JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

[Mad-Max]

Given the specs of this guitar, it is very bright. It's a Jackson Pro Series King V, loaded with EMG 81 in the bridge, and an 85 in the neck.

I got this guitar, knowing it was going to be pretty bright, and it definitely was. While the EMG's are nice, they basically emphasize the fact that it's a bright guitar, giving it a shrill quality and ice-picky sound that I'm not too much of a fan of. Although I enjoy the output they give, they just don't fit well for what kind of tone I'm going for.

That being said, my main Axe for a while before I got the Alder Jackson had a Basswood body, Maple neck, and rosewood finger board, and I installed a JB in the bridge and a 59 in the neck. I really dug the tones I got from the JB, and I dug the thickness and creamy texture of the 59. Contrary to most beliefs, I found the JB to be somewhat tight (Not extremely tight, but tight enough for what I do), had a good solid midrange, and while it had the highs, they weren't shrill and ice-picky and I was also able to get a good clean tone with it as well. Could be the amp I have, but I don't know. Good tonal balance over all to my ears.

So the question is, would a JB work in the Alder Jackson? Or would it emphasize the brightness of the tone woods? I know that it comes stock with some of their guitars, mainly the USA models, but I hear a mixture of different things about them in those guitars. This Jackson is EXTREMELY similar to the USA models BTW. I'm still gonna keep the 59 as a neck option, because I love that pick-up in the neck.

By the way, I play with a Mesa Boogie Mark V, and I play mostly Metal like Thrash and Death Metal, with some traditional 70's Metal and stuff like that, but I also enjoy playing some Hard rock and blues every so often, and good cleans are a must for me. Any other suggestions are welcomed, and if you need for me to explain the aspects of the tone I'm going for, I'll be more than happy to do so.

 

[dvanburen]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

jb is really good in alder bodies in my opinion. distortion is a good choice too if you want hotter than the jb with a better low end, so is sh-5 custom if you do blues and hard rock, can do metal just fine. havent played them but patb series may be a good option as well

 

[dvanburen]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

jb is really good in alder bodies in my opinion. distortion is a good choice too if you want hotter than the jb with a better low end, so is sh-5 custom if you do blues and hard rock, can do metal just fine. havent played them but patb series may be a good option as well

 

[darthphineas]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

you'll be fine with the JB in that guitar

 

[guitarjunkie986]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

I had a JB in the bridge that came stock on my Jackson SL2H (same woods as your King V) and I hated that pickup in that guitar. I play primarily metal, and for metal rhythms I just didn't care for it. The leads sounded great, but on rhythms, there was an annoying, high-mid honk and fuzziness that I couldn't seem to dial out. I much prefer the JB in mahogany. I play through a 6505+, which is a fairly middy amp anyway, so that definitely played a part as well. I ended up swapping for a TB-5 Custom and am very happy with the results. The TB-5 pairs nicely with an SH-1 in the neck position if you go that route.

 

[dvanburen]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

I had a JB in the bridge that came stock on my Jackson SL2H (same woods as your King V) and I hated that pickup in that guitar. I play primarily metal, and for metal rhythms I just didn't care for it. The leads sounded great, but on rhythms, there was an annoying, high-mid honk and fuzziness that I couldn't seem to dial out. I much prefer the JB in mahogany. I play through a 6505+, which is a fairly middy amp anyway, so that definitely played a part as well. I ended up swapping for a TB-5 Custom and am very happy with the results. The TB-5 pairs nicely with an SH-1 in the neck position if you go that route.

