JB is driving me NUTS!

Noisembryo

Noisembryo

New member
First of all,

Guitar: ESP Eclipse I CTM FT (Mahagony body, maple top, mahagony neck, ebony fretboard)
Pickups: SD '59 neck, SD JB bridge
Amp: Yamaha THR 10 (yes the toaster...which happens to be best sounding modeling amp there is right now to my ears)

Style of music: blues, classic rock
Favorite tones: Billy Gibbons, Slash...

There I think that pretty much covers it :)

Now on to the topic...

I've had it with JB...I really gave this thing a shot but no matter what I do, whatever amp setting I use, vol/tone combination it sounds like crap. The sound is to bright, compressed and borderline shrill. Trying to play open chords results in total shrill, you can't hear anything that is been played. Power chords sound way to compressed, it's like choking someone with a pillow while he screams his ass off. All this while having barely any gain on and by barely I mean it was set to 2 (using brit hi model, with eq on 5, master cranked). I even put my tone knob on 3 which tamed it a little bit but it was still a mess.

Another problem I have is with '59 in the neck. It's boomy...it really is and adding a little gain turns the boominess even more. It sounds great clean and on crunch but playing power chords with a little bit of gain sounds like a boomy mess.

I need a recommendation for both pickups. For the bridge I need something that's fat, open, airy and sweet sounding. Something that won't turn into an utter mess when you add a bit of gain on it and will retain clear sounding notes and chords.

For the neck I need basically same characteristics as for the bridge pickup but not so boomy. I want fat, tight bass, good amount of mids and clear highs.

I've been reading a lot about this and came with this combos but I'm not sure if this will give me what I want:

1. APH-1 set
2. Phat Cat neck (or Lollar P90 Hambucker), APH-1 Bridge
3. Seth Lover set
4. Dimarzio 36th Anniversary pafs set

What do you think?
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

JB plus mahogany often = fail.

You might want to try the c/59 hybrid for the bridge. It has the open nature of the 59 but with some of the nice fatness of the C coil. If you are good with a soldering iron you could simply buy a custom pickup and make the hybrid yourself. Get a Jazz neck pickup and make the best neck hybrid too, the 59/jazz while you're at it. As a bonus you get a jazz/custom hybrid which I find is better balanced than the c/59.
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

Noisembryo said:
First of all,

Guitar: ESP Eclipse I CTM FT (Mahagony body, maple top, mahagony neck, ebony fretboard)
Pickups: SD '59 neck, SD JB bridge
Amp: Yamaha THR 10 (yes the toaster...which happens to be best sounding modeling amp there is right now to my ears)

Style of music: blues, classic rock
Favorite tones: Billy Gibbons, Slash...
Click to expand...

great basic information to go from :)

I've had it with JB...I really gave this thing a shot but no matter what I do, whatever amp setting I use, vol/tone combination it sounds like crap. The sound is to bright, compressed and borderline shrill. Trying to play open chords results in total shrill, you can't hear anything that is been played. Power chords sound way to compressed, it's like choking someone with a pillow while he screams his ass off. All this while having barely any gain on and by barely I mean it was set to 2 (using brit hi model, with eq on 5, master cranked). I even put my tone knob on 3 which tamed it a little bit but it was still a mess.
Click to expand...

Yup. I've been saying this for years: JB and mahogany aren't really suited to go together, unless you use the jb in a hybrid.

Another problem I have is with '59 in the neck. It's boomy...it really is and adding a little gain turns the boominess even more. It sounds great clean and on crunch but playing power chords with a little bit of gain sounds like a boomy mess.
Click to expand...
thank you alnico 5. that mag makes it boomy. You need a different mag, for sure. Or sell this pickup.

[quote[
I need a recommendation for both pickups. For the bridge I need something that's fat, open, airy and sweet sounding. Something that won't turn into an utter mess when you add a bit of gain on it and will retain clear sounding notes and chords.

