okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

T

trifixion

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this is a call to all Hair metal & 80s shredder experts :)

I've done searches on this forum for posts about the JB and a good number of people state that the JB sounds like their granny fartin through a filthy windsock.......except when installed in a MAPLE body! the JB sounds very wicked and badass in maple? :33:

okay I'm sold! :headbang: BUT.....why is this so? does the maple give it more focus and tighten up the lowend, or ???? what about the highs? icepicky or no? what about that JB mid bump?

I have a Floyd-armed bolt-on super Strat that has a maple neck & fretboard and a solid maple body, and I'm looking for a pair of SD humbuckers to put in there. this will be for 80s hair metal and shredding.

so, a JB trembucker in bridge
what about the neck? something good for cleans....in the neck of an all-maple guitar? Jazz or 59 perhaps?

thanks
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

Not many guitars are made of solid maple.

People have told me that the trembuckers are warmer sounding than the non trembucker versions, so why pick a JB trembucker if you want that upper-mid spike of a JB?
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

The JB is a finicky beast. Its not only good in maple but many report that it completely excels in this body wood. It'd be perfect for your axe. As for a neck pickup with great cleans you couldn't go wrong with either of the pickups you mentioned but I'd check out an Alnico II pro. Those pickups have great cleans.

But do you ever shred on the neck? A JB there would absolutely kill but then your clean tone is out the window. If you need high power and good cleans then a screaming demon is a good choice. A Dimarzio Air Norton would also be great for neck shredding but the cleans are more jazzy than sparkly
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

supernosher said:
Not many guitars are made of solid maple.

People have told me that the trembuckers are warmer sounding than the non trembucker versions, so why pick a JB trembucker if you want that upper-mid spike of a JB?
Click to expand...

I don't think trembuckers are different in tone, its just a different spacing. A regular JB probably would not match up with a Floyded guitar's strings.
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

Rowan said:
I don't think trembuckers are different in tone, its just a different spacing. A regular JB probably would not match up with a Floyded guitar's strings.
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Ahhh... hmmm now I don't know what to think.......... I'm not about to order a TremJB and install it and the JB to find out for myself!
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

trifixion said:
okay I'm sold! :headbang: BUT.....why is this so? does the maple give it more focus and tighten up the lowend, or ???? what about the highs? icepicky or no? what about that JB mid bump?
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Maple does all of this to the JB. BTW, I have only used a JB with Maple body, maple neck, rosewood board. I am not sure if a maple board will be good or not? Might not make much difference?



Yes, the JB's biggest problem is a low end that is looser than a 55 year old retired NYC hooker. Maple tightens it up and makes it much more focused.
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

Rowan said:
I don't think trembuckers are different in tone, its just a different spacing. A regular JB probably would not match up with a Floyded guitar's strings.
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That is right, it is just a different spacing, that is all. No difference in tone.
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

theodie said:
Maple does all of this to the JB. BTW, I have only used a JB with Maple body, maple neck, rosewood board. I am not sure if a maple board will be good or not? Might not make much difference?



Yes, the JB's biggest problem is a low end that is looser than a 55 year old retired NYC hooker. Maple tightens it up and makes it much more focused.
Click to expand...

I put hex screws under the E,A,D strings and that helped tighten the low end.
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

Jay 77 said:
I put hex screws under the E,A,D strings and that helped tighten the low end.
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I put in an A2 magnet to remove the offending frequencies and it works great in a mahogany Strat. I also agree that the hex screws are a great method for a more direct approach (i.e., not changing the EQ curve as much as a different magnet).

bottom line is that the JB is very adaptable platform that can work well in all different kinds of body woods with a few minor adjustments - it's a good pickup to have around, even if you don't keep it in the maple guitar.

as far as neck pups, the '59 would be a good choice for cleans. make sure it has the short-leg baseplate - most 59s come with the longer mounting tabs that don't fit a lot of superstrats.
 
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Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

you know, guy who invented fire suggestedthe JB for my acrylic one time...i wonder if he WAS onto something...??? but as said before what about the mids and highs? would those just be icepicks in his guitar? or would the tightness of maple sort of dampen those highs?
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

Maple is not as bright as the internet forums make it out to be. It can actually be a very nice sounding wood. It's all in the cut.

