JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

[efishta]

I've got a Dean EVO Phantom guitar, maple top, mahogany body, and I recently bought a Peavey XXX 212 Combo amp. The first thing I did was change the guitar bridge pickup to a JB, after reading up on its a lot in this forum and hearing the sound samples.

With the stock tubes I did not like the tone, which was a buzzy, nasal kind of distortion, so I bought a high gain retubing kit from Eurotubes.com , and I like them better than the old set. There is less fuzzyness to the distortion, and it sounds better overall.

My problem is still that I do not like the tone I get from the this setup. I have nothing extra in between, only the guitar and the amp. The distortion is definitely there but it is not anything like I would like for any sort of lead playing. I keep reading about the Custom and the other pickups like the Invader, Distortion or Dimebucker that apparently are better for metal and I'm definitely leaning towards those pickups to change my JB. It has quite a buzzy sound... was trying to play some Children of Bodom and that nasal quality kept pissing me off. I know this amp has sensitive EQ because it's active, but many combinations later and I'm still puzzled.

There was a guy here, DeadSkinSlayer3, that had great tones out of his XXX amp, though granted, he uses a couple of extra effects in the effects loop.

Taking the amp out of the equation, the only other thing I can think of is that the JB pups don't sound good in my setup. I keep hearing about the Custom a lot, but many others seems to say that the Invaders are also very good, with a thick sound, but may sound muddy in a Les Paul (or a Dean knock off, as is my case)

Am I wrong in pursuing this end? I wanted to get some opinions before I head out and buy another one and regret it.

 

[iekobrid]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

Evo Phantoms are really mahogany? The two I have are so light that never would have occurred to me. (Mine have an EMG 81 in the bridge and 85 in the neck, chosen purely to keep 'em as all-black as possible. :laugh2: )

I tried a 40w XXX combo last week with my #2 guitar, a Strat Plus with Lace Sensors. Thought they sounded pretty good together, albeit understandably a little lacking in the chunk department. I was planning to try it again with my #1 guitar, a Yamaha RGXTT with a JB in the bridge, but now I'm reconsidering.

Sorry this post was more 'relevant' than 'helpful'.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

Like i sayed on another thread some minutes ago: get a ceramic magnet, put it into the JB and you are in the Duncan Distortion territory

 

[theodie]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

Like i sayed on another thread some minutes ago: get a ceramic magnet, put it into the JB and you are in the Duncan Distortion territory

+1! This should help out your problems! Install a ceramic and you have yourself a Distortion! The JB is a love it or hate it pickup! I personally hate it!

 

[Marcel]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

I played with a JB through a JSX and it rocks

 

[ranalli]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

I've got a Dean EVO Phantom guitar, maple top, mahogany body, and I recently bought a Peavey XXX 212 Combo amp. The first thing I did was change the guitar bridge pickup to a JB, after reading up on its a lot in this forum and hearing the sound samples.

With the stock tubes I did not like the tone, which was a buzzy, nasal kind of distortion, so I bought a high gain retubing kit from Eurotubes.com , and I like them better than the old set. There is less fuzzyness to the distortion, and it sounds better overall.

My problem is still that I do not like the tone I get from the this setup. I have nothing extra in between, only the guitar and the amp. The distortion is definitely there but it is not anything like I would like for any sort of lead playing. I keep reading about the Custom and the other pickups like the Invader, Distortion or Dimebucker that apparently are better for metal and I'm definitely leaning towards those pickups to change my JB. It has quite a buzzy sound... was trying to play some Children of Bodom and that nasal quality kept pissing me off. I know this amp has sensitive EQ because it's active, but many combinations later and I'm still puzzled.

There was a guy here, DeadSkinSlayer3, that had great tones out of his XXX amp, though granted, he uses a couple of extra effects in the effects loop.

Taking the amp out of the equation, the only other thing I can think of is that the JB pups don't sound good in my setup. I keep hearing about the Custom a lot, but many others seems to say that the Invaders are also very good, with a thick sound, but may sound muddy in a Les Paul (or a Dean knock off, as is my case)

Am I wrong in pursuing this end? I wanted to get some opinions before I head out and buy another one and regret it.

You definitely didn't need the high-gain set from Eurotubes....the XXX has too much gain already. That's why it's buzzy and harsh.

Furthermore the XXX sounds much better with EL34s over the 6L6s IMO and would use the "regular gained" ECC83S tubes with an ECC832 in V2 to tame the gain...not increase it.

Do that and I garuntee the JB will sound better through it.....I know this cause I didn't like the JB in my XXX until I had that setup.



Furthermore, with the active EQ, start with all the tone knobs at noon then gradually work from there....it's a very powerful tool.

