and threads, so yeah, very close to a JB/Fullshred.

 

[orpheo]

When the forum did the epic BachToRock hybrid experiment, the 59/Jazz was done as an experiment for a matching neck, but the people who experienced it gave it a 'meh' response so it was dropped. I guess Duncan isn't willing to revisit something that was panned by their most rabid fans.

I do not recall it being a 'meh' response at all to be honest. I remember I made a whole bunch of hybrids in the factory in Santa Barbara, and MJ, Cathy, and a few others tried them and they all thought they were epic. I was like: you don't need to do anything new, no new tooling or whatever, just make these hybrids, and sit back for a few years. but they didn't wanna do that. That was a decade (!!) ago.

 

[orpheo]

It's this one:

Yeah I checked my notes, thanks for confirming Can I ask you a favor? Do you mind posting/giving me a photo of this guitar in a good quality, where the guitar is photographed vertically and in its totality? I'm working on an overview of all of my guitars. If you don't have it, no worries, I'll just nick the one you posted here!

 

[orpheo]

Hopefully, we will start to see short runs of other types of Hybrids...

The ones I loved are these:

Bridge:

Pegasus/Custom: works great with alnico5; have not tried Alnico 2 but I think that'll be amazing too
Pegasus/JB: works great with alnico 5 or Alnico 2
JB/Fullshred: works great with alnico 5, alnico 2, thin ceramic, thick ceramic, triple ceramic
Pearly/CustomCustom: Alnico 2 is where this pickup lives
Pearly/Seth: Alnico 2 is where this pickup lives but it's also a sweet sweet pickup with alnico3
Screaming Demon/SH6n: alnico5 or double ceramic

Neck:
Sentient/Jazz: alnico5 is the standard for this, alnico2 works great too
JazzB/59B: alnico 2, 3, 4, 5. take your pick
JazzN/59N: alnico 2, 3, 5, or alnico 8 (a8 makes it a 70ies bridge pickup!)
PearlyN/SethN: alnico 2

 

[NotDemanic]

I've always wanted to try a JB/Custom with a regular ceramic.

 

[beaubrummels]

I do not recall it being a 'meh' response at all to be honest. I remember I made a whole bunch of hybrids in the factory in Santa Barbara, and MJ, Cathy, and a few others tried them and they all thought they were epic. I was like: you don't need to do anything new, no new tooling or whatever, just make these hybrids, and sit back for a few years. but they didn't wanna do that. That was a decade (!!) ago.

I don't know what the internal employees thought, I'm recalling the mega epic thread where LtKojak had one (can't remember who else) and there was mixed/underwhelming response. The concept kind of died after that.