High mid honk is something that has been a compaint with a lot of people. Once you hear it, you cant un-hear it. I think it sounds good in alder bodied guitars but I think there are plenty of better options than a JB. In contrast to your statement.. I dislike the JB more in mahogany guitars. It just doesnt work for me at all. My opinion is that the custom is a much better pickup than not only the JB, but a lot of pickups for what its worth. Custom also handles mag swaps very well for a variety of sounds

 

[J E C]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

I don't have any experience with the JB yet. But with the EMG's the 85 should be in the bridge and the 81 in the neck. I would swop those puppys around and give that a try till you figure out what you want for passives in that git box.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

Well the Dimebucker, Black Winter and Distortion are brighter than the JB, so if you're really concerned about it being too bright, you could always try the Invader, seeing as how that's the only other pickup in the high output passive line. Worst case scenario if you end up getting the JB and it is too icepicky for you then you could always do a mag swap to an alnico II or IV to tame the highs, or even use a 250k pot. Custom could also work but it's a bit weaker than the JB.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

^^^ this ^^^

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

Well the Dimebucker, Black Winter and Distortion are brighter than the JB, so if you're really concerned about it being too bright, you could always try the Invader, seeing as how that's the only other pickup in the high output passive line. Worst case scenario if you end up getting the JB and it is too icepicky for you then you could always do a mag swap to an alnico II or IV to tame the highs, or even use a 250k pot. Custom could also work but it's a bit weaker than the JB.

I heard the Invader's cleans were pretty lackluster, and I NEED to have good cleans. I'm just looking for something that has the highs, but tamed enough to the point where it's not Ice-picky.

What about a Fullshred? Don't they have some mids, a tight bottom end with some crazy articulation, and smoothed out highs? Can it do cleans well too? I can split it if need be.

 

[wolf5150]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

JB + 250k pots = perfection.

 

[dvanburen]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

there are a lot of folks using the jb with a2 and/or 250k pots with good results

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

What about the Alt8? Only other option I can think of is either a Custom or PATB-1

 

[darthphineas]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

The JB will be fine. Wire it to a switch for parallel for a nice clean option. Or the 250k pot. Or the UOA5 or A2. Or any combination.


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[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

I heard the Invader's cleans were pretty lackluster, and I NEED to have good cleans. I'm just looking for something that has the highs, but tamed enough to the point where it's not Ice-picky.

What about a Fullshred? Don't they have some mids, a tight bottom end with some crazy articulation, and smoothed out highs? Can it do cleans well too? I can split it if need be.

Yeah the full shred will get you there. Not as powerful as the JB and some folks would argue it's a little more sterile sounding but I love the thing. For what you're doing it'll need some help in the lower mids from your amp. Frankly I think the JB even with its higher output has better cleans than the full shred though. Has more warmth and sweetness, but there is a bit of twang to it. FS cleans are more airy and neutral, but emphasize the presence of the notes, and are less likely to distort when picked hard. The FS works very well for lower tuning because the wider vibration of looser strings fills in the lows and lower mids without garbling up: same with warmer sounding woods. In terms of treble, the FS has about the same amount as the JB, it's just that the bass and mids are reserved so it's less obnoxious sounding. JB on the other hand has boosted upper mids that carry the highs and give them more cut, and a spongier and warmer bass. Both are very dynamic sounding for their respective outputs but the FS is more so.

That being said the EMG 81 is a very focused and rather compressed pickup with heaps of midrange and treble. However its lack of headroom prevents it from getting certain frequencies of harmonics that things like the JB and FS can get, even though harmonics leap out of the 81 from the compression, gain, and tone. Overall both the JB and FS should sound even brighter than the 81 after the switch.

So a 250k pot JB will be your best bet. It will tame it's highs and take twang off the cleans. BUT try it with the 500k first. If it's unmanageable to your ears then switch to the 250k pots. Maybe your problem is that the EMG has a compressed high end so every note has this kind of sharpness you don't like that you can't really dial away without taking the highs that you like to have with it. In which case a JB would serve you well because it's tone is more flexible both with your hands and your EQ.

 

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

But with the EMG's the 85 should be in the bridge and the 81 in the neck. I would swop those puppys around and give that a try till you figure out what you want for passives in that git box.

