Quick JB question

Manachild

New member
Hi everyone,

Does the seymour duncan jb have tighter bass than the dimarzio tonezone?
Is the JB a bright/warm pickup?

thanks,


regards,

daniel
 
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Re: Quick JB question

I always found the JB to be a bit bright, although that is a bit of a misnomer. The JB has a spike in the upper mids, not necessarily the treble. The bass is tight, but not as thick as some other pickups. Personally, I've only had one JB in one guitar that I really liked. It was an alder bodied Strat. Otherwise, I've tried quite a few JB's in other guitars, and it never sounded right to me.

What kind if sound are you looking for?
 
Re: Quick JB question

I own a Ibanez RG570 with a basswood body, rosewood fingerboard, bolt on neck, edge tremolo, 12-56 guage nickel wound strings setup for D standard tuning.

I like the feel of the thicker strings.

I have a dimarzio tonezone in the bridge so far and it sounds good except for when i riff on the low E (d in my case obviously) it sounds flabby, and gross. And i cant seem to Eq it to remedy it. So i'm looking for a pickup with similar out put but is eq'd differently.

I play mainly thrash metal, like kreator:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4BQyOD_8M0

check out the clip to see what i mean.

The tonezone copes with it output wise, but as i said, the flab, gross yuck :(
 
Re: Quick JB question

The first thing that comes to mind for me is the Distortion. It sounds great in a basswood bodied guitar, especially for metal like you're describing. I find basswood to be such an even toned wood that it really lets the pickup's character through as opposed to a pickup letting the body wood's character through.
 
Re: Quick JB question

The JB will probably be too mild for Kreator. It's tighter than the ToneZone, but that's not saying a lot! It does get muddy sometimes.

Try the Duncan Distortion, as suggested by Travis. It's a tighter, meatier JB that should satisfy your Tormenting, Corpse-Ripping needs :fingersx: :laugh2: . Also, you could try the Dimarzio Steve's Special. It's VERY tight sounding, though it doesn't have the PAF tone.

Have you tried lowering the TZ's height? Try it as low as it will go, then work your way up. I've seen a few TZ users slanting it a bit, with the lower string side a bit further from the strings. Try backing off the gain a bit... as obvious as this may sound.

Good luck, man!
 
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Re: Quick JB question

Oh hell no, the JB will not do what you want. The custom, Custom Custom or distortion will get you there.

I had a JB in a Strat with a Floyd and basswood with rosewood, it sounded freakin horrible, can you say ice pick. I also play a USA Jackson soloist, it sounds like crap in this guitar as well. Damn If ya didn't live so far a way I would swap you a JB for your TZ.
 
Re: Quick JB question

+1 on trying to lower the Tone Zone. It could make it better for you.

As for JB, it isn't really that tight or good a pickup IMO. Have you considered trying an EMG 85? It has plenty of clarity and tightness while still having lots of meat and warmth.
 
Re: Quick JB question

In a maple guitar yes... In your guitar... No.


I would second the EMG85 comment, but be careful, if you're mainly a rythm player it has an annoying squishy buzz sound. (Basicly just over the top sounding.)
 
Re: Quick JB question

In a maple guitar yes... In your guitar... No.
+1, it is a pissing match as to if the bass is tighter on the TZ or the JB. The question should be, which is looser becasue they are both VERY flabby on the bottom!
 
Re: Quick JB question

@ mephis, yeah i'm mainly a rythem player, i do play leads but i mostly play rythem and am more concerned with bettering myself as a rythem player, that would make the 81 the way to go due to the squishy comment?
 
Re: Quick JB question

@ mephis, yeah i'm mainly a rythem player, i do play leads but i mostly play rythem and am more concerned with bettering myself as a rythem player, that would make the 81 the way to go due to the squishy comment?

I love the 81 for rythm.

Listen to some judas priest. If you love that huge crunch, you'd like an 81.


Depending on strings/wood it can be harsh on solos but, different string gauges or types can fix that. Once you get it setup it will scream like a banchee.
 
Re: Quick JB question

I love the 81 for rythm.

Listen to some judas priest. If you love that huge crunch, you'd like an 81.


Depending on strings/wood it can be harsh on solos but, different string gauges or types can fix that. Once you get it setup it will scream like a banchee.

If you want a even bigger crunch and a pickup that is like an 81 on steroids, get a Livewires Heavy metal!
 
Re: Quick JB question

Not trying to be rude, but why would you ever need more crunch than an 81?

That's like saying "My mesa tripple rectumfrier doesn't have enough gain, man!"
 
Re: Quick JB question

I second the suggestion for the 81. If you're mainly a rhythm player it's like THE pickup to own. I think I was tellin you on msn earlier today (maybe it was Jeff Dunne?)- I had the 85 in the bridge for several months and it had a nice lead tone and was just tight enough to stay. Then I started getting into thrash a bit more and I realized the FS in my schecter was quite a lot tighter and something just felt wrong about having the emg equipped guitar respond worse for metal- so I switched em back. WOW, the 81 is just perfect for fast rhythm work- won't be switching back for a while. What it lacks in bottom or fluidity it makes up for in spades with clarity. I say definitely give it a go- especially since you said it was a dark guitar. The 81 isn't a picky pup but I've preferred it in instruments that sound "chunkier" or darker than my sg, so I think it'd be a good match.
 
Re: Quick JB question

Yeah, i'm a thrash dude, kreator, sodom, destruction, forbidden, exodus, coroner, love the stuff
 
Re: Quick JB question

I actually would recomend the invader, however you would need to do some major trial and error stuff to get the noise under control, but it will give you the ultimate BALLS !!!
 
Re: Quick JB question

LOL, sorry but are you serious? i was certain that those things were uber dark and unclear sounding unless you had it in like alder :eek13:
 
Re: Quick JB question

I am going to go with the EMG 81 i have decided , never tried actives in my life nor installed them before, wish me luck. I'll be back pestering everyone if i need help wiring hahahaha:fingersx: :laugh2:
 
Re: Quick JB question

Not trying to be rude, but why would you ever need more crunch than an 81?

That's like saying "My mesa tripple rectumfrier doesn't have enough gain, man!"

Hey, if you are going to go with that much output to start with, you might as well get the most anything offers! To me crunch and output are 2 different things thought they are related. I like the crunch of the Livewires alot better.
 
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