question about old JBs vs newer ones...

B

boze

New member
Hi guys/gals.

I've owned duncan pups for over 15 yrs but this is my 1st post here, so please bear with me if this topic has been talked about before.

My first ?? is simply this, is there a difference in older JB pups, say 15 to 18 yrs ago, to newer ones from the past 5 yrs?

Reason for my asking is that i have a JB in my custom Tele that's about 15 yrs old and it sounds warmer to me even today than a newer one I put into a more recent gtr.

Also, what does "JB" stand for?

Thanks in advance for any onfo.

Boze.
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

There is no difference between the old and the new JB other than age. Age does make a difference.

Jazzy Bluesy
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

Robert S. said:
There is no difference between the old and the new JB other than age. Age does make a difference.

Jazzy Bluesy
Click to expand...


Yep. I have an old 80's JB that is Definitely one of the warmest I've heard.
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

Actually, a good follow up to that would be: Did SD switch over from using alnico on earlier versions of pickups that today use ceramic? ...i.e., Duncan Custom or Distortion, etc....
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

..Boston Joe actually hit it on the head. For some reason, I felt that maybe materials used might be the reason for the difference I was hearing. I have no data on the materials used on the older JBs compared to latter versions, but as SD got bigger & bigger with more & more pup options, like many american companies I just thought that cost came into play and SD started using lesser qlty materials and thats the main reason why I was A/Bing my older JB against a newer one.

The strength of the magnets also came to mind, since they get weaker over time, but I heard something more than just a difference of volume or output. And even when the older JB was NEW, I remember it sounding better than the more current JB.

Boze.
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

I totally discount the magnet weakening, but I do consider the, rather SD's source of the mags currently used. Not that I have a reason to suspect but mags from different manufactures vary enough to almost call ones a2 an a3 compared to another manufactures a2. I have wondered about the coating of the wire comparing certain DMZ and SD's old and new. This web site

http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/~dgb/ or http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/~dgb/index_e.htm

!!!!!!!!!SEE HUMBUCKERS CALCULATED TURNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

comes as close to revealing the secret sauce and is a must for me to buy the next pickup although it doesn't say what the coatings on the wire are you can almost see the differences. Ask more questions and you'll get more links.
 
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Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

I was always wondering if pups have a break in time (is this called this way???) like cymbals, strings tubes, speakers etc....
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

no, pups dont have a break in time like strings or need a working temperature like tubes. it's just wire and a magnet underneath, nothing else. the magic comes from the type of wire and how many windigs it has

i'd go with magnet consistency. maybe there is a diference in materials used in the old ones VS the new magnets thus making the sound diferent.

have you considered swapping the magnets from the old JB into the new one? so you could really tell the diference
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

i thought the wire get older, and the copper is working until it got a final stable structur or something... there are guys who say speaker cables etc need a break in time...though there is running much more current...
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

coper has so and so many protons and neutrons etc etc, they NEVER change their structure .. if they'd do that the wires would be changing structure by themself and you'd have ... golden wire ..
but if it's exposed to lots of humidity changes, it *could* oxidate a bit i guess. there can be lots of factors involved
the major one being changes made in the quality of the components used in the magnets

cables dont need a break in time.. who told you that? besides all that fuss about guitar cable quality this and that is bull anyway.
IT... IS... JUST... COPPER damnit. it's not like a string that needs to be brought up to a certain tension.. or like valves to heat up.. it's freakin digital... it works or it doesnt.. there is no maybe or slighty.. it's just a 1 or a 0 .. open, closed GEEZ >.<


maybe i should switch to decaf =P
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

I know that computer CPUs have a break-in time for optimum performance. You'd think they wouldn't but I remember reading somewhere that they do.
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

Evan answered this question a while back...I forget what he said!

But I think he said there was no diff whatsoever between a 1980 JB and a 1994 JB.

I don't hear much diff between new ones and old ones: I have one that's over 20 years old but I keep it because it's double cream and looks cool...not because I think it sounds better than new ones.

Lew
 
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Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

Okay then, ..what about my 2nd ?. What does "JB" stand for. At the very begining, I heard that SD named it after Jeff Beck cause it was such an "honest-sounding" pup, but then I remember Beck was getting single-coils frm SD, not humbuckers.

Boze.
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

in my opinion, this theory explains why an older JB would sound better (new) than a newer one:

Products these days are made with cheaper materials that are most cost effective. But in the 80's and before that, most products were made to better quality standards and better materials were used. This applies to everything. My TV from the 80's is only just starting to stretch the image, while my TV from 91 has been stretching for quite some time. People just haven't been able to manufacture things to the same standard as in the good old days.
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

Metalman_666 said:
in my opinion, this theory explains why an older JB would sound better (new) than a newer one:

Products these days are made with cheaper materials that are most cost effective. But in the 80's and before that, most products were made to better quality standards and better materials were used. This applies to everything. My TV from the 80's is only just starting to stretch the image, while my TV from 91 has been stretching for quite some time. People just haven't been able to manufacture things to the same standard as in the good old days.
Click to expand...


Some real truth to that--ever notice how long those old tube driven T.V.s last?

As for the pickups, I was told that the earlier versions of pickups such as the custom which used a braided shielding (non-four conductor scheme) used alnico; and later switched to ceramic.
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

ranalli said:
I know that computer CPUs have a break-in time for optimum performance. You'd think they wouldn't but I remember reading somewhere that they do.
Click to expand...
can you point me to that article please? i'd like to read their views on that.
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

ranalli said:
I know that computer CPUs have a break-in time for optimum performance. You'd think they wouldn't but I remember reading somewhere that they do.
Click to expand...
Are you sure?

I used be in the business of making chips and I am quite familiar with how they are made. I can see a chip getting degraded as time goes by but I don't know how a chip needs break-in time.
 
Re: question about old JBs vs newer ones...

The "cheaper materials now" theory applied to current SD pickups is not valid.
 
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