Is This supposed to sound like This?

jimo

jimo

New member
I have basically this same guitar...It supposed to be a Duncan Designed Jb/Jazz combo...mine sounds about like this guys---Is that right? Do the real ones sound like this? Cause I don't care for this, and if this is what it SUPPOSED to sound like then I am going to buy a different set of Duncans for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIkTQ_C80Vw


Thanx in advance for the help!!! JIMO
 
Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

It's very hard to tell what those pickups are capable of or really sound like, other than their clean tones and very very mildly overdriven. They sound like fairly clear PAF style humbuckers. It's so hard to tell what sounds good and what sounds like crap on You Tube because you don't know if it was done with quality mics or just a flip cam mic.

I certainly wouldn't trash a set of pickups and buy a new set based off a You Tube clip. What do YOU think they sound like? What amp do you use and what kind of music do you play. Those pickups would probably be more than suitable for anything from classic rock and blues up to some forms of metal. You don't have to have super high output pickups to play harder styles of music.
 
Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

Yeah, you can sometimes get a general idea of a tone on youtube but it still isn't a good one.
 
Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

Well, I really haven't had much time to play this guitar , it is in storage, as we are building a new man cave for me. haha When I tried it out it seemed pretty weak and I had always envisioned the JB as sort of a rip roaring over wound type of pickup, and I just didn't hear that. SO, I was thinking they might have been WIRED wrong from the factory?????????

Overstock was blowing these out a few years ago--and I got such a good deal, I couldn't pass it up ,so I just bought it on spec. never having heard anything about them. I think I paid $100 to $150 for it. I forget. But it is amazingly pretty considering its price.
 
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Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

That barely sounded like it was amped. I wouldn't call that great tone - YouTube or not
 
Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

The JB tends towards screaming harmonics because of it's upper mid peak, but the actual output level isn't as hot as many think. It's 16.4K resistance is actually a bit underwound for a 44AWG pickup. A lot of pickups with 44AWG from other manufacturers are out around 18-19K!

Most amps these days have plenty of gain available, you don't need the pickup so much for thrashing the input as shaping the tone, hitting the amp with the frequencies you want but not the ones you don't.

That sample does sound like a JB being played clean to me. That honking, muffled but oddly piercing tone, very familiar. I had a JB in my Ibanez for ages, and it was absolutely the wrong pickup for that guitar. Still good for screaming leads, terrible for cleans and rhythm. Sounds better in that Squier than my RG570, though!

Can't really help for suggesting another pickup without some idea of what you don't like about it, and your playing style and rig. Or some description of what you want out of it in genres and artists. The more information, the more likely it is you'll get useful advice.
 
Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

No, that was very helpfull!!, If that sounds about right for clean---then I won't be looking for something wrong in the wiring---and just put it through some high gain amps and see what it sounds like there. I have a bunch of guitars and was just wanting something different than what I have. As I said, the guitar is in storage and I really can't get to it right now. This guitar is mahogany and, except for the Fender scale, anything that would sound good in an SG, SHOULD sound good in it. I know I want to try the PG neck in some guitar and find a good bridge pickup for that. But, I may just love the DD JB/Jazz at higher gain. I have a Dimarzio Tone Zone in a guitar that sounds really good distorted, but sounds like hitting a cardboard box when it is clean, so I know what some "hot" pickups sound like clean...hahaha!...Thanks Again!!! JIMO
 
Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

Fretsy (a man I know somewhat from over at Harmony-Central.com) says right in the video that those are Duncan Designed pickups, not the actual JB and Jazz set. Regardless, the JB and Jazz aren't "OMGZ!!! RIPPING HI GAINZ!!!" type pickups. The JB is hot with a spike in the high mids, but not something that's going to rip your head off.

Besides, what amp and distortion are you using? Frets tends to lean towards more vintagey type bluesrock tones, so I think your problem may be more with his particular style than the actual pickups.
 
Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

GilmourD said:
Fretsy (a man I know somewhat from over at Harmony-Central.com) says right in the video that those are Duncan Designed pickups, not the actual JB and Jazz set. Regardless, the JB and Jazz aren't "OMGZ!!! RIPPING HI GAINZ!!!" type pickups. The JB is hot with a spike in the high mids, but not something that's going to rip your head off.

