Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

Could be, but I am not one of those people who cares enough to try all that.

I’m sure most people wouldn’t! Lol.

But I have to from time to time. It’s useful for rewinding a dead coil on a vintage pickup. If you really want to get geeky you can calculate the weight of the wire to determine how many turns are on it. But it’s easier to wind to the ball park and weight periodically to fine tune it. You can’t hear a few hundred turns anyway.

When I worked at DiMarzio it was understood that bobbins would read within a range of about 10% and be acceptable, even though they use fully automated coil wonders. So we would just check a few bobbins on a tray of 100 or so. Mostly to catch a mistake in the order!


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[Ayrton]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

I can go full nerd for sure, but I have never gone down the pickup hole as far as some.

 

[51501984]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

For me SH-6 sound better, is brighter and has tihgter low end.
Btw it is normal that my TB-4 has 18,5kohm?
I try 1meg pot yet with JB

I`ve had both pickups in the same guitar and I wouldn`t say the Distortion is brighter but fuzzier if that makes sense. Thats kinda what turned me off to it the fuzzy rasp it had but with that said if I was just gonna play metal like say early Metallica with the chugging palm mutes and thunderous riffs it would be the pickup I would turn to. I know the story is that George Lynch used the Distortion but I find his tone on the early Dokken albums just a little more polite than what the Distortion does YMMV

 

[donahue]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

I love that this debate never gets settled lol. It's actually a great legacy of the forum imo. The Company will neither confirm nor deny so on it goes. Probably gives them a laugh.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

Actually I think their statement is that they are different winds. Unless someone else who actually works on or designs these things comes on and says differently, I am going with that as the 'official' word.

 

[justFred]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

FWIW old JBs that Seymour wound from the late 70's / early 80's sound different than described and have some top end sparkle when played clean in a Les Paul or even in an SG. Old JBs when clean sound somewhere between a loud 59 and loud WLH, but with just a touch of the top end off a Pearly Gates or Custom, for me.

New production JBs sound dark-ish and lackluster in the same guitars for me.

(I know the OP is using a different type of guitar, but I'm just pointing out there is a difference across production years)

difficult to understand why SD would change the characteristics of the reference standard JB that was used by so many artists in the 70s and 80s. Was there a reason for SD changing the JB?

 

[Aceman]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

Yeah - fairly certain I have been told different (slightly) by both Falbo and Skopp. But what do they know....

 

[Demanic]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

Isn't it good enough to describe them as similar?

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[Aceman]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

In this case - yes.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

Thank you.

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[Clint 55]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

They're different coils. Compare them both with A5: DD has tighter bass, JB has crinky bass, DD has fizzy mids, JB has organic mids, DD has true highs, JB has attenuated highs. With A5, DD still has sterile, fizzy mids. Do you really think the JB has that same distinct fizzy midrange? I don't think so. JB has an organic, tele, country vibe to it. You can pass for tele tones, ekspecially split. Do you seriously think that an A5 DD has that characteristic tele, country vibe to it? No, I don't think so. The DD is synthetic sounding. Sounds nothing like the JB.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

difficult to understand why SD would change the characteristics of the reference standard JB that was used by so many artists in the 70s and 80s. Was there a reason for SD changing the JB?

My understanding, from conversations in this forum, is they changed from butyrate bobbins to some other plastic material that could withstand the wax potting process better, and switched to polished magnets to make production easier - so the bobbins sit flat when assembled.

 

[dsuigdsf]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

OP - before we get all lost; Critical info -

What guitar, what amp, what fx? I believe the answer is Strat and DSL 401.

That should be PLENTY bright. BUT!!!!!! A JB with an A2? AHA!!!!!!!

As said - put the A5 back in it. I bet that fixes everything. If not ceramic/double ceramic.

Or just get a Distortion. It's what you really want.

JB with A5 was muddy also. I have read that Jake E Lee use JB with A2, so I tried it.
I listened to much pickups samples and Distortion seems to be best option, but I'm afraid it will be too strong.
What is the Screamin Demon compared to Distortion? Which is brighter and has a tighter low end?
And what is Dimarzio Super Distortion compared to Duncan Distortion?

 

[Demanic]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

Once again, what you should try is a regular thickness ceramic magnet in your JB. Problem solved.

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[dsuigdsf]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

Okay I will try it. Thank you all!

 

[dsuigdsf]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

I have one question yet. I installed short screw under bass strings and long screw under treble strings. Now trebble strings are little warmer. But the screw has different heads. Can it be like this?

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

They're different coils. Compare them both with A5: DD has tighter bass, JB has crinky bass, DD has fizzy mids, JB has organic mids, DD has true highs, JB has attenuated highs.

This was my experience also. Something in the sonic signature of the coils is different, more than a mere mag swap would change.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

Actually I think their statement is that they are different winds. Unless someone else who actually works on or designs these things comes on and says differently, I am going with that as the 'official' word.

Yeah - fairly certain I have been told different (slightly) by both Falbo and Skopp. But what do they know....

The only thing I went on record as saying while I was employed by Duncan was how Duncan deserves the courtesy of being allowed to have trade secrets, i.e. not having to answer. As far as I remember it, Evan has never "confirmed nor denied" the JB/Distortion/Invader are the same coils.

Another thing I've said about it, as the result of having the direct questions asked such as "since the DCR specs are the same (or nearly the same) between pickup A and pickup B, isn't that like a secret code for which coils are the same?" And of course the answer is no. There was a point in time when Evan confirmed that the Alnico II Pro and the Jazz are the same coils, so that a magnet swap turns one into the other. But there are plenty of other pickups in Duncan's lineup that have same/similar DCR and are not the same. There are so many other variables.

So I leave this post with no additional information than I started, but I will advise you all this:
1. Those of you who are adamant that the JB and Distortion/Invader use different coils need to pump the brakes and realize you might be wrong.
2. Those of you who are adamant that the JB and Distortion/Invader use the same coils, see instructions in #1.

 

[justFred]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

Adding significantly to the confusion is the widely discussed (SDUGF and other places as well) assertion that today's JB is not equivalent to the JB of the 70s and 80s that paired with the Jazz was the cornerstone of Duncan pickups stardom.
This becomes relevant in that the OP may have never encountered his difficulties if he had an original Seymour Duncan designed JB.
Furthermore I may be completely wrong because I don't know buttkiss about pickups and their history.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: Duncan JB magnet swap to ceramic.

If you want to add even more confusion, wound pickups have tolerances. So while a “Wednesday” can sound a tiny bit different from a “Thursday”, even within the same batch there can be (very) slight variances.

Now, if you search this forum you can find some people who were dogmatically confident that the AIIPro and the Jazz were not the same coils. In some cases because they’ve performed their own magnet swaps and they didn’t sound exactly like one another, or they’ve mag swapped a Jazz, they’ve owned an AIIPro in the past, and it didn’t sound exactly like their recollection of an AIIPro.

Subsequently, someone from Duncan confirms they are indeed the same. What does that mean for those who were incorrect? Does it mean it was a placebo? Their ears fooled them? Their recollection of the other pickup was flawed? Or could it also be they were just hearing the smal differences that can manifest themselves between two of the same model pickup?