Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

[efishta]

I've had the Peavey Triple XXX 212 combo for about a year and about that same time I switched the bridge pickup for my Dean Evo Phantom (or Noir) guitar to a JB. In general I do not like the tone and have finally made up my mind to switch it out and in this occasion replace the stock neck pickup as well.

After reading several threads here about JB's replacement, I found one particular thread where the poster complained that the high end of the JB was buzzy at high gain, and the mids spike was unpleasant, and he did not like the bass either. These are essentially my same complaints, and although the guitar is a Mahogany body (Les Paul type) this particular combination just doesn't sound pleasant to my ears for the reasons above.

OK so after reading through this particular thread that I mentioned above, the main recommendation that fit what I'm looking for is the PATB-1 (or maybe 2?) pickup. It's got a less harsh, piercing high end, non-spiky mids and a tight bass. (to use Jeff H's words)... but I have a standard spaced guitar in that trembuckers would not match the strings (it's got a Tune-O-Matic bridge) so I don't think the PATB would be a good match, but tonally it sounds like it would be.

Anything that would work in my guitar that would be like it tonally? I'd like to stay in the passive, Seymour Duncan pickups category... I know a few people also mentioned the Air Zone , the Tone Zone and the Rio Grande BBQ Bucker, but I'm not sure about the price and how well they would match with a neck SD pickup.

PS. I considered the SD Custom but people talked about it's high end being harsh, and that's precisely one aspect I dislike about the JB in my setup.

 

[SonofaMitch]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

try a DMZ Super Distortion....or just a Duncan Distortion..both sound GREAT in LP type Mahogany Bodies

~Mitch~

 

[Mephis]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

I think you can get a Parallel axes in standard spacing as a shop floor custom for the same price.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

250K pots are the secret to getting smoother tone from the JB and how Seymour uses the JB in his Tele.

The Duncan Custom does not sound much like a JB...they are very differant sounding pickups and the high end of the Custom is not harsh at all...not to my ears. It has plenty of bass and mids and those mids keep the overall balance and tone from being to bright, IMO.

Neither is the high end of the JB though. It's those upper upper mids that hurt my ears.

The JB is one of those pickups that I like alot after time away from it but that I get tired of again after awhile.

It's Seymour's favorite bridge humbucker...but he uses it with 250K pots. Not 500K...although 500K is the correct value to use for most paf size humbuckers.

Before removing the JB, try a 250 tone pot and perhaps volume pot for that pickup...although if your neck pickup sounds fine to you, its tone will change and become warmer if you use it with 250K pots and you are currently using 500K.

Change to a .022 tone capacitor too...when you turn down the tone control you'll leave more mids in the signal and it'll sound less "woofy".


Lew

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

I had a PATB3 in my LP for a while and it lined up fine.

 

[efishta]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

I did not know about the custom shop but I think I will get in touch with them about pricing a parallel axis PU with standard spacing.

I'm torn between trying a a 250k tone pot or replacing the pickup, because the dallas guitar festival's coming up and my guitar repair guy is usually backed up around this time and I don't wanna have to go back again and again. For the sake of simplicity, I'm thinking of changing the tone pot to 250k and getting a new neck pickup as well to replace the standard one in one swoop and giving the JB a try again.

Would you guys recommend the '59 or Jazz pickup for neck to complement the JB? I play mostly Metal, so it would be mainly used for leads.

 

[ranalli]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

I'm not a huge fan of the JB with the XXX. It is in fact a bright pickup and I always felt that darker pickups in general do better with that amp.

I loved the Super Distortion and SUper 3 with the XXX....still plenty of top end but much meatier and thicker sounding.

 

[Kac]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

59 comes to mind as a pickup you may want to try. but try the JB with a 250 pot like Lew said.
Rock On ~ Kac

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

I'm not a huge fan of the JB with the XXX. It is in fact a bright pickup and I always felt that darker pickups in general do better with that amp.

I loved the Super Distortion and SUper 3 with the XXX....still plenty of top end but much meatier and thicker sounding.

You nailed it on the head, that amp just loves low-mid heavy pups (Tone Zone, Custom, PATBs, etc.). The guitar is fine, but the amp has a lot of upper mid bite and high end with a very deep low end. The JB into that amp isn't a great match.

