JB duncan with 500k?
- Thread starter Hopkinwfg
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Archer250
Well-known member
Re: JB duncan with 500k?
It all depends on taste AND the guitar in question, I'd say. I have no qualms with using the JB with a 500k volume and no tone pot at all. At the same time, all 250k wouldn't bother me if the guitar is very bright by itself. I've played a guitar with a JB in the bridge, a Classic Stack in the middle and a Custom Stack in the neck. The body is alder with a maple top, while the neck is a 1 piece roasted maple with an ebony board and stainless steel frets. Sounds like ice-pick city, right? Nope. Balanced as heck. I don't know what pot the luthier uses, though.
Here's a clip, although for some reason, the artist the guitar belonged to played it through a Metal Zone and a Cube (DESPITE THE PRESENCE OF THE LANEY LIONHEART AND THE ROYAL ATLANTIC IN THE BACKGROUND), which poorly represents the guitar's actual tone.
It all depends on taste AND the guitar in question, I'd say. I have no qualms with using the JB with a 500k volume and no tone pot at all. At the same time, all 250k wouldn't bother me if the guitar is very bright by itself. I've played a guitar with a JB in the bridge, a Classic Stack in the middle and a Custom Stack in the neck. The body is alder with a maple top, while the neck is a 1 piece roasted maple with an ebony board and stainless steel frets. Sounds like ice-pick city, right? Nope. Balanced as heck. I don't know what pot the luthier uses, though.
Here's a clip, although for some reason, the artist the guitar belonged to played it through a Metal Zone and a Cube (DESPITE THE PRESENCE OF THE LANEY LIONHEART AND THE ROYAL ATLANTIC IN THE BACKGROUND), which poorly represents the guitar's actual tone.
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Re: JB duncan with 500k?
I just put a JB in the bridge of my latest build (swamp ash body, maple with rosewood neck) with 500k vol and tone pots. It sounds surprisingly warm and balanced. Sounds like what I would expect from 250k pots. But this guitar/wood is exceptionally warm with lots of strength in the mids. I put a Jazz in the neck, and in this guitar that Jazz is the warmest sounding neck pup I have ever heard!!!
Goes to show how much difference the wood can make in overall tone.
I just put a JB in the bridge of my latest build (swamp ash body, maple with rosewood neck) with 500k vol and tone pots. It sounds surprisingly warm and balanced. Sounds like what I would expect from 250k pots. But this guitar/wood is exceptionally warm with lots of strength in the mids. I put a Jazz in the neck, and in this guitar that Jazz is the warmest sounding neck pup I have ever heard!!!
Goes to show how much difference the wood can make in overall tone.
BriGuy1968
New member
Re: JB duncan with 500k?
I have the JB in a maple guitar with maple neck and rosewood fretboard, and I have 500k pots... sounds quite warm and balanced tone-wise.
Like others have said, though, every guitar is different and YOUR ears are the ones that matter the most! I like Mantis' idea of picking up both... they really are pretty inexpensive.
[emoji450] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk [emoji441]
I have the JB in a maple guitar with maple neck and rosewood fretboard, and I have 500k pots... sounds quite warm and balanced tone-wise.
Like others have said, though, every guitar is different and YOUR ears are the ones that matter the most! I like Mantis' idea of picking up both... they really are pretty inexpensive.
[emoji450] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk [emoji441]
Re: JB duncan with 500k?
Thanks guys...i started to appreciate the 59s and JB on my jackson usa... but maybe i got a better tube amp this time.. or maybe my ears and tone have martured... i used to thought jb is very bland and not enough ohmsssss
And i used to thought maybe because of the first jackson guitar i had was really souless due to alder wings and maple neck..
Now after gotten back a used 2005 sl2h and another one thats slightly off the normal standards of the jackson sl2h thats comes stock with the 59s and jb... so far i come to realise the jb is actually very natural with fat mids and generally tight.. but people says its bright thou... as i thought i could add a tad more aggressiveness to the guitar with 500k pots...
I guess i have started to appreciate seymour duncan pickups... after thinking back owning a BKP nailbomb is not as natural sounding as the duncans...