+ 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

 

[Mad-Max]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

Yeah the full shred will get you there. Not as powerful as the JB and some folks would argue it's a little more sterile sounding but I love the thing. For what you're doing it'll need some help in the lower mids from your amp. Frankly I think the JB even with its higher output has better cleans than the full shred though. Has more warmth and sweetness, but there is a bit of twang to it. FS cleans are more airy and neutral, but emphasize the presence of the notes, and are less likely to distort when picked hard. The FS works very well for lower tuning because the wider vibration of looser strings fills in the lows and lower mids without garbling up: same with warmer sounding woods. In terms of treble, the FS has about the same amount as the JB, it's just that the bass and mids are reserved so it's less obnoxious sounding. JB on the other hand has boosted upper mids that carry the highs and give them more cut, and a spongier and warmer bass. Both are very dynamic sounding for their respective outputs but the FS is more so.

That being said the EMG 81 is a very focused and rather compressed pickup with heaps of midrange and treble. However its lack of headroom prevents it from getting certain frequencies of harmonics that things like the JB and FS can get, even though harmonics leap out of the 81 from the compression, gain, and tone. Overall both the JB and FS should sound even brighter than the 81 after the switch.

So a 250k pot JB will be your best bet. It will tame it's highs and take twang off the cleans. BUT try it with the 500k first. If it's unmanageable to your ears then switch to the 250k pots. Maybe your problem is that the EMG has a compressed high end so every note has this kind of sharpness you don't like that you can't really dial away without taking the highs that you like to have with it. In which case a JB would serve you well because it's tone is more flexible both with your hands and your EQ.

This totally explains a lot. I've been an advocate of the JB for quite sometime, so I've gotten used to the characteristics of that, and that must be why I'm not a fan of the EMG 81 all that much. I like a more dynamic sounding pickup.

Quick question, is there any pick-up that's like the JB but with a tighter bass? Or is there any way to tighten up the bass on a stock JB? Just curious. I heard that a Alnico 8 can really tighten it up, but I also heard that it's just for balls out metal, and I need something that can achieve more than just balls out metal.

 

[dvanburen]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

Quick question, is there any pick-up that's like the JB but with a tighter bass? Or is there any way to tighten up the bass on a stock JB? Just curious. I heard that a Alnico 8 can really tighten it up, but I also heard that it's just for balls out metal, and I need something that can achieve more than just balls out metal.

DD is like jb but tighter bass. You will get a high end fizz that some done like. I dont mind it, but its there. You can tighten up the bass on the jb by putting in an a8 mag but you will get a real screamer of a pickup. It'll become a one trick pony that will do nothing but yell and cuss at you. If that's what you want then go for it. Havent played an alt8 but if you like the jb sound, I think that and the distortion are the way to go for you

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

This totally explains a lot. I've been an advocate of the JB for quite sometime, so I've gotten used to the characteristics of that, and that must be why I'm not a fan of the EMG 81 all that much. I like a more dynamic sounding pickup.

Quick question, is there any pick-up that's like the JB but with a tighter bass? Or is there any way to tighten up the bass on a stock JB? Just curious. I heard that a Alnico 8 can really tighten it up, but I also heard that it's just for balls out metal, and I need something that can achieve more than just balls out metal.

Distortion would be a gnarly choice but it's cleans are a little too sharp for my taste, and maybe yours. In December I'm making a custom shop pickup that tries to take the eq curve and response of the Pearly Gates but brings it to the JB's output level, so similar to a dimebucker but less compressed but with a more raw vintage flavor and warmth. If you're willing to pay double for the pickup from the custom shop you're more than welcome to that design. Or you could also try the Custom 8. People love it here.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: JB in an Alder body, with Maple Neck and Ebony Fretboard

there's a reason the JB has been THE model that people have been choosing for over 35 years.

any man that doesn't like the JB is the same sort of dude that is married to someone that makes him squat to pee.