PATB distortion with jazz neck?

ShredFetus

ShredFetus

New member
Well as spontenaety would have it... I just bought my second Jackson :) Second hand Japanese alder Rhodes V equipped with a licenced floyd trem & rosewood fretboard. Pretty similar to my kelly except the shape of course :6: but it does still come with those horrible stock Jackson pups :blackeye:

I already have a custom in the kelly & want something a little different... but still high output. I am curious to how the distortion would sound but I'm scared of the highs being too peircing... would this be the case??? Would the parallel axis trembucker distortion work better but still have a similar sound to the regular distortion??

Also do you have to pair the p-axis TB's with another p-axis neck or can you use a regular spaced pup like the jazz?

I got the custom in my kelly so I could pull off classic rock to metal tones, but I want this axe to be a full on metal machine :banana: One thing I will mention is that I will need a pup that retains clarity during high distortion and where riffs are a combination of strumming fast 6 string chords and picking individual notes while the chords ring out. It's one of the techniques that go with some black metal styles.

:dance:
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

ShredFetus said:
One thing I will mention is that I will need a pup that retains clarity during high distortion and where riffs are a combination of strumming fast 6 string chords and picking individual notes while the chords ring out. It's one of the techniques that go with some black metal styles.

:dance:
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For that kind of stuff, I do believe that you need to step up to actives. An EMG 60n/81b combo paired with an EXG control would work for that particular style.
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

On the contrary, I think the PATB Distortion is one of the pickups that can get you there without an active circuit. It's great for what you're describing. It is one of their louder pickups, so putting it with a Jazz neck is fine, but will yield an output drop. But that's almost true of any pickup with the PATB Distortion. It's very loud and clear, so even an overwound neck pickup, like a 59B, JazzB, PGB, etc wouldn't make much difference, so you might as well choose the neck pickup for tone, and just deal with the output drop.
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

ShredFetus said:
Well as spontenaety would have it... I just bought my second Jackson :) Second hand Japanese alder Rhodes V equipped with a licenced floyd trem & rosewood fretboard. Pretty similar to my kelly except the shape of course :6: but it does still come with those horrible stock Jackson pups :blackeye:

I already have a custom in the kelly & want something a little different... but still high output. I am curious to how the distortion would sound but I'm scared of the highs being too peircing... would this be the case??? Would the parallel axis trembucker distortion work better but still have a similar sound to the regular distortion??

Also do you have to pair the p-axis TB's with another p-axis neck or can you use a regular spaced pup like the jazz?

One thing I will mention is that I will need a pup that retains clarity during high distortion and where riffs are a combination of strumming fast 6 string chords and picking individual notes while the chords ring out. It's one of the techniques that go with some black metal styles.

:dance:
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:) Congrats on your score bro. Having experience with both these pickups, I can maybe approximate an experience for you if you were to try this combo.

Having the PATB-2 Distortion in my Jackson DKMG for several months, once it's installed in your import RRV, the unique pole pieces will probably line up with the strings mainly, but you'll get one or two strings a little off- this is where Parallel Axis pole pieces come in handy. The main string on my guitar that's off is the low E, but it's straight over two of four the pieces. Of course, your experience may vary but having dealt with low-grade floating trems, I doubt you'll get a perfect lining up of strings on the poles.

The TB-6's high end doesn't seem so out of control how I remember it in the DKMG. I have the TB-6 now in my RR1 with an ebony fretboard and the highs sound very 'normal' on it.

The PATB-2 Distortion works well with rosewood, but since the Distortion is so wide open in it's sound qualities, you may find it too toppy in the V, but you also may find it's overall sound pleasing. Great singing, midrangey cleans and tight, grinding and punchy lows. SCORE!

To me, the PATB-2 is a tighter version of the TB-6 with more musical cleans. I don't wanna say it's better, but... :13:

Now if you have a Jazz in the neck paired with the PATB-2, depending on how you eq things, the Jazz may sound darker than the the PATB-2, maybe even muddy, but the thing about that ole Jazz is it still sounds pretty good. It could just go for a little more openess at the amp controls. Once again, it's all about how you dial in things.

Hope I've helped. :)
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

thanks for the replies!

I was kind of dodging the active EMG's as thier distinct tone just isn't for me. It's hard to explain, but I want to get kind of close to that metal sound, but without crossing the line & losing that duncan warmth/feel.

With the PATB-2, are you saying that even with the trembucker spacing, the poles might still be a little out?? Seeing as each set of split poles are supposed to sit either side of each string does it make a big difference?

As far as highs go I think I just want to get away from the shrillness of these stock pups. Would I really have to worry about it if i put in a TB-6 or am I over-reacting a bit? :smack:

I like the '59n I have in my other jackson, and the way you described the jazz makes me think I should just get another '59 :p
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

ShredFetus said:
thanks for the replies!

I was kind of dodging the active EMG's as thier distinct tone just isn't for me. It's hard to explain, but I want to get kind of close to that metal sound, but without crossing the line & losing that duncan warmth/feel.

