JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

[Diego]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

I have to agree with Odie.

I saw Megadeth live recently, Dave Mustaine uses the JB on his ESPs, I dunno about the other guy.

His solos sounded great, the riffs sounded tight but it was very thin sounding. The other guitarist had a much thicker, smoother tone.

I'll take a Custom or a Distortion over a JB. A great pickup, but not for me.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

The only time I can ignore my neck pickup is when I have something other than a JB in the bridge! LOL!!!!!!

Lew, I have seen whats its all about! I have had this pickup in every new guitar I have ever picked up and I have used it through every new amp I have aquired. Whenever I have aquired a new peice of equipment, I have always got a JB to try to capture some of this magic everyone always speaks of! I have yet to find it! It still sounds like a 4ft high pile of steaming dog poo!!!! If the JB's bass strings sounded worth a damn it would be a killer pickup!!! The 3 treble strings is where its at! I like to use all 6 strings when I play!

To be quite honest, I have played alot of pickups that I have not liked but, I can see how it may work for someone else. I cant really find any redeming quality's in a JB and it boggles my mind how someone could actually like it day in and day out unless they do nothing but solo's!!!

Well...I don't use one day in and day out either! But it's still a cool pickup and lots of great players who can play beyond my abilities (and maybe yours?) have used it and liked it just fine. Robben Ford comes to mind...George Lynch too.

Like I said, it's not my favorite...but it's impressive and it sure isn't dung.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

The only time I can ignore my neck pickup is when I have something other than a JB in the bridge! LOL!!!!!!

Lew, I have seen whats its all about! I have had this pickup in every new guitar I have ever picked up and I have used it through every new amp I have aquired. Whenever I have aquired a new peice of equipment, I have always got a JB to try to capture some of this magic everyone always speaks of! I have yet to find it! It still sounds like a 4ft high pile of steaming dog poo!!!! If the JB's bass strings sounded worth a damn it would be a killer pickup!!! The 3 treble strings is where its at! I like to use all 6 strings when I play!

To be quite honest, I have played alot of pickups that I have not liked but, I can see how it may work for someone else. I cant really find any redeming quality's in a JB and it boggles my mind how someone could actually like it day in and day out unless they do nothing but solo's!!!

Again, I have to agree w/ Dave. The low mids to low end is what kills this pickup. Total mush pie even w/ a killer amp! I believe we've talked about this before on the phone eh?

But does bring up an intriguing idea! The distortion has a much more aggressive and articulate Low end to it, so.... Would it be possible to cut an A5 mag and a ceramic mag in half and put them in?

Put the ceramic under the Bass end, and the A5 under the treble end????

 

[ErikH]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

Thank you, Lew. I need someone else in this battle on my side...lol. Dave and I have been going back and forth on this subject, all in good fun of course.

Here's my take in the JB, now that I know what spike you all have been talking about. In a bright body (maple for example), it's simply night the right pickup UNLESS you use 250k pots. In mahogany, that upper mid spike stands out too much, for my taste anyway. It's like the mahogany almost enhances it. In alder, I think that's its home and where it's most comfortable. Use a .047uf tone cap and you've got one nice sounding JB.

The perfect mate for it is the Jazz neck, period. Those two were simply made for each other. Do ya think Seymour would use them together if it didn't work?

I'm not a JB hatter by any means. It is one of my favorite bridge pickups but at the same time, it has its place (and no, Dave, not at the bottom of a trash can....lol ). I've had the same JB in 3 different guitars made of the woods mentioned above and that was probably the best thing I could have done.

I'm currently offering mine for sale simply so I can try other Duncans. I want to try a Screamin' Demon, Pearly Gates and a 59 Model in the bridge. If I don't like them, then I can always go back and get another JB.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

You should keep that New York graphic Baretta stock. PERIOD!

 

[Willis]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

Well...I don't use one day in and day out either! But it's still a cool pickup and lots of great players who can play beyond my abilities (and maybe yours?) have used it and liked it just fine. Robben Ford comes to mind...George Lynch too.

Like I said, it's not my favorite...but it's impressive and it sure isn't dung.

Wasn't George Lynch's pickup a Distortion? I know it was different from the stock model; maybe the difference was an A5 mag.

 

[ErikH]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

You should keep that New York graphic Baretta stock. PERIOD!

What do you think it came stock with? A JB. It's a 1988 model. They came with JB's by then.

noob, you're right. Lynch used Distortions before he got his Screamin' Demon sig model. He may have very well used a JB in the early Dokken days though.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

What do you think it came stock with? A JB. It's a 1988 model. They came with JB's by then.

All of the Barettas post 86 came w/ JB's stock. I don't have to like the pickup to keep a rare bird like that stock. But then again, I don't think I would be playing something like that all to often either.

 

[ErikH]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

All of the Barettas post 86 came w/ JB's stock. I don't have to like the pickup to keep a rare bird like that stock. But then again, I don't think I would be playing something like that all to often either.

I know. I would like to keep it stock but I like the Custom Custom in it better. I don't plan on ever selling it so changing the pickup is no big deal. It was purchased used anyway and to be honest, I don't even think it had a JB in it when I got it. It was definitely a lower output pickup. Sounded horrible but I snagged it because of the rarity and I wanted a Baretta ever since I started playing. Had it for close to 10 years now.

 

[schecterplayer]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

I love mine, it sounds very modern compared to itself tapped and my 59 in both modes so it gives me a lot of tonal options. Sounds wicked tapped ot inn parrallel and it simply sceams under high gain. Isnt that good for slight overdrive unless it is tapped but heck, it simply screams for high gain solos. Harmonics just jump out of the speaker.

 

[pac112]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

JB in mahogany with maple cap = WOOOOHOOOOOO :baby:

 

[Jocelyn]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

Er ... uhhh ... what new and exciting can I bring to the party?

I recently put the JB in my custom-made guitar: mahogany/maple body, mahogany/rosewood bolt-on neck, Gibson scale, two humbuckers. A fookin great pickup for that guitar if you ask me, and I have tried quite a few in that one! Right now I mate it with a PGn and boy ... the PGn has much more treble than the JB!!! But anyway, as with most good pickups, the guitar you install them in matters the most!!! A perfectly good pickup can sound killer in one axe and total crap in another.

If it's not clear yet, I am a JB fan, holy crap!!!

It's a great pickup...especially in a guitar with only a bridge pickup. That way you can tweak your amp to sound killer with the JB without having to compromise your tone settings to also sound good with a neck pickup.

I got to agree to Lew and Tony...It all depends which guitar u have it on and yes it is the only pick up I have on my "V"..And it sounds killer and yes I can play rhytum on it, the right seetings on the amp and it sound good.... role back the volume and it cleans up well roll back the tone and it is sweet ..though of course I miss a neck pick up. but yes it is great on a guitar with a single pick up. Honestly the next time I have to choose a pick up for a single pick up guitat it would be the JB or 59.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: JB is a freakin GREAT pickup

The JB is a great pickup, I just can´t stand it at the bridge... totally killer as a neck pickup, though