The JB is perfectly at home in maple. There's a reason why Kramer Baretta's (a good bunch were maple) in the 80's came with the JB. Because they sounded awesome with it.

If it's too bright for you, put in a 250k volume pot to tame the highs down. I bet you won't have to though.
 
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Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

ErikH said:
Maple is not as bright as the internet forums make it out to be. It can actually be a very nice and sounding wood. It's all in the cut.

The JB is perfectly at home in maple. There's a reason why Kramer Baretta's (a good bunch were maple) in the 80's came with the JB. Because they sounded awesome with it.

If it's too bright for you, put in a 250k volume pot to tame the highs down. I bet you won't have to though.
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I have a kramer baretta '85 reissue and it has a solid maple body. I seriously thought about getting a JB for it, but i thought (like many others) that is would be too bright and would clash with the maple body. But another thing is that I like my humbuckers to have A2 magnets in them.......so I finally decided on a custom custom for my baretta. :D
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

I had a Custom Custom in my Baretta at one point too. It didn't sound near as good as the JB in that guitar. The Custom Custom sounds 10 times better in an alder body Strat with a maple neck (maple or rosewood fingerboard).
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

theodie said:
Yes, the JB's biggest problem is a low end that is looser than a 55 year old retired NYC hooker.
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That is more a product of the JB interacting with a given amp/speaker combo. I'll tell you the JB in my ESP is not loose at all run through my Crate 5V with an Eminence Ragin' Cajun, nor with my Vox. I don't like the sound of the JB in any guitar I have played yet through a good number of Fender amps.
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

veryhungrycaterpilla said:
That is more a product of the JB interacting with a given amp/speaker combo. I'll tell you the JB in my ESP is not loose at all run through my Crate 5V with an Eminence Ragin' Cajun, nor with my Vox. I don't like the sound of the JB in any guitar I have played yet through a good number of Fender amps.
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This is true. The JB has some extra low bass, and this can make the bass less clear unless it's trimmed down. That's why a JB into a Marshall or Vox works nicely -- because they both have their low bass cut down a bit in the preamp section before the signal is distorted. Fenders don't have this -- they have full low bass, which makes them sound deep and clean at the same time, but with a JB they normally won't sound quite as good.

Part of the reason why people like SD-1's and TS-808's as overdrives with the JB is because both of those pedals also cut down the low bass before overdriving the signal. It's the exact same mechanism as what happens in the preamp section of a Marshall or a Vox.

Maple bodies also do something similar, which is shave off that lowest bass that can make a JB sound overly spongy or unclear on the deep low-end. They also shave off the highest treble, I believe, which leaves the frequencies that people find to sound the best, which are at neither extreme. With a JB, this brings out its tighter and warm-but-still-glassy side.

So all of these different things can "fix" a JB -- the right amp, the right overdrive pedal going into an amp, or maple (the all-natural solution). But those aren't the only ways by a long shot.

It's pretty easy to cut down that bass right at the pickup level directly, though, with Artie's de-mud mod. It was made to do exactly that: cut down low bass to improve clarity and balance. The trick is to get the values exactly right. For the JB, I've found values for the capacitor and resistor (0.01uF and 100k, respectively) that make me happy with it. It's not super tight, but around the same as any moderate output pickup, so it's not loose either.
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

ErikH said:
Maple is not as bright as the internet forums make it out to be. It can actually be a very nice and sounding wood. It's all in the cut.
Click to expand...

lots of semi-hollows made from maple don't sound bright to me :)
 
Re: okay why JB sounds superior in MAPLE?

Christopher Caruana said:
I have a kramer baretta '85 reissue and it has a solid maple body. I seriously thought about getting a JB for it, but i thought (like many others) that is would be too bright and would clash with the maple body. But another thing is that I like my humbuckers to have A2 magnets in them.......so I finally decided on a custom custom for my baretta. :D
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You know every time you talk about your Kramer I just wonder why are you not putting a JB in it. It aint gonna clash. It is gonna rock in it. Dont be afraid of tones too bright. If Ihad a baretta I would surely move the JB to it... But ofcourse each man has his own taste.. the CC too will rock in that guitar..but I say give the JB a shot in that.
 
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