With the PATB-2, are you saying that even with the trembucker spacing, the poles might still be a little out?? Seeing as each set of split poles are supposed to sit either side of each string does it make a big difference?

As far as highs go I think I just want to get away from the shrillness of these stock pups. Would I really have to worry about it if i put in a TB-6 or am I over-reacting a bit? :smack:

I like the '59n I have in my other jackson, and the way you described the jazz makes me think I should just get another '59 :p
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The poles can be a little off, but I don't think of this as being too undesirable, it only means it won't be perfect is all. The sound still kicks hard.

I think you're overreacting a bit, after all this isn't a delicate operation. The Jazz is a perfect pickup in the neck period. To me, it just seems it would be best in combination with a similarly eq'd bridge pickup- not that you can't mix it with a pickup that isn't.

I have a Jazz/TB-6 Distortion combo in my RR1 and the similar eq's allow the pickups to both shine through with hardly any conflict. But just remember, match the pickup with the sound of the guitar itself- that probably would kick the most tail.

Did your secondhand RR come stock with Distortion copies?
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

nah thats the thing, I dont know what model/series it is! It's got sharkfin inlays, black scratchplate, dark metallic grey (nearly black) but it came with the stock Jackson pups. I think it's an older one (maybe X series?) from before they started putting the duncan designed pups in :dunno:

*edit* I dont have it with me now, I'll post some pics when I get home from work
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

Benjy_26 said:
For that kind of stuff, I do believe that you need to step up to actives. An EMG 60n/81b combo paired with an EXG control would work for that particular style.
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No way, the Full Shred was made for that type of stuff!
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

Ok I'm draggin this up because I found out a bit more info on my Rhoads... it's a euro X series RR-X with a poplar body. Built pretty much the same as a mid 90's RR-3.

I'm still pretty keen on the PATB2 bridge and jazz neck from the soundclips but I'm not sure if would benefit from a higher output bucker in the neck... say the SH-6n. Any of you have experience with a similar setup?
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

How bout the new Mustain set....might just be the ticket, and I think they sound much better than EMG's.
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

the mustaines do sound a little better than EMGs but not for full on metal, EMGS are still better for metal, and i prefer the EMG 60 over the mustaine jazz. And they don't feel anything like passives they feel very similar to EMGs and don't have as much "tone" as their passive cousins. Overall after owning EMGs for a long time and mustaines for a while i think i like passives better for most things. Although for leads the Mustaine JB can rip
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

ShredFetus said:
I'm still pretty keen on the PATB2 bridge and jazz neck from the soundclips but I'm not sure if would benefit from a higher output bucker in the neck... say the SH-6n. Any of you have experience with a similar setup?
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What is your intention of use for the neck pup? Why do you think a higher output pup would be more beneficial? I had the SH6/PATB2 combo but the pots were too low in value so I took that combo out, sooo.... can't help ya out much there. :D
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

Well I would use the neck for solos but it has to have a decent clean sound too. By listening to the SD tone clips I like the way the highs in the lower output pups dont get as buzzy when they start to break up. If I want an aggressive lead tone I will just use the bridge, but for sustain & 'singing' leads, sweeped arpeggios and fast runs I like the way it sounds with a neck pup.

Having never tried anything higher output than the '59n I thought there might be some advantages I didn't know about... like maybe they have less mush? More definition? I have no idea!
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

I'd still say the Jazz is a good choice for a neck- and I know you're lookin' to use the neck for clean tones, but for a high output bridge pup called 'distortion'- it sure has some EXCELLENT cleans!
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

Cool, thanks, I think it's about time I made up my mind & just pulled the trigger on this haha :banghead:
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

Hey Fetus, I currently have the PATB-2 bridge and Jazz Neck setup in my MIJ Jackson PS-4 guitar. They balance out with each other very well.

As a former user of the SH-6 I can say with confidence that PATB-2 has a thicker and darker tone. It also sounds a bit looser than the SH-6 but you will have no trouble playing thrash metal with the PATB-2. The palm mutes are very nice and the cleans are much more useable than the regular SH-6. The highs might be a tad overbearing though in both Distortion models. They certainly have sizzle. A SH-5 Custom might balance out better with your guitar.

The Jazz in the neck is a very good pickup across the board. Clear and articulate tone. But if you want a more saturated and ultra clear tone for metal then I would suggest going with a Full Shred or SH-6n. The Jazz does a very decent job at such an application but if you want to take it further you might want to look at a more specialised pickup. Since my bridge position takes care of those kind of tones I don't really need such a pickup in the neck anyways.
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

ok well I went & got 'em!

I already have the custom in my other guitar & was lookin for somethin different... so PATB-2 it is! Got the Jazz neck to match.

I'll be installing them on Saturday so I'll let you know how they sound!
 
Re: PATB distortion with jazz neck?

ShredFetus said:
ok well I went & got 'em!

I already have the custom in my other guitar & was lookin for somethin different... so PATB-2 it is! Got the Jazz neck to match.

I'll be installing them on Saturday so I'll let you know how they sound!
Click to expand...

Heheh cool pic!
 
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