JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

RockWithMark

RockWithMark

New member
Hey guys,

I recently started looking into all kinds of other mods you can do with a Seymour Duncan JB.
I already mag swapped this pickup some time ago to an A8, and while I like it a lot, the low-end is still a little bit too flabby for my taste.
This pickup is currently in my Mayones Setius GTM6, which features a mahogany body with flamed maple cap and mahogany/maple neck with rosewood fretboard.
First of all, I already played with the pickup height and such, but I'm still wanting to know any tips and tricks regarding the JB and JB8 in particular in terms of pickup height/polepiece adjustment. I know the JB can be tricky to find ''the sweet spot''.

Second, I keep reading about how either shortening the fillister screws on the bottom strings, or swapping the fillisters for hex screws can improve tightness and clarity, so I'm really wanting to tinker with that as well.
So, my next question is, does anybody have 6 spare fillister screws and 6 spare hex screws lying around that would fit on the JB model? Preferably free, but will pay for shipping (if not too expensive).

Kind regards,

Mark
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

I have hex screws you can have for free but have no idea how much they would cost to mail to ya–PM me your address and I'll check into it, shouldn't be terrible because the screws are very light weight.
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

treyhaislip said:
Have you tried a UOA5 magnet before? I got a spare one I can send with the hex screws if you want. :)
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I've never tried one! I'm interested! What are they like in comparison to an A8 mag? And how does it compare to the stock A5 mag?
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

RockWithMark said:
I've never tried one! I'm interested! What are they like in comparison to an A8 mag? And how does it compare to the stock A5 mag?
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They are supposed to be a more "balanced" A5–little warmer and not as shrill.

I've found adding the hex screws makes the pickup slightly more focused/tight. I got 3 UOA5s from AddictionFX and haven't installed them yet (still working on the body with the JB I was going to use it in) so I am only going by what others have said about them.
 
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Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

treyhaislip said:
They are supposed to be a more "balanced" A5–little warmer and not as shrill.

I've found adding the hex screws makes the pickup slightly more focused/tight. I got 3 UOA5s from AddictionFX and haven't installed them yet (still working on the body with the JB I was going to use it in) so I am only going by what others have said about them.
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That sounds kind of neat! I might give it a try as well, feel free to toss it in! Just PM me with further details regarding shipping. Anyway, thanks man, I appreciate the offer!
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

RockWithMark said:
That sounds kind of neat! I might give it a try as well, feel free to toss it in! Just PM me with further details regarding shipping. Anyway, thanks man, I appreciate the offer!
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Suppose to be a cool magnet to work with!
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

Edgecrusher said:
Length matters more than head type
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I've heard that–haven't messed with the pole lenghts in mine BUT I do know the pickups I replaced pole pieces with the hex screws tightened up a bit. Perhaps the AddicitonFX hex Screws are a tad shorter than the Flat Heads I was replacing?
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

treyhaislip said:
I've heard that–haven't messed with the pole lenghts in mine BUT I do know the pickups I replaced pole pieces with the hex screws tightened up a bit. Perhaps the AddicitonFX hex Screws are a tad shorter than the Flat Heads I was replacing?
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If they are the same as like the full shred or screamin demon hex's then yes they are shorter. Dimarzio uses 2 types of hex's a slightly longer hex screw that is between the normal fillister screw in length and the hex's from a FS. The other type is a short fat grub screw style that barely protrudes out of the base plate.

No idea what afx sells for hex screws, I gave up on them after they couldnt fix an order for normal fillister screws.
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

Edgecrusher said:
If they are the same as like the full shred or screamin demon hex's then yes they are shorter. Dimarzio uses 2 types of hex's a slightly longer hex screw that is between the normal fillister screw in length and the hex's from a FS. The other type is a short fat grub screw style that barely protrudes out of the base plate.

No idea what afx sells for hex screws, I gave up on them after they couldnt fix an order for normal fillister screws.
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I'm thinking these are the same as the Screamin Demon–but that was just from an eyeball test. lol

I think we discussed a similar thing before–no issues from AFX for me. But there are brands/companies I won't support after multiple problems that others never had as well.
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

Hex screws can tighten a bit the lows but for a high dc resistance p-u like the JB you won't have tights lows anyway , they will stay compressed .
If you want tigh lows then favor a lower dc resistance p-u .
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

Sorry to tag on, but what would a double slug, double fillister or Hex/Fillister JB sound like compared to stock?
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

Double fillister would smooth the highs some and lessen the pick attack on the bass strings.

Hex fillister would depend on how long the hex's are. Some are short some are long. If they are the short style that dont protrude below the baseplate it would sound fairly close to a stock JB. If they protrude a fair distance below they would be more like the double fillister.

Double slug would be the tightest and have the most aggressive pick attack but the highs are much less pleasant.
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

fab.regnaut said:
Hex screws can tighten a bit the lows but for a high dc resistance p-u like the JB you won't have tights lows anyway , they will stay compressed .
If you want tigh lows then favor a lower dc resistance p-u .
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Oh boo shee, High DC resistance doenst automatically mean flabby lows at all. The JB itself isnt very tight but thats the nature of the JB's wind not its resistance. Pickups like the BKP Miracle man or Warpig are much tighter than a JB and have higher resistance, 21.5k in the case of the warpig
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

Edgecrusher said:
Oh boo shee, High DC resistance doenst automatically mean flabby lows at all. The JB itself isnt very tight but thats the nature of the JB's wind not its resistance. Pickups like the BKP Miracle man or Warpig are much tighter than a JB and have higher resistance, 21.5k in the case of the warpig
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Yep I fully agree man! In case of the JB, it isn't the tightest pup out there indeed, but it sure as hell does a lot of things good! I'm just wanting to experiment some more with it, to see what more it can do/be.
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

RockWithMark said:
Alright guys! So I've swapped the bottom 3 fillister screws for some hex screws, and I do think it made a little bit of difference, they seem a little bit clearer and little bit more responsive.
I did an A/B test and posted it on Soundcloud! Let me know what you think!

https://soundcloud.com/until-the-aftermath/testriff-polepieces

Also a huge thanks to Trey Haislip for helping me out!
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Nicely done! I liked both A/B tones lol But the second sounded better on the final note you held out IMO

EDIT: And you are most welcome!
 
Re: JB8 Pole Piece Modifications

B lost the sponginess but with it went the character, and it just became flat. Some things are better left alone, sometimes destroy erase improve beats fine tuning. IMHO.
 
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