JB vs Custom vs Custom 5
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jafo
Member
Re: JB vs Custom vs Custom 5
It's not a question of "sounds better" -- not when you're comparing quality pups. It's more of a matter of "given this context, which pup will give me this or that sort of response?" What are you aiming for with your current setup? It's usually better to adjust what you already have, than to buy a whole new pup.
Now for something directly/immediately useful. You can't go wrong with any of the Custom pups -- not only is each one built to sound great in a variety of situations, but each can be converted into any of the others with great ease and speed merely by changing the magnet. The Custom 5 is like a beefed-up PAF, with great cleans, and the plain 'ole Custom is basically a pissed-off PAF, with more modern cleans.
Now for the fun stuff! As I said, you can swap out the magnets to convert any Custom into any other Custom. It's cheap and easy, and a lot of fun if you're a tinkerer. I suggest going to forum bro wymoreguitars.com and ordering a few humbucker mags; use the coupon code sdforum for a nice discount (thanks, Wymore!). Get an Alnico 2 and an Alnico 8 to try in your JB while you're there; a lot of people have been happy with their JBs after doing so.
Myself, I started with a Custom Custom in the bridge and a Jazz neck in a PRS SE (basically an SG) In very specialized circumstances it sounded great, but sub-par otherwise. I'm now using a C5 with a slightly degaussed magnet and Jazz 4. Degaussing A5 evens out the response a bit (full-strength A5 is heavy on the top and bottom, light on the mids), making it closer to A4. A4 is a bit stiff, without the chimy overtones of A5 or the lush overtones of A2, but it sounds great in a Jazz N -- tonal Viagra. I'd imagine that a degaussed '59 would sound even better, but not $60 better.
Yeesh, sorry to ramble and rave. Gotta be the flu and the meds.
It's not a question of "sounds better" -- not when you're comparing quality pups. It's more of a matter of "given this context, which pup will give me this or that sort of response?" What are you aiming for with your current setup? It's usually better to adjust what you already have, than to buy a whole new pup.
Now for something directly/immediately useful. You can't go wrong with any of the Custom pups -- not only is each one built to sound great in a variety of situations, but each can be converted into any of the others with great ease and speed merely by changing the magnet. The Custom 5 is like a beefed-up PAF, with great cleans, and the plain 'ole Custom is basically a pissed-off PAF, with more modern cleans.
Now for the fun stuff! As I said, you can swap out the magnets to convert any Custom into any other Custom. It's cheap and easy, and a lot of fun if you're a tinkerer. I suggest going to forum bro wymoreguitars.com and ordering a few humbucker mags; use the coupon code sdforum for a nice discount (thanks, Wymore!). Get an Alnico 2 and an Alnico 8 to try in your JB while you're there; a lot of people have been happy with their JBs after doing so.
Myself, I started with a Custom Custom in the bridge and a Jazz neck in a PRS SE (basically an SG) In very specialized circumstances it sounded great, but sub-par otherwise. I'm now using a C5 with a slightly degaussed magnet and Jazz 4. Degaussing A5 evens out the response a bit (full-strength A5 is heavy on the top and bottom, light on the mids), making it closer to A4. A4 is a bit stiff, without the chimy overtones of A5 or the lush overtones of A2, but it sounds great in a Jazz N -- tonal Viagra. I'd imagine that a degaussed '59 would sound even better, but not $60 better.
Yeesh, sorry to ramble and rave. Gotta be the flu and the meds.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: JB vs Custom vs Custom 5
+1. All depends on what you like & what you want. What one guy thinks is great, another thinks is crap.
+1. All depends on what you like & what you want. What one guy thinks is great, another thinks is crap.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: JB vs Custom vs Custom 5
The JB's too bright & spikey for some of us unless it has an A2 or A8 in it. It's not known as being the best choice for cleans, a C5 is better clean. In mahogany, the JB has a spotty reputation because of it's 'ice pick' & loose low end. In contrast, the C5 shines in mahogany.
The JB's too bright & spikey for some of us unless it has an A2 or A8 in it. It's not known as being the best choice for cleans, a C5 is better clean. In mahogany, the JB has a spotty reputation because of it's 'ice pick' & loose low end. In contrast, the C5 shines in mahogany.
surface54
New member
Re: JB vs Custom vs Custom 5
and you know i agree with you cause i hated the stock JB, went through alot of trouble to mod it, eventually traded it, but when i had my last amp it sounded better because of the JB. my new amp, ouch. so it if you have a dark amp, JB will rip goodness throughout it. brighter amp, youll hate it.
now that i think about it, when the JB first came out were there alot of darker amps back then? sporting the lofi vintage capacitors and stuff, would make sense why the JB would start making amps rip better back in the 80s, nowadays amps can make themselves rip without the help of a JB. i have a mild fever so im sorry if i sound stoOpid today
and you know i agree with you cause i hated the stock JB, went through alot of trouble to mod it, eventually traded it, but when i had my last amp it sounded better because of the JB. my new amp, ouch. so it if you have a dark amp, JB will rip goodness throughout it. brighter amp, youll hate it.
now that i think about it, when the JB first came out were there alot of darker amps back then? sporting the lofi vintage capacitors and stuff, would make sense why the JB would start making amps rip better back in the 80s, nowadays amps can make themselves rip without the help of a JB. i have a mild fever so im sorry if i sound stoOpid today
Re: JB vs Custom vs Custom 5
The JB has more high mids and flubby bass and, to me, doesn't sound that great in a lot of guitars. I like it in mahogany a little more.
The C5 has more treble and bass with a little scooped mids and sounds more on the vintage side (like a bit of a suped up '59, but I like the '59 better). It also sounds a little hollow due to the scooped mids in alder. Like the JB, this also sounds better in mahogany, IMO.
The JB has more high mids and flubby bass and, to me, doesn't sound that great in a lot of guitars. I like it in mahogany a little more.
The C5 has more treble and bass with a little scooped mids and sounds more on the vintage side (like a bit of a suped up '59, but I like the '59 better). It also sounds a little hollow due to the scooped mids in alder. Like the JB, this also sounds better in mahogany, IMO.
uOpt
Something Cool
Re: JB vs Custom vs Custom 5
One man's treble is another man's high mids. One man's scream is another man's fizzle. The trouble starts right there.
From a sound engineering standpoint, no magnetic guitar pickups have any kind of highs whatsoever. They are all second degree low pass filters with a resonance peak at no more than semi-high mids and it goes downhill 6db/octave from there.
One man's treble is another man's high mids. One man's scream is another man's fizzle. The trouble starts right there.
From a sound engineering standpoint, no magnetic guitar pickups have any kind of highs whatsoever. They are all second degree low pass filters with a resonance peak at no more than semi-high mids and it goes downhill 6db/octave from there.
surface54
New member
Re: JB vs Custom vs Custom 5
sorry to resurrect this thread but this is a brilliant piece of knowledge. im keeping these quotes!
sorry to resurrect this thread but this is a brilliant piece of knowledge. im keeping these quotes!
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
SFW
Well-known member
Re: JB vs Custom vs Custom 5
IMO, the C5 sounds very bland with basswood guitars. Between the Custom and the JB, it really depends where you want your mids to be. If you are using a 500k volume pot, then you are looking at a lower mids enhanced with the Custom, and upper mids enhanced with the JB. However, put a 1M pot in the volume and slap the JB in and watch out! It's a completely different monster. There is nore longer a mid spike, but a nice smooth transision from highs to lows. This is how I like to run an A5 JB.
IMO, the C5 sounds very bland with basswood guitars. Between the Custom and the JB, it really depends where you want your mids to be. If you are using a 500k volume pot, then you are looking at a lower mids enhanced with the Custom, and upper mids enhanced with the JB. However, put a 1M pot in the volume and slap the JB in and watch out! It's a completely different monster. There is nore longer a mid spike, but a nice smooth transision from highs to lows. This is how I like to run an A5 JB.
ACH91332
New member
Re: JB vs Custom vs Custom 5
The Custom 5 is scooped out as all hell. It will lack body but since you are throwing it in basswood it might work out. I've always thought of basswood like an A2 magnet. It's got a nice high end roll off, nice mids, and the bottom end "usually" is pretty spongy. It's a great wood for getting a cut in the mix because of those growly mids. The C5 could compliment it well. The JB isn't really what I'd call "tight" but its alright. I think it could get a little flubby in basswood. The Custom is like the C5 but it has more mids filled it and sounds fuller.
If you are going to play high gain I'd recommend either the Custom 5 or Custom. The C5 would probably be tighter and brighter. The Custom isn't "dark" but it has more mids than the C5 and more body.
The Custom 5 is scooped out as all hell. It will lack body but since you are throwing it in basswood it might work out. I've always thought of basswood like an A2 magnet. It's got a nice high end roll off, nice mids, and the bottom end "usually" is pretty spongy. It's a great wood for getting a cut in the mix because of those growly mids. The C5 could compliment it well. The JB isn't really what I'd call "tight" but its alright. I think it could get a little flubby in basswood. The Custom is like the C5 but it has more mids filled it and sounds fuller.
If you are going to play high gain I'd recommend either the Custom 5 or Custom. The C5 would probably be tighter and brighter. The Custom isn't "dark" but it has more mids than the C5 and more body.
Re: JB vs Custom vs Custom 5
I'll chime in here. The JB is not the tightest pickup in the world when it comes to bass. Depending on the guitar, your amplifier/settings and the quality of your playing technique, it can actually sound rather muddy and mushy on the bottom end. This, combined with the above tonal description of basswood, is probably why I didn't care for the JB's low-end in my main axe, an Ibanez RG with a basswood body.
Some people hate the JB's brightness/upper-mid spike, but from experience, if you do lead work, said brightness/upper-mid spike is great for cutting through a live mix, even a mix where you're fighting for bandwidth against other mid-heavy instruments (vocals, a Marshall w/ a dimed mid knob, etc).
I put an AlNiCo 8 magnet in my JB, and this tightened up the low end considerably. It lost the upper-mid spike, but the JB8 still has plenty of mids and with a tweak the EQ on my amp, I still fit inside my band's mix just fine.
Edit: And I just noticed this thread is nearly a month old. So...yeah.
I'll chime in here. The JB is not the tightest pickup in the world when it comes to bass. Depending on the guitar, your amplifier/settings and the quality of your playing technique, it can actually sound rather muddy and mushy on the bottom end. This, combined with the above tonal description of basswood, is probably why I didn't care for the JB's low-end in my main axe, an Ibanez RG with a basswood body.
Some people hate the JB's brightness/upper-mid spike, but from experience, if you do lead work, said brightness/upper-mid spike is great for cutting through a live mix, even a mix where you're fighting for bandwidth against other mid-heavy instruments (vocals, a Marshall w/ a dimed mid knob, etc).
I put an AlNiCo 8 magnet in my JB, and this tightened up the low end considerably. It lost the upper-mid spike, but the JB8 still has plenty of mids and with a tweak the EQ on my amp, I still fit inside my band's mix just fine.
Edit: And I just noticed this thread is nearly a month old. So...yeah.
