JB's bright?

[Bill Dennis]

I have not played a JB in a very long time. I built an alder bodied homage to the 5150 Kramer and put a JB in it. I expected it to be pretty bright, especially since it had a 500k pot and no tone control. Turns out its really not. At least not in this one... Time for plan B...

 

[Securb]

Wire it straight to the jack and see what happens if you like it put in a blower switch.

 

[Bill Dennis]

That won't do anything of note. Been there and done that. I may try parallel wiring but not sure that will get me where I want to be.

 

[beaubrummels]

If you want bright but similar output compared to a JB, try a Distortion, or Custom, Full Shred, Screamin' Demon or '78 model. (In order of decreasing output, I believe?)

 

[Bill Dennis]

If you want bright but similar output compared to a JB, try a Distortion, or Custom, Full Shred, Screamin' Demon or '78 model. (In order of decreasing output, I believe?)

Sure there are options but after years of heR how bright it is, Seymour and others recommending 250k pots etc itc was really disappointing to hear how dark it was

 

[Mincer]

A JB has always been too bright for me in every guitar I've tried (and every magnet I've tried in one).

 

[Archer250]

Here's what I found IMO.

The JB was never bright.

It sometimes lack low mids that makes it sound thin, but no it's not bright the same way a PAF is bright at all. There's a lot of loose bass and high mids and little presence.

 

[Mincer]

Thing is, the word 'bright' means different things to everyone. To me, the JB cuts through everything in a bad way (again, to me). It might be the upper mids, but I just define it as bright. I don't find pickups like a 59 or Antiquity to have that kind of cut.

 

[freefrog]

The JB is a high inductance model. With average pots and cables, this high inductance sets its resonant peak in high mids (felt as bright if the resonant peak of the humbucker aligns with a frequential peak in the spectrum of the loudspeaker(s) used).

Parallel wiring should divide its inductance by four, shifting up the resonance in the Filter'Tron territory and lowering the output level of 3dB to 6dB, depending on the frequency considered.

With passive pickups and beside higher resistance pots (which make the resonant peak higher without changing its frequency), a simple way to regain brightness is still to use low capacitance cables (shifting up the frequency of the resonance without changing its height). Or to put a buffer not too far from the output jack of the guitar...

A JB through a Stratoblaster would potentially sound crispy bright, for instance.

FWIW.

 

[playas]

My impression of a JB with an alnico 3 in it was that it just seemed to raise the mid hump a bit to a higher frequency.

I didn´t like it at all in the guitar it was in (a mahogany set neck guitar with 25.5" scale neck), but sounds to me like it might just be what you´re after in that guitar.

At least it´s a cheap mod.

 

[freefrog]

For the record... At equal mass, an A3 has more ferrous content than an A5 and should therefore increase the inductance, setting the resonant peak at a lower frequency.

But as it's a lot weaker magnetically, it gives less bass.

To lower the inductance (and therefore rise the prominent frequency) of a JB by swapping its magnet, the only way would be to put a ceramic bar in it... then to pull off the keeper bar - whose absence would "air" the pickup and tame a bit possibly overwhelming frequencies if the ferrite mag is strongly charged.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I highly disagree with the JB being bright. I don't get it, TBH.

I completly agree with Mincer about bright meaning different things for everyone, though. But I'm just speaking from my own perception/experience.

But any of Duncan's vintage-style windings are way brighter than the JB for me. Not to say they're bad or that I dislike them, but I actually find the JB somewhat dark by comparison.

I also don't find the JB thin. Yes, the low-end is not deep, but I've always somewhat struggled controlling the JB's lower mids. They can be kinda stuffy at times. I guess that's what people interpret as it being loose. But I don't personally find it loose (I personally find the Custom family way more boomy). Just kinda stuffy at times with some amps and some boosts like a TS808. Easily remedied, though, by going for a tighter boost like an SD-1.

Everyone has their experience and their perception. But I actually find the JB to be way darker and fatter than what many people give it credit for. I know there's been some statements being made about the JB being sort of a Tele-ish sounding humbucker. I personally find that statement ridiculous.

JMO, of course.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Just for clarification, though, I think "dark" is not the right word for a JB, like I said. Because it does have some nice cutting high mids. "Smooth" might be better But I always find any of the Duncan lower output winds much spanker/sizzlier. Even the A2 ones.

Keep in mind, my perspective comes from doing high-gain chuggz. I don't do crunch. And TBH, I hate bridge pickup cleans.

 

[beaubrummels]

IME the current production JB lacks top end compared to other pickups. It has a thick mid to upper mid punch to it, great rock pickup, but not the most versatile I've ever used.

 

[Mincer]

It is very interesting how differently we all hear. I guess it is good we have choices!

 

[Chistopher]

Here's what I found IMO.

The JB was never bright.

It sometimes lack low mids that makes it sound thin, but no it's not bright the same way a PAF is bright at all. There's a lot of loose bass and high mids and little presence.

What does presence mean in this context? That's one of those tone words that I've never been able to figure out excepting when it's referred to as a high mid / low treble filter that exists post preamp

 

[Rex_Rocker]

What does presence mean in this context? That's one of those tone words that I've never been able to figure out excepting when it's referred to as a high mid / low treble filter that exists post preamp

Depends on the amp too, but in the amps that I like, the presence is usually the upper-most sizzly treble (5150 and Rectifier).

So yeah, for me, a JB is not presence-y at all.

I do know the presence knob opperates at a lower frequency than the treble knob on a JCM800, though... like... why? LOL.

But if you think about it, the JCM800 does have a JB-ish bottom-end in the sense that it's not super deep, resonant, or really low in the spectrum. A JCM800 does get sizzly, though. And a JB kinda doesn't.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

A fair percentage of the JB's personality lies in its upper-mid peak.
That makes it notoriously sensitive to whatever particular guitar it's in.

I agree: while the JB generally stands nicely in a mix, I don't consider it a bright pickup either.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

You might consider the Full Shred. That's a pretty bright pickup.
Or the Distortion Neck model. It's good used at the bridge in a warm guitar.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

You might consider the Full Shred. That's a pretty bright pickup.
Or the Distortion Neck model. It's good used at the bridge in a warm guitar.

As far as mid-hot/hot bridge pickups, yeah.

But I still think a '59B or a even Demon are brighter than a Full Shred (bridge).

I personally love the '59B if I really want a bright PAF-type. It's really nice, cutting, spanky and almost twangy, but it's not scratchy like a Burstbucker Pro (I also really like the BBPro, though). It's also got a decently strong output without compromising the dynamics or the open PAF-ish EQ curve.