Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

[roadstar II]

is this a paf pup but souped up?
i know the JB has been around for many years and is extremely popular
what was the main thought in its design?
I really like this pup but it can be too ice pickey with the wrong axe

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

Alot of things can be "icepicky" through the wrong amp, or somebodys icepicky is open sounds to another

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

Just a guess but if I recall, Seymour is pretty partial to Tele's so he might have wanted a humbucker with some Tele bite and attitude.

 

[saladin]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

The JB does a good job in a Tele of keeping the original sound in the same ballpark. I prefer the 59 as it is a little warmer in a Tele.

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

I figured the whole 1970s "highout put pickup pushes front section of amp" thing a la the Super Distortion was also kind of at work. The JB definitely became the hot topic in the 1980s as the Super D faded a bit.

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

Forgot who posted the original link here. Sorry! :smack:

http://www.ainian.com/jb4.html#2

B

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

As usual, Doc hits the nail right on the head. Many people therefore assume that JB stands for Jeff Beck, but it's actually Jazzy Blues. Which name is what Seymour actually intended...only he knows, but the official name is Jazzy Blues.

Also, before anyone gets TOO smart, the Jazz was the neck pickup that he wound to go into the Tele Gib. It's initials, JM, actually stand for "John Milner". Anyone remember who he is?

 

[Dom L]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

John Milner =
Older drag racer in American Graffitti
drove the "graffitti" yellow coupe
which the "Jeff Beck Strat" was availible in "Graffitti Yellow"
hmm :wink:

 

[Martian]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

How anyone can play Jazz or 'Jazzy Blues' with that pickup, and in the bridge position on a Tele to boot, is totally beyond me.

IMO, Duncan designed it for what he thought Jeff Beck would genuinely like, use and hopefully, go on to endorse. If my memory serves me correctly, Beck only used it for a few tunes on the Blow by Blow album. Consequently, the name for this pickup, "Jazzy Blues" is a consolation name for a heritage never realized just like the "Evenly Voiced Harmonics" pickup.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

If you want to know the whole story read the story in the link posted...in short Seymour built a dual bucker Tele for Jeff Beck because Jeff's 50's LP had been ruined by some ******* at a reoair shop...the Tele-Gib was made to replace that LP...which it did...Jeff hasn't used a Les Paul since the middle 70's...Strats, Tele's and the Tele-Gib!

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

I showed this post to Seymour. Rather than responding directly, he asked me to post this. These are his words:

Hi Evan, here's my info...I designed the JB for several reasons...1st it was to give more output in the bridge position for players using thinner gauge strings when bending...The original P.A.F. Humbucker was designed to be used with heavy 12-13 gauge high E strings and wound G. Basically the Duncan Custom was designed to be used with 10-11 gauge High E strings...I wanted to get more output and keep the tone smooth while bending and not too harsh...almost like a steel guitar pickup that has a higher DC resistance when used near the bridge...The JB keeps the sustain, harmonics and fat full output without sounding too harsh. It works especially well when using volume swells and keeps the sustain while hitting harmonics. The 2nd reason was to give Jeff the output and tone when using a Marshall head that can be pretty clean when plugged directly in. 3rd, I wanted to make something special to give Jeff a distinctive sound that he used on "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" on the "Blow by Blow" Album produced by George Martin that also got Jeff Beck a Grammy.

Best regards,

Seymour W. Duncan

So there ya have it.

 

[Diego]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

 

[Johtosotku]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

I showed this post to Seymour. Rather than responding directly, he asked me to post this. These are his words:

Hi Evan, here's my info...I designed the JB for several reasons...1st it was to give more output in the bridge position for players using thinner gauge strings when bending...The original P.A.F. Humbucker was designed to be used with heavy 12-13 gauge high E strings and wound G. Basically the Duncan Custom was designed to be used with 10-11 gauge High E strings...I wanted to get more output and keep the tone smooth while bending and not too harsh...almost like a steel guitar pickup that has a higher DC resistance when used near the bridge...The JB keeps the sustain, harmonics and fat full output without sounding too harsh. It works especially well when using volume swells and keeps the sustain while hitting harmonics. The 2nd reason was to give Jeff the output and tone when using a Marshall head that can be pretty clean when plugged directly in. 3rd, I wanted to make something special to give Jeff a distinctive sound that he used on "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" on the "Blow by Blow" Album produced by George Martin that also got Jeff Beck a Grammy.

Best regards,

Seymour W. Duncan

So there ya have it.

I'm not that interested in the subject, but I do really appreciate Seymour having the time to give us an answer on the topic! Cheers! The man deserves a glass of nice cognac. Who knows, maybe a whole bottle while we're on it!

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

and there you have it!

 

[Artie]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

This is why I love this place . . . you ask questions . . . you get answers.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

Hehe that is why I love volume swells with the JB.
Hmm I think that I need to hunt one more down, thanks alot for the info.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

Thanks Evan ... doesn't get much more direct than that.

 

[SoCalSteve]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

That's interesting about the string gauge factor. Hmmmmmm..............

 

[ibanezrocks]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

That's interesting about the string guage factor. Hmmmmmm..............

I would have never guessed that string gauge played any factor in designing a pickup other than maybe the polepieces... thats awesome that he not only takes the time to respond to our questions, but to so thoroughly explain the various factors in his decisions. :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

 

[PRG]

Re: Always wondered? what exactly did duncan have in mind when he made the JB?

Thanks very much, Evan, it's awesome to hear directly from the Seymour and for him to take some time out of his schedule to pass along some info to us on the board.
I'm very interested to hear his comments on the Custom and would love to find out the "backstory" on other Duncan models and how they came to be.
I've been using the Custom almost exclusively for the past 5 years and despite trying several different string guages, always found that the .10 or .11 sets worked best. Anything smaller (.9's) or anything larger (.11's with heavier wound strings) never sound right to me either, so I'm glad to know that Seymour thinks the same. I LOVE his tone on King Tone Blues. One of these days I'm going to drag out that old JB I've got and install it in a Tele.
cheers!