JB/59/Jazz set for tele?

[rbwalter]

Hi, I'm hoping to get some input from my fellow guitarists. I've never owned any Seymour Duncan pickups so I'm looking for advice for the following: I own a parts Tele I assembled with an solid alder body and a maple/maple neck. I play a very wide variety of music ranging from jazz standards to country to classic rock to light pop. Originally, I had a Rio Grande Vintage Tallboy Tele set (plug: currently f/s on eBay :bandit: ) and it had a really nice tele twang, but I never got a rock and roll sound out of it that I liked and it often seemed too bright for the jazz stuff. I routed it out for bridge and neck humbuckers and put a couple of stew mac overwound PAF's in there that I took out of a LP copy I had laying around. Now, I get a really nice classic rock sound, but the pickups are too hot for the clean tone I'm looking for.

We switch songs very quickly and I really need something versatile that will run the gamut from patsy cline to the doobie brothers on one guitar. Here's what I've been looking at:

1. 59 neck and bridge
2. jazz neck and 59 bridge
3. jazz neck and JB bridge
4. jazz neck and bridge
5. ????

I kind of like the JB bridge because I can split it to kind of preserve that tele sound for the country, but I'm afraid that it might it be too hot when it's not split (like the overwound PAFs that are in there now). So, right now, I'm leaning towards option 1, but any input you might have is appreciated.

 

[Rowan]

Re: JB/59/Jazz set for tele?

Have you considered jazz bridge? Its supposed to be a hell of a pickup, not too hot either. As for JB, it does sound pretty good split but might be too hot. However, rolling back the volume gets some solid classic rock tones.

 

[saladin]

Re: JB/59/Jazz set for tele?

A Custom 5 sounds much better in a Tele then a JB. I have a C5/59n in one and a JB/Jazz in the other. I'll be swaping out the mag from the JB and changing my Custom to a C5. I prefer the Jazz for the neck, not quite as boomy.

 

[rbwalter]

Re: JB/59/Jazz set for tele?

Thanks for the replys!...

The main reservation that I have with the jazz bridge is that it might be too bright, but I'm still considering it. I'm definitely considering the jazz neck for the neck slot. I do like the 4 conductor wiring that the jazz bridge offers though.

I'll have to look at the Custom 5 again. It's good to know that you've had a good experience with it. What kind of music do you play?

It's funny because, when I was younger and played rock all the time, clean tones didn't really matter to me. Basically any clean tone would suffice (about the only time I used it was as the intro into corny 80's power ballad). Now, it's just the opposite. I feel like I can get a sufficient distorted sound pretty easily through the use of pedals, but I'm always trying to find a sweet, warm clean tone and it's tough to come by. I never really considered myself a tone snob, but I seem to be on a slippery slope right now!

 

[saladin]

Re: JB/59/Jazz set for tele?

I use my Tele's for ALL kinds of music. The Custom 5 sounds great clean and I love the thick tones I get distorted. It's my favorite Duncan bridge humbucker. The JB in the bridge of a Tele sounds VERY Tele like when clean. However I don't care much for the sound of it distorted. It works good only for leads. You said you want a sweet , warm clean and I believe the Custom 5 will make you happy! I've also tried a 59b but felt it was too bright and didn't crunch as well as the C5.

 

[rbwalter]

Re: JB/59/Jazz set for tele?

Okay, I'm going to give the C5 a try. I guess the reason I didn't consider it initially is because there are no sound clips of it on SD's site. But, after your responses and reading other threads about it, I ordered one for the bridge and an SH2N for the neck position. Thanks.

 

[saladin]

Re: JB/59/Jazz set for tele?

I think you'll be more than happy!