installed a jazz bridge this weekend

S

stangme01

New member
I took the custom out and put the jazz in, i noticed right away they both have a similar EQ. And the Jazz is really tight i was pleasantly surprised. I play hard rock, 80's metal, nu metal, nirvana type stuff, and In Flames and Lamb of God type stuff. Its definitely the clearest passive i've used, it is clearer than the custom and less dry. The output is not THAT much less than the custom, but it is noticeable. At first i was a bit taken back because i'm not used to the feel and sound of lower output pups, but after playing for about 5-6 hours again last night i'm REALLY starting to dig the clear sound, as well as the low gain sounds.
I love how it makes my high gain amps more versatile. The custom pushes my amp right into metal city! More than anything the reason i want to try lower output pups is so i can hear more nuances in the way i'm playing, with more dynamics and more versatility.

If anyone plays the type of stuff i do and worried about the jazz for metal DON'T WORRY its wicked sounding for metal, it can get as heavy as the custom IMO.

I don't want to say how i feel about it overall as a pickup yet because i've made a mistake of saying the words like "best" "incredible" "way better" "horrible" "terrible" "unusable" during honeymoon phases or before getting to know something and regretted it later haha. I'm really liking this thing so far i will say that, and its one pickup i can see hanging onto. And i will say that so far it has exceded my expectations as i was worried it wouldn't do metal as good as high output pups.

:dance:
 
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Re: installed a jazz bridge this weekend

congrats, glad you like it. that pup is definitely on my "to do" list. I just need to get a guitar that I can tinker with and not have it for a particular purpose.
 
Re: installed a jazz bridge this weekend

I'm convinced that the Jazz Bridge is the one pickup that anyone could put in any position in any guitar, and like it.

If you use Customs, C-5, CC, or JB, or any other hot bridge pickup, you will be STOKED if you put a Jazz Bridge in the neck position. It also sounds great in the bridge for clean and highgain. It's also a great choice for an HSS strat, because it jives with singles nicely. It's SO ironic to me that most Duncan lovers aren't hip to the Jazz Bridge. It must be the name, because there's no other reason.......don't forget, it's listed in the Progressive section, not the Vintage section.
 
Re: installed a jazz bridge this weekend

yeah i'm gonna put the custom in tomorrow again so i can see what i notice between the two. If i prefer the custom in the bridge then i'm gonna put the jazz in the neck because this guitar currently has no neck pickup. I've heard the jazz bridge is great for neck too, so this is why i didn't mind picking it up to try out.
 
Re: installed a jazz bridge this weekend

Right now, I'm sitting here noodling with my LP that's currently loaded with the Custom and Jazz Bridge in the neck. I'm tellin you.....It's an absolutely great combo. IMO, there is no better neck pickup than the Jazz Bridge. My LP even has pullup tone pots to split the pickups, and the Jazz Bridge split for the neck is as good as it gets for a split humbucker. My other main LP has a Custom Shop Brobucker/PGn, and it's one step in a more vintage direction. I still like the Jazz B neck more than the PGn. The Brobucker is a little more open and vintage sounding than the Custom, so it's better for hard rock, whereas the Custom is heavier sounding and tad more compressed. With a Custom bridge, you'll never complain about not having a huge tone.
 
Re: installed a jazz bridge this weekend

yeah i'm really lovin this pickup, i can't stop playing metal with this damn pickup haha! I'm gonna try the jazz in the neck custom in the bridge soon as i can pull myself away from playing the jazz in the bridge hehe
 
Re: installed a jazz bridge this weekend

okay so i put the custom in the bridge again and put the jazzb in the neck. First of all i want to say the jazz REALLY shines in the neck! Much better than the jazz neck! It doesn't have that "ping" of the jazz neck that sometimes bothers me, thicker and a warmer and a bit hotter.

Next i noticed that the custom definitely has quite a bit more output than the jazz, where i originally didn't think it was that much hotter. The jazz is definitely clearer and more defined, the custom is huge in comparison which monster palm mutes. I noticed its not super clear like the jazz though for rhythm. I definitely prefer the feel of the custom, i love the push of hotter pickups for bridge. The other thing is i feel that the jazz did NOT do classic rock sounds very well, for some reason it just couldn't pull it off, and its definitely not a pickup you want to use for bridge if you play alot of AC/DC type stuff. Where the custom is just awesome for this stuff.

I dunno what i'm gonna do at this point. Is there something in between these 2 that you guys can think of?
 
Re: installed a jazz bridge this weekend

Yeah, the Custom 5. I honestly like the Custom 5 a little more than the Custom, just because it's not as pushed sounding, and less compressed.
The Custom/Jazz B or Custom 5/Jazz B are both really great combos. They're both the kind of sets you could put in a guitar and have a big smile on your face the minute you plug in. That's what we all shoot for. Nothing sucks more than replacing stock pickups and realizing it was a step in the wrong direction. You won't feel like that with those 2 combos.

For single coils, I prefer really traditional handwound stuff, but for humbuckers, there's a select few Duncans I love.......C-5, Custom, CC, JB, Brobucker, 78, Custom 5/59 hybrid, Seth bridges. Jazz Bridge and PGn for neck pickups. To me, those are Duncan's cream of the crop.
After trying almost all the Duncans, those are the ones I go for.
 
Re: installed a jazz bridge this weekend

is the custom 5 more scooped than the jazz? And is it alot more scooped than the custom?
 
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