All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

[Masta' C]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

The "Concept" models are not what became the production models, so there is no sense in including them as part of the "old" vs "new" conversation concerning the JB. Also, if you have to delve into quantum physics and chaos theory as it pertains to signal interaction with material composition to explain the difference between the baseplates of two otherwise identical pickups, then, believe me, your ears aren't going to hear the difference!

Now, there IS a tonal difference between the Antiquity, 35th Anniversary and standard production JB. Which one of these best represents the ORIGINAL "JB" sound?

Well, if you were playing a brand new JB-equipped guitar back in 1979, then the sound you were hearing at that time would have been identical to that of the 35th Anniversary model. If you were playing that same JB-equipped guitar from 1979 in your band today, then it probably doesn't sound quite like any of those models

By the way, I do own a JB from 1980. Sexy thing it is...

 

[darthphineas]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

The "Antiquity" JB is scatter-wound...

Who told you this?

 

[Scott Olson]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

I'm not aware of any humbuckers that are scatter-wound, just Antiquity single-coils and CS stuff.

 

[zenmindbeginner]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

I'm not aware of any humbuckers that are scatter-wound, just Antiquity single-coils and CS stuff.

Yes, Seymour explains this in one of Premiere Guitar's videos.

He explains it around 3:10 here.

 

[J E C]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

After listening to Zenmindbeginner's demo, I think I like the Antiquity the best. It seems to be a little smoother/warmer, especially on the single note stuff on the higher strings.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

It's cool that Duncan finally reissued the original JB and Jazz pickups, even though they don't call them reissues the Antiquity and 35th JB and Jazz are really reissues!

Now you now have a way to get the original JB and Jazz tones without having to troll eBay and hope the one you get is really an old one and hasn't been tampered with or damaged.

I wish Duncan would reissue the original 59s too!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[darthphineas]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Let's all be fair to masta'c. It is usually someone from Duncan putting wrong specs about pickups online.


I think masta'c is on to something. A scatter-wound JB would be something worth checking out. Any scatter-wound pickup I've gotten has been a thing of beauty.


Sent from my armored battle station using Tapatalk

 

[DarkMatter]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

If you scatter-wound it, it would no longer be a JB. The properties of the pickup would change too much.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Let's all be fair to masta'c. It is usually someone from Duncan putting wrong specs about pickups online.


I think masta'c is on to something. A scatter-wound JB would be something worth checking out. Any scatter-wound pickup I've gotten has been a thing of beauty.


Sent from my armored battle station using Tapatalk

Yeah...Duncan's website is a but funky now and then!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[the guy who invented fire]

All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

If you scatter-wound it, it would no longer be a JB. The properties of the pickup would change too much.

That's kind if the spirit if this thread!!!

Over the years the JB has used different wire, magnets, bobbins, etc yet they still call it JB...

How far do they take it before it's not a JB?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[darthphineas]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

If you scatter-wound it, it would no longer be a JB. The properties of the pickup would change too much.

and that would be the point.

don't limit your thinking.

Yeah...Duncan's website is a but funky now and then!

more than just the website <- fact

 

[Masta' C]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

I take a break for a few hours and YOWZA!

I'm not aware of any humbuckers that are scatter-wound, just Antiquity single-coils and CS stuff.

Went back through my records - I can NOT verify that the Antiquity JB's are scatterwound. I apologize. Original post corrected.

Must've been thinking about other members of the "Antiquity" family. It is not my intention to spread any misinformation.

Would Scott or Frank care to explain what makes the "Antiquity JB" different, if anything, besides aging of the magnet/hardware and vintage-correct materials?

 

[Masta' C]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

By the way, this was published last year on PremierGuitar.com: LINK

If you’ve spent much time in online forums, you’d probably be surprised if there weren’t heated debates on the Duncan forum. One intensely argued subject is whether older JB models sound different from new ones, even though they share the same specs.

Introduced 35 years ago, the JB is Seymour Duncan’s most popular production pickup. But even the JB has been subject to the types of supplier-driven changes previously mentioned. Even though the Custom Shop offers the Antiquity JB with the original specs andoriginal parts, some forum users insist that older JBs sound different, and perhaps better.

Many of the old JBs in question were wound and assembled by Juarez. How can you tell? Each Duncan pickup from that era had a decal with a two-letter abbreviation denoting its model, (“DD” for Duncan Distortion, “CD” for Duncan Custom, and so on.) The initial of the builder’s last name follows the model shorthand. Vintage JBs built by Juarez were labeled “JBJ,” and some believe there’s magic in these particular pickups, which command a high price on the used market.

Here’s Juarez’s take on the controversy: “I don’t know magic, but it could be one of three things: We changed from the long-legged bottom plate to the short-legged one. [Ed. note. This was primarily to accommodate shallow pickup-cavity routes.] We also used to use butyrate bobbins like the ones in old PAFs, but at some point the vendor didn’t have the material anymore. Also, our old magnets used to be rough-cast, but then somebody switched vendors.” Standard JBs are now made with ground magnets, polycarbonate bobbins, and short-legged baseplates.

But Juarez is quick to add that those components might not even factor into the sound of those old JBJs. “It’s mainly how you wind those bobbins,” she says. “The trick might be in winding it kind of tight. That’s why we still have our handwinding machines in the Custom Shop. We have the scatterwinding machine, and we have one of the newer machines. We know that a pickup wound on the newer machine is going to sound different from a pickup with a scatterwound bobbin.”

Even allowing for those differences, Juarez insists there’s too much mythology surrounding the JBJs, and she plans to conduct a shootout between the three different versions. “We’re going to do a sound test,” she says. “I intend to compare one of the old JBs, one made the new MJ way, and a regular production model. It’s on my to-do list.”

 

[darthphineas]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

2 post-of-the-day award in a row for masta'c. :yourock:



he can admit when he thinks he might have mis-spoke AND that blurb from PremierGuitar is golden.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

If you dig around the whole PG article is available online... Interesting read.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DarkMatter]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

We ain't got no time for diggin.

You have linkage?
Please.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/19347-builder-profile-seymour-duncans-custom-shop-queen?page=3


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DarkMatter]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Gracias.

 

[dazco]

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

Re: All JBs are NOT created equal, Why Has SD Insisted They Are? <Old JB Photos>

I can tell you this....in the 80's i used a JB for several years and liked it. I then began using other pickups and didn't use one again till the late 90's i think, and it sounded worse to me than pretty much any HB i ever used. Ripped it out as fast as i could. A couple years ago i bought i used guitar with one in it and again i hated it. Now it could be due my ear changing over the years, but to go from really liking it to feeling like it was about the worse bucker i've ever used seems like a stretch for my ear to be the reason. I've been curious about this for years as to why i experienced that, so if they are indeed different it would speak to my experience.