jb or custom 5

[Chickenwings]

what should i put in the bridge of my strat? I have had a pair 59s before and really like them in the neck, but id like more mid range beef for the bridge.
there will defnitely be a 59 in the neck, so im really looking for something that will complement.
Its a strat plus deluxe. Alder body, rosewood neck, 2 point fender bridge. Its a very resonant piece of wood ( i have had other fender strats) and fairly dark and fat sounding. Ive never owned an axe with either a jb or custom 5 so im not sure what to expect.
Im leaning towards a jb right now, but i hear a lot of ppl not liking the sound.
Amps : mostly i will use a fender PRII and a few dirt boxes, but i also have a JCM900 mKIII when i need to rediscover my inner rock god.
i want beefy mids, but also clarity and articulation, so those of you who have tried either pickup in an ALDER BODIED STRAT, please chime in.

 

[rosssurf]

Re: jb or custom 5

"i want beefy mids, " I would not consider the C5 to have beefy mids, clarity , yes! but not beefy mids. The good thing about the C5 is you could get several magnets and swap them and have any of the Custom line.

I'm not much help on the JB.

 

[dr. ad]

Re: jb or custom 5

have you considered putting an A2 mag in a duncan-designed JB? usually available on ebay in strat-type colours on the cheap
what colour did you want, anyway?
:deal:

i don't think i've ever owned an alder guitar, so can't answer your question

 

[wolf5150]

Re: jb or custom 5

JB with 250k pots will be the answer to your prayers. :sword: : popworm:

I have a Musicman Silhouette Special which is Alder / Maple neck and I have the JB matched with 2 x Kinman Avn69's , all round 250k pots and I love it.

 

[richard parker]

Re: jb or custom 5

A friend of mine has a strat with the single coil size JB in the bridge and it sounds awesome, just the right amount of cut and crunch. It's a rosewood neck and I would guess an alder body. I think I might prefer it in some ways to a full size JB.

 

[IanBallard]

Re: jb or custom 5

I've settled in my Custom/59/A8 hybrid and I think I couldn't possibly find a more versatile and satisfying sound in the bridge. In fact, the A8 almost gives the lead tone some "neck" qualities that the previous attempts lacked. Not that I'm expecting you to hack up two pickups, but perhaps even the 59-8 would suit you.

Give the JB a shot! It's been a proven workhorse for rock and even blues in alder guitars.

 

[apj]

Re: jb or custom 5

JB for sure - the custom is going to sound very hollow in a strat

 

[Barron1]

Re: jb or custom 5

c5 has scooped mids, you wont like it if you want pronounced mids

 

[AlexR]

Re: jb or custom 5

Ok,
Drive, clarity, beefy, articulate.

Hard to do all, unless you're a PATB pickup

The 3 gives fat PAF tones, think EVH or any fat gibson LP tone
The 1 is more drive like a Custom SH-5, but not harsh or compressed.

Its a hard look to get used to, but I just swapped it into an alder Jackson dinky and replaced a JB. This axe had sounded lifeless until the swap and now it is god-like.

Oh - they can handle gain better than pickups of the same K rating, but also clean up with volume better too. Full clean tones seem nicer too.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: jb or custom 5

Dr Ad - im going for chrome covers. Im a bit suspect on needing 250k pots tho for the jb, cos i want master volume and tone knobs, so whatever pup i get to go with the 59 neck it will need to sound good with a 500k.
The charvel san dimas uses a 59/jb combo....what pots do they use?
Is there anything else that has some muscle in the mids for the bridge that will go with a 59 neck?

 

[dr. ad]

Re: jb or custom 5

im going for chrome covers.

heh; the one thing i don't have

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: jb or custom 5

I went into a guitar shop today and bought a deja vu delay cos they are cool and i have been wanting one for about a year now. I paid more than i would if i ordered online, but i appreciate the guys in the shop letting me try stuff our etc. SAVE OUR SHOPS!
Anyways...they had some jazz/jb and 59/jb loaded axes. I liked the jb a lot. Its definitely got muscles. Cos im a nerd i asked to see inside the axes to see what pots they used and it turns out they juts had regular 500k pots, so i guess all i have to do now is order some new pups and start soldering.

 

[Kam]

Re: jb or custom 5

I tried a C5 in my Pacifica which is an alder bodied Strat-type guitar with a rosewood board and maple neck. I really liked it, but it did sound just a little scooped. The highs could be a little thin and piercing, too. I eventually turned it back into a Custom 8 because I ****ing love that little beast but I found that the UOa5 mag in the Custom fixed pretty much everything I didn't like about the C5. It filled in just the right amount of mids and thickened and softened the highs enough to be sound really good for leads, which I'd previously left solely to the neck pickup, pretty much. If you try out the Custom then you might really dig that particular mag swap.

 

[papersoul]

Re: jb or custom 5

c5 has scooped mids, you wont like it if you want pronounced mids

They are not scooped. They are neutral.

C-5 is like a beefed up Duncan 59. It works best in a Les Paul. In a Les Paul it can sound massive and balanced.