Besides, what amp and distortion are you using? Frets tends to lean towards more vintagey type bluesrock tones, so I think your problem may be more with his particular style than the actual pickups.
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Yeah. Dave Mustaine's signature guitars had a JB & Jazz in them for years, so I wouldn't pigeonhole them based on this video. I have enough experience with them to know that they're actually pretty versatile and can go from clean blues-rock to metal by turning a knob and changing your attack.
 
Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

All this is true, but his question was, when his guitar sounds just like that, do real ones do the same thing. Answer is yes. Can they do different things with a different amp? Sure. But that's fairly typical of their clean tones with a lot of amps.
 
Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

Despair said:
All this is true, but his question was, when his guitar sounds just like that, do real ones do the same thing. Answer is yes. Can they do different things with a different amp? Sure. But that's fairly typical of their clean tones with a lot of amps.
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Also true, but I'm not sure what the OP's angle is. What does he want them to sound like?
 
Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

I advise against forming an option of any guitar or pickups based on a home recorded video whose sound has been captured via the built-in condenser mic on the camera. Add to that the fact that Mr. Frets99 is playing so quietly that his plectrum scrapes and the creaky furniture overpower the amplifier.

jimo. The sound that your personal example of the Squier DF Stratocaster makes will depend on how it is set up, how aggressively (or not) you go after the strings and what amplification and/or pedals you use.

EDIT: On reflection, the guitar of which the Squier DF Strat reminds me of most, sound-wise, is the original Fender Telecaster Deluxe with Wide Range humbuckers.
 
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Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

Despair said:
All this is true, but his question was, when his guitar sounds just like that, do real ones do the same thing. Answer is yes. Can they do different things with a different amp? Sure. But that's fairly typical of their clean tones with a lot of amps.
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This is what I wanted to know! Thanks! The reason I asked is that I have heard the DD's sound JUST like Duncans, and then that the DD's sound NOTHING like the Duncans. When I played it through a little 12 watt practice amp...it sounded very weak and anemic, so much so, that I wondered if the Squier folks had just messed up the wiring. Oh well, I will pull it out of storage and crank it through a half stack and see what it will do. Thank you all for your time and reply's, I really appreciate them ,you know , when you can't get to your toys, to try out stuff, you just get so aggravated!!!! hahahahaha CheerS ! JIMO
 
Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

jimo said:
This is what I wanted to know! Thanks! The reason I asked is that I have heard the DD's sound JUST like Duncans, and then that the DD's sound NOTHING like the Duncans. When I played it through a little 12 watt practice amp...it sounded very weak and anemic, so much so, that I wondered if the Squier folks had just messed up the wiring. Oh well, I will pull it out of storage and crank it through a half stack and see what it will do. Thank you all for your time and reply's, I really appreciate them ,you know , when you can't get to your toys, to try out stuff, you just get so aggravated!!!! hahahahaha CheerS ! JIMO
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You played it through a little 12-watt practice amp, which I'm guessing is solid-state and cheap. THERE is your weak and anemic. You don't even mention brand (like Crate, Peavey, Marshall MG, Line6) so I'm going to guess that it was some off-brand little practice amp or (sadly) the only bad thing that gets the Squier name slapped on it these days.

Try the guitar through an amp with some cajones. Even a little Line6 Spider IV 15-watter is pretty decent.
 
Re: Is This supposed to sound like This?

GilmourD said:
You played it through a little 12-watt practice amp, which I'm guessing is solid-state and cheap. THERE is your weak and anemic. You don't even mention brand (like Crate, Peavey, Marshall MG, Line6) so I'm going to guess that it was some off-brand little practice amp or (sadly) the only bad thing that gets the Squier name slapped on it these days.

Try the guitar through an amp with some cajones. Even a little Line6 Spider IV 15-watter is pretty decent.
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It is a Champ 12 Fender Tube Red Knob , while it is not wonderful , that is not the problem. I have a good idea now about I need to do. I am building a new building for my recording studio which presently is in my home, so my equipment is in storage, my present studio is going to be turned into a Home Theater . I am pretty sure I have an amp out there somewhere that will do it justice. Thanks for the input. Cheers! JIMO
 
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