Giving the Jazz another chance

[Rex_Rocker]

I used to not like it. But I also used to not like the '59, and these days, I feel it's not half bad. Let's see how it goes.



I'll report back tomorrow after I've spent some time with it.

 

[Mincer]

If you don't like it, you can always change the magnet to A2.

 

[Snake Aces]

My oldest guitar is loaded with a Jazz neck, STK-S4 middle, and Jazz bridge. I love the Jazz humbuckers!

 

[Sam SG]

you mention the 59' both the ones I got. And onevI JUST put in 2 days ago. I lowered the screw poles to tame the glassy pick attack thing. And just hair like 2x the thickness of the screw driver blade..
Cept the G which I had to go more for string balance.
Im loving that pup.

May help ya with your Jazz

 

[Rex_Rocker]

So... it's not bad!

It definitely has the same "wow factor" that the '59 has. Maybe more. It's open, it's lively, and it's sparkly on a clean channel.

Distorted, it's very clear on the lower and middle notes. I like that. However, it does get kinda too single coil-y the higher you go. I think I might play with pot values and polepiece adjustment a bit there see if I can "fix" that.

I'll spend more time with it and report back if I like it more than my trusty old 490R.

 

[Top-L]

So... it's not bad!

It definitely has the same "wow factor" that the '59 has. Maybe more. It's open, it's lively, and it's sparkly on a clean channel.

Distorted, it's very clear on the lower and middle notes. I like that. However, it does get kinda too single coil-y the higher you go. I think I might play with pot values and polepiece adjustment a bit there see if I can "fix" that.

I'll spend more time with it and report back if I like it more than my trusty old 490R.

I have a jazz in my parts box and when I grow up I will reinstall it.

It does sound great clean.

 

[Sam SG]

and when I grow up

Dude we are guitar players....Do we ever???

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I think my gripes before were mostly that it was too bright and too low output.

I still think it's bright. But it does sound nice clean. I still think it's low output, but with a JB, it balances. Barely. I have to have it close to the same distance from the strings as the JB in the bridge.

I don't think it would be a good match for anything hotter. And I'm still on the fence about it being so bright. I mean, in isolation, it's nice. Very. But with the JB which has a relatively rolled off top-end... it's not bad, but it does contrast a bit, which can be nice.

 

[freefrog]

And I'm still on the fence about it being so bright.

Put a resistor or/and a low value capacitor from hot to ground of this neck PU and it won't be too bright anymore.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Put a resistor or/and a low value capacitor from hot to ground of this neck PU and it won't be too bright anymore.

I'm trying a 1M resistor now to load it down a tad.

 

[beaubrummels]

It was designed around 250k vol/tone, so there's that. But usually the darker tone of mahogany helps it in LP types.

 

[Snake Aces]

It was designed around 250k vol/tone, so there's that. But usually the darker tone of mahogany helps it in LP types.

Indeed. I use a Jazz set in a chambered black korina LP body with a wenge neck featuring a ziricote fretboard. The Jazz set shines in it.

 

[freefrog]

I'm trying a 1M resistor now to load it down a tad.

I wouldn't hesitate to try lower than this. Also, if you want to align the resonant peak of the Jazz on the resonance of the JB, you can add a 820pF or 1000pF (1nF) cap in parallel with the resistor... Or play the neck pickup through 20 more ft of cable before any buffer.


To me, the SH2 remains a Duncan variation on the T-Top recipe: the idea to use 250k pots echoes the principle of 300k pots with T-Top's, whose brightness (due to a relatively high pitched / hi Q factor resonance) was basically an answer to the long capacitive cables of yesteryear...