Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

Yup. I'm having sex with my JB/Super D hybrid since it rounds out the bass among other positives.
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

Ive always been blown away that Warren DeMartini used the JB on most rhythm tracks of the early albums through Marshall JMP's & set the Bass on the Marshalls to 0.00

He used a Fender Princeton for the lead/solo tracks.
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

You can cure the flabby bass by using shorter screws.
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

You're not alone. The jb was my first Duncan pickup. Stuck it in a Les Paul and the first thing I noticed was the weak low end. Loud and boomy but loose.

It's the worst rhythm pickup I've owned. Great for leads, but I couldn't get it to do much else. Try as I may...
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

Every few years, I end up putting a spare JB back in some guitar or another, and that lack of tight bass is ALWAYS the reason that I fairly quickly take it back out.
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

I love the EQ the way it is, with the lows out of the way, you hear so much harmonic detail, there's a lot of overtones happening and they sizzle. I find the sound blends really well with a bass player and you don't notice anything missing in a band mix. my favorite pickup ever
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

I love that unique harmonic business that the JB has going on. It's really pretty to me. Hybrid'd with the Super D, it rounds the bass and retains all that harmonic character.
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

How did Mustaine manage keeping his bottom end crisp and tight? Besides going to the gym 4 days a week...

He used JBs for how many albums?
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

How did Mustaine manage keeping his bottom end crisp and tight? Besides going to the gym 4 days a week...

He used JBs for how many albums?
You can try dialing out the bass on your amp.

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Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

I think it's more a question of the JB being matched to the right guitar. Too much lower mids, it gets flubby. If the guitar is naturally thin, the JB usually sounds annoying. In the right guitar, it's awesome.

Also true that amp, speakers, and EQ matter. Cut bass before hitting preamp, beef it up in the effects loop/power amp sends is very standard metal tone technique (done any number of ways, from cutting bass with dirt boxes to graphic to parametric EQs).

Mustaine is also a ridiculously tight rhythm player. Who isn't afraid to leave room for the bassist to work. A lot more comfortable with mids than most speed metal players. [Except on Countdown to Extinction, where he may have used a different pickup for some of the rhythm parts, and VHT power amps, which didn't last long before he went back to his Marshall dual 100W monoblocks.] Dann Huff got him to try other gear for Risk & Cryptic Writings, too, but he still wound up right back at the JB as his bridge pickup and Marshall dual 100W monoblock power amps into his same 4x12s again for his live rig.
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

How did Mustaine manage keeping his bottom end crisp and tight? Besides going to the gym 4 days a week...

He used JBs for how many albums?

Drugs. Lots of it. And when all your money is gone, try to meet the record company's deadline for a finished album. Then when he couldnt smoke/mainline enough to burn all his cash, I believe he used the bible and active pickups.
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

I think it's more a question of the JB being matched to the right guitar. Too much lower mids, it gets flubby. If the guitar is naturally thin, the JB usually sounds annoying. In the right guitar, it's awesome.

Also true that amp, speakers, and EQ matter. Cut bass before hitting preamp, beef it up in the effects loop/power amp sends is very standard metal tone technique (done any number of ways, from cutting bass with dirt boxes to graphic to parametric EQs).

Mustaine is also a ridiculously tight rhythm player. Who isn't afraid to leave room for the bassist to work. A lot more comfortable with mids than most speed metal players. [Except on Countdown to Extinction, where he may have used a different pickup for some of the rhythm parts, and VHT power amps, which didn't last long before he went back to his Marshall dual 100W monoblocks.] Dann Huff got him to try other gear for Risk & Cryptic Writings, too, but he still wound up right back at the JB as his bridge pickup and Marshall dual 100W monoblock power amps into his same 4x12s again for his live rig.
Yeah but who wants a thin sounding guitar. I agree it has to be matched to the guitar. Tried the JB is a Les Paul ... awful. Ive not found a better rock pup than the SH-5 Duncan Custom. Close second would be the 36th Anniversary DiMarzios. Total magnetic contrast as the Duncan Custom is ceramic & the 36th's are A5's. I have both in Les Pauls, outstanding. Ive never had to remove an SH-5 from any guitar i installed it in. No worse feeling than buying a pup/installing it only to find it sounds like sh*t & have to find something else.
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

the JB has always been a hard one for me. I primarily play clean, and there just seems to be pickups that do that better.
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

I had one of the mythical MJ-wound JB trembuckers back when I first got on this forum. Traded it off a few years later, and I haven't settled with a Duncan guitar pickup since. I think I need to try one again.
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

I play down tuned metal with plenty of palm muting and I think that the JB works just fine. Though I'm sure that there are pickups with tighter low end.

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Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

Welcome to 2006 on this forum.

Every other thread was the “flabby JB” or the 10K PAF.
 
Re: Am i the only one that doesn't like the bottom of a SH-4 JB ?

I rather like it in superstrats, to be honest. To my ears, a lot of character is lost once one starts looking for tight-sounding pickups.
 
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