JB ad/description problem

fullfistrock21

fullfistrock21

New member
i think seymour duncan should take off that " some players like to use it with 250k value to roll off the highs" it makes the jb sound like its not compatable with 500k pots, some people who never used this pickup before were like, "i like the description but i dont feel like switching out the pots for lower value" it makes you feel like you have to use 250k pots in order for this pickup to sound the best. it should just say works well with 250k for blues or light rock and better clean or 500k pots for heavy rock , metal, shred . or maybe it should just say nothing. I donno it seems less attractive like its a crappy pickup or totally deifferent design that requires you to change the pot. so to re cap it sounds okay with 250k but for softer rock styles and blues, for shred and metal 500k its where it at with this scorcher
 
Re: JB ad/description problem

i know it may sound a little bit off topic but since the JB is the No1 selling duncan pickup and since almost everybody who uses/used it, has something bad to say about the lack of low mids/bass i would like to see a Jb with those two points corrected :-) :-)
 
Re: JB ad/description problem

I never had anything bad to say about the JB...
To me it is a fat middy pickup, and quite a few amps I can get that greasy fat lowmid US tone...easily!
And the turn it on to some Brit voiced thing instead......and get that 80's rock sound in an instant!
Some of the worlds most versatile players uses that thing....so sometimes it is a users duf!!!!
Or more likely...alot of times;)
And why change it???
It has been like that forever!
One thing it does, and has done so ever since it came out....it picks everything out of your guitar, it is a very lively pickup, so if the guitar is not
quite ok sounding...well...buy buy to any fatness!
 
Re: JB ad/description problem

it is a great pickup it sounds gurgly at 250k pots i think though, its best at 500k where it cuts like a knife....a great shred pickup
 
Re: JB ad/description problem

I don't understand the "Lack of Bass" complaint with the JB. Maybe they mean lower mids?

Every single guitar I've put a JB in, has had TOO much bass. And it's Flubby. Not Percussive enough on the lows. It farts out on palm mutes. That's my main problem with it. It can also sound fairly "Sizzly" sometimes though, I agree.

I've found that you'd have better luck with it in a Tighter/Brighter sounding guitar, to keep the lows tight. Then all you have to worry about is how sizzly it sounds in each particular guitar.

This REALLY annoys me, as I LOVE the JB otherwise. It's so vocal, it just sings. Has that subtle wah wah effect, and responds beautifully to picking dynamics. The Low end is just too loose. I'd assume that 250k pots would make this worse. I tried Shorter Slotted Screws and Shorter Hex screws, and these did not help. The Hex screws especially, actually made it boomier.

It sounds pretty good in my G&L Legacy Deluxe. Basswood Body, Maple Top, Maple Neck, Maple fretboard. But this guitar has a Bass Cut Knob. And I have to turn it ALL the way down to get the bottom percussive enough, and not flubby.

I dunno, maybe I'm crazy.
 
Re: JB ad/description problem

Rid said:
I never had anything bad to say about the JB...
To me it is a fat middy pickup, and quite a few amps I can get that greasy fat lowmid US tone...easily!
And the turn it on to some Brit voiced thing instead......and get that 80's rock sound in an instant!
Some of the worlds most versatile players uses that thing....so sometimes it is a users duf!!!!
Or more likely...alot of times;)
And why change it???
It has been like that forever!
One thing it does, and has done so ever since it came out....it picks everything out of your guitar, it is a very lively pickup, so if the guitar is not
quite ok sounding...well...buy buy to any fatness!
Click to expand...

I don't think I quite understand what you're saying here. Are you trying to say that anyone who's had a bad experience with a JB is at fault? User Error? HAHA.

Rid said:
Lol it always makes me chuckle when I read all the "shortcomings"
It is what it is.....an oldschool pickup!
Click to expand...

What exactly are you "Chuckling" at? Who said I didn't want an "Old School" tone?

I didn't just throw a JB in a piece of **** plywood guitar and start complaining about it. I've put it in literally dozens of guitars. SuperStrats, Gibson LP Standards, Gibson LP Customs, Gibson LP Classics, Ibanez, Schecters, Jacksons, Custom Built Guitars, G&L's, etc,...Along with almost the entire line of Duncans, AND a bunch of Dimarzios.

There's a reason why so many people complain about it. It sounds COMPLETELY different in every guitar it's in, same model or not. Some it sounds great in, others it sounds like donkey ****. If you think that two random guitars with mahogany bodies will sound the same with a JB, you are fooling yourself, or you are tone deaf. Not just mahogany, any wood.

If a guitar sounds like **** with a JB, it DOES NOT necessarily mean the guitar is ****. Your comment about how only bad sounding guitars sound bad with a JB is Very uninformed. It is the most Finicky pickup I have Ever encountered, bar none.

It drives me nuts, because I absolutely LOVE it when it works. But most of the time it doesn't. I wish they would offer another version of it. Tighter Bottom, and a little more meat to the low-mids. Maybe tame the sizzle a bit. Keep that vocal/singing quality.

And by the way,...It Hasn't been like that forever. Quite a few people will tell you that it HAS changed over the years. Most notably, some time in the early 90's.
 
Re: JB ad/description problem

fullfistrock21 said:
i think seymour duncan should take off that " some players like to use it with 250k value to roll off the highs" it makes the jb sound like its not compatable with 500k pots, some people who never used this pickup before were like, "i like the description but i dont feel like switching out the pots for lower value" it makes you feel like you have to use 250k pots in order for this pickup to sound the best. it should just say works well with 250k for blues or light rock and better clean or 500k pots for heavy rock , metal, shred . or maybe it should just say nothing. I donno it seems less attractive like its a crappy pickup or totally deifferent design that requires you to change the pot. so to re cap it sounds okay with 250k but for softer rock styles and blues, for shred and metal 500k its where it at with this scorcher
Click to expand...

If someone is too lazy to change a $5 pot, then what's the chance they're going to attempt to change a $70 pickup?
 
Re: JB ad/description problem

I see no problem with that ad description. Keep in mind, when the JB was made, it was put in a guitar with 250k pots, Beck's Tele-Gib. So there ya have it. The ad is just saying what it's saying. There is nothing suggesting it won't work well with 500k pots.

It's a finicky pickup. In the right guitar (Kramer Baretta's for example) it is a WONDERFUL pickup. In the wrong guitar, well, you get the picture.
 
Re: JB ad/description problem

exactly what i said before....it should say " use 250 k for blues to classic rock" "use 500k for hard rock to metal/shred
 
Re: JB ad/description problem

How would it sound in an Alder bodied Mexican Strat with Maple neck and fretboard? (That's a guitar I plan to get in the future)
 
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