Jackson J-90C!

S

SF audio

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Just picked up one of these and installed it in a Charvel natural series custom guitar....wow....I feel like I am transported back to 1985 with hair extensions and spandex pants. Yeah its the 80s sound but it has that great combination of being hot and aggressive but still "nice" sounding rather than raw or harsh. Went from a TB14 (nice but mids are flatter) and then a Suhr SSH (nice cut but not enough beef) to this one. Can't imagine taking it out if I want that sound....

I have always shied away from ceramic pickups as they can be a bit harsh but this makes me re-think things.

I know this pickup was standard in Jacksons and charvels back then....what Jackson neck pickups went in those guitars? I'm thinking I want the matching pickup...
 
If memory serves me, this pickup has/had a slightly wider space between bobbins than a regular Gibson PU... I remember a wide pole shoe / keeper bar with "eccentric" holes for screw poles and I recall that mounting regular Gibson style bobbins on the baseplate of this PU was leaving a thin gap between coils.
It's a detail but it should have a subtle influence on comb filtering of harmonics, illustrated by this applet if we type "0.67" then "0.7" (or other values with 1mm of difference) in the box tittled "Width (inches)":
http://www.till.com/articles/PickupResponseDemo/

A thing is sure: with something like 9H of measured inductance, this PU was smoking. Enjoy! :p


Footnote: are Jackson humbuckers named after their inductance? As a matter of fact, a J200 (SC sized HB's) measures around 2H. A J50, +/- 5H. And so on.
 
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I have one in my parts drawer waiting for the right guitar. I have had it in a couple of different ones and I found it a bit brash and harsh in the upper mids to my ears, but I haven't give up on it. I just feel like it needs the right guitar for my ears.
 
SF audio said:
Just picked up one of these and installed it in a Charvel natural series custom guitar....wow....I feel like I am transported back to 1985 with hair extensions and spandex pants. Yeah its the 80s sound but it has that great combination of being hot and aggressive but still "nice" sounding rather than raw or harsh. Went from a TB14 (nice but mids are flatter) and then a Suhr SSH (nice cut but not enough beef) to this one. Can't imagine taking it out if I want that sound....

I have always shied away from ceramic pickups as they can be a bit harsh but this makes me re-think things.

I know this pickup was standard in Jacksons and charvels back then....what Jackson neck pickups went in those guitars? I'm thinking I want the matching pickup...
Click to expand...

The J-50N would be the "common" matching PAF style neck. You could also spice it up with a J-80.
 
DKSEARS said:
I have one in my parts drawer waiting for the right guitar. I have had it in a couple of different ones and I found it a bit brash and harsh in the upper mids to my ears, but I haven't give up on it. I just feel like it needs the right guitar for my ears.
Click to expand...

Seems to be a perfect fit for a mahogany body/maple neck combo. Running it through a JVM410 Satriani head. I mean, just instant 80s rock. The only nitpick I might have is the midrange might be slightly less defined/hazy than other pickups, more smooth that edgy, but I think that's just the sound of the era anyways. Just a kick ass pickup for this particular sound.
 
Yeah. I had it in a alder / maple '89 Jackson Dinky for a while, mainly because I thought that's what "belonged" there. I eventually put the Screamin' Demon back in it that came in the guitar when I bought. The Demon seems to be just the right pickup for that guitar to me.
 
Sometimes we have to go through the motions until we figure out 'there is no place like home'.
 
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