JB & Duncan Distortion vs JB & Black Winter?

[Supernautilus]

I'm thinking about moving some pickups around again. I have a JB and Jazz in a Les Paul and I want to replace the JB with a more vintage sounding bridge pickup. I had an idea that I could move the JB to another guitar along with a higher gain neck pickup, with switching options for series/split/parallel for both pickups.

My instinct tells me that either the neck position DD or BW would work, but I have no experience with those pickups so I'm not sure. Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Masta' C]

So, your goal is to move the JB into the bridge position of a different guitar and you're looking for a high output neck pickup to pair it with?

Do you have any spare pickups on hand? What neck pickup is in the guitar now?

The JB is most often paired with a lower output neck model (Jazz or '59 are the most common). Is there a reason you want a hotter neck pickup than that? Alternatively, have you considered using the JB in the neck position?

 

[Supernautilus]

So, your goal is to move the JB into the bridge position of a different guitar and you're looking for a high output neck pickup to pair it with?

Yes.

Do you have any spare pickups on hand? What neck pickup is in the guitar now?

The guitar doesn't exist yet. This is for a theoretical project guitar in the future.

Is there a reason you want a hotter neck pickup than that?

My reason is that I want a neck pickup that I can get decent split/parallel tones from. Vintage output pickups like the Jazz don't sound good to me using switching options. But the JB does.

Alternatively, have you considered using the JB in the neck position?

I have not. What would be an appropriate bridge position pickup to match a JB in the neck position?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I had the JB paired with a DDn briefly. They balanced, but the DDn had to be set low.

It was OK. TBH, I'm not crazy about the DDn overall. It's even darker and fatter than the Air Norton. I honestly just overall prefer the Air Norton as a pair for the JB if you want a fat and hot(ish) neck pickup.

But I also didn't have the DDn set to split or be parallel. So it might work better in that regard.

 

[Supernautilus]

I had the JB paired with a DDn briefly. They balanced, but the DDn had to be set low.

It was OK. TBH, I'm not crazy about the DDn overall. It's even darker and fatter than the Air Norton. I honestly just overall prefer the Air Norton as a pair for the JB if you want a fat and hot(ish) neck pickup.

But I also didn't have the DDn set to split or be parallel. So it might work better in that regard.

How about a DDn A5? I did some searches and found some mentions of it as a good mag option. Do you think an A5 swap would bring a DDn more in line with a JB bridge?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

How about a DDn A5? I did some searches and found some mentions of it as a good mag option. Do you think an A5 swap would bring a DDn more in line with a JB bridge?

I tried that as well. I made a thread about it when I tried it, and I found it dark, LOL.

I mean, it works if that's what you want. The distorted tone high up the fretboard was good, even. And I assume that if you have the option of running it parallel, that might make it better, especially clean. But it's certainly never going to be a Jazz or a '59.

 

[Masta' C]

Look into the PRS method of "splitting" the coils, which keeps one coil partially active, improving output and noise cancelling, but still yielding a solid "split" sound. Most vintage output pickups benefit from this alternative to a traditional coil split, but it works great for hotter humbuckers, as well.

As for a slightly higher output neck pickup that would pair nicely with the JB in the bridge, look at the Screamin' Demon or the Jazz "bridge" model (SH-2b), which doesn't get enough love mostly because few people are aware it exists. No need to go full distortion class for the neck position.

That said, you can actually do a LOT with a JB in both positions (neck and bridge), especially with the more advanced wiring configurations you're looking at. It's one of the most single-coil like pickups when split, holds up well in parallel, and works great with the PRS mod I mentioned above. Don't rule out this combination!

That said, Jazz Bridge + JB with PRS-style splitting is where I'd start if it were me...

 

[Supernautilus]

Look into the PRS method of "splitting" the coils, which keeps one coil partially active, improving output and noise cancelling, but still yielding a solid "split" sound. Most vintage output pickups benefit from this alternative to a traditional coil split, but it works great for hotter humbuckers, as well.

As for a slightly higher output neck pickup that would pair nicely with the JB in the bridge, look at the Screamin' Demon or the Jazz "bridge" model (SH-2b), which doesn't get enough love mostly because few people are aware it exists. No need to go full distortion class for the neck position.

That said, you can actually do a LOT with a JB in both positions (neck and bridge), especially with the more advanced wiring configurations you're looking at. It's one of the most single-coil like pickups when split, holds up well in parallel, and works great with the PRS mod I mentioned above. Don't rule out this combination!

That said, Jazz Bridge + JB with PRS-style splitting is where I'd start if it were me...

Jazz bridge, eh? Hmm, I didn't think of that. I always forget about that one too lol.

That's an idea for sure. The increased output might make switching sound a little better too. I'll consider it, thanks for the tip!