voggin
Well-known member
Just after the new year I put a JB/Jazz combo into my PRS SE singlecut. I wrote a very honeymoonish/glowing review of the pair. However, I thought that replacing any stock budget pickups with a real set would probably sound great at first, and that I'd take some time playing it to do an update.
Well, after playing the guitar daily for three months, I can honestly say my opinion hasn't changed. The JB/Jazz combo is awesome in this guitar.
I've played it now through my pro junior (my fave amp), a Hughes and Kettner ss (blonde), a friends Mesa Stilletto and a Hot Rod Deville. I've gotten great tones from all the amps.
The JB alone is just a killer rock humbucker. On low to medium gain, it gives me an amazing classic rock tone. On medium high gain, it's perfect 80's territory, and on ridiculous gain, it's a monster (I'm no shredder, but I love that kind of tone when I'm alone and have 4-6 beers in me.) The harmonics are crisp and completely in control.
The jazz gives a great blues tone, esp. with the tone rolled off about a third. No muddiness. At times, it almost sounds strat like, or P90-ish (I know, I don't believe it either, but it's true)
But the amazing tone I wasn't expecting was when both pickups are on. Clean, with a bit of reverb, they give a well rounded, bitey (jangly?) jazzy sound, which sounds great at the edge of overdrive. Very BB King live sound, very responsive to pick dynamics.
Did a little recording, and with a mix of instruments, all the combinations cut through without being obnoxious. Perhaps it's the wood of the guitar (or the lack of quality, it's a cheapy) but the pairing seems to make the SE sound very PRS'ish, if you know what I mean.
The only negative, if you can call it that, was when I played it through a modelling unit. But I'm an old guy, so it could be that I don't know how to properly use that kind of technology. It was very brittle through most of the models, and the Jazz was fuzzy. Again, though, if I had some time to get used to the modelling thing (I bought it as an alternative to my old Ibanez delay, not for the amp modelling) I might get some good sounds. But then again, it sounds great through real amps, so I probably won't bother unless I need to for recording (of course, I've never found it that challenging to stick a Shure in front of a speaker, so the "convenience" of software is a little ellusive to me.)
Anyway, if you have an SE or something like an Epi LP, a JB/Jazz set may well be what you're looking for. I'm not going to say this guitar is now "as good as a (blank)" (Jesus, does this forum need THAT discussion again?) but it's miles ahead of where it was stock, and a great guitar in its own right, for a relatively low mod cost. It gets equal play with my US 60's reissue strat, if that means anything. Thanks, Seymour.
Well, after playing the guitar daily for three months, I can honestly say my opinion hasn't changed. The JB/Jazz combo is awesome in this guitar.
I've played it now through my pro junior (my fave amp), a Hughes and Kettner ss (blonde), a friends Mesa Stilletto and a Hot Rod Deville. I've gotten great tones from all the amps.
The JB alone is just a killer rock humbucker. On low to medium gain, it gives me an amazing classic rock tone. On medium high gain, it's perfect 80's territory, and on ridiculous gain, it's a monster (I'm no shredder, but I love that kind of tone when I'm alone and have 4-6 beers in me.) The harmonics are crisp and completely in control.
The jazz gives a great blues tone, esp. with the tone rolled off about a third. No muddiness. At times, it almost sounds strat like, or P90-ish (I know, I don't believe it either, but it's true)
But the amazing tone I wasn't expecting was when both pickups are on. Clean, with a bit of reverb, they give a well rounded, bitey (jangly?) jazzy sound, which sounds great at the edge of overdrive. Very BB King live sound, very responsive to pick dynamics.
Did a little recording, and with a mix of instruments, all the combinations cut through without being obnoxious. Perhaps it's the wood of the guitar (or the lack of quality, it's a cheapy) but the pairing seems to make the SE sound very PRS'ish, if you know what I mean.
The only negative, if you can call it that, was when I played it through a modelling unit. But I'm an old guy, so it could be that I don't know how to properly use that kind of technology. It was very brittle through most of the models, and the Jazz was fuzzy. Again, though, if I had some time to get used to the modelling thing (I bought it as an alternative to my old Ibanez delay, not for the amp modelling) I might get some good sounds. But then again, it sounds great through real amps, so I probably won't bother unless I need to for recording (of course, I've never found it that challenging to stick a Shure in front of a speaker, so the "convenience" of software is a little ellusive to me.)
Anyway, if you have an SE or something like an Epi LP, a JB/Jazz set may well be what you're looking for. I'm not going to say this guitar is now "as good as a (blank)" (Jesus, does this forum need THAT discussion again?) but it's miles ahead of where it was stock, and a great guitar in its own right, for a relatively low mod cost. It gets equal play with my US 60's reissue strat, if that means anything. Thanks, Seymour.
