I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

Well, funny...my first trip into JB land was a HB102 in a Jackson DK2. That was the guitar I bought the Blues Saraceno for, because I hated the 102 in that. That guitar is gone, but the Blues resides in a Charvel Predator now. I had the HB102 laying around and I wanted my '59/Custom Hybrid for another guitar, so I swapped the HB102 for the hybrid, which was in an Agile 2000. I thought the HB102 was much better suited for the Agile, which is Mahogany with a maple neck and RW board, than the hybrid. It really cranks in that guitar. I am not sure how close the 102 is to a true JB, but I venture it is relatively close.

The Hybrid, after moving around is finally at home in a guitar that it is the perfect compliment for, a Basswood bodied Frankenstrat copy with a maple neck and an old non-tuner Floyd. It is amazing in that guitar.

I do hear a mid spike in the JB, but I typically scoop the mids out of the amp a good bit, and use an EQ pedal to find the sweet spot up front. I did have to adjust my EQ settings on both the amp and the pedal for the JB.

MIke
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

I am a JB basher im most cases. In the "right guitar" (those guitars are few and far between) it is to die for tonally! I have only played 1 guitar out of at least 10 that the JB sounded good in. When it sounds good, it sounds really good! When it sounds bad, it sounds as bad as any pickup I have ever played.

This pickup is very hard IMO to match it to the right axe.
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

theodie said:
I am a JB basher im most cases. In the "right guitar" (those guitars are few and far between) it is to die for tonally! I have only played 1 guitar out of at least 10 that the JB sounded good in. When it sounds good, it sounds really good! When it sounds bad, it sounds as bad as any pickup I have ever played.

This pickup is very hard IMO to match it to the right axe.
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Could be, could be. It sounds pretty good in this one though!

MJ1.jpg


I also have a sneaking suspicion that this guitar has a 250k volume pot. I could not find a value on the pot, but the fact that it has two singles and the humbucker that was in there sounded like refried A*s leads me to believe that it may have a 250k...which may also explain why the JB really works in here.

Mike
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

MBreinin said:
Could be, could be. It sounds pretty good in this one though!

MJ1.jpg


I also have a sneaking suspicion that this guitar has a 250k volume pot. I could not find a value on the pot, but the fact that it has two singles and the humbucker that was in there sounded like refried A*s leads me to believe that it may have a 250k...which may also explain why the JB really works in here.

Mike
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Easy way to find out the value is to put a meter across the two outer lugs. That'll tell ya. Since it is HSS, it's a good bet it is 250k.
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

250k with a JB??

i dont get that. i have been using a JB in all my axes over the years and it sounds muffled with a 250k.
I think that it is the most popular cause it caters towards 80's sounding music.
I recently asked Wayne Charvel about why he uses the JB in most of everything he makes instead of the EVH lets say and he says that it gets the Halen sound more than the EVH.
That is why i think so many players use the pickup. cause it is Ed in a non ED way.
if that makes sense. LOL
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

That makes no sense, tone?, because the JB is almost twice as hot as what Eddie himself used in his guitars back in the 80's and it's not even in the same EQ ballpark. Sorry, but I have totally disagree with that one. Have you tried the EVH (now named the '78 Model)? It is that EVH vibe more than any pickup in the Duncan line, whether he did or didn't use the pickup himself.
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

tone? said:
250k with a JB??

i dont get that. i have been using a JB in all my axes over the years and it sounds muffled with a 250k.
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I know what'cha mean cuz I felt that way for a long time. I like the JB with 500K...but I also like it with 250K because it sounds smoother and more even.

Just turn up the treble on the amp a little higher...it'll sound fine.

Like I said though: People say the Custom Custom is a warm buttery pickup with 500 K pots.

But the JB with 250K pots is even warmer and smoother than the CC with 500K pots.

Lew
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

I would have put a more VH sounding P/U in, but I already have the VH machine with the Frankie and the hybrid. I wanted something different..hell, I almost put a Dimbucker in there! :lol:

Mike
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

I've been using a JB w/ 250K pots forever. It has been the ONLY pickup that I have not replaced. I love it! The lead tone is especially delicious.
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

Lewguitar said:
Like I said though: People say the Custom Custom is a warm buttery pickup with 500 K pots.

But the JB with 250K pots is even warmer and smoother than the CC with 500K pots.

Lew
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And this is what makes me wish I still had a JB to try this with. You know I love the CC but if the JB gets that way with 250k pots, woah!

BTW, the CC is back in my Les Paul and the Brobucker is in my Frankenstrat. It was a swap for curiousity's sake, more for the Brobucker. The change is pretty much permanent.
 
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Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

I recently put the JB into a Epiphone G400, mahogany body, set-neck...And it sounds fantastic! Better than when i used it in a alder-bodied guitar. That's just my opinion...
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

This is all kinda funny to me, i remember times when everyone loved the JB and recommended it and now lots of people blast it. There are definite trends so to speak in the forum, sometimes there are specific pickups that get praised as the be all and end all for awhile and everyone seems to catch on, only to have another pickup be the same thing awhile later and have that pickup get a bad rap. The JB isnt for everyone, i dont even particularly like it compared to some others, but it is the industry standard for crying out loud. There are people who will play nothing else.
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

Hey,

ErikH, you are probably right man. no worries about disagreeing with me.

I know the Ed story all too well. i know exactly what he used ( so to speak) and how low output the bucker was in his guitar.
I was just quoting what Charvel told me. i should go and find that mail and quote exactly what was said.

