Can't decide between the Lil 59's or JB's, advice?

[Helmet112]

Hey all,

I’m looking for some advice on whether I’m thinking about this the right way. I have a strat with stock single coils. I’ve been playing heavier stuff lately and am not loving the tone I get from the single coils, even with distortion pedals and EQ pedals in front. The high end stays too brittle under distortion, for me.

I can’t decide between the Lil 59’s and the JB JR’s. Both sound great in the samples, really the JB’s just seem to have higher output. What I think I really want is a pickup that gets me closer to the starting tone shape of a humbucker, and since I don’t mind using pedals I don’t think I need to care so much about output level.

Does the lower output level of the 59 make them a bit more versatile, since they could clean up easier?

Any advice? I think I'd be happy with either set, so I'm not sure how to tie-break.

Thanks

 

[gregory]

Re: Can't decide between the Lil 59's or JB's, advice?

Change your pickguard to HSS or HSH if you can. Single-sized HBs aren't going to sound like full-sized HBs no matter the output or the BMT graph.

I like single-sized HBs in the neck and middle sometimes, but that's me. They still won't sound like their full-sized counterparts, but they do get closer. In the bridge? Forget it.

...but you may want to see for yourself.

My JB Jr. Neck model is great, but I'm still looking for something that will sound better in parallel. The Satch Track is at the top of my list (this is in an HSS with a medium output humbucker in the bridge).

 

[Helmet112]

Re: Can't decide between the Lil 59's or JB's, advice?

Change your pickguard to HSS or HSH if you can. Single-sized HBs aren't going to sound like full-sized HBs no matter the output or the BMT graph.

I like single-sized HBs in the neck and middle sometimes, but that's me. They still won't sound like their full-sized counterparts, but they do get closer. In the bridge? Forget it.

...but you may want to see for yourself.

My JB Jr. Neck model is great, but I'm still looking for something that will sound better in parallel. The Satch Track is at the top of my list.

I've definitely thought about going full-sized HSH. That would be ideal for me except that I really like my pickguard. It's an aluminium one on a Rustic Ash FSR Strat. I also haven't checked my routing under the pick guard yet and can't find it online.

Really, it's not that I'm trying to make my Strat sound exactly like my LP. I just want to take off that shrill top-end, and sound "closer" to my LP.

Thanks!

 

[gregory]

Re: Can't decide between the Lil 59's or JB's, advice?

I'd look at the BC-1, Air Norton S and Satch Track. Ignore the fact that they are most commonly used in the neck position.

I'm pretty underwhelmed by the Little '59 and JB Jr. bridge models. I'm also unimpressed with the Pro Track. Between these three I'd go with the Little '59.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Can't decide between the Lil 59's or JB's, advice?

Hey all,

I’m looking for some advice on whether I’m thinking about this the right way. I have a strat with stock single coils. I’ve been playing heavier stuff lately and am not loving the tone I get from the single coils, even with distortion pedals and EQ pedals in front. The high end stays too brittle under distortion, for me.

I can’t decide between the Lil 59’s and the JB JR’s. Both sound great in the samples, really the JB’s just seem to have higher output. What I think I really want is a pickup that gets me closer to the starting tone shape of a humbucker, and since I don’t mind using pedals I don’t think I need to care so much about output level.

Does the lower output level of the 59 make them a bit more versatile, since they could clean up easier?

Any advice? I think I'd be happy with either set, so I'm not sure how to tie-break.

Thanks

The Little 59 is probably closer to what you want. While it isn't exactly like a regular 59, it is a lot more touch-sensitive than the JB. It doesn't sound as 'hard rocky' either, and so it can be used for more types of music.

 

[Nagisa]

Re: Can't decide between the Lil 59's or JB's, advice?

Obviously the hss or hsh recommendation is solid. If staying sss:

The Injector bridge should be enough for most rock - but it will NOT do metal. You wrote about using pedals for getting heavy, but it really depends on how far you want to go. If you're playing Slayer and Pantera the only single coil sized hb I'd suggest is a hot rails. keep in mind you may need to put a 500k pot in for a hot rails and then put a resistor to make the true single coil pups see only 250k. Dimarzio sent me a great wiring diagram for it when I did the hot rails thing before.

That said a strat with a mid output full sized humbucker will sound different than an LP and would give you good variety

Edit: I realize hot rails is Duncan but Duncan never emails me back so I asked Dimarzio for the diagram. I then bought lots of Dimarzio pickups after that in small part as gratitude

 

[Helmet112]

Re: Can't decide between the Lil 59's or JB's, advice?

Thanks for all the feedback! The BC-1 and Air Norton S sounds great too. I had looked at the hot rails before and they're great too. The only reason I've shied away from them is the (maybe incorrect) idea that higher output means you're automatically forced into more compression, so you're losing some dynamics.

Maybe what makes this the most difficult is that all the pickups sound great, so I'm not quite sure how to tie-break them. I'll take a look around for any deals to see if that becomes a reason.

Thanks for the help.

 

[gregory]

Re: Can't decide between the Lil 59's or JB's, advice?

Not only compressed, the Hot Rails is dark.

Since the Injector was mentioned, the neck model in the bridge can do distortion without sounding brittle. It really smooths out when rolling the tone back.

There are lots of options going down this path.