Re: Hot Rodded Humbucker Set?
I am going to put this set into an Epi G400, not a high end guitar by any stretch but I do hope this is one of the "right guitars" for the JB, have also purchased upgrade kit with P/P pots and new wiring, switch, Jack and caps so it should work right?
Oops. Mahogany is what JB's have a problem in more often than any other wood. They do best in bright woods, like the Jeff Beck Tele they were originally designed for. In mahogany and warm woods they're hit or miss. Can sound great, or can develop an infamous 'ice pick spike' and a 'flabby low end.' One JB lover here put them in mahogany and said they sounded like a 'cheap old blaring trumpet.'
JB's are very fussy about wood, and as many players know, no two pieces of wood are indentical, because of differences in grain, density, water content, mineral content, etc. Two pieces of wood from the
same tree can be very different tonally, let alone trees grown in different climates/microclimates. That being said, some of us are baffled at the much-marketed Hot Rod Set with JB's not being something that can be put an any electric and expected to sound decent. The other puzzler is that players naturally expect a hot neck PU in the Hot Rodded Set, and JazzN's are anything but that. They're clean, clear, tame, and mild output. Some player's buy these because of the name and are disappointed in one or both of the PU's. Even if the JB works well for them in their guitar, they're often scratching their heads thinking: 'Alright, where's the hot rodded neck PU?' The majority of us here match up PU's on our own. Duncan makes a lot of great PU's, and JB's get far more of the spotlight than they deserve. Remember, Seymour's probably not playing the same music you are, or with the same guitars and amps, so what his personal favorites may not be at all relevant to what you're doing. Think of what
you want to accomplish with bridge and neck tones. Your best course of actiopn is to pick players whose sounds you like and find out what gear they use. Have you even heard Seymour's playing to know that's what you want?