This time am planning to explore the duncans as a classic pups for most rock blues and metal player.... i guess duncans are more natural sounding than the other pups manufacturers... ? natural as in the marshally tone
Thanks guys...i started to appreciate the 59s and JB on my jackson usa... but maybe i got a better tube amp this time.. or maybe my ears and tone have martured... i used to thought jb is very bland and not enough ohmsssss
And i used to thought maybe because of the first jackson guitar i had was really souless due to alder wings and maple neck..
Now after gotten back a used 2005 sl2h and another one thats slightly off the normal standards of the jackson sl2h thats comes stock with the 59s and jb... so far i come to realise the jb is actually very natural with fat mids and generally tight.. but people says its bright thou... as i thought i could add a tad more aggressiveness to the guitar with 500k pots...
I guess i have started to appreciate seymour duncan pickups... after thinking back owning a BKP nailbomb is not as natural sounding as the duncans...
This time am planning to explore the duncans as a classic pups for most rock blues and metal player.... i guess duncans are more natural sounding than the other pups manufacturers... ? natural as in the marshally tone
Masta' C
Well-known member
Re: JB duncan with 500k?
As a general rule, I prefer the JB with 500K pots, even a single 500K without a tone pot, which helps accentuate the vocal upper-mids attitude that makes the JB so darn cool. Still, not every guitar plays nicely with the JB's character and that's why it's important to tweak your pot values to suit your ears and your particular guitar.
The different loads directly affect the resonant peak. Changing pots doesn't change where the peak occurs, but they do change the intensity of the response at the peak. For instance, 250K brings the output of the peak frequencies much closer to the non-peak frequencies compared to 500K, essentially balancing out the response curve.
Now, adding "balance" sounds great on its face, but a pickup's character and "tone" relies heavily on the shape of that response curve. In that sense, a JB with 250K pots is almost an entirely different pickup than the same JB run with 500K. Few players are aware of that.
You can view the effects of different loads on a Strat single coil in the image below:
The brown line (3rd down from top) is a 500K load. The bright green line below it (4th down from top) is the same pickup with a 250K load.
You can see how similar the overall curves are and how the resonant peak occurs in the same part of the response curve both times, but the output of those frequencies at and surrounding the peak are significantly reduced with the 250K pot compared to the 500K. The result is 2 similar, but noticeably different sounds from the same pickup by changing only the resistance load.
As a general rule, I prefer the JB with 500K pots, even a single 500K without a tone pot, which helps accentuate the vocal upper-mids attitude that makes the JB so darn cool. Still, not every guitar plays nicely with the JB's character and that's why it's important to tweak your pot values to suit your ears and your particular guitar.
The different loads directly affect the resonant peak. Changing pots doesn't change where the peak occurs, but they do change the intensity of the response at the peak. For instance, 250K brings the output of the peak frequencies much closer to the non-peak frequencies compared to 500K, essentially balancing out the response curve.
Now, adding "balance" sounds great on its face, but a pickup's character and "tone" relies heavily on the shape of that response curve. In that sense, a JB with 250K pots is almost an entirely different pickup than the same JB run with 500K. Few players are aware of that.
You can view the effects of different loads on a Strat single coil in the image below:
The brown line (3rd down from top) is a 500K load. The bright green line below it (4th down from top) is the same pickup with a 250K load.
You can see how similar the overall curves are and how the resonant peak occurs in the same part of the response curve both times, but the output of those frequencies at and surrounding the peak are significantly reduced with the 250K pot compared to the 500K. The result is 2 similar, but noticeably different sounds from the same pickup by changing only the resistance load.
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Nostalgic Distortion
New member
Re: JB duncan with 500k?
God no.... I don't really like them at all but if I am going to use one it would be running off a 250K pot.
JB's in just about anything sound like nails on a chalkboard when they are running off 500K pots! Then again perhaps that's something your looking for???
God no.... I don't really like them at all but if I am going to use one it would be running off a 250K pot.
JB's in just about anything sound like nails on a chalkboard when they are running off 500K pots! Then again perhaps that's something your looking for???
Re: JB duncan with 500k?
