Re: JB muddy?
What effect will that have?
It will tighten up the bass, mostly. Rounding the screw heights to match the neck radius will keep things even across all the strings. Just remember to adjust the screw height THEN cut the screws
I've stopped replacing pickups in my Epi LP Custom ZW (solid mahogany, maple neck and fretboard). The JB is exactly what I need for what I play. The guitar is a little woody sounding. The bass and highs are rounded off a little. The JB's EQ works really well in this guitar. I wouldn't call it articulate, but that wasn't what I was after. It's an awesome rock pickup, for sure.
We have one song that I really liked playing before, but now I can't wait for it at every practice. I chug a palm-muted F# power chord during part of the verse and it's a thunderous wall of awesome. It makes me smile every time.
At the beginning of that same song there's a part where I need some note separation as it's some single note picking with the previous ones ringing out. However, I don't change the gain or adjust the volume knob (10) and it sounds clear enough - each note is defined.
This is running through a Digitech 1101, AC30 patch straight into monitor and the FOH mixer. I just played my first gig this weekend with it and it was stellar.
But, my clarity could be another's muddy. UberMetalDood, I think you hit the nail on the head in your first post where you mentioned muddy like a Classic 57, which some people absolutely love. It depends on what you are expecting from the pickup and what YOU define as articulate/muddy.
I found the FullShred to be very articulate, but I couldn't gel with the bridge pickup. I can picture it being perfect for a different style of playing/music. Just not for what I do atm. OTOH, the FS neck is near the top of my list for neck pickups, but I digress.
In my Squier VM Telecasters (agathis, maple) the JB was just ok, not as defined or dynamic as it was in my previous and current Epi LPs, and not as articulate as other pickups I've tried in those. Those guitars are heavier on the base side, so that might be why. In my basswood Ibanez it was bright and annoying.