To my ears however (and i play tons of halen) The JB sounds totally Halen'ish especially from the first album. Probably cause it is way more compressed than the other albums. and the JB cause it is higher output compresses the signal more.
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

tone? said:
To my ears however (and i play tons of halen) The JB sounds totally Halen'ish especially from the first album. Probably cause it is way more compressed than the other albums. and the JB cause it is higher output compresses the signal more.
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It's all in the touch, phrasing and the licks...not the pickup. If you can cop Eddie's style and licks, pretty much any good humbucker through a Marshall will do.
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

Funny, and I don't mean to go against you (peace, man...lol), just different opinion, I find the first few albums to be less compressed than later ones actually. It's possible to hit that tonal range with the gain on the amp rolled back. I've heard it done, but it's better using the '59, '78 or other PAF type.

The stuff he did in the late 90's, more so when he used the Wolfgangs, and the last tour, he had way too much gain. It was buzzy and unpleasant sometimes. I much prefered his tone from '95 and earlier. Any later than that and it become a buzzy mess. Coincidentally, the pickups in the Wolfgang I've heard were hotter than the EBMM.
 
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Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

well by first few i meant VH1 compared to the stuff up to 1984. when i mention VH TONE i never talk about any of the new stuff! LOL

"You really got me" is prett darn compressed but i think they got that in the studio rather than his guitar and amp.

Its cool man.

i think Lew has the ticket about playing like someone and copping their vibe.
Ed would sound like Ed through a blender.
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

ErikH said:
Funny, and I don't mean to go against you (peace, man...lol), just different opinion, I find the first few albums to be less compressed than later ones actually. It's possible to hit that tonal range with the gain on the amp rolled back. I've heard it done, but it's better using the '59, '78 or other PAF type.

The stuff he did in the late 90's, more so when he used the Wolfgangs, and the last tour, he had way too much gain. It was buzzy and unpleasant sometimes. I much prefered his tone from '95 and earlier. Any later than that and it become a buzzy mess. Coincidentally, the pickups in the Wolfgang I've heard were hotter than the EBMM.
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The Dimarzio pickups in the Ernie Ball EVH guitars were much hotter than what Eddie used in his Franken-Strats. And when the 5150 amps came along Eddie's tone changed again to that of a modern rock amp with master volumes and multiple gain stages with pre-amp controls etc. His tone got a lot more compressed as he switched to modern hot pickups and hot amps.

I liked his early tone better...although he sure enjoyed that phaser a little to much back then...
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

tone?: Oh yeah, '84 is pretty raw. That's actually got my favorite tone of his from that era. To me that album defines the brown sound perfectly. I'm sure there's some studio compression going on there on all those albums. Not too mention the natural compression of analog tape. Catching the vibe is the important part though, I agree. Heck, I use the Custom Custom and catch it fine I think, same with my Tele. But my Fender Strat with the AZ/PAF combo catches his early 90's vibe perfectly. I love those pickups.

Lew: I agree and know that about those pickups. But compared to the Wolfgang in the most recent stuff, which is also when he used the 5150 II (yet more gain), those pickups are hotter than even the EBMM. From his post-Marshall/Kramer days, I much prefer the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge tone up through Balance when he used the 5150 (not the II version) and the EBMM. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge has some great tones. He used Soldano's on that one since the Marshall had gone kaput and the 5150 was still in the protype stages. But yes, his early tones are the shizzle, especially 1984.

But tone? is right, he could play through anything and sound like himself. The man just has it in his fingers. (see, I agree with you there, man...:laugh2:)
 
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Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

ErikH said:
tone?: Oh yeah, '84 is pretty raw. That's actually got my favorite tone of his from that era. To me that album defines the brown sound perfectly. I'm sure there's some studio compression going on there on all those albums. Not too mention the natural compression of analog tape. Catching the vibe is the important part though, I agree. Heck, I use the Custom Custom and catch it fine I think, same with my Tele. But my Fender Strat with the AZ/PAF combo catches his early 90's vibe perfectly. I love those pickups.

Lew: I agree and know that about those pickups. But compared to the Wolfgang in the most recent stuff, which is also when he used the 5150 II (yet more gain), those pickups are hotter than even the EBMM. From his post-Marshall/Kramer days, I much prefer the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge tone up through Balance when he used the 5150 (not the II version) and the EBMM. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge has some great tones. He used Soldano's on that one since the Marshall had gone kaput and the 5150 was still in the protype stages. But yes, his early tones are the shizzle, especially 1984.

But tone? is right, he could play through anything and sound like himself. The man just has it in his fingers. (see, I agree with you there, man...:laugh2:)
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I think Eddie's a genius as far as guitar playing goes and IMO he always has a great tone...it's just that I like some of his tones better than others. But he's so good I don't think he ever sounds bad.
 
Re: I don't know why the JB gets such a bad rap here.....

I use 250 pots for all my hum"buggers"....I gave in and installed the PGb in my HW-1, but I am going to make my old Tokai back to SSS again.
My Kramer has a JBJ like it was born with along with its APS-1's, that guitar had a 500kohm pot, I threw that one out and installed a 250kohm, both the singles and the JB had a more likeable sound to me after that, the JB is warm and wooden in that guitar, my Wolfgang has a hybrid made of an JB/59 A2 thing, it has the clear vintage style of the 59 along with the extra from the JB...that one is going nowhere.
 
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