Didn't read my post #4? I would generally agree with you, but the wood can make such a huge difference. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't experienced it for myself. I've still got enough in that swamp ash plank for 2 or 3 more guitars. I'm going to have to keep it in mind that whatever shape I make from that wood, it will be dark and very very middy.
Didn't read my post #4? I would generally agree with you, but the wood can make such a huge difference. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't experienced it for myself. I've still got enough in that swamp ash plank for 2 or 3 more guitars. I'm going to have to keep it in mind that whatever shape I make from that wood, it will be dark and very very middy.
stevie_bees
Cat In The Hatministrator
Re: JB duncan with 500k?
Weirdly, the JB in my superstrat runs off a 500k volume and no tone and generally sounds darker than all my other guitars! I expected to find a 250k pot when I opened it up.
Sent from my TARDIS using timey-wimey talk.
Weirdly, the JB in my superstrat runs off a 500k volume and no tone and generally sounds darker than all my other guitars! I expected to find a 250k pot when I opened it up.
Sent from my TARDIS using timey-wimey talk.
darthphineas
New member
Re: JB duncan with 500k?
"Better" is relative.
I use 500k pots in almost everything, except a couple of guitars that have 1 meg ohm. I'd put a RCA5 in a JB before I changed the pot value. Some people do it differently.
If you want the sound of a less shrill JB, consider the DiMarzio AT-1.
"Better" is relative.
I use 500k pots in almost everything, except a couple of guitars that have 1 meg ohm. I'd put a RCA5 in a JB before I changed the pot value. Some people do it differently.
If you want the sound of a less shrill JB, consider the DiMarzio AT-1.
KNUCKLHEAD
New member
Re: JB duncan with 500k?
Nod to Doc, He knows His Stuff (learned wiring for 20 years straight from Him / usually over phone) . I build pretty much all Ash guitars with .5meg pots, I would probably change the Pickup 1st. , but that's me . I have no Reason to build guitars with Alder Bodies ( to me there are way too many other choices in wood-tones
Nod to Doc, He knows His Stuff (learned wiring for 20 years straight from Him / usually over phone) . I build pretty much all Ash guitars with .5meg pots, I would probably change the Pickup 1st. , but that's me . I have no Reason to build guitars with Alder Bodies ( to me there are way too many other choices in wood-tones
Kamanda~SD
New member
Re: JB duncan with 500k?
I have 2 guitars with JB's (strat and Charvel) and I have 250k in both. come to think of it...most of my guitars are 250k. And I don't desire anything from my JB's. Might try a 500k one day for fun, but I dig my JB's as is.
My $0.02 (rounded to 0.05)
I have 2 guitars with JB's (strat and Charvel) and I have 250k in both. come to think of it...most of my guitars are 250k. And I don't desire anything from my JB's. Might try a 500k one day for fun, but I dig my JB's as is.
My $0.02 (rounded to 0.05)
DrNewcenstein
He Did the Monster Mash
Re: JB duncan with 500k?
JB with 250K pot in my Jackson H-S-S DK-2 with maple neck/fretboard and 2 Fender singles and OFR. The Floyd is a lot brighter than the original bridge, and the 250K pot gives a more even balance to my ears between the singles and the JB.
Other than that, I prefer the JB as a neck pickup, either wired for series/parallel or hardwired for parallel-only with a 500K volume.
It depends on what tone you're after as to whether the tone of a JB is "good" as-is with a 500K or if it's "too bright". Those who want the tone especially for solos or for cutting through a mix think it's great. Those who don't want their guitar to stick out as much or don't play the type of music where a JB is required for solos generally look for ways to reign it in.
JB with 250K pot in my Jackson H-S-S DK-2 with maple neck/fretboard and 2 Fender singles and OFR. The Floyd is a lot brighter than the original bridge, and the 250K pot gives a more even balance to my ears between the singles and the JB.
Other than that, I prefer the JB as a neck pickup, either wired for series/parallel or hardwired for parallel-only with a 500K volume.
It depends on what tone you're after as to whether the tone of a JB is "good" as-is with a 500K or if it's "too bright". Those who want the tone especially for solos or for cutting through a mix think it's great. Those who don't want their guitar to stick out as much or don't play the type of music where a JB is required for solos generally look for ways to reign it in.