 

[Danglin' Fury]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

I have a mahogany EVO and just dropped a Dimarzio Tone Zone in it. OOOO MMMMM FFFFF GGGGG!!!! Huge friggin' tone under high gain and cleans up real nice too!:smokin:

 

[34029324079]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

alot of pros like foo fighters and tool use the jb into a dual recto

so your combo is not so far off, try the 250k before you throw that jb back into the sea of pups

 

[aloha]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

I don't mean to be a PITA...

But, a 250 pot only costs a couple of dollars while a PATB costs almost 100dollars...

I changed my pot value and ended with a much bigger difference than I would've expected. I actually felt that my JB became too dark. Then I changed my crappy old saddles and everything became happy again.

The trip was invaluable. I learned so much about my guitar. Try the pot, then the pickup. You'll feel the same way.

I'd also like to add that the Jazz works really nicely with the JB. I can totally see why SD likes that combination. The two mixed are great for a thin clean sound to work with...

Z

 

[ex-250]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

i play a mahogany guitar into a peavey 212 combo, and i have a JB in the bridge, and i love it. ive been using 300k pots from the get-go though, you should give that a try (or a 250k). im also running EL34s in the XXX as opposed to the stock 6L6s, but the JB sounded great when i had those in there too. id recommend trying a 300k or 250k volume pot before you buy a new pickup.

 

[efishta]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

I was leaning towards the new pickup again but the last few comments have pursuaded me to at least give a 250k pot a try. A quick question before I venture outside tomorrow after school to find a replacement pot... Is the pot for sale at say, the local Guitar Center, or should I look into an electronics store, such as Radio Shack or Fry's Electronics. My guess would be Guitar Center has them, since they're probably made for audio applications, but then again I could be wrong.

@ex-250 - I have also changed the power tubes to JJ EL34s the first month after I got the amp, and I definitely noticed a difference. Not as harsh, and I also replaced one or two of the preamp tubes to lower gain ones, and the amp still has way too much gain when turned up past 1 or 2 o'clock, hehe but then again I did buy it for Metal!

If I don't find it a good fit after the pot change, I think I'm going to try the Tone Zone by DiMarzio, as several people have recommended it here and in other threads. Or maybe the Air Zone, but that's for later to decide.

 

[ex-250]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

you should be able to get em at GC as far as i know. im sure radio shack has em too.

my EL34s are JJ too. it sounds great with em, like you said not as harsh as it was stock.

 

[stangme01]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

yeah that was my thread and i have totally changed my mind about the custom!
I've used all the pickups i listed that i didn't like in that thread AGAIN and still don't like them but man you HAVE to get a custom!

And i agree 100% with lew. After being away from a JB for a while i can get into that pickup but i get really really tired of it quickly.

Honestly don't think about it any more get a custom man, you will hear a much clearer, no buzz, tighter, less harsh sound. And alot more low midrange and chunk for metal. The JB doesn't chunk up like hte custom for metal. The low end is so controlled where the JB low end just keeps going even when you palm mute which drives me insane.

And as for neck pickup jazz neck model is a great neck pickup, but the jazz BRIDGE model is much better when used in the neck!

 

[efishta]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

I replaced the tone pot with a 250K one, but I kept the capacitor at .047 (whatever the unit of measure is) and I cranked it up a bit today (I live in apt buildings, so you have to be mindful of the neighbours) and I noticed a huge difference. Metal riffs that sounded buzzy and harsh sound heavier, thicker and scooped EQ amp settings are miles ahead of what they were.

I still have to replace my stock neck pickup, so now I'm still torn between the 59, Jazz Bridge or Jazz Neck (stangme01, what makes the Jazz Bridge model so good for neck position?)

I have to say that the tone pot change has me craving for an even better tone now that I relize what a change the pickup can make to the sound (I used to think the amp was at fault), and I'm really considering the Custom again...

I do want to thank you guys for pushing me to try the tone pot change, as that's what I'm going to keep for a while till I can afford the pickup change... although I'm going to hang on to my JB and the 250K pot after the swap in case I decide to try it again. If I were to get a Custom, I should go back to a 500K tone pot though, right? What if I keep the JB but get a Jazz or 59 for neck, how would the 250K tone pot affect the neck pickup? Aren't those designed for 500K pots?

 

[ex-250]

Re: Need help replacing JB for Mahogany guitar & Peavey XXX

if you get a custom, then yes go back to 500k.

i have no idea otherwise though. my tone pot is still 500k. its my volume pot for the JB thats lower.