JB with an A2 magnet

MarkinKC

MarkinKC

New member
First post, tons of great info here....

I bought a Charvel San Dimas and when I got, it sounded like absolute ass. Weird, unpleasant high frequency tone.

Anyway, I went to work on it, figuring it was a crappy floyd or the pickups. It came with a JB in the bridge. My american strat w/ floyd had a 59 in the bridge and sounds good. I put a 59 in the Charvel, crap. Put a EVH frankenstein, crap.

Did the big block 37mm brass upgrade and the tremlo stop. Helped immensely. After reading the hybrid section on here, I took several pickups apart and started messing with magnets. I put a A2 in the JB, and whammo! Charvel sounds kick ass. Cleans up real well.

Did I just make a custom custom?
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

No, you made a JB2.

Custom Custom is 14.4K of 43AWG with an A2 magnet. JB2 is 16.4K of 44AWG with an A2 magnet. Same magnet, different pickup. Just like a '59 isn't a JB, despite them both being A5.

A number of longtime JB users now have Custom Shop A2 versions of their pickup. Warren DeMartini and George Lynch in particular. Jake E Lee is rumored to use an A2 JB as well. Then there's Allan Holdsworth with his all-screw A2 JBs, and also the custom shop Bug-Sey. Seems like a popular design to have so many variations...
 
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Re: JB with an A2 magnet

welcome to the forum!

no, you didnt. the sh11 custom custom is a different pup, same as the sh5 custom and sh14 custom 5 but with a different magnet. a2 for the cc, ceramic for the custom, a5 for the c5.

the jb with the a2 magnet is a great pup but there isnt anything in the duncan production line with that wind and magnet. there are some custom shop pups that are similar though
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

Yep, it rules, just wish it was louder. The JB UOA5 is similar, big mids, but keeps a smidge more of the JB rasp, and is both louder and tighter, just in case you (like I did) decide it needs to be louder.
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

I really liked the A2 in my hybrid, but the A8 quakes my bones and is more even across the EQ spectrum.
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

I do not turn the gain up very much. I try to use just enough. Hate it when things get to dirty and lose definition. Modern amps have way too much gain me thinks.
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

Put some Mullard re-issues in the preamp and you've got a less gainy, more toney amp. I'm gonna be doing that with my Crate VC60 at some point.
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

King IzzO))) said:
Yep, it rules, just wish it was louder. The JB UOA5 is similar, big mids, but keeps a smidge more of the JB rasp, and is both louder and tighter, just in case you (like I did) decide it needs to be louder.
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This is what I'm thikning of doing to my JB. I want to sweeten it out a little more than it already is. Take a little bit of top off and bump the mids up a touch. Great pickup stock, but I can't help but tinker.
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

Getting off topic here, but since tubes were brought up...

Take the 12AX7 out of the V1 position in your amp and replace it with a 12AU7 or a 12AT7 to reduce the gain significantly. Might make you more happy with your "modern amp".
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

GuitarDoc said:
Getting off topic here, but since tubes were brought up...

Take the 12AX7 out of the V1 position in your amp and replace it with a 12AU7 or a 12AT7 to reduce the gain significantly. Might make you more happy with your "modern amp".
Click to expand...

Only the V1? I need to replace tubes. Scared to death of doing the power tubes since a re-bias is required and high voltage aint my thing. Re-bias'ing the JVM is a little hairy and the only amp guy I know in KC takes like 6 weeks to do anything.

If I do a 12AU7 or 12AT7, what brand? I usually buy tubes at eurotubes, but open to suggestions.

What is a UOA5 magnet?
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

UOA5 = unoriented A5. This mag gives you a little more mids the the polished A5 and smoothes out the top end a bit. This is one of my favorite mags, really nice tone compared to the scooped and sometimes harsh sound of an A5.

As far as brand of tubes goes, I'm not experienced enough with tubes to really know the difference between brands, but the type of tube you use certainly has obvious differences. Here is a good reference for amount of gain in a given tube type:

http://thetubestore.com/gainfactor.html
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

i find the A8 mag will decrease all the natural valleys in the spectrum, like a multiband compressor bringing up all those quite freqz and in alot of ways creating extra air and losing punch. the A2 seems to increase the valleys leaving a even more cut out suttle tone, sounding better in alot of ways. its like whatever loudness effect was already with the A5 gets reduced one more ratio step. looser and clearer.
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

MarkinKC said:
Only the V1? I need to replace tubes. Scared to death of doing the power tubes since a re-bias is required and high voltage aint my thing. Re-bias'ing the JVM is a little hairy and the only amp guy I know in KC takes like 6 weeks to do anything.

If I do a 12AU7 or 12AT7, what brand? I usually buy tubes at eurotubes, but open to suggestions.

What is a UOA5 magnet?
Click to expand...

Hey you're a KC guy? That's my home town. Do you know the guys at Midwest Music in the bottoms? They're dang good and fast usually.
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

surface54 said:
i find the A8 mag will decrease all the natural valleys in the spectrum, like a multiband compressor bringing up all those quite freqz and in alot of ways creating extra air and losing punch. the A2 seems to increase the valleys leaving a even more cut out suttle tone, sounding better in alot of ways. its like whatever loudness effect was already with the A5 gets reduced one more ratio step. looser and clearer.
Click to expand...

I personally don't like dramatic peaks and valleys in the EQ, because this inevitably make certain parts of the neck peaky or wimpy and you end up favoring certain "boxes" or areas of the neck. I like to be able to use the whole neck and get the most out of each part.
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

I like massive mids, actually, if the JB2 was tighter and louder it would be my perfect pickup, the El Diablo is really close.
 
Re: JB with an A2 magnet

IanBallard said:
I personally don't like dramatic peaks and valleys in the EQ, because this inevitably make certain parts of the neck peaky or wimpy and you end up favoring certain "boxes" or areas of the neck. I like to be able to use the whole neck and get the most out of each part.
Click to expand...

thats a great argument. my only problem with A8s to me is the low end, it comes up fairly big and i wouldnt say muddy but its not clear as a stock A5.
the rest is thicker and i favor that, like what you said peaky or wimpy.
 
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