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

[TVFV]

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

Flabby bass, harsh mid spike. Gheez, how did that thing become one of the best selling pickups of all time?

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[Ascension]

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.

Same here. Have 2 in guitars right now both mid 1990's Washburn USA Super strats and they are fantastic sounding guitars. Had a JB in a little Ibanez a while back that just sounded HUGE in that guitar!! I pulled the bridge pickup just to see what it was and was shocked that it was a JB as it had a really BIG and round bottom in that particular guitar!!
The JB is a very fickle pickup and can be pure magic in one guitar and a total tonal disaster in another.

 

[PFDarkside]

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

Only been SD member since 2017 bro.

Just saying you aren’t the only one to feel this way bro.

Sometimes I like the sponginess, sometimes I hate it.

 

[gsammo79]

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

One disclaimer ill give in defense of the JB. After owning a jb/59n guitar, it got sold. I went years without a guitar. The hobby was put down for a while and when I had my next rig, the pickups I used from that point on
had a different eq and sound than my jb equipped LP. It wasnt the best option for me, but i don't have multiple guitars to test-drive pickups in-and-out of.

The JB is a good pickup, but it was rhythmically different and less satisfying than the options I tried afterwards. All LP mahogany/ maple axes

 

[Clint 55]

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

Flabby bass, harsh mid spike. Gheez, how did that thing become one of the best selling pickups of all time?

Cuz it somehow sounds country, blues, punk, metal, and alt simultaneously. :dunno:

 

[ehdwuld]

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

I got a JB/JAZZ set in most of my guitars
The swamp ash Gibson LP loves them
The Basswood Ibanez RG2 adores them
The mahogany Ehdwuld branded semihollow LP couldn't be happier

The JB is real particular about where it sits under the strings
Too high it's an ice pick
Too low it's a muddy mess
If you find that sweet spot
Its 80s hair metal all day long

 

[Yash]

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

The Mustaine stuff I am reading is hilarious :lol: I have a KV1, I can attest that yes, its low end is kinda weird, but it really depends on the amp a lot. It sounds phenomenal with the Soldano and most Marshall sims that I use, but it can be pretty hard to control on the Mesa/Boogie Mark III and Mark IV sims. Lead playing, my EMG equipped guitars don't come close. And the Mustaine Livewires are a little sterile ? Can I say that? But, again, a lot of it is in the hands, I sound like me no matter which guitar I am playing.

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.

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?

Since either So Far So Good So what or Rust in Peace, most likely he started using it in 89? Right before RIP

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.

He used some Bogner preamp for RIP, CAE 3+ with VHT power amps for CTE and Youthanasia, and a bunch of stuff for Cryptic Writings and Risk. The tone on RIP and Countdown are some of my favourite, that crunch-distortion is just right. There's a lot less gain than I used to think. Yet it just sounds huge. I asked him on a GimmeRadio chat what did he used to record RIP, he said modded JCM 800, idk if that's the truth or if its his endorsement speaking though. But, he's a nice guy on the chats.

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.

His active pickups are pretty good. I love the neck pickup on my Axxion, beats the JB4 neck on my KV1 any day, any time.

I got a JB/JAZZ set in most of my guitars
The swamp ash Gibson LP loves them
The Basswood Ibanez RG2 adores them
The mahogany Ehdwuld branded semihollow LP couldn't be happier

The JB is real particular about where it sits under the strings
Too high it's an ice pick
Too low it's a muddy mess
If you find that sweet spot
Its 80s hair metal all day long

What's the suggested pickup height?

 

[ehdwuld]

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

Fret on late fret
Start about 1/8 inch below strings
Think that's around 3mm

 

[Ace Flibble]

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

Flabby bass, harsh mid spike. Gheez, how did that thing become one of the best selling pickups of all time?

The JB's popularity mostly comes from its age. It's been around for longer than most other pickups so it's had longer to sell and grow a reputation. Same with the DM Super Distortion and EMG 81. Look at everything related to electric guitar; there are lots of old designs for every type of piece of gear which people still pay a huge premium for even though there are categorically better options now available. We have better tools than ever before yet people still insist on using the thing they heard about twenty years ago, or what was popular in the 70s, or what was quickly and thoughtless invented in the 50s. Bass players are a bit more clued-in, but not by much.

I have JBs and JB-derivatives in several guitars and it has its use as a totally generic medium-high output humbucker when you don't really know what direction you want a particular guitar to go in, but I'm very confident that most JB users would soil themselves with happiness if they gave a Custom a try, or an Evo 2 or Black Winter. But the larger majority of guitar players out there don't even know those pickups exist.

 

[Mincer]

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

Well, the JB's popularity also comes from the fact that it was used a lot in an era where lots of people started playing, and were influenced by what they heard (late 70s to mid 80s). That pickup sounds great through a hot Marshall, and it is an iconic sound for that music.

 

[esandes]

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

The flub starts at the pickup. You can't just dial down amp bass to get rid of it.

Look at the pickup height to the strings.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

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

I think it sounds pretty great/tight here: