JB in my strat, yay or nay?

[FuelGTRX]

So after much tweaking and adusting, I have found the PGb in my strat no longer cuts it. While I like the sound of the Pearly Gates in my strat, it's just not hot enough. Right now I'm running it with 500k pots. I had 250K in there but found the PG to be too dark/warm with that configuration.

Now after some research, I'm thinking the JB will be the ticket. I still want a bit of vintage quality, but with more push, more low end, and more sustain.



So, a JB in my strat, yay or nay? Feel free to explain or give alternatives:friday:

My strat has an alder body with a 2 point Fender USA tremolo and a maple neck with a maple fretboard. My playing style is heavy stoner rock with a classic rock vibe (think Clutch, Fu Manchu, Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss, Monster Magnet, Soundgarden, etc, etc).

 

[cakire82]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

JB in a alder start ROCKS!!! But it might sound brighter than you want. You can always adjust it with an A8 magnet and/or 250K pot.

 

[FuelGTRX]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

JB in a alder start ROCKS!!! But it might sound brighter than you want. You can always adjust it with an A8 magnet and/or 250K pot.

I have contemplated swapping the pots out with 250K pots if I put the JB in there. Either that, or throw an A2 in the JB.

 

[Dirtbagg]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

Hell yeah, I love mine

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

How much more do you want out of the PG?

The JB is a pretty drastic change, IMHO. If you're just looking to take the PG up a notch, try the PATB-3 or the PATB-1 if you want to get closer to the output of the pickups in the JB's class.

 

[FuelGTRX]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

How much more do you want out of the PG?

The JB is a pretty drastic change, IMHO. If you're just looking to take the PG up a notch, try the PATB-3 or the PATB-1 if you want to get closer to the output of the pickups in the JB's class.

I know I'm wanting more than the Blues Saraceno has to offer in output. I want to start pushing my JCM 800 harder than I have been so I was thinking high gain pickups are what I should be shooting for.

And as lame as it sounds, I don't like that the parallel axis pickups don't come in zebra:smack: I want to stick to the current look of my strat...

 

[apj]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

I would go PATB-1 or 3. The JB is way too bright in an alder strat for me. Pretty sure it's mostly the high mid spike but it's too much for me.

 

[oilpit]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

JB in an alder strat is one of the most awesome things ever, espescially when played into a old Marshall...

I would recomend swapping the pots for 250k...for the JB it is really just preference, but the single coil will sound much better.

 

[FuelGTRX]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

JB in an alder strat is one of the most awesome things ever, espescially when played into a old Marshall...

I would recomend swapping the pots for 250k...for the JB it is really just preference, but the single coil will sound much better.

Well the current single coil I have in the neck position on the strat works better with 500K pots. It's the Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Blues single coil which has a much darker sound than most singles. It's like a thinner, more chimey sounding P-90.

But the reason I thought about going back with the 250K pots is I like the SD APS-2 single coil better in the neck position, but it didn't agree with the 500K pots I had to use with the Pearly Gates.

 

[SFW]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

JB + strat + JCM800 = tone!

 

[guitarded]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

JB + strat + JCM800 = tone!

Absolutely +1


However.... It did not sound too nice with my Mark IV... Too many lower mids made it sound muddy and undefined and dialing them out made the overall tone too wimpy..... But with the JCM800 it was a winner... Same guitar has a little 59b in it now that sounds good with everything.

500K with the JB full... Changed to 250K for the little 59.

 

[Diego]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

Hmm... To give this a spin, let me ask:

If you like what you hear with the PG but just find it's a bit too cold, won't a clean boost pedal do the job?

That's what I use to balance things between my Strat with vintage pups and my JB-loaded Squier.

 

[Elfunkenstein]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

Well, if they offered it, I'd suggest the Pearly Gates +

maybe a gibson 57 classic plus?

 

[FuelGTRX]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

Hmm... To give this a spin, let me ask:

If you like what you hear with the PG but just find it's a bit too cold, won't a clean boost pedal do the job?

That's what I use to balance things between my Strat with vintage pups and my JB-loaded Squier.

Well, I'm already running a Fulltone OCD V.4 as a boost in front of my JCM 800 and I feel like I need a bit more gain. With JB, I think I can back off the pedal a bit more and give myself some wiggle room for more gain. I also wish the PG had more compression and more lowend along with more gain.

 

[Diocletian]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

Put the JB in, they're all over ebay used for good prices. I'd leave the pots as they are until you actually hear what it sounds like. You can always change it later.

 

[Diego]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

Well, I'm already running a Fulltone OCD V.4 as a boost in front of my JCM 800 and I feel like I need a bit more gain. With JB, I think I can back off the pedal a bit more and give myself some wiggle room for more gain. I also wish the PG had more compression and more lowend along with more gain.

In that case, you'll be fine with the JB! :friday:

 

[Farkus]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

I love the JB in the bridge of a Strat. When I'm using it with singles, I do use a 250K and it sounds quite good with that. When it's used with another humbucker or as a bridge only pickup I use the 500K. That sounds more full to me.

With your current neck pickup, I'd go 500K all around.

 

[blueman335]

Re: JB in my strat, yay or nay?

Has anybody suggested an A8 in the PGB? That'll kick up the output, tighten up the low end, and push you into overdrive sooner. I'd do that before buying another PU. If that turns out to not give the tones you want, then buy a JB and try it stock, and you always have the option of using the A8 or an A2 in it.