JB again...

B

bullet_79

New member
Hi guys..
I just wanna know if the JB (bridge) supposed to sound muddy when in hi-gain channel with Alder body/Maple neck & Floyd type guitar..??

seriously for what i can say the tone is nice,.. but it got no articulation...

i'm used to DiMarzio Super Distortion.. when i swap the JB everything is diffrent..
 
Re: JB again...

I've played several guitars with a JB and usually it's mahogany set-neck guitars that mud out. It's supposed to sound sweet and middy in an alder/maple bolt-on situation. Try lowering the pickup a little. Is is real close to the strings?

Frankly though, I find little fault in a Super Distortion. I'm almost ready to put it back in my Strat.
 
Re: JB again...

non F-space JB.. some say it will work on Floyd,.. yeah it sound very sweet if i loose some of the amp gain... BUT..

do u know any duncan model that work like the super distortion..?? it would be nice to get that picking response of a S.Distortion with the HUGE sound of a JB...
 
Re: JB again...

The Super D is a very unique beastie. I really dig it. That said, there are ways to tighten up the JB without losing the basic tone it has. Lowering the pickup in the ring or pickguard and raising the polepieces seems to work well. Another option would be to replace the stock fillister screw poles to hex-head poles. This will tighten things up, but can also thin out the top end. A compromise would be to purchase a screw cutter (sometimes found on wire strippers) and snip the stock fillisters short enough so that they don't portrude past the base plate. This changes the shape of the magnetic field and, again, tightens up the sound without thinning it out as much as hex poles. Past that, mag swaps are an option, but that's a whole other can of worms, as a mag swap WILL change the basic character of the pickup.
 
Re: JB again...

look like i should give it a shot... i wonder if Super D would sound good with Alnico mag from this JB...
 
Re: JB again...

I've heard regular A5's can be kinda scooped and boomy in a Super D. I'd love to try to swap the ceramic for an A8. They really overdo it with the sealing process. Not only is there wax out the wazzoo, there's this hot glue looking stuff all over the magnet and coils. It will be more of a challenge to get the mag out and in than a Duncan that's fo sho.

A Super D is 13+k of 43 gage wire and the JB is 16+k with 44. They are a completely different beast with the same mag.
 
Re: JB again...

don't forget about the 12 invader-thickness pole screws in the super D, either. that has a lot to do with how that pickup cuts through, and it's general fat character (with all that inductance). those screws are about as long as invader screws too, btw. big mofos.
 
Re: JB again...

i'v got Marshall 100w JCM900,JCM2000 DSL head + 1960 cab and MESA Triple Rectifier 150w head+cab and a Marshall AVT20 practice amp... the guitar is a Warmoth Alder body with B.e Maple neck and a non floating Floyd,500k CTS pots (read 531K) and no tone.. 9-42 gauge Nickelwound string tuned at A440.. the sound is NOT as bad as it look like... but y'know... if ur used to have a high responsive pickup,.. its hard to make changes.. but i really noticed that the JB sounded really GOOD at lower gain setting... just fine amount of Low & Highs.... but when it comes to 'shredding'....
 
Re: JB again...

A JB with a single 500K volume usually does it for me. Most would usually note that it can be a little soft for rhythm, but smokin' for leads.

That should be a great combo, maybe you just gravitate towards the way a DiMarzio responds?
 
Re: JB again...

now it sounded much better after lowering the pickup height & pole-piece... well look like i dont need a F-spaced type afterall.. plus it get even better with my old pearly gates (single conductor) in the neck position..... this is the first time i'm using a duncan in my own guitar...

for what i can say.. Duncan more towards tone... and the DiMarzio's are for the technical stuff

DSCN0186.jpg


dummy tone control included....
 
Re: JB again...

Sure looks like Ash or something similar to me. I've never seen alder with that type of grain pattern, it's usually tight and not very interesting.
 
Re: JB again...

Nice axe! Like the chrome rings! Knob layout and shape looks like an old Kramer Pacer. (beak headstock around 83)
F space is not mandatory. Im glad it sounds like you have it dialed in a bit now. It is pretty odd IMO that a JB would be muddy. Normally folks say they can be bright. But yeah, diff beast than a Super D. Super d is big all over with nice huge chunkage. But the JB should have more of a crunchy chunk and more searing leads.. I have a Pacer Imperial (87) and it came with a JB and its like they were designed for each other.
 
Re: JB again...

wait..wait.... what are you guys talking about...?? the body is 2 piece ALDER,.. the color is way darker than Ash.. i finish it with very thin layer of Poly..

ol pic, with Super D. & chrome top EVO2
100_4585.jpg


tung oil+beeswax finish birdseye maple neck got nice 3D pattern too..

Believe me when I say that some of the most amazing music in history was made on equipment that's not as good as what you own right now.

Jol Dantzig
Click to expand...


yep so true man... guitar is just an instrument.... its the soul that make it sing....

and yes i'm a huge Kramer fan too... it got banana/hockeystick copy headstock, slightly bigger and shorter than original hockeystick.. not to forget the EVH D-Tuna and freakin' BIG floyd brass sustain block....

100_6676.jpg


my main shredding toy...
 
Last edited:
Re: JB again...

I tune my Jackson Soloist (alder, maple, ebony) down to B standard and never had this "mud" or "articulation" problem on high gain that some people speak of with the JB. Besides, with an EQ (MXR, Empress, or Dr. Scientist) you can make almost any pickup sound clear.
 
Re: JB again...

The SuperD has become my recent favorite, usurping the SH5 Custom. I'm just really digging the low-mid grind it has.
 
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