JB Jr. vs JB full humbucker

[nightwing122087]

Hi, I've had a JB Jr. in the bridge position of my strat for the past few years. Its a fine pickup, but I find that it is particularly bright and, to my ears, and through my gear sounds more like a single coil on steroids.
I don't mind the brightness of the pickup, but I don't think it sounds "full" enough for me. What are the differences, if any, as far as the sound of the full JB compared to the JB Jr?


By the way, if it helps any, my gear is a Marshall Jubilee 2553 head through a Marshall 4x10 cabinet. I go into a Boss Super Overdrive for mostly solos. Really simple.

 

[nightwing122087]

Re: JB Jr. vs JB full humbucker

bump

 

[shogunlegend]

Re: JB Jr. vs JB full humbucker

i've had them both. the jb jr. has a ceramic mag and therefore won't have as much tone as the jb which is alnico. the alnico magnets impart a particular quality to the tone of guitar pickups that, IMO, sounds better and fuller.

the jb jr is a nice pup and does sound like a humbucker. you can adjust that particular pickup pretty close to the strings, but not as close as you would say EMGs.

the jb is a full sounding pickup with a real nice signature tone. something about it just sounds good, but it's going to be kind of bright depending on how you eq. if you scoop mids, you're going to get a more brittle high end and a lot of thick bottom end. some pickups with brilliant highs don't sound good scooped.

dimarzios, particularly in my opinon, actually sound better scooped for hte most part. the jb can sound bright to some, but it's really midrange that cuts through really well. on a marshall with a jb in the bridge, you can't go wrong.

 

[Rich_T]

Re: JB Jr. vs JB full humbucker

The SD-1 is a realtively bright overdrive, and the fact you are using a 4x10 will make for a brighter tone than a 4x12. Plus strats are pretty bright guitars. You might want to go with something draker in the bridge position there.

 

[shogunlegend]

Re: JB Jr. vs JB full humbucker

YEAH... like a super distortion

 

[nightwing122087]

Re: JB Jr. vs JB full humbucker

I just need something thats a bit more "round" and full in the bottom end. It is a good pickup and I do like the brightness of it..it gives it great clarity especially for recording but it just seems that its lacking a tiny bit in the bottom end and could use just a bit more 'warmth'.

What are the similarities and differences between the two?

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: JB Jr. vs JB full humbucker

If you are looking for a full sounding single coil sized humbucker with more bass and drive consider a Fastrack II from Dimarzio. It sounds a lot like a Super Distortion.

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: JB Jr. vs JB full humbucker

The biggest complaint with the JB is it tends t have a loose low end. If that doesn't bother you, it's a great pup. If you're looking for something a bit darker try a Distortion or Invader.

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: JB Jr. vs JB full humbucker

I have a Fast Track II at the bridge of my MiM and have mixed feeling about it.
The tone is great, really great, it does a lot of things good BUT, it sounds thin, not EQ thin per se, just that it produces a great humbucker tone but which isn't humbucker full, it's... half-full. And by now I am pretty sure that's not the pu's fault but the fact that it's sc sized.

I strongly believe that the exact character of a FT2 on full humbucker size would be amazing.
In short, if the FT2 is as good as a SC sized humbucker can get then, I think I'll prefer the full-sized buckers (always for the bridge, the neck is an entirely different story)...

 

[nightwing122087]

Re: JB Jr. vs JB full humbucker

Thats what I always thought it might be, but I thought I was just over thinking. I always thought that part of it was the fact that it is a a single coil sized humbucker, and possibly the way that its slanted etc etc.

But can anyone tell me what are the similarites and differences between the JB Model humbucker and the JB Jr. ?

 

[baritone]

Re: JB Jr. vs JB full humbucker

The JB Jr. is focused more on a harsh midrange frequency, which can fuzz up an amp's tubes without a drive pedal. The other frequencies sound out well, but the real JB does it a lot smoother. I like both, but the JB Jr. sticks more of itself into your sound.

 

[Richard]

Re: JB Jr. vs JB full humbucker

I have a JB in the bridge of my american strat and my brother has the JB JR. in the bridge of his MIM strat . I pluged his strat into my amp and it sounded like I was playing the exact same guitar. I was quite impressed.