For the neck I need basically same characteristics as for the bridge pickup but not so boomy. I want fat, tight bass, good amount of mids and clear highs.

I've been reading a lot about this and came with this combos but I'm not sure if this will give me what I want:

1. APH-1 set
2. Phat Cat neck (or Lollar P90 Hambucker), APH-1 Bridge
3. Seth Lover set
4. Dimarzio 36th Anniversary pafs set

What do you think?[/QUOTE]

APH1 set: nice. not thrilling, but nice (the bridge pickup is amazing in the neck, though)
Phat cat neck: not my thing, but some dudes swear by it. I don't like the hum and it's not as raunchy as I want my p90 to be. APH1 bridge? Lacks balls. Rather take the slash Alnico 2 pro bridge pickup. that pickup is amazing.
Seth Lover set: you want tight lows? Forget it. The seth is smooth and friendly, slightly squishy; like your favorite aunt who frankly snacks too much of the apple strudel...
Dimarzio: never. I can't stand DMZ. they sound...bland. But that's just a personal preference.

I'd go with these for the bridge:

Alnico 2 Pro Slash Bridge. It's like the original A2Pro but slightly dirtier, a bit more grit.
Blues Saraceno Bridge pickup. Amazing. it's sweet yet clear. lows are tight but not boomy. The highs sings, the mids are open yet boosted. Split is amazing, too.
59/Custom hybrid. One of the best pickups I know of, hands down.
Pearly Gates. Always a great choice but this pickup, I found, is a bit picky, like a JB.

I'd go with these for the neck (listed as a match with the aforementioned bridge pickups)

Seth neck. The seth neck is so smooth yet clear and articulated, it's amazing. It's not that hot, though but the clarity is unparalleled.
Screaming Demon. Yes, this pickup for the neck position is amazing. It's like the seth neck only a bit hotter. Set it up lower than usual and you've got a great neck pickup that goes from Jimmy Page style leads to Santana solo, with the swoop of your tone pot. Don't forget to change the tone pot for a 1megaohm plus a great quality paper in oil cap to get the best out of your tone pot.
59/Custom Hybrid works very well with the alnico 2 pro neck pickup the regular. not the slash version. the regular is a bit hotter, which makes it work better with the slightly hotter 59/Custom hybrid than with the slash a2pro bridge.
Pearly Gates: again, seth neck pickup.

But what I'd do if I were you is either the blues saraceno plus the demon, OR a set of Antiquity humbuckers. Those pickups are so amazing. Slight edge in the midrange, sweet, clear highs, tight lows but with a vocal quality, very open articulation. the neck pickup is also very articulated but smooth. It's not mushy but clear.

Hope that helps.
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

I'd have problems too if I expected a JB to do what a PAF-style pickup does. I love the JB in mahogany. For Megadeth.
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

Noisembryo said:
I've had it with JB...I really gave this thing a shot but no matter what I do, whatever amp setting I use, vol/tone combination it sounds like crap. The sound is to bright, compressed and borderline shrill. Trying to play open chords results in total shrill, you can't hear anything that is been played.
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound like the JB at all. Maybe consider taking it to a tech or inspecting it to see if maybe there's something wrong with the wiring? Where'd you get this guitar?
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

Little Pigbacon said:
I'd have problems too if I expected a JB to do what a PAF-style pickup does. I love the JB in mahogany. For Megadeth.
Click to expand...

Ironically, the Megadeth tone comes from the JB in Alder and Poplar.

Also, that's strange. I'd call the JB bright, but never shrill, unless you max your presence knob. Then again, if you're looking for Gibbon's and Slash's tone, you might call the JB shrill.
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

Robert Delahunt said:
That doesn't sound like the JB at all. Maybe consider taking it to a tech or inspecting it to see if maybe there's something wrong with the wiring? Where'd you get this guitar?
Click to expand...