 

[roadstar II]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

I TRADED MY XXX FOR THE 5150
the XXX was all gain and not much real tone
also i noticed that pups i did not care for with that amp now sound great with the new amp.
The JB is a finiky pup it can sound great or sound very bad depending on the rig it is used with

 

[efishta]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

You definitely didn't need the high-gain set from Eurotubes....the XXX has too much gain already. That's why it's buzzy and harsh.

Furthermore the XXX sounds much better with EL34s over the 6L6s IMO and would use the "regular gained" ECC83S tubes with an ECC832 in V2 to tame the gain...not increase it.

Do that and I garuntee the JB will sound better through it.....I know this cause I didn't like the JB in my XXX until I had that setup.



Furthermore, with the active EQ, start with all the tone knobs at noon then gradually work from there....it's a very powerful tool.

Since I think switching the pickup is a bigger pain than switching tubes, I decided I will go with the EL34s and a lower gain tube in the V2 socket, so we'll see where that leads me. If I find that the tone still is quite bad and has that buzzy quality, then I'll go for a pickup change. I'm still thinking of changing the pickup though for something more generally suited for metal, with a tighter low end and not as bright as the JB. I'm gonna wait for the tubes first though.

 

[ranalli]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

Since I think switching the pickup is a bigger pain than switching tubes, I decided I will go with the EL34s and a lower gain tube in the V2 socket, so we'll see where that leads me. If I find that the tone still is quite bad and has that buzzy quality, then I'll go for a pickup change. I'm still thinking of changing the pickup though for something more generally suited for metal, with a tighter low end and not as bright as the JB. I'm gonna wait for the tubes first though.

Don't forget to have the amp biased as well and use some volume. It's a tube amp...those power tubes need to cook a little even though most of the gain/tone is coming from the pre-amp.


If that is still to harsh for you, I recommend either a Super Distortion or a Super3. That's what I was using before I changed tubes and they seemed to complement that setup the most because they are both thick and warm with a top end that is somewhat rolled off.

 

[efishta]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

My tubes came today and I played around with them and didn't like them too much in the mid afternoon. Then I came home later and I biased them a little bit hotter and turned it on. There may be 2 factors so far that gave me the impression of a better tone: either the higher amount of electricity available at night when most appliances in the house and nearby houses are off, and also the fact that it was at low volume and I'm not able to effectively judge the quality of sound.

I did however get a better tone than I did before with the 6L6s though I do not particularly like the low gain tube and I just have the stock preamp tubes in with a new balanced phase inverter tube from eurotubes that's supposed to help eliminate the fizz. (and I think it does)

I'll give a better impression tomorrow, but I'm still thinking of changing the pickup. I'll try my friends EMG 81/85 combo in his guitar and see if these hot pickups are a better match for my amp, though I won't be going the active pickup route. I'm still torn between the invader, custom and distortion. I might check out the trade section of the board...

 

[ranalli]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

Well the low gain tube is going to make the amp sound worse at low volumes IMO.


Try playing the amp at a reasonable volume both with and without that lower-gain pre-amp tube to get the real effects of it.


But, in the end the JB might just not be for you and your guitar/amp setup...it happens.

 

[YJM_Rocks]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

I have a Dean Evo Special. Mahogany with a maple top. I definately wouldn't want it with a JB into a XXX. Seems like it would be a muddy combo.

 

[efishta]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

I have a Dean Evo Special. Mahogany with a maple top. I definately wouldn't want it with a JB into a XXX. Seems like it would be a muddy combo.

I thought the JBs were supposed to complement the mahogany body guitars because the guitar's naturally dark and the JB is a bright pickup. What pickup would you consider instead?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

I think you should put the stock tubes back in and sell the amp. Then, buy an amp you really like the sound of, and put your JJ's in that one.

If you play mostly highgain metal, you'll like the sound of a head/cab a lot more than combos.......it's got better bass and the the overall sound is tighter and more focused.

 

[metal]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

I think you should put the stock tubes back in and sell the amp. Then, buy an amp you really like the sound of, and put your JJ's in that one.

If you play mostly highgain metal, you'll like the sound of a head/cab a lot more than combos.......it's got better bass and the the overall sound is tighter and more focused.

true! i had my 5150 combo for a while and never got a tone that i liked, i changed power tubes! nothin same ugly tone, i changed all preamp tubes same results , i sold it and bought a mesa single recto head!

 

[ex-250]

Re: JB and Peavey XXX = tone I do not like

my guitar with a JB into my XXX is my favorite tone ive gotten anywhere! :laugh2: anything but buzzy or any of the ways youre describing it. weird.