JB vs PAF Pro +JazzN with splitter vs single coil ?

[ubertwerp]

Guys I have been away for a bit ,thought I would come back and ask some advice .

I currently play an Ibanez RG with a PAF Pro in the bridge and what was an Air Norton in the neck -wired in parallel -(recently sold after many requests from a friend)-I run the guitar through a bad monkey into a podxt into a small amp .

My goals are two fold :

1)for the bridge -80's Rock riffage
Good sustain ,harmonics and especially clarity on the bass strings for the bridge -looking for Michael Schenker ,Rhoads and Van Halen type tones here -but no mud-The closest I have ever found to this is the PAF pro-however ,I had a Duncan JB loaned to me to try out

2)for the neck blues ,neo-classical and some "acousticesque" tones
a single coil type sound to play both blues in the vein of Stevie Ray Vaughn and classical in the vein of Yngwie -I did have the air norton running in parallel ,but it is gone now -It was the closest I have gotten to this ideal in a humbucker -most buckers have too much bass for me
I have experimented with coil tap by running the PAF pro in the neck and also tried mounting a fender single coil taken from a squier strat run by itself.

The problem

-I love the clarity and definition of the PAF pro in the bridge ,but the JB is cool as hell ,with it's aggressiveness chugging rhythm and 80's vibe .
However harmonics come out "weird "-it seems as if the PAF pro feels more "right" whereas in certain positions where I get harmonics form the PAF pro ,I get "artifacts" from the JB -if that makes sense - It only seems to happen when I use the bad monkey (awesome pedal by the way) -so I suspect that I am running to much midrange,even though I am using it as a clean boost .

Options:

1)keep the jb in the bridge go get a duncan jazz for the neck -hope for the best-by coil tapping for strat sounds ,and try to dial in the JB to produce more controllable harmonics
2)keep the paf pro in the bridge -get a higher quality single coil for the neck .
3)stick with the paf pro in the neck and switch to maybe a screamin demon
for a little less mids in the bridge
4)stick with the paf pro in the bridge -try to get a humbucker form hell for the neck
5)try some other combination or suggestion

When I was using a one pickup only setup -the virtual paf was awesome
(loved it in the bridge as good clean and distorted but not so much in the neck)

Any suggestions would be appreciated

Thanks

ubertwerp

 

[ubertwerp]

Re: JB vs PAF Pro +JazzN with splitter vs single coil ?

by the way ,just so you know ,I DID try the JB in the neck -lol.
What's funny is ,its NOT BAD !

I expected it to be terrible ,but it's really not that bad ,when split
it's good even -go figure... I must be an oddball..

 

[ubertwerp]

Re: JB vs PAF Pro +JazzN with splitter vs single coil ?

Well,I didn't hear from anybody so I went ahead and pushed forward on my own..Maybe someone can benefit from my experiments..

I did extensive testing including clean,overdrive ,split coil
bass string clarity ,eq settings etc,as well as angling the pickups,turning them around and especially the height from the strings .

The verdict ?

I have JUMPED SHIP!!
"Dimarzio man" now becomes "seymour duncan" man...
I never thought it would happen,but it had to happen after the A/b testing..

I have been a staunch dimarzio user for a long time ,but after extensive
A/B'ing I began to like the duncans more and more ..
Don't get me wrong ,I still like Dimarzio,but the difference between
the two can be summed up in one word
... QUALITY..
The dimarzios are very good ,especially compared to stock pickups and they are also very articulate -at least the paf pro-which I think is the primo Dimarzio of all times ..

However comparing one versus the other -the best way I can describe it is...
-Seymour Duncans =tube amplifier
-Dimarzio =very good solid state amplifier

Dimarzios do excel in some areas duncans don't,but my top list of rock guitar tones -
1)wolf hoffman-accept -balls to the wall -best rock sound of all times IMO
-several pickups including duncans?
2)george lynch -dokken -kiss of death -dd/demon
3)blues saraceno -anything really -saraceno model
4)stryper -to hell with the devil -patb
5)michael schenker -ufo -doctor doctor -duncan custom?
6)Van Halen 1-78 custom?
7)satriani-surfing with the alien -JB?
8)megadeth -marty friedman-all-JB
9)demartini ratt -all-JB?
10)jake e lee -ozzy/badlands-JB?

I can even tell the difference on youtube-duncans sound more "live"
and powerful especially on rhythms..

I am now using the classic combo recommended by seymour himself ..
JB bridge /Jazz neck -with coil tap -I'm loving it through all settings

-Peace all for the new year
-may all your GASes be answered this xmas,

_Ube