Ah, but it does. That's known as the 'ice pick spike' that sometimes happens to JB's in mahogany, along with a 'flabby' low end. While JB's can and do work well in mahogany, over the 8 years I've been here I've read dozens of posts by members who have had bad experiences with that combination. The debate was well established and raging even back in 2006. Those that haven't had it happen to them (or haven't read the numerous posts of first-hand accounts) tend to accuse the others of making this all up. Apparently there's a 'JB conspiracy' afoot by subversive elements to slander a PU that to some members is ideal for all woods, guitar designs, and genres. Ironically, most of the guys who don't like what happened to JB's in their mahogany guitars also have JB's in other woods, where they sound very good. I'd think they have some credibility. They're not anti-JB; they've just had bad experiences with it in mahogany. Being that it has thin wire, narrow coils, a magnet with the most treble and bass, & was designed for bright woods, that's not completely surprising that it could be hit or miss in warm woods.

'59N's tend to get bassy in thicker pieces of mahogany, LP's most of all. Most members cure that with a mag swap to an A4 or A3.
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

Archer250 said:
Ironically, the Megadeth tone comes from the JB in Alder and Poplar.
Click to expand...

That doesn't mean it's the only way to get it. Dave Mustaine's signature V from ESP and LTD was all mahogany. When I tried out the neck-through LTD model, it had a JB in the bridge, and it nailed RIP-era Megadeth and old Metallica so hard that I nearly bought it on the spot.
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

I bet it's freakin' sweet that way.

Does anyone else here suspect that, if a different model Duncan were the most ubiquitous OEM-channel "name brand" bridge pickup on Earth, we'd be seeing constant complaints about it instead?
 
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Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

I haven't found a "bad" JB... granted, of all the guitars I've tried them with, only one was a mahogany superstrat (The JB/59 was sweeter in that LTD than the JB/Jazz is in my RG). The others were either alder or basswood.
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

The 7-string JB I put in the bridge of a hardtail RG made for an odd-sounding combo; that was basswood with a bolt-on maple neck. It was good, but it didn't sound like any other guitar I've ever played with a JB in it.
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

My RG sounded not much different from a San Dimas at a nearby store. Of course, my RG was also heavier, brighter and more sterile than the Charvel.
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

quick fixes for the JB and '59:

JB: replace the volume pot with a 250k pot.

'59: replace the alnico 5 magnet with an alnico 4.

if after spending the 10 bucks for those two mods, you still don't dig then look into new pickups.
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

CTN said:
quick fixes for the JB and '59:

JB: replace the volume pot with a 250k pot.

'59: replace the alnico 5 magnet with an alnico 4.

if after spending the 10 bucks for those two mods, you still don't dig then look into new pickups.
Click to expand...

+1

I think a 250k pot is essential with the JB! And I use a Jazz instead of a 59n. It just works.
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

I had exactly the same problem in my ibanez rg2550 and play similar stuff. I ended up getting shot of the JB i put in it and got a super distortion which was overwound and bassy... I stuck in an A5 mag. That blows every pickup away that's been in any of my guitars. It's just about right for the you could be mine sound.

I'd say go even lower than an a4 in the bridge if you want slash and billy gibbons sound try an A2 seeing as they both use an a2 in their signature pups. You may not need to replace the pot that way.
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

I suspect the "Blues" and "Classic Rock" part to be part of the problem as well...
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

CTN said:
quick fixes for the JB and '59:

JB: replace the volume pot with a 250k pot.

'59: replace the alnico 5 magnet with an alnico 4.

if after spending the 10 bucks for those two mods, you still don't dig then look into new pickups.
Click to expand...

^^^ this ^^^

And a roughcast A5 in the JB

Also, what would make someone think that a JB in mahogany would serve up that type of blues? It's versatile, but it doesn't cover 100% of the bases.


Sent from my armored space station via iPad using Tapatalk
 
Re: JB is driving me NUTS!

I am considering putting an Antiqiuity JB in a Charvel Model 2 which is made of Basswood, how does the JB fare in Basswood? Sorry to hijack the